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Player of the Week

Anthony Davis, Kentucky

The dominance of Davis continues to astound. The one-and-done freshman swatted 15 shots in two games this week, passing Shaquille O’Neal for the SEC frosh record in blocked shots with 116. Davis leads the country with 4.8 BPG, and has eight games of 6+ rejections. On the offensive end, he averaged 20 points in victories over Tennessee and South Carolina, connecting on 15/17 field goal attempts (66% on year) and 10/12 free throws (70%). He added 8 RPG, assisted on 4 buckets and committed just a single turnover (0.9). Davis is a man amongst children, despite hardly an offensive set being run for him. Kentucky faces a rough patch of games in February beginning with tilts versus Florida and at Vanderbilt this week. The feeding on conference cupcakes is over.

Who’s Hot

Kenny Gabriel & Varez Ward, Auburn

The Tigers played tremendous ball this week (home W over Georgia and three-point road L at Mississippi State), and the two names above are a big reason why. Gabriel continued his dynamic ways on both ends of the floor, scoring 19 PPG, grabbing 9.5 rebounds, blocking 2.5 shots, swiping a steal, knocking down 12/13 from the charity stripe and drilling 4 treys at MSU. Ward, who had struggled miserably in recent weeks shooting the rock, averaged 21.5 points, 4 assists and made an eye popping 21 free throws on 24 attempts. When you’re shooting 34% from the field, uncontested opportunities at the line are a welcomed sight.

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt

While his team suffered road defeats at the hands of Arkansas and Florida, Taylor continues to showcase his ameliorating skills. The 6’7 senior has transformed himself into a legitimate threat on the perimeter. He scored 21.5 points per game on 12/24 shooting (53% on season), hit 5 of 12 from distance (1.8 makes/47%) and got to the FT line 17 times (14 makes). If Taylor’s offense ever catches up to his defense- look out. His perimeter D and rebounding are NBA ready.

Who’s Cold

Patric Young, Florida

Young has been coming off the bench for the past six games due to ankle tendinitis, but his disappearing act this week was tough to swallow. He took 7 shots in 39 minutes of court time, scoring 7 points and turning it over 7 times. Entering conference play Young was performing like a potential lottery pick, but no longer. He’s been mired in single digits in six of eight SEC contests, has one double-digit rebounding game, zero multi-block efforts and has attempted only 17 free throws.

Cameron Tatum, Tennessee

The last four games for the 5th year senior: 8 points, shutout twice, 3/30 FG, 2/17 three pointers, zero free throw attempts. No words required. Tatum is clearly not capable of raising his level beyond that of an auxiliary part.

Top 5 Shooting Guards 6’6 and Up

1. Rodney Hood, Mississippi State- 6’8 G/F with a silky smooth offensive arsenal. The lefty is a natural in the mid-range and shooting 41% from deep.

2. Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt- 6’7 225 pound athletic specimen has incorporated 3-point range into game. He has the agility, strength and length to guard multiple positions comfortably.

3. Jelan Kendrick, Mississippi-Yes, the learning curve has been steep: 3.9 PPG on 29.8% FG. However, he has shown flashes, particularly on the defensive end.

4. Ralston Turner, LSU- 6’6 scorer has struggled to find the bucket as a sophomore (34% FG). His inability to create easy opportunities is damaging, but his stroke looks pure.

5. Noel Johnson, Auburn- Let’s fast forward to next year on Johnson. He can barely get off the pine for Tony Barbee after being ineligible for the first semester.

Player Notes

-South Carolina power forward Damontre Harris has two 6 blocks games and a 4 block game in his last five outings.

-SC Freshman Damien Leonard scored 19 points and drilled 6 three’s versus Kentucky. He can score in bunches, but only seems to show up against UK and UNC.

-Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli has 11 rebounds in his last three games. So much for his short-lived mean streak on the glass.

-Pre-season Wooden Award candidate John Jenkins has scored in double figures in 56 consecutive games dating back to March 18th 2010.

-The little things continue to earn Florida forward Will Yeguete more PT. Over his last three games he’s averaging 8 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in a shade under 30 minutes. GLUE.

-After offering up a shooting barrage for much of the season, Dee Bost has attempted just 6, 7 and 6 shots respectively the last three games.

-Mississippi State guard Jalen Steele has made 16/29 three-pointers over a five-game stretch.

-LSU freshman center Johnny O'Bryant is shaking off the rust. He averaged 10 points, 10 boards and 2 blocks this week, but also committed 10 turnovers and shot 2/11 versus Arkansas.

-Alabama’s Tony Mitchell has been suspended from the team for detrimental conduct. There was not one incident but a series of incidents that caused the suspension according to coach Anthony Grant.

8 Comments

  1. You don’t think

    You don’t think Kidd-Gilchrist can/will play the SG or is he just not in your top 5?

  2. O’Bryant havent played much

    O’Bryant havent played much this season becuz of injuries and inconsistency..But i lie what i’ve seen from the short time he has played..And if he sticks around another year ,he could be 1 of the best big men in the nation next year and a lottery pick by season end…

  3. SG 6’6 and over rankings. No Terrence Ross

    And what about Terrence Ross? he’s 6’6, listed at SG on this site. Will probably play both the 2 and the 3 in the NBA. He should at least be in your top 5.

  4. 6’6” SG’s

    How about the following as big shooting guards……

    1. Darius Miller   6’8”   Kentucky  (Best 6th man not named Dion Waiters)

    2.  Tony Mitchell  6’6”   Alabama (If he comes back from the suspension)

    3. Cameron Tatum  6’7”  Tennessee (Big and can shoot)

  5. I dont know what ameliorating

    I dont know what ameliorating means, but I like it.

    Who would you guys compare Darius Miller to?

Comments are closed.