Huertas, White Honored by League Coaches

Terrico White and David Huertas are members of this year's All-SEC Team (second-stringers, but who's counting?), and White was selected as the freshman of the year and one of three unanimous selections to the All-Freshman Team.

The release from the league indicates that each team, except the all-defensive team, had eight players on it - which takes a little of the honor out of being the sixth-man of the year, I suppose. Feel free to offer your dissenting opinions or contradictory observations, but it seems silly to me to expand the all-league teams to eight. This expansion means that five of the first teamers were unanimous selections.

Georgia has all the shame. With just one selection - Trey Thompkins is a member of the freshman team - has not as much reason for optimism as their congratulatory release will likely indicate.

In the SEC Coach of the Year race, Trent Johnson was able to edge out Billy Gilli ... Gilli ... Gilletmejustdiebeforeimissthetournament as SEC Coach of the Year. Upon winning, basically by default, Johnson said, "Someone please remind me why I left Palo Alto to coach in the Sun Belt Conference?"

For their outstanding valor in being so awarded, and because we at the Cup bestow the distinction of "Rebel of the Week" irregularly and have space on the rolls - Huertas and White are, even on Tuesday, proclaimed the preeminent Rebels of the seven-day period beginning Sunday and concluding Saturday.
Justified.

Basketball 2009-2010

I know this basketball season isn't over; We could still make the NCAA tournament if we... blah blah blah. Anyway, since this season is over...

I know that everyone is excited about next season, and I wanted to talk about the hopes that I place in our players. I'm going to break down all 13 scholarship players (sorry scrubs).

PG:
Chris Warren - We all know everything about Warren. If he can return from his knee injury at 100% (a big if), there is no doubt in my mind that he will steal primary PG duties back from Terrico. Terrico's really good, but Chris is a more complete player (as far as skill set) to man the point. Some of you may have forgotten that Chris was tearing it up at the beginning of the season and well on his way to being named first team All-SEC at point guard. He's a phenomenal player who can be counted on in the clutch.

Will Bogan - We saw him have a good game against Arkansas, but I'm still not convinced that wasn't just an anomaly. Kennedy says that he saw things in that game that told him Will was adjusting to SEC play and starting to actually come into his own. That is to say, Kennedy didn't think it was too big of a fluke. Next year, Bogan's minutes will be very limited, but it will be good to have someone capable of coming off the bench and holding onto a lead.

SG:
David Huertas - Some of you may have simply glanced over my recent post about Dahveed and think I don't want him on the team. That couldn't be further from the truth. As I stated in the article, if we don't have to rely so heavily on him to create, David is a great player. It's no coincidence that he played so exceptionally when Chris Warren was still healthy. With Warren there, David had someone else to draw pressure who was capable of passing off shots to Huertas who hit a lot of open threes before Warren went down. The Chris Warren/David Huertas chemistry was evident from the beginning of the season, and hopefully it will continue to next season. Huertas is our second or third best perimeter defender, and it's great to have a player who is so good offensively and defensively.

Terrico White - Terrico White can walk on water. Some people have said that White has only scratched the surface of his ability. I'm not sure that's the case, since his game is pretty great all around. Still, I would love to see him improve his free throw percentage. For a player who can drain threes with a hand in his face, he sure can't make uncontested, stand-still shots.

Trevor Gaskins - Rumors surfaced during the off-season that Gaskins had developed his shot to the point that Kennedy was considering starting him over Huertas. I don't know if that was the case. I was never too enthusiastic about Gaskins as a freshman due to his inability to handle the ball efficiently, but Gaskins is a pure shooter with great form. I'll describe him as a "barely-under-poverty-level man's David Huertas." While I haven't seen him play in a year, I remember suspect defense from Gaskins which he'll have to improve if he wants to see any significant minutes with the competition he faces

SF:
Eniel Polynice - I think that a lot of our fans have forgotten just how good Polynice was on defense and in shot creation. Granted, much like Terrico, Polynice suffered from the charity stripe, but his on ball defense is unmatched on our team. Polynice shut down a lot of great players as a sophomore, and it's exciting to know that we'll have him for two more years.

