RAS - NCAA Hoops - 11/23/04
-- NEXT UPDATE before 5:00am Pacific on WEDNESDAY, November 24.
RAS Official Plays 4-1, +2.90 UNITS (Recommended as 1 or 2 UNIT plays)
*One play Tuesday:
Pepperdine at Long Beach State (+9, play to +7.5) - #755-#56 - 7:30pm Pacific
This is an improved 49ers team and the first that third year head coach Larry Reynolds can call his own. On paper they lost 4 starters from last year, but actually five of the top eight scorers are back plus two newcomers who are better than anyone who was on the team last year. I watched them play in person last year and saw them in their last exhibition game this year. They have definitely progressed. The two major additions are 6-11 senior center Anthony Coleman and JC transfer forward Shawn Hawkins. Coleman, a transfer from Xavier, played in only two games last season due to injury. He is a bit on the thin size, but has a scorer's mentality, can shoot out to 3-point range, and has some nice face the basket moves for someone his size. He is also a capable rebounder and shot blocker. Hawkins is called by Fox Sports college hoops expert Frank Burlison, "The best offensive talent to play at Long Beach since Seth Greenberg was head coach in 1996." He can shoot from distance and has the size and strength to score down low. He was good enough to land his JC coach a spot on LBSU's staff and could develop into an all-conference type. Head coach Reynolds has a multitude of players to mix and match at the 1, 2, and 3 spots. Junior Jibrill Hodges (son of NBA 3-point champ Craig) was second on the team in scoring last year at 10.2ppg. Point guard Kevin Houston was the teams top recruit a year ago and has stepped in to a starting role. Senior Cody Pearson, junior Keion Kindred, and junior Louis Darby all played quality minutes last year and each is able to contribute something. 6-10 JC transfer F/C Sam Byrd provides added size off the bench.
I am amazed at how overvalued Pepperdine continues to be this season. Sure, the Waves have three excellent players and potentially could have a solid season but this team still has a lot to prove. In recent trip to North Carolina for BCA tournament they were outscored 47-19 in the second half by an East Carolina team playing without their starting and backup center to lose by 22 points. The next day they came with more intensity and beat Sienna by 15 points, but even in that game they let a 27 point lead dissolve to 7 in the second half. In final game they escaped with an unimpressive 1 point win over Farleigh Dickinson. The Waves averaged over 20 turnovers per game in the tournament and their rebounding margin was just +0.66 despite having a distinct size edge in all three games. Pepperdine projected starting center Derrick Grubb (back) remains out and I have not been able to confirm the status of 6th man Robert Turner who played just two minutes two games ago and none at all in last game. He may be injured or in the coaches dog house but he is the best reserve player and only quality size off the bench. This is a sandwich game for the Waves who got back from North Carolina late Friday, have three days of missed classes to catch up with (assistant coach mentioned many papers due before Thanksgiving break), and will be looking ahead to Saturday when they host nationally ranked Wisconsin in their home opener. Pepperdine still has some issues to resolve and is playing too erratic to be giving this many points away from home.
Long Beach was blown out at Charlotte in season opener but that is going to happen to a lot of teams. They shot just 3-of-25 from 3-point range in the game and coach Reynolds said his team is a much better shooting team than that and I have to agree. They have a good chance to show it tonight against a Pepperdine team who is known for not defending the perimeter well. On a positive note, the 49ers did hold their own on the boards (43-43) vs Charlotte. I look for them to bounce back and play well in their home opener tonight. Long Beach scrapped and hustled their way to outright home wins over UCSB, Cal Poly, LMU, and UC Irvine all as underdogs last year. They were also within single digits of five other conference teams here, including league champ Pacific. With an improved team and another year in the Reynolds system there is no reason they will not do the same vs Pepperdine. Take the points.
Long Beach State +9 1 UNIT
Continued...
-- NEXT UPDATE before 5:00am Pacific on WEDNESDAY, November 24.
RAS Official Plays 4-1, +2.90 UNITS (Recommended as 1 or 2 UNIT plays)
*One play Tuesday:
Pepperdine at Long Beach State (+9, play to +7.5) - #755-#56 - 7:30pm Pacific
This is an improved 49ers team and the first that third year head coach Larry Reynolds can call his own. On paper they lost 4 starters from last year, but actually five of the top eight scorers are back plus two newcomers who are better than anyone who was on the team last year. I watched them play in person last year and saw them in their last exhibition game this year. They have definitely progressed. The two major additions are 6-11 senior center Anthony Coleman and JC transfer forward Shawn Hawkins. Coleman, a transfer from Xavier, played in only two games last season due to injury. He is a bit on the thin size, but has a scorer's mentality, can shoot out to 3-point range, and has some nice face the basket moves for someone his size. He is also a capable rebounder and shot blocker. Hawkins is called by Fox Sports college hoops expert Frank Burlison, "The best offensive talent to play at Long Beach since Seth Greenberg was head coach in 1996." He can shoot from distance and has the size and strength to score down low. He was good enough to land his JC coach a spot on LBSU's staff and could develop into an all-conference type. Head coach Reynolds has a multitude of players to mix and match at the 1, 2, and 3 spots. Junior Jibrill Hodges (son of NBA 3-point champ Craig) was second on the team in scoring last year at 10.2ppg. Point guard Kevin Houston was the teams top recruit a year ago and has stepped in to a starting role. Senior Cody Pearson, junior Keion Kindred, and junior Louis Darby all played quality minutes last year and each is able to contribute something. 6-10 JC transfer F/C Sam Byrd provides added size off the bench.
I am amazed at how overvalued Pepperdine continues to be this season. Sure, the Waves have three excellent players and potentially could have a solid season but this team still has a lot to prove. In recent trip to North Carolina for BCA tournament they were outscored 47-19 in the second half by an East Carolina team playing without their starting and backup center to lose by 22 points. The next day they came with more intensity and beat Sienna by 15 points, but even in that game they let a 27 point lead dissolve to 7 in the second half. In final game they escaped with an unimpressive 1 point win over Farleigh Dickinson. The Waves averaged over 20 turnovers per game in the tournament and their rebounding margin was just +0.66 despite having a distinct size edge in all three games. Pepperdine projected starting center Derrick Grubb (back) remains out and I have not been able to confirm the status of 6th man Robert Turner who played just two minutes two games ago and none at all in last game. He may be injured or in the coaches dog house but he is the best reserve player and only quality size off the bench. This is a sandwich game for the Waves who got back from North Carolina late Friday, have three days of missed classes to catch up with (assistant coach mentioned many papers due before Thanksgiving break), and will be looking ahead to Saturday when they host nationally ranked Wisconsin in their home opener. Pepperdine still has some issues to resolve and is playing too erratic to be giving this many points away from home.
Long Beach was blown out at Charlotte in season opener but that is going to happen to a lot of teams. They shot just 3-of-25 from 3-point range in the game and coach Reynolds said his team is a much better shooting team than that and I have to agree. They have a good chance to show it tonight against a Pepperdine team who is known for not defending the perimeter well. On a positive note, the 49ers did hold their own on the boards (43-43) vs Charlotte. I look for them to bounce back and play well in their home opener tonight. Long Beach scrapped and hustled their way to outright home wins over UCSB, Cal Poly, LMU, and UC Irvine all as underdogs last year. They were also within single digits of five other conference teams here, including league champ Pacific. With an improved team and another year in the Reynolds system there is no reason they will not do the same vs Pepperdine. Take the points.
Long Beach State +9 1 UNIT
Continued...
