The Bulldogs got to their first chance of the new season to compete against someone not wearing maroon. The Bulldogs let U of C hang around much longer than expected but came away with a 71-60 victory. The highlight of the game was Jarvis Varnardo. His defensive presence in the paint was felt with 8 blocks and timely put backs and rebounds. The starting lineup was as expected with Jarvis, Ben, Barry, Jamont, and Charles. Charles looked very good in the firt 5 minutes of the game with effort and offense, but I reserve my right to judge Charles against a larger front court. But overall, I am beginning to see a difference in Charles's effort on the court. Jamont somewhat sat back and ran the point the first 5 minutes of the game. The first excitement of the game was the mass substitution of five newcomers. At the 15:22 mark we got just a small taste of what lies beneath the starting five. Ravern, Phil, Brian, Kodi, and Riley all came in at once. As soon as the went into play, Ravern was found in the corner and as soon the ball hit his hands it was on it's way through the hoop. Next trip down the court Phil nailed an open 3 and this promoted a timeout by U of C. The newcomers were playing good defense and Brain's hustle plays and crashing for the rebound caught my eye. Elgin substituted at the 12:01 mark and had several good plays but couldn't seem to get a good roll on some of his shots. The patriots were fouling very hard and substituting very heavly to try and combat with our size. Our starters and freshmen had trouble fighting through screens at times leaving open looks for U of C.
When the starters came back in at teh 11:09 mark the game stayed about the same and Jamont finally drove to the hoop for the 1st time at the 8 minute mark. During this time Jarvis's blocks continued to pill up and his rebounding and put backs continued to pace us. The newcomers were put back in at the 7:00 mark and this is where to my surprise we found Ravern bringing the ball down most every possession. Even though Ravern didn't have someone pressing him, I was pleased at how well he can get the ball down the court. Ravern had a nice drive that didn't end in a basket but Ravern is one of the top 2 if not most athletic player on the team. During this period, Kodi had a beautiful fade away over his defender from about 15 feet out. The starters came back in and Barry gave us a glimpse of his fade shot and to end the half with somewhat to desire. In the first half, I like what Jarvis's play on both sides of the court and I 'm like with what I saw out of Ravern.
The 2nd half started out with the bulldogs spreading the offense around. Ben hit a 15 footer followed by a put back by Jarvis. Jamont hit a three pointer and at this point is where Barry started to pick up his game. I can tell you one thing, Barry likes the slamma jamma and showed he has added a drive to the hoop to his repitwah. U of C didn't light up the arc, but made 3's at time to keep the score close. The game starting picking up for MSU b/c of the patriots just exhausting themselves from playing physical and being outmatched. At the 15:20 mark the offense continued to pick up and Jarvis had a nice move to the basket where he just seemed to glide through the paint. The refs continued not to call a close game and the newcomers came back in at the 13:19 mark. Brian continued to hustle for loose balls but the freshmen made several sloppy plays and the defensive presence in the post just wasn't as good on the inside. This time around Phil started to show he can be a very good on ball defender.
At the 7:36 mark the starters were back in and Jamont finally made his forst layup of the game. This is the point where the patriots tired and the starters stepped up and separated the score. Jamont started driving well, and Jarvis continued to make plays. Ben made good plays on the defensive end and Barry had some nice slams. Toward the end Jamont and Jarvis was the difference.
Overall, the dogs have alot of room for improvement, but that is expected this time of season. We thought it was fun watching Jamont getting a triple double. Jarvis was close with 13pts, 11rbs, and 8 blks and it was fun to watch with just 25 minutes played. Mr. Efficiency, but the most impressive stat Jarvis put up, not his 8 blks, but his 0, yeah zero fouls. If he can play without fouls this season he could be bad news for our opponents this season. Jamont didn't dazzle, but I felt like he was holding alot back, he didn't get aggressive to the end when it was needed and I felt the constant substitutions keep us just enough out of rhythm to keep them from blowing the game wide open. I like what I'm seeing in Ravern Johnson, when his game comes together, he will be a contributor. Our rebounding still needs work and the ball handling was down right sloppy at times. Ben's intensity was high towards the end of the game and I like him bringing the ball down more than Barry. Barry seemed to be looking for his own shot first instead of passing it off. The substitution keep us from getting any momentum. I really like what Charles's improvement. Overall it I would give it a B- and if we don't play better, Oklahoma City could give us some problems. Nothing to worry about too much. Its looks as though Ben, Barry, and Jarvis have improved their games. Charles is playing better, Jamont can take over a game, and we have 4 shooters on the bench ready to go. And last but not least, this team is passing more and players seem to be playing team ball more. Its going to be a fun season, Go Dawgs!
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The fact that the substitutions killed our momentum is key.