Zach Graham - Graham is a player about whom I was very excited last season. He didn't get the minutes that he deserved, and it resulted in a lack of significant progression over the course of the season. This year, he is playing with a partially torn ligament in his knee and shutting down opposing teams' best players. Graham has become what Polynice was last year. Oh, and he can shoot free throws.

PF:
Murphy Holloway - Alright. I know that Murphy is only 6'5" or so, but he plays like he's a lot bigger than that. Holloway leads the SEC in offensive rebounds. I could have put him at the 3, but I think that taking him away from the basket limits his ability to best contribute to the team. Murphy Holloway plays like you wish everyone would play. Reckless abandon, unyielding effort, and spectacular ability with the ball in his hands.

Terrance Henry - Henry has shown the ability to contribute to the team, but he's going to have to bulk up to be a presence down low. It's great to have a player who's 6'9" and can be the main cog in the press, but Henry is obviously disadvantaged by his size. He is unable to fight for rebounds. It's exciting to have a player with his ball skill down low, and I think that his potential thusfar has been relatively untapped due to sheer lack of bulk. If he can gain ten or fifteen pounds in the offseason, he can really contribute a lot to the team next year.

Reggie Buckner - Buckner plays the 3 for his high school and in AAU, but I think it's safe to say that his future is at the 4 spot. At 6'9", he would have to prove himself as a phenomenal ball-handler in order to be utilized at the 3. Buckner is probably the most highly touted basketball recruit in our program's history. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but he's four players away from a five star rating on rivals. Buckner is a force down low and holds the Memphis record for career blocked shots. The short video on ITG (I assume it's still there after they went premium) showcases his ability to block shots, dunk, rebound and handle the ball. I think he's going to be exceptional at Ole Miss.

C:
Malcolm White - Malcolm has used the immense amount of minutes he has seen this season to evolve into the player that many had hoped for. In case you missed it, Malcolm had 18 rebounds against Auburn. Obviously, Malcolm still has a lot to work on in terms of consistency, but since SEC play started, he has been a solid player.

DeAundre Cranston - Cranston is probably out of position at the 5 spot, but he's the second best player we have at the position. Like Murphy, Cranston goes hard after every loose ball. I've been really surprised with how helpful he is to the team. At the beginning of the season, he seemed like a slow and bumbling oaf on the court, but he has really stepped up his game and is a very important part of the team now.

Kevin Cantinol - I think that if we can sign another big man (Demarcus Cousins), Cantinol is the odd man out. I know. A crazy prediction seeing as Cantinol doesn't even see minutes now that we have eight healthy players (not including white guys not named Bogan) on roster. I haven't even really had an opportunity to evaluate Cantinol, but there's no chance that he'll graduate from Ole Miss in my opinion. He's just too mediocre to take a scholarship for five years.

Prediction:

I know that it's early to make a prediction for what will happen over a year from now, but there's just so much hope in next season. If we don't make the NCAA tournament, it will be because half of our guards had their knees chopped off again. I don't think we have any realy chance at a championship or final four appearance, but I also don't think we'll be one and done in the big dance. I'm saying we'll go to the Sweet 16. Coupled with my football prediction (which doesn't come until the summer), it's going to be a prosperous year for "money" sports.

State Preview

Mississippi State is fresh off a senior night victory against Florida on Wednesday that has kept the NCAA Tournament hopes alive.  While the Rebels only beat Arkansas, they did so in impressive fashion playing with seven players.  The Rebels have a chance to play spoiler for State's NCAA Tournament hopes and improve their own post-season stock at the same time.  

With a victory tomorrow, the Rebels will all but seal a spot in the NIT (huzzah!).  A win also clinches a .500 finish in SEC play, a stat that has to look good to the NIT selection committee (It pains me to fein interest in this tournament).  I just pray we do not demean ourselves and accept an invite to the College Basketball Invitational.  Don't worry if you have never heard of that tournament, I didn't even want to acknowledge its existence.  Its championship game last year consisted of the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes and the mighty Bradley Braves.  

