I didn’t have time to post this earlier, but better late then never eh? I’ve been to a few Gardner-Webb games this year, both at home, Radford and High Point. I also watched them play on TV @ Kentucky and when they were up in MSG, UCONN and OU.
Guys to Watch Out For:
Grayson Flittner: Flitt can flat out shoot it! A pretty stroke and can knock down 3’s with the best of them. Has a better stroke than Lee, IMO. Led all HS players in Indiana in scoring his junior and senior years (beating out guys like Oden, Conley, and Eric Gordon.) If you leave him open, pretty much count it. They will run all kinds of screens to get Flitt open, so we have to be on our best to fight through them.
Thomas Sanders: By far my favorite player on the team. Classic mid-major guy, undersized (6-5), but somehow ends up with double-digit rebounds at the end of the day. He is a hustle machine, and will consisently drive no matter how many times he is blocked. D him up with a quick guy out on the perimeter, then rotate. If you try a bigger guy out on the perimeter, he will just blow by like he did many times against Kentucky.
Aaron Linn: A nice complement point guard who can score if needed. He can hit the 3, mid jumper, but he will try to get Flittner and Sanders involved first. Don’t leave him alone though, because he won’t hesitate to shoot the 3.
Role players who get it done:
Matt French: Okay, he’s a little iffy. The guy can be killer like he was against High Point, but usually he’s just going to give some minutes hit a trey or 2 and play good defense. In the High Point game, he had the game of his life. Didn’t play hardly any in the 1st half, then comes in and shuts down Arizona Reid, and played great ball on offense. He was dishing nice assists to Lu, and posted up quite well too.
Taykayo Siddle: This is a very interesting player. He probably is the most talented player on the team, but his defense and shooting are inconsistent. He is a clutch shooter though, and when in the game directs the half court offense decently. He is at his best on the break though. Get a guy on him tight and he will make some mistakes leading to easy baskets.
Lu Dovonou: Won’t get much PT, but when in the game, he will post up and try to score inside. Gives 100% and reminds me of Gaby as far as hustling goes. Underrated post up guy.
Nate Blank: The Freshman will start and gives G-W an inside-out prescence. He can step back and hit the 3, but is mainly in there for rebounds and garbage baskets.
Others:
Auryn MacMillan: Another Aussie who will start and give G-W some much needed size and defense. He has the tendency to get in foul trouble when gone at.
Samba Fall: Still a project from Senegal, although he is a junior. The most athletic big guy on the team. Nice ablity to block shots and can throw down a dunk, although he was blocked by the rim in the game against High Point, it was a laugher. He seems to get better game by game.
Dillon Boggs: Might not play at all, but he will be in to shoot. He is a decent shooter, but certainly not the best on the team or even 2nd best for that matter.
One thing we can’t let happen is for Gardner-Webb to jump out to an early lead. They gain confidence as the game goes along and are much like their coach Rick Scuggs, calm and collective. They won’t panic if down, but they have stretches where the 3’s won’t fall. One thing I love about the team, they aren’t quitters, they will fight to the end no matter the score. Hustle is their fortee so we will have to match that hustle to win the game. Don’t be shocked if we lose this game, although I say we win by at least 10, because Phil Jones goes off against smaller competition (:optimistic:).