Glad that is behind us.

State suffered their first loss of the season. MSU 52 WSU 63. Simple, the dogs got beat by a better team. Young team, we knew we were going to take some lumps, and we have plenty more to take before the dogs will be playing to their potential this season. According to this game as Jarvis goes so does the team. Tough night for Jarvis. Would be surprised if we don't play TT tomorrow. Recap here.

MSU 76 St. Bonaventure 71

WHEW!!! This is the first of many learning experiences for the dogs on the young season. Way to many turnovers. Benock made some timely 3's. Barry having a bad off night seemed to hurt us some. Bost had a rough game with turnovers . The first road test of the season is always going to be tough regardless of opponent. Free throws key to the victory. Beckham played some quality minutes tonight. Our 4's got alot of fouls tonight. Last and biggest-Jarvis was the MAN!!! 19 pts 12 rebs. 6 blks. Oh yeah, nice put back and rebound Ravern!! Go Dogs!!!

SWAT

I'm sure I'm not alone in saying when I'm not at the games I am entertained more by keeping up with SWAT's blocks. I'm adding the national leaders list as a link here and on the sidebar. Enjoy.

MSU 84 Mrs. Dickinson 58

Young team showing itself with turnovers. Nice numbers for Jarvis 16pts 14 rb and 8 blks. Nice to see Mr. Beckham get some playing time. Nice to see Rick mixing up the lineup. Considering the competition, this was not our best game. We'll see how good this team is over the next week. With Kodi in foul trouble, Osby's minutes continue to grow. Congrats to Jarvis, all time bock leader at MSU. Go Dogs!!!

MSU 102 N. AL 61

Recap
This was actually my first chance to see the Dogs play in person this year. Last night was a good time to watch the dogs b/c they had the inside out game going strong. Especially the inside, but that's not surprising when the tallest guy in the starting line up is 6'6". We have alot stiffer competition coming, but we've seen the dogs shoot over a zone and last night we feed the inside versus man to man. Bost had 10 assists which included some nice passes. I think last night was Osby's coming out game. He had one play where he rebound edand brought the ball back down the court, lookin like a guard coming down the court. He is very impressive passing out of the paint. After 3 games I'm not convinced now that Barry won't be our leading scoring, he is some much more comfortable at the 2. I was very impressed with Phil and Holcomb's defense last night, and not to mention Benock. That 2nd unit is a nice spark off the bench, when they subbed the first time, they increased the lead. I'm very excited to see what kind of stats we can put when Rick settles on a mixing the subs. Biggest stat of the game, 89% from the FT. Wow. If Bailey can continue to shoot the free throws like he is, he will be a crucial part. He'll eat up space and get to the foul line. Well, i'm reserving judgement for when this young team hits the road. Go Dogs!!!-Arliss

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

MSU 78 LA Monroe 49

Starting to look like we could be a pretty nice team from behind the arc. You have to like Kodi having a somewhat of a breakout game. Jarvis 9 blocks (all in 1st half), 11 rebounds. Dee, 15 pts, 7 assists and 2 to's. You have to like the defense we are playing, our offense will only get better as this team starts to gel. I know its only two games in, but starting to get a good feeling about Bost and Chris Warren impact he could make this season. We took it to them on the boards in the second half. 42 % from beyond the arc, not too shabby. It will be interesting to see how the stats settle out when we solidify a starting five. Not too many complaints from this one. Looking forward to Wednesday, Go Dogs!!!!!

Good Guys 77 Other Guys 55

You have to like the distribution of points. Top scorer Ravern. 15 points on 5 3's. Elgin a solid 10 points. Jarvis 9pts 11 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Long way to go, not one the better teams we'll play pre-SEC, but you have to like the young pups on this team. Go Dogs!!!

The Fab 5

The easiest question to ask and the most frequent question to ask it who will be the starting five? I always like to pose the question-Who will be the starting five by the time SEC begins? Outside of injury, the lineup should be settled pretty good by that time. Granted, we've had one exhibition game and one scrimmage, but I've tried to digest the new players and try to predict how they will fit in and what their role will be.

In no particular order, the starting 5 by SEC play:

First at the 3, I 've been excited about Ravern Johnson ever since he hit the radar his sophomore year in high school. If any one has the potential to be our 20 point man this year, I think it is Ravern. He has the range to get his 20 just heaving it up from beyond the arc. You mix in what we've seen with his quickness to the hoop, I see him being our #1 scoring option.

Second at the 5, that's a tough one, Jarvis Varnado. Here is the question you have to ask your self though. If his offensive production goes up, will he defensive production go down? I personally don't think he just comes out this year and doubles his offensive output. I would rather see him focus on defending the paint than backing off and trying to score more points. When he is on his defensive game in the paint, its like night and day for our back court defenders. I say that about Jarvis's offense to say this:

Third at the 4, Romero Osby, I don't think J.V. will have to double his offensive production b/c Ro will pick up the slack. I believe Osby will be a the double double king by the time he leaves MSU. I think he can be a consistent 10-10 guy this year. I see Osby being the best rebounder since Roberts in time and he gets it started in his freshman campaign.

Fourth at the 2, Barry Stewart. Barry will be essential to this year's season. It doesn't matter if we have all the talent in the world he will be our experienced leader. Barry will be the glue that keeps the team together.

Last at the 1, Dee Bost. Obviously, Dee will have alot on his shoulders this year. The question that keeps coming to mind is can Dee be a more consistent Chris Warren. If he can, I don't think anyone would complain and it would be a stellar freshman campaign. The thing that helps me feel good about Dee is I don't think this will be as painful of a process of grooming a pg as it was with Jamont. I was very impressed with Dee's assist to turnover ratio numbers in the exhibition. I think he has some 20+ point games in him this season, but I'll be watching those assists and turnovers.

Well, I know I didn't say a thing about the backups, but I do have to say Elgin could easily be in the 4 spot two, after last season he is in my top 2 favorite players on the current roster. So, its just my opinion, but this seems to be a topic that all like to take their stabs at. If you agree, don't agree, speak up! Lets hear it. Hope some of y'all will have a chance to attend the scrimmage on Saturday, I won't be able to attend. Go Dogs!!!

Revelation 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Open Discussion about Scrimmage

Out of town today, welcomed comments about scrimmage.

Couple of stats:
Jarvis 17 pts, 12 rebounds, 8 blks in 24 mins.
Ravern 19 pts in 24 mins.
Bosts 13 pts 7 assists 3 to in 32 mins.
Osby 10 pts 11 rebounds in 13 mins.