First Conference Toss-up Tonight

As we approach tonight’s conference opener against Mississippi State in Starksville, I’ve been thinking about our basketball team.

We are quite a bit improved over last year. The players have grown up a bit, Olu is gone and Modica actually gets to play for more than 2-3 minutes at a clip. Our defense is much, much improved. Charles Thomas has shown he is a good shooter, rebounder, and a good source of “hustle.” Steven Hill is proving to be quite the shot-blocking force in the paint.

However, I see issues that will possibly haunt us during the conference season.

Floor leadership. It’s not there on any type of consistent basis. The performance Brewer gave against Kansas will be required of him night after night in the SEC. Teams that are able to take away Brewer in the half court game, frustrate Modica, give Townes his 10 points, and make Ferguson and Jefferson take outside shots will probably beat us. The rest of the players – Thomas, Hill, Hunter, etc. are all just wild cards. We will have trouble with physical teams.

Zone offense. Shows the same tendencies as last year. Zones are not effectively attacked. We don’t move the ball well. Post play is not effective. We are way too dependent on our outside shooting being “on.”

Killer instinct. During the non-conference season we’ve continued to let teams back into games after building early leads. The two things mentioned above were usually the prime factors in teams getting back into games.

What will make us better than last year?

Defense, defense, defense. Using the press, getting points in the transition game – things we couldn’t do last year – will make a huge difference.

The opportunity for stronger post play. Offense from Townes, defense from Hill, and a strong all-around game from Charles Thomas. We must get better at seeing the floor and making entry passes to the post to generate post offense. I expect good minutes will come from Hunter, and McGowen will continue to come on strong on the boards as the season progresses. We need more than 10 points out of our half-court post game to be a consistent winner in the SEC.

By the middle of the conference season we should see McCurdy making a positive impact on games. Crisp passing and three point shooting, as well as overall hustle. He has true point guard instincts.

I don’t think any of the players want the mental meltdown they had last year as the season progressed. While they’ve grown up a lot in mental toughness, I think there is still quite a ways to go. Hopefully they will grow more in this area as this season progresses.

Expect to see serious ups and downs during the first half of conference play. As we enter the stretch hopefully we will see an outstanding team and dominate people. We’ve got it in us. It’s just going to take a bit of time to get it out.

And remember as we go to Starksville – we haven’t really played a road game all year, and Mississippi State pounded us down there last year. Payback or repeat, which will it be?

It’s a toss-up tonight.