On the Hardwood: Spartans Missing Post Presence and Other Tidbits
What's going on in college hoops?
Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 3:15 PMAny hopes of Michigan State returning to the Final Four for a second consecutive year will hinge on if Spartans coach Tom Izzo can find a reliable post presence to replace the departed Goran Suton, who graduated last spring.
The ever ebullient Izzo has been scratching his head trying to replace the always reliable Suton, starting 6-foot-10 freshman Garrick Sherman in the pivot while also using burly 6-foot-6 sophomore Draymond Green.
Green played a solid 28 minutes in Tuesday night's 89-82 loss against North Carolina, scoring 13 points and seven rebounds, but might serve best as a spark off the bench.
The question marks at center for Izzo need to be solved by the time Big Ten conference play starts. Purdue's frontcourt of Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson looks to be one of the best power forward-center combos in America. The junior duo compliments each other better than peanut butter and jelly, forming a lethal tandem of finesse and grit. Johnson already looks like one of the most improved players in the country.
The Spartans will hook up with the Boilermakers twice this season, on February 9th in East Lansing and on February 27th when Michigan State travels to West Lafayette.
THIS AND THAT:
- Villanova freshman center Mouphtaou Yarou is out for the year after testing positive for Hepatitis B. What does it mean for the Wildcats? Back to their bread and butter. Look for Wildcats head coach Jay Wright to return to the four-guard set which propelled Villanova to the Elite Eight in 2006.
Senior guard Reggie Redding returns in a few weeks from suspension and his toughness on the glass allows him to play bigger than his 6-foot-6 frame. Redding and the perimeter trio of senior Scottie Reynolds and juniors Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes is as good as any crop of guards in the country. Even Wright can't believe how one adjustment nearly four-and-a-half years ago has turned Villanova into Guard U.
"It wasn't any great plan on my part," Wright said of implementing the four-guard lineup in 2005. "We loved it and we had success in the NCAA Tounament in 2005, in finishing a close game against Florida and then playing a close game against North Carolina. Then, in 2006, we weren't going to do it, but Curtis Sumpter got hurt, so we said let's go back to it and it worked. We feel really comfortable in it."
- With so much buzz about Syracuse's Wesley Johnson, people are forgetting to address the tremendous size the Orange have at the front of their vaunted 2-3 zone. Senior Andy Rautins stands 6-foot-4 as does freshman guard Brandon Triche. Redshirt sophomore Scoop Jardine also stands a broad 6-foot-2. It's the most length Jim Boeheim has had in the backcourt since Kueth Duany started at shooting guard on the 2003 team that won the National Championship.
Any team that beats Syracuse is going to have to have lightning quick guards to beat the zone up the floor coupled with timely 3-point shooters.
- West Virginia sophomore forward Kevin Jones is a pro. Filling in for the sidelined Devin Ebanks during the first few games of the season, Jones contributed on the Mountaineers' baseline immediately, showing range from over 20 feet and holding his own on the boards.
The former Mount Vernon star improved as much as any high school player I've ever seen between his sophomore and junior seasons in high school, playing for Knights coach Bob Cimmino in lower Westchester. Now it looks like he's doing the same in Morgantown. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins told me Jones now weighs 250 pounds after arriving on campus as a freshman at 215.
- UCLA head coach Ben Howland might have to go back to his early days at Northern Arizona to remember a season as painful as the Bruins are having. UCLA has lost four of its first six games, and now starting power forward Drew Gordon is no longer a part of the team after he and the team mutually parted ways this week. Gordon was averaging 11.2 PPG and 5.2 RPG.
- Texas might be ranked second in the country, but they lost a major contributor when starting guard Varez Ward was lost for the season with a knee injury. Ward gave Longhorns coach Rick Barnes tremendous depth in the backcourt.
Look for freshman Avery Bradley to pick up the slack left behind by Ward. I love Bradley and think he could be a clone of former UCLA and current Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook because of his defense.
- Looking forward to seeing Seton Hall for the first time in person on Thursday night against Hartford in Newark. I spoke to a few NBA scouts who are already keeping close tabs on Pirates sharpshooter Jeremy Hazell and redshirt sophomore forward Herb Pope.
- I caught up with former Louisville and current Phoenix Suns forward Earl Clark prior to the Knicks-Suns game at MSG on Tuesday night, and he said that he felt the two biggest keys to Louisville's season would be Preston Knowles embracing the role Andre McGee thrived in last year, as well as Samardo Samuels' continued improvement on rebounding the basketball.
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