Random Basketball Musings

Its been awhile. You should be used to that by now.

-Phil Turner has done pretty well since becoming a starter. He hasn't lived up to the billing as the best shooter on the team but he is decent and plays good defense.

-Ben "Did you know his brother plays for UNC" Hansbrough broke a finger on his left hand and is doubtful for tonight's game. Stansbury said he thought about starting Benock is his place but will probably go with Rhodes instead.

-In my mind that is bad news. A big reason for this nice little win streak seems to be the team going back to the 4 guard lineup. This team's biggest weakness, well second biggest, is its half court offense, which in all honesty is non existent. With a 4 guard lineup MSU is able to get more more points in transition. With two bigs in the game, transition points disappear completely and MSU becomes almost solely a half court team. MSU is generally a terrible half court team. Its too bad because with the talent of Varnado and Rhodes on the inside, MSU should be able to dominate most teams inside, but as the beginning of this year has shown, the exact opposite happens.

-At this moment, Jarvis Varnado is the MVP of this team. Not Rhodes, not Gordon. Varnado has become and absolute beast in the paint. He has always been a blocking machine, but he would also foul at an alarming rate. In the past month something has clicked though. He is blocking more shots than ever but is now keeping himself out of foul trouble. Jarvis is averaging a whopping 7.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, and 5.2 bpg. That is ridiculous. He has already broken the single game MSU record for blocks. With 83 blocks already he is the leading shot blocker in the country and is going to shatter the MSU single season record of 106. He also has an outside shot at the SEC single season record of 157. Outstanding. Again though, it isn't just the blocked shots. Varnado is a force when it comes to rebounding, and while offense is definitely his weak spot, he has come a long way from a year ago. 7.2 ppg is nothing to sneeze out. Bottom line, he forces the opponent to gameplan around him. When you have a Jarvis Varnado controlling the lane like he does, the opponent has to find other ways to score.

-Rhodes could learn a lot from watching Jarvis Varnado. He has just as much talent, maybe even more, but he isn't half as important to this team. Don't believe me? What has happened since Rhodes has been injured? MSU has won every game...easily. So why is it he is such a non factor? It's simple, because you're lucky if you get maximum effort out him on half the plays. When he gives 100% he is a force, but unfortunately he doesn't play defense (thats half the plays right there) and on top of that he takes possessions off on offense too. Charles might bust his ass a third of the time. On the flip side, Varnado busts his ass every second he is out there. The result: Varnado is on his way to becoming a star on the team and Charles is on his way to becoming an afterthought. Another waste of talent.
P.S. You're lazy butt won't sniff the NBA. I recommend you start looking for a house in Israel.

-Gordon isn't a point guard, and he isn't a superstar, contrary to what ESPN tries to shove down your throat. He has all the talent in the world. He has the most talent on the team and it isn't even close. Unfortunately he screws up almost as often as he makes a spectacular play. What you are seeing is a much more talented version of Slater. He'll amaze you one minute, the very next , well not so much. Decision making is Gordon's biggest problem. Anyone who has watched him knows he is very good at penetrating and scoring. The problem is, once he has made up his mind to attack the basket, nothing short of an act of God will change it. A great player will see 4 men in front of him or a help defender cut him off and they'll get the ball to someone else. Gordon rarely does that. He gets his shot blocked, he throws up an airball, or he commits a charge. Gordon has the talent but apparently he doesn't know how to use it.

-MSU is good for at least 3 lazy passes taken the other way for a layup. It is amazing the coaches still haven't corrected it.

-Barry Stewart has grown nicely into his role. He is light year ahead of where he was last year. Also at the beginning of the year, I though he was terrible as a point guard. Well, I've changed my mind. He might have some potential there.

-GET RAVERN JOHNSON IN THE GAME!! That is all.

-The team has become just what Stansbury likes most, a tough defensive team that rebounds the ball. MSU is 5th nationally in rebounding and 6th in defensive points per possession. (Credit: ASeaofBlue)

-After the South Alabama debacle I was just about ready to throw in the towel. To their credit this team has rebounded nicely. I still think this is nothing more than a decent team and we'll be looking at a return trip to the NIT come March. We'll see.