(A) It's true, that's what kept us from blowing the game out.
(B) It's exactly what you're supposed to do in an exhibition game. It's an opportunity to play your different strings against a real opponent and see how they fare.
The result was not as bad as it seems. It was a learning process, as it was supposed to be. Coach could have easily made this a 40-60 point game, but didn't because he knew there was no reason.
i didnt like 2 things from the game. and these 2 things are seperate from how much we substituted.
1- unimpressive number of assists. assists bring points and high shooting %. assists bring easy baskets. assists show a team is playing smart. anyone can get an assist, so that means we had 11 different players availible to get assists. i was really looking forward to seeing a high assits count.
2- free throw shooting was abhorrent. it was the last two years all over again. if a team is going to give us so many free opportunities, then we need to take advantage of that. EVERYONE needs to be able to shoot from the line. the guards drive to the hole and get fouled. the big men get fouled down on the block. ALL players need to be able to sink free throws, and from what i remember, only Hansbrough was competent from the line.
neither of these problems have to do with our substitution patterns, etc. these are two things that we need to work on because they will creep up at the worst possible time, like in the final minutes of the Tenn game or UK game.
Good win for Mississippi State. Jarvis Varnado has arrived. Stansbury and the other coaches are doing a great job working with the team and individual players. The shots, free throws ect. will eventually start falling. Things will keep coming together more and more. Cumberlands represented well, and OKlahoma City is next. Mississippi State is/will be fine.
Ravern Johnson showed flashes, and will continue to improve. He's a big time talent.
I got up early Saturday and said "why not?" so I drove down caught the game and visited some family.. just getting back.
There have been a lot of good thoughts already posted. In general, my observation is that we looked like we didn't expect to be guarded for much of the game. The Patriots were really scrappy and played with a lot of effort. I sat next to the parents of #3, who led them scoring at the half. Nice folks who drove down from Louisville, KY and really liked the campus environment. They said the game plan was to extend defense and hope we didn't blow them out too much in the paint.
1) I was impressed with the play of Varnado. He's plays with a lot of effort. A big man running the floor like that always leaves a big impression.
2) Stewart had a poor shooting day but he was spot on defensively. That little team ran a lot of half-court weaves and screens but Barry's motor never was in question. He had quite a few steals and disruptions.
3) Gordon may have just had a bad day, but he looked relapsed based on that performance. Had some outstanding passes and assists but I'd say he had equal or more turnovers.
4) Rhodes was about like he has been. I believe he's a solid player but people need to figure out that he's never going to be a dominant consistently. I hope people are too relentlessly critical during his SR year.
5) Turner is a really confident looking player for his level of experience. Probably not his best day either but there were several moments when you saw flashes of his quickness.
6) I don't know why I'm numbering these bullet points.
7) There's a great deal of individual talent on this team but they need to pick up some offensive sets and there needs to be a lot more teamwork offensively regarding screening for shooters and the likes.
8) No one is more upset about the close ball game than Iupe and Begley. They had this game circled since the schedule came out. ZD
I like #6, from where you were sitting ZD, did you see Osby walk by? He looks bigger than 6'9" doesn't he?
Osby walked in front of me several times and I saw him in line at the concessions. I'd say he's a comfortable 6'8" with maybe a shade over. He looks bigger than he did when I watched him in May. ZD
Jarvis Varnado looks awesome. This kid is coming on very, very strong.
Digging to the bottom of the stat sheet, I noticed that 10 players went more than 12 minutes in the game. Bailey is the 11th and he played 4 minutes with Rick mentioning that he has to play more.
( It's possible that those minutes could be withdrawn directly from Brian Johnson. )
Also noticed that Stewart had 5 steals and Turner was credited with 4 steals in his 15 minutes. Jamont had only one steal but I think he's capable of averagine 2-3. We have a chance to be a little ball hawkish on the perimeter to give a little counter-balance to Varnado's shot altering presence under the basket.
I probably watched Stewart closer than anyone else since one of his close friends sat in front of me. If he were a level his bubble would always float on the center. I think he'll be remembered for making tons of steady plays before he's done here. He might, MIGHT should be playing some PG this year. His demeanor is almost too good pass up giving him the chance when we shift Jamont. ZD
That is... Varnado has been playing awesome.
I saw Osby in the concession line and he is taller than I thought. I saw him from across the court when he first walked up and I thought he was another recruit because of his height.
captaindawg
yeah, Varnado had some great stats.
0 fouls. that is perhaps most impressive.
8 blocks. that is nuts. his timing must have been perfect.
and a double-double in points and rebounds.
they guy almost had a triple-double in a short amount of time!
I CANT WAIT TILL THE NEXT EXHIBITION GAME!!! ITS ON M2M!!
hopefully the website will actually work this time.
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