It was a tale of two halves Tuesday evening at the Hump. The bulldogs started with the lineup most already knew with Barry, Ben, Jamont, Charles, and Jarvis. The dogs didn't seem to be in rhythm through most of the first half. Rhodes was hustling for rebounds and blocking shots in the first half, but the dogs still seemed the struggle on the boards. The bright spot of the 1st half was Jarvis Varnado. It starting to be evident that Jarvis is becoming our utility man on the inside blocking shots, rebounding, getting put backs and stepping out 10 feet and knocking down a shot. I feel like Charles still hasn't hit his stride, but it's becoming evident that Jarvis will be our man up front this season, especially if he can keep the fouls to a minimum. Barry hit some nice shots and steadied the ship while OK hung around. Jamont took alot of shots in the first half and I don't feel like Jamont was pushing the ball down the court like we've seen him before. The score seemed to narrow when Jarvis was not in the lineup. The half ended on a good note with a nice three by Ben.
In the second half the team seemed to push the ball down the court and our shooters showed up. Benock, Phil, and Ben started knocking down some three to stretch the lead. This was due to Jamont drawing more defenders and finding the open man. Kodi hit a nice three from about row 10 on the lower deck. I like that Brian was getting to loose balls, getting put backs and Jamont seemed to find the open man. Two things have become evident watching Elgin the last 2 games, he gets back down the court better than any big man we have which will lead to fast break points and Elgin has very good hands. He gets steals and deflected several balls last night.
We were able to see a glimpse of the offensive firepower of this team. We already knew but we saw that teams will regret when they pay too much attention to Jamont with our sharpshooters on the wing. I really like the second half but we have alot of room for improvement with our rebounding. If we don't improve the bigger lineups could give us some trouble. Kodi's shot wasn't on last night, but its obvious with his size at the 4 he will get alot of open shots dragging his man away from the paint. When he gets consistent with his shooting, he should put up some numbers. The lack of mass substitution keep us in rhythm and worked much better substituting only 2 at a time. When we can play 2 halves like the 2nd, we will be one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the SEC. Overall, I would give it a B+, C- in the first and A- in the 2nd. We'll see how the dogs do when it counts this Saturday, Go Dawgs!! - Arliss
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Brian Johnson is a steady player. Its evident that he and Phil Turner have been in the program for a year because both played within their ability and did not force shots like Ravern and Kodi. Of the other freshmen I think that Benock will play because he seems to be doing what the coaches want...playing defense and not turning the ball over.
captaindawg
Jarvis Varnado has really stepped up. Very, very impressive. He's set to make big time waves in college basketball. NBA talent.
Is Jarvis showing a post up game or is it just putbacks?
Good moves to the basket. Varnado has a solid post up game, and also makes short and midrange shots. He has a package. He's good.
Varnado has some great potential, but am I the only one that thinks his minutes-to-foul ratio is outrageous? I know I just made that state up, but the guy seems to foul every 3 minutes. We can't have him doing that. He's got to tone it down a bit. He has the potential to be dominant, but he can't be dominant sitting on the bench with 5 fouls.
That's something noone had mnentioned yet...Varnado fouled out. Yes, it was early - but he's simply GOT to work on that or he will be on the bench more times than not against the more physical teams we face.
Post a Comment