Hoops exhibition thoughts
Before I get on the plane to Arkansas, here are some quick impressions – OK, maybe not that quick – after Thursday night’s men’s basketball exhibition game.
LAKEEM JACKSON
The freshman got the starting nod, and played reasonably well. The 6-foot-5 forward made his first shot, a short 5-footer off a spinning baseline move. He made his second layup a few minutes later, then blocked a 15-foot shot on the other end.
Interestingly, Jackson was listed as a forward in the box score, leaving Devan Downey as the only guard in the starting lineup. Contrast that with a three-guard starting lineup the team has used most of the past few years.
Jackson showed a lot of all-around ability, and that body-wise he’s ready to play an SEC game right now. They haven’t had a freshman like that around here in awhile.
Jackson has a chance to be a special player down the road, and a key contributor this year as the Gamecocks try to get to the NCAA tournament. For now, though, his lack of a consistent outside shot is going to keep him from being an elite freshman on par with John Wall or Kenny Boynton.
RAMON GALLOWAY
The freshman played a lot of point guard, in a sign that the backup job is his if he can show he can handle it. Brandis Raley-Ross got some looks too, but most of his minutes were at the two.
Galloway came in early – and immediately made a nice, driving dish to Sam Muldrow, who was fouled going up. Galloway also made a couple 3-pointers, which is a good sign. His shot isn’t classic, and I wouldn’t expect him to be J.J. Reddick anytime soon, but if left open he can drain a 3.
“What’s great about (Ramon) is he’s a guy that can handle the point for us if he needs to,” Horn said. “But you saw him make a 3, you saw him steal a ball, you saw him get an offensive put-back. He’s just a basketball player and he makes plays.”
THE OTHER NEWCOMERS
Junior college transfer Johndre Jefferson also got early playing time, ahead of junior holdover Austin Steed. Jefferson, a lanky 6-foot-9, isn’t going to be a key offensive force, but he showed he can rebound and block shots and run the floor.
Freshman guard Stephen Spinella, cleared to practice just the day before after sustaining a concussion, played two minutes, both in the first half.
THE GAME OVERALL
After a 9-0 start, the Gamecocks got a bit sloppy and found themselves in an 18-15 game. They eventually pulled away.
Despite the veteran makeup of this team – the core guys are starting their third year of playing together – such spurts are going to happen early on in the season. That’s due to the four newcomers, at least two of whom (Jackson and Galloway) are going to be key players. And Jefferson looks like he’ll get every chance to be a key reserve.
Horn tried a number of lineup combinations. By the 14:57 mark of the first half 10 players had seen action.
“I don’t think I was out there with the same five at all, throughout the whole game,” senior forward Dominique Archie said. “But I think everybody made the same adjustments and played pretty well together.”
And keep in mind, senior forward Evka Baniulis, perhaps the Gamecocks best outside shooter, missed the game with a hamstring injury.
SO …
I saw a team that, with Baniulis back and perhaps a healthier Spinella, will be deep enough to play a lot of combinations, which will give other teams fits. It should also help to prevent a wearing down that may have occurred near the end of last season.
It will also be a very different kind of offense. Instead of Downey and Zam Fredrick looking for shots and everyone else getting in line, it could be any four or five guys taking the shot in any half-court set. They’re going to move the ball around a lot, and get the ball inside to the big guys more than last year.
Archie also looked to be a bit more assertive. He’s not going to shoot the ball as much as Fredrick did, but he can score in more ways.
The main worry is that the team struggled at times on Thursday night, and starting with the season opener on Nov. 14, will start the season with five games in nine days. Horn talked about that after the game, hinting at a sense of urgency to increase the levels of energy and work out some other kinks.
I didn’t see a team that would be in imminent danger of tripping up against a Georgia Southern or Alabama A&M, but if it plays like it did against Kentucky Wesleyan, possible games against a Miami or Davidson could get interesting. We shall see.
5 Comments to “Hoops exhibition thoughts”
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State newspaper sports writer Seth Emerson blogs on University of South Carolina basketball and baseball.
This team has more talent, more depth, and more experience than last year’s team. They should improve as they go. If they can stay healthy, I expect them to be competitive in every game.
I liked the quick timeouts after apparent defensive breakdowns. Horn wasn’t going to allow them to play sloppy on defense, even if we were up by a dozen points… I liked Jackson’s defensive tenacity. Downey wasn’t really looking to score. It’s amazing to see him dribble through 2 defenders, while they stand together, like they have no arms or hands to worry about stealing his basketball… he just splits them and is on his way to the basket… Galloway looked good and is not timid to shoot. We can use him for sure. There were some nice shot blocks. They didn’t have anyone to contest Muldrow under the basket. Its gonna be real nice to have a little depth on the bench for a change…
I’ve noticed that, in many games, USC struggles to score for long 4-8 minute stretches and has lacked a consistent low-post scoring threat, having to rely instead on slashers and put backs. Will USC have a credible low-post scoring threat or does Horn’s system rely more on perimeter play? Anyone?
I hope that BOTH the men’s AND the women’s basketball teams have great seasons and that BOTH qualify for the NCAA. Keep us posted on BOTH teams!
10 reasons to get excited about gamecock basketball….
1) Downey and Archie came back
Spinella and Baniulus- if Spinella is as good a shooter as i’ve heard, and we can get them on the floor, that’s going to open up the lane even more for downey, jackson, and Galloway
2) Have alot more depth this season
3) Holmes and Muldrow have both matured
4) from what i’ve heard, Defense is a priority this season…….and with the newcomers and the length they provide, i have a feeling we’re going to be much better defensively
5) Sam Muldrow- Remember we didn’t have him the first part of the season last year……and i’ve read that he’s gotten better at rebounding and blocking….if he can keep working on his stroke….he could give other teams fits by having their big men coming out and guarding him…that will open the lane for downey to blow by people, and holmes and archie can fly in for offensive putbacks..
6)have more height to better contest 3 pt attempts….those killed us in the vandy game and the miss. state games….
7)Downey is a senior……at times last year i got a feeling he was rushing things too much…..i’m sure he’ll be even more of a leader this year and don’t expect him to have as many turnovers
9) mike holmes- also the maturation factor…..it seemed to me, at the end of last year, that he was in more control of his emotions……and while emotions is a good thing…..you can’t let that hurt your team……
10) almost all our guys are capable of putting 10+ pts per game up……i feel pretty comfortable with pretty much any combonation of players you put on the floor….i wouldn’t mind, offensively, of having 3 guards on the floor like downey, jackson, and raley ross archie, muldrow or having a bigger lineup with downey, jackson, archie, jefferson, muldrow, i think what’s so great about horn’s recruiting is while he may be looking for specific positional needs, he recruits overall good athletes that can do lots of things fairly well……i mean, he may end up recruiting a 6′11 7′0 player, but it’s gonna be one that can run the floor……….that’s what makes John calipari’s teams so good……he recruits Good Atheletes that could do several things fairly well…….
+1) Raley-ross- reigning SEC 6th man of the year!!