Ravern Johnson has been on the minds on MSU fans for the last 2 years, and he will soon have his chance to show what he can do for the MSU fanbase. Ravern was Mr. Basketball his junior year and then passed over for the award his senior year. Ravern had the luxury of playing with a true point guard his junior year, and then was forced to play all 5 spots on the floor his senior year, yet his numbers didn't suffer. I've personally been excited about Ravern suiting up for the Bulldogs for the past two years. At 6'7" 190 lbs, Ravern will bring a sharp shooter's mentality to the team and should have an opportunity to provide some instant offense off the bench in the beginning. Ravern will benefit from the recent defections, and I don't expect Ravern to disappoint. Ravern will bring a new dimension to the team in that he has the ability to create his own shot, and his range is consistently 4-5 feet beyond the arc. To some his defense is questionable, but a summer in the weight room and help from Rick, Ravern should have polished his defensive game by the time SEC rolls around. Ravern has already been spotted at the Sanderson Center knocking the bottom out to the nets against current and former players. I have heard our coaches say that Ravern is one of the best pure shooters to come out of the state of Mississippi in the last 20 years. No comparisons were made, but that time line falls around the time Chris Jackson left for LSU. Ravern will play the 2 or 3 spot, depending on how his defensive game is developing. Look for the freshman record for 3's made to be broken for a 3rd year in a row with Ravern in the lineup. Ravern will take most of the pre SEC schedule to become acclimated to playing college basketball, but once SEC begins don't be surprised if Ravern is consistantly flerting with the staring rotation. I'm looking forward to the start of the new season and watching our next big thing, Ravern Johnson.
13 comments:
i totally agree with you 100% arliss.. When we've been talkin about this guy since he was a sophmore you know there is tremndous potential behind him.. I look for him to be a huge player for a good four years.
His potential has him primed to make the biggest impact of the 07 class.
I completely agree that Ravern is both an incredible shooter and has a quick release. However, I disagree that he may be a starter by the SEC portion of the season. I have seen him play and his perimeter defense is lacking. I won’t say that he can’t learn it but I have doubts that he currently has the lateral moves to stay in front of quicker perimeter players. I think Ravern will be a situational player this year at the “3” position and that we will play a lot of zone when he is in. However, I think that either Jamont or Ben and Barry or Phil will always be on the floor with him. My prediction is as follows:
1- J Gordon
2- B Hansborough
3- B Stewart
4- B Johnson
5- C Rhodes
R Johnson spells Stewart at the 3. P Turner rotates with Gordon, Hansborough and Stewart at the other perimeter positions with Gordon and Hansborough being the primary ballhandlers.
J Varnado subs at the 5 with C Rhodes and possibly Gordon rotating in at the 4.
Augustus gets spot duty at the 4. Benock redshirts or gets very limited spot duty. Bailey goes to prep school or gets spot duty at the 5.
The only walkon that I have seen play is Brandon Bolden and I think he has a decent chance of getting spot duty later in his career.
BTW great discussion though.
captaindawg
Captain, We all know that Ravern becoming a starter doesn't mean as much at state b/c of the way Rick works his rotation( we'll all heard Rick say the his starting 5 aren't ness. his 5 best players). So, just b/c he is or isn't starting doesn't ness. mean he is or isn't one of our 5 best players. I think he will be a in the starting rotation later in the season, b/c the offensive firepower will be there from the day he suits up for MSU, I think halfway through the season his defensive skills will be improved enough that he could warrant a start. This year will be easy, try inserting Scotty and Romero in the lineup, who are they going to push out of the lineup. Nice problem to have. Agree, Phil will be a major defender on the wing this season. Thanks for the comment.
Ravern Johnson's height, shooting ability, and the ability to create, help make him another go to type player. He's set to make a run at SEC Freshman Of The Year, Ect. This kid is a big time shooter.
One thing that works in RJ's favor, in terms of starting, is that we don't have the guard depth to play 3 guard lineups extensively. If the Delks had returned then he would have been pushed away from playing time.
As it stands, he could very well earn starter's minutes at 3. His defense will need a lot of work, but in the early going against weaker competition he should be playing a whole lot. _______ Zombiedawg
Zombie and/or Arliss,
Out of curiosity, whose spot do you predict he would take as a starter v coming off the bench? I don’t see anyone (Gordon, Stewart or Hansborough) that would be any less steady starting a game. I would be more inclined to see him coming off the bench for an offensive spark and, if he picks up on the defense, getting the starter minutes suggested by Arliss. One possible scenario would be to bring him in place of B Johnson and move J Gordon to the 4 and slide Hansborough to the 1. It think that would be a great offensive team, especially against teams without a dominant “4”.
I agree the next year will be even more difficult to predict as I think Scotty Hopson is too good not to be starting from day one.
captaindawg
It is hard to say that he will take someone's position. I think he will have an advantage if nothing else b/c of his height and athletism. Right now it is hard to belive he would take Ben or Barry spot, but with his offensive firepower, it will be hard to keep him off the floor for long, and most importantly, if he is a consistant free throw shooter, he will see time late in the game.
I guess Ravern will get to keep his high school number since Richard is gone. Numero Uno.
One thing you have to love about Ravern is his killer range. He can knock down shot consistantly from 25 feet in. You feel like if he has the ball in his hands he could jack the ball up from halfcourt in. Every year I get excited about one recruit per class. Ravern is it for 07, Scotty is it for 08, Shaun Smith is shaping up to be my impact player for 09.
With a great point guard like Jamont Gordon, Ravern Johnson will be in position to really display his offensive ability.
I have to believe that no one can really grasp the offensive options we will have available next season until they see it in person.
And, in addition to what everyone is saying, I have heard the Benock is a decent 3 point shooter, so he may slide in their and help a little more than some people think this season. Maybe.
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