Keys to the game:

-David Huertas needs to perform.  We made it through Arkansas without him, but that was Arkansas.  He is telling people he is set to play Saturday and his MRI on Monday came back negative so there shouldn't be any surprises.  Who knows what Huertas is going to show up?

-Terrico White.  Nuff' said.

-Keep Varnado quiet.  Varnado is nearly averaging a double-double on the season and is still the prolific shot blocker that he was a year ago.  Malcolm and company need to attack JV early and often to limit his impact.

-Perimeter defense.  MSU loves the three ball and it seems that teams love hitting their threes against Ole Miss.  

Prediction:

I have the Rebels pulling this one out tomorrow.  I think it will be a close game, but the Rebels hit some FTs down the end to win 74-69.

Will Bogan Hatches from Starchy Cocoon

Get it? He's from Idaho.

Will Bogan, the Gem State* native and subject of much ridicule, grew a sack last night and played some damn ball. Bogan scored 16 points and tallied 7 assists in the overtime road victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Yes, I know, the Razorbacks aren't necessarily "good" at basketball and their "defense" doesn't so much stop the other team from scoring but Bogan wasn't his usual, sheepish self. He needed a game like this to get adjusted to NCAA-level speed and find his comfort zone on the court.

This could either be a flash-in-the-pan type of moment or an indicator of things to come but let's all hope it's the latter. Bogan may end up being pretty solid afterall. Of course, he's no Terrico White but, shit, who is? That kid is too damn good. How Calipari and Pearl let a Memphis product like that elude their grasp confounds me.

Next season, if Bogan, Warren, and T. White can attack the lane, get the ball to the open shots, and/or excel as outside shooters, our backcourt will be one of the conference's best.

Here's to you, Will Bogan. Welcome to big boy basketball.

*You thought it was "The Potato State," didn't you? Bigot.

OT Helps Rebs Get That Dub

How bad is Arkansas?  Bad enough to be unable to beat an Ole Miss team coming off two disappointing losses with only seven scholarship players and three guards in the rotation.  It is tough to say just how good of a job AK did here.  Yeah, I know it was Arkansas.  I know they are 2-13 in the SEC now.  I know I said they were awful in my last post.  But we just beat them in Arkansas, with seven players, and played 45 minutes of basketball.  

The Rebels won because of their fully loaded anemic back court.  Terrico White was phenomenal. Surprise, Surprise.  He went 9-16 from the floor, 6-9 from the charity stripe and 5-8 from three point land.  Ridiculous.  He is with out a doubt SEC freshman of the year and may get some consideration for national freshman of the year.  

Zach Graham did not let the fact that he has one knee hinder him either.  A good friend of mine once called him a "pussy."  While I didn't agree with him at the time, I didn't really refute the point.  However, after watching Showcase continue to be consistent with a bum knee I don't see how you can say that (this was before we knew the knee was as bad as it is).  Graham put up 20 points tonight and hit a big three in overtime which basically ended the game.  Hopefully his offseason knee surgery will not cause him to miss some time next season.

The final piece to the Rebel victory tonight was...  Will Bogan?  Will "Stand up for the champions" Bogan looked like an SEC point guard tonight.  16 points, 7 assists and a block for good measure on the night.  I did not see that coming and neither did you.

This team drives me insane with its inconsistencies and letdowns, but the heart it showed tonight says quite a bit.  It looks like the NIT is a real possibility, if not a certainty now, and I expect them to make a decent run in the SEC Tournament.  Who knows, maybe even host another NIT game during Spring Break that no one is going to attend.  

By the way, Pelphrey may want to hire an assistant who knows a thing or two about defense.  98 points?

DAH-VEED HORTEZ!

Recently, Beck, another Ole Miss bloggeur, called The One That Got Away out on his blog. Beck has been very kind to us, so don't take his peice as any sort of actual attack on our blog or think that there's some sort of blog war going on (though that would be really fun). I think it's worth addressing why it is that tOTGA and I share roughly the same views on David Huertas.

Since I don't want to have to quote Beck while he quotes us, I'll summarize his points.

