Some quick hitters as we reach the end of the week:
Army may not have the won-lost record to show it, but the Black Knights look like they can be a tough out in an improved Patriot League. The biggest reason is that they have a number of scoring threats to go along with being athletic. After Monday night’s win at Bryant, ten different players have scored in double figures at least once this season, with three players doing it for the first time that night.
The Black Knights are 2-7, and while they clearly have the offensive ability, the players still haven’t fully grasped how to play just yet.
“We’ve got guys that get a little eager at times,” said head coach Jim Crews. “We’re trying to get a good balance; if you’re open after one pass, shoot it, but you can’t do it six straight times. We’re trying to get a better balance of passing the ball around. Sometimes we tell them to pass it around, and they pass it around too much.”
While Brown has reloaded in the backcourt with the emergence of Adrian Williams and Peter Sullivan, it’s the development of junior big man Matt Mullery that has been the biggest key. Mullery at times looked lost on the court early in his career, then emerged as a shot-blocker last season. Now he’s a key player at the offensive end in much the same way Mark MacDonald was last year before injuries curtailed his season.
“We want to get the ball inside to him,” said head coach Jesse Agel after Mullery scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds Tuesday night. “I said it after our Northwestern game, if you have a post guy who can cause a double team, you’re in business. After we lost that game to a tremendous Northwestern team, as we’re finding out, he was that guy.”
It’s hard to really know what to make of Boston College’s 7-2 record since the Eagles haven’t exactly played the cream of the crop thus far. They entered the week with an RPI of 59 with a strength of schedule in the three-digit range, and their win over Bryant (No. 270) won’t help that. But they look like a team coming of age slowly but surely. Corey Raji continues to emerge as a consummate garbage man inside, Joe Trapani continues to fill the stat sheet (he had his second double-double of the season on Wednesday with 11 points and 10 rebounds), and some balance is developing as shown by five players scoring in double figures on Wednesday.
The next chance to get a better sense of this team will be a week from Saturday, when they host Providence after being off for final exams.
Iowa bounced back from a tough loss at Boston College last week with two straight wins. The Hawkeyes have just one senior, Cyrus Tate, playing significant minutes, and also look to have several capable of leading the team in scoring on a given night. A number of players on the team can shoot from long range, evidenced by their 42 percent clip from long range. Leading the way there are freshmen Anthony Tucker and Matt Gatens, who shoot just under 50 percent combined from behind the arc.
Eight players average at least 12 minutes per game and no one averages 30, showing how interchangeable the players are. They like the depth and feel like everyone is capable, and it’s a reflection of the coach.
“I don’t know that there’s that much difference between the guys who start the game and the guys who come off the bench,” said head coach Todd Lickliter.
The economy hit a colleague earlier in the week when, as part of a major layoff by Yahoo, Rivals.com recruiting guru Justin Young was let go. He’s one of the best in the business and among the many colleagues I enjoy catching up with while on the road covering recruiting events. I have no doubt that come next spring, I’ll see Justin while on the road as he does great work for someone else.
