[providencefriars1Participant]

11-12-11

 

Game I watched: ETSU 53 at Virginia Tech 64

 

This was a solid game where you could get a good early look at both ETSU and Va tech who both could end up playing post season ball later this year. ETSU is a good team who will probably finish second, behind Belmont, in the A-Sun conference. They always play high major teams tough; like in the NCAA tourney a few years back when they hung with #1 seeded Pittsburgh. No one player stood out for the Pirates, but they played solid team basketball to hit from both inside and out. Defensively, they did a good job of contesting jump shots and limiting penetration out of their 3-2 zone.

 

I thought Virginia Tech played well for being their first game and being plagued by injuries. This will probably be an NIT year for them because they have no one to replace Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen who were the primary contributors last year. Their inexperienced showed throughout the game but they moved the ball well against the zone and played good but not great defense. One area of concern for them is one the defensive boards, since ETSU pounded them with many tip ins and second chance points in the first half.

 

The star for them this year is definitely the freshman, Dorian Finney-Smith. Smith is a long 6’8’’ point forward who had an excellent opening game. Smith rebounded extremely well on the defensive end grabbing 16 boards as well as successfully guarding ETSU’s point guard. He also showed he wasn’t afraid to handle the ball in the open floor or lead the break and did so many times after grabbing rebounds. What impressed me most about him was his court vision and passing ability. Smith played each different position in the 1-3-1 zone offense and really displayed his passing ability registering 5 assists through this. Bottom Line, he is a great young player who changes the game significantly when he’s on the floor. The commentator compared him to Grant Hill, but he doesn’t quite have Hill’s scoring ability so I’ll have to see him a bit more for a comparison. I could definitely see Smith end up in the mid first round of the draft in a year or two and maybe even in the late lottery.

 

Notable Friday + Saturday scores:

 

UNC 67 at Michigan St 55

Belmont 76 at Duke 77

Oregon 64 at Vanderbilt 78

Morgan St 63 at Xavier 74

Loyola Marymount 69 at UCLA 58

Ashville 75 at NCST 84

URI 90 at George Mason 92

Oral Roberts 71 at West VA 78

BYU 62 at Utah St 69

Missouri St 68 at Nevada 46

 

Lehigh 77 at Iowa St 86

ETSU 53 at Va Tech 64

Vermont 59 at USF 61

Butler 77 at Evansville 80

Northern Iowa 63 at Old Dominion 46

SFNY 70 at Seton Hall 75

 

Prospect watch:

 

Kris Joseph, SF Cuse- 16pts, 5reb, 6/12fg

Dion Waiters, SG Cuse- 14pts, 6/9fg, 2assists

 

Ryan Kelly, PF Duke- 17pts, 3reb, 5/8fg

Miles Plumlee, PF Duke- 13pts, 11reb

Mason Plumlee, C Duke- 13pts, 8reb, 3blk, 6/8fg

Austin Rivers, SG Duke- 15pts, 6assists, 3stl

 

Terrence Ross, SG Washington- 11pts, 4reb

Tony Wroten, PG Washington- 18pts, 7reb, 3assists

CJ Wilcox, SG Washington- 22pts, 6reb, 3assists, 2stl

Abdul Gaddy, PG Washington- 7pts, 7reb, 6assists, 4to’s

 

Hollis Thompson, F Gtown- 13pts, 4reb, 4assists

Henry Sims, C Gtown- 19pts, 6reb, 5assists, 3blk, 9/11fg

 

Arnett Moultrie, PF Miss St- 28pts, 13reb, 2stl

Dee Bost, PG Miss St- 16pts, 7reb, 2assists

Rodney Hood, SF Miss St- 15pts, 4reb, 4assists

 

Andrew Smith, C Butler- 21pts, 9reb, 4blk

Christawn Hopkins, SG Butler- 22pts, 5assist, 5to’s

 

Herb Pope, PF Seton Hall- 21pts, 14reb, 2blk, 2stl, 4to’s

Jordan Theodore, PG Seton Hall- 25pts, 4reb, 2assists, 2stl, 4to’s

 

Ron Anderson Jr, PF USF- 16pts, 9reb, 3assists

Augustus Gilchrist, PF USF- 12pts, 7reb, 1blk

 

Jordan Taylor, PG Wisconsin- 11pts, 7assists, 4reb, 2stl

Jonny O’Bryant, PF LSU- 12pts, 8reb, 2blk

Eric Atkins, PG ND- 27pts, 6reb, 4assists

Gerard Coleman, SG Providence- 18pts, 7reb

Royce White, F Iowa St- 25pts, 11reb, 3blk, 6to’s

Jared Cunninghan, SG Oregon St- 15pts, 4reb, 5stl

Keith Clanton, PF UCF- 18pts, 5reb, 6blk

Dorian Finney-Smith, SF VA Tech- 10pts, 16reb, 5assists, 4blk

 

Trey Zeigler, SG Central Michigan- 11pts, 12reb, 3assists

CJ Mcollum, SG Lehigh- 16pts, 6assists, 3reb, 3stl

Arsalan Kazemi, PF Rice- 11pts, 12reb, 3blk, 5/7fg

Kent Bazemore, SF ODU- 17pts, 4reb, 4stls

Joe Young, G Houston- 17pts, 7assists, 2stl

Casper Ware, SG Long Beach State- 20pts, 4reb, 3assists

[uknationParticipant]

Sleeper to make a AA team, Royce White. I think he can have a season something like Blake Griffin in year two imo(this is year one for him)

[OhCanada-Participant]

Dorian Finney-Smith maybe the most underrated player in all of college basketball.

[omphalosParticipant]

That’s an impressive statline from Wroten, he might just be the best prospect on his team. His size and ability to play the point or SG might put him above Terrence Ross on a lot of draft boards by season’s end.

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