1. David Huertas has not personally cost us a win this year.
Against Utah, Huertas turned the ball over four times and had four fouls. We lost by five points. Granted, Huertas had a decent game offensively, 5/12 for 18 points. Still, the only player who comes anywhere near that number of fouls or turnovers per minute played is Deaundre Cranston who was playing in the third game of his college career.
2. David is one of only two consistent offensive threats on our team.
I would hope so. He's a fourth year shooting guard. No one is disputing that Huertas can be an offensive presence. You would be foolish to say that. The problem is that he can't create his own shots. Next year, when he won't have to do that, he'll be great. We will all love him then when he's draining open threes. I just don't like him when he drives to the basket with three players defending him, puts up an off-balance hook shot and then yells at Murphy Holloway for not stealing the ball from him.
How'd that shot work out for you Dahveed?

3. When Andy Kennedy put David on the bench after a terrible opening to the first half of the UGA game, it was because Andy Kennedy can't show restraint? David went on to score 17 points in that game.
Wow. It's GEORGIA. Georgia is 2-12 in league play and 11-18 overall. I would hope that with our "best offensive player" in the game, we could go into the half up by more than a 27-21 showing. Kennedy obviously was just trying to rattle Huertas into a good performance. It worked. Huertas played 35 minutes and played quite well in the second half.
4. 20 points and problems with the coach are better than two points and a team-first attitude.
I somewhat agree. I'll take Murphy Holloway's type of game over Huertas' any day of the week though. He's aggressive, fighting for every rebound. He scores a good bit of points and makes an impact in every aspect of the game. High percentage shots are the name of his game as well.
5. David Huertas leads the team in assists.
While he pointed this out in his own post, I think it's important to disect this.
David Huertas: 0.07 assists per minute
Terrico White: 0.08 assists per minute
Chris Warren: 0.11 assists per minute
And it's not like Terrico White was the player he is now for the first half of the season.
David Huertas: 2.3 assists per SEC game.
Terrico White: 3 assists per SEC game.
6. David Huertas is a better player than Terrico White.
Terrico White in SEC play: 91/206 - 44.1% field goal percentage
David Huertas in SEC play: 75/198 - 37.8% field goal percentage
I understand that shot percentage and assists are not the only things you can look at to determine who is a better player. however, don't you think that a fourth year player (who is reported to be the best pure shooter on our team) should be better at shooting the ball than a first year player?
7. Huertas helps us win because he puts up a lot of points.
And misses a lot of shots... See above.
8. David Huertas is one of the most intense defensive players on our team.
I wholeheartedly agree. I love to watch him play defense. On the perimeter, he is quite good. He isn't very tough, preferring finesse defense, but that's all you really need on the perimeter anyway.
9. Saying that Huertas shouldn't chew out his teammates is racist. Lost me. Huertas messes up and then unjustifiably yells at his freshman teammates and coaches. I don't watch Nick Calathes play, so I have no idea how he responds to plays when things don't go right.
10. David Huertas is justified in disrespecting Andy Kennedy because Kennedy spent a night in jail.
Ok. Now we're just grasping for straws.
11. Kennedy must not dislike Huertas too much. He plays 35 minutes a game.
Our healthy guards are as follows:
Terrico White
David Huertas
Will Bogan
Zach Graham (sort of healthy)
Who's going to play over Huertas? Will Bogan? I'll never try to argue that Bogan should be in the game over Huertas. Ever.
12. Take Huertas off the team, and we win MAYBE, eight games this year.Yes. That's right. That's because if Huertas were off the team we would have to see Will Bogan a lot more often and would only have THREE guards to rotate. I don't know that our outcome would be that different had Huertas been hurt instead of Gaskins or Polyniece though. I think we would have won a similar amount of games.

Anyway, here's my overall assesment of David Huertas. I think that next year, we're all going to love him. We'll have Chris and Terrico to distribute the ball and will be able to play Huertas in a shooter's role. He won't have to create his own shots. He will also continue to play excellent defense and have a big impact on our team.

Andy, What in the Hell is Going on? - A Bloggeur's Ramblings

Yeah, I don't know either.

After losing an All-SEC point, the team's best defender, and an oftentimes white-hot 3-point shooter to injury, most would have tossed this season aside. We all heard it:

"Ah, well, let's let the freshmen get some reps or something. When's baseball season, again?"

However, there were a few good men who didn't give up on this year. Malcolm White, Terrence Henry, Murphy Holloway, Terrico White and, most importantly, Andy Kennedy knew this team could win some games.

Take, for example, last night's pounding of Tennessee. There is no way you can sugarcoat this for a Volunteers squad who never came close to having a lead during the second half. They simply got their asses handed to them in the Tad Pad. Bruce Pearl with his waxy skin and beady eyes was stunned by Terrico White's 21 points and Murphy Holloway's double-double. Tennessee looked frustrated and lost against a team which has had enough off-court issues to cover for the entire conference. Ole Miss looked very, very good.

And, really, our Rebel roundballers are very, very good outside of their inexperience. The athletes that Coach Kennedy has been able to bring to Oxford have shown that they are worthy of their recruiting hype. It's not coaching and it's certainly not physical talent that is keeping out of the SEC basketball picture. It's our team's inexperience. Many of these freshmen simply weren't ready to have such responsibility thrust upon them so early.

Of course this inexperience has led to inconsistency. Having a losing record in conference while earning home wins against Kentucky and Tennessee and a very rare road win against Mississippi State epitomizes this inconsistency about as well as anything else this season has seen. However, those moments when the team is just clicking in all aspects of the game--shooting, rebounding, defense--really give we fans an indicator as to just how much potential these athletes have.

A few of these guys wouldn't have been able to see nearly as many minutes on the court if it weren't for these injuries. Furthermore, I don't think we're going to need to worry about Andy Kennedy's expected departure for a "bigger" program for a while now, what with that whole "punching minorities" thing hanging over his head. Yes, proverbial stars are aligning and that is giving this Rebel basketball fan an odd, odd feeling of cautious optimism.

We could realistically end the season with an 8-8 in conference record and have an impressive showing in the conference tournament. All things considered, that would be an incredible finish to this disaster of a season.

Yes, this is definitely way too early to be saying such things, but if Chris Warren and Eniel Polynice can return from injury without having lost any of their quickness, this team will be very, very good next season. I'm talking "in-the-running-for-the-SEC-title" good. We will have legitimate Kennedy-ball experience at every spot on the floor and halfway down our bench.

Perhaps the knee injuries and Andy's War on Terror will turn out to be blessings in disguise. Next season's prospects are exciting, Rebels. Get cha popcorn ready (you know, like 8 or 9 months from now).

Disclaimer: Early in the morning. Not enough coffee. Thoughts scrambled.

Ole Miss vs Auburn: Watch out for the 3's

Signing Day is nearly complete as thousands of middle to upper class alumni sneak around their offices getting updates on Ole Miss' class while waiting for the cash bar at a various event across the state. 

Meanwhile, at the Tad Smith Coliseum...

Our basketball team is going for a three game winning streak in conference play against the Auburn Tigers. The War Eagle Plainsmen have been great at home going 11-3, but only carrying two out of five games while staying in hotels in different cities. Their overall record is 13-8 with a 2-4 conference record. 

Auburn has a solid defense with Korvotney Barber grabbing nearly 10 boards a game plus averaging over a block a game. Barber has six double doubles, but the outside shooting of guards Dewayne Reed(35.5 percent), Tay Waller(35.3 percent) and Lucas Hargrove(37.1 percent) against our 2-3 zone could be a match-up nightmare.

Jeff Lebo and the Tigers basically shoot their way to victory or lose by throwing up too many deep shots. With their rebounding improved from last year, the Rebels will have to limit their second chance shots to keep the War Damn Eagles out of the game.

Ole Miss is 12-9 with a 3-4 conference record coming off two surprising wins against Kentucky and at Mississippi State. Terrico White was last seen walking across Sardis Lake, so if he can continue to play at the level he has in the three of the last four games, Ole Miss will have a chance in many of their remaining games. Malcolm White and Murphy Holloway have shown flashes where they are giving good minutes, but they aren't going to be the ones that win a game for you this year. Just try not to screw up too bad guys.

Zach Graham flat out balled outrageous against State in the first half and cooled in the second half. If he can put together an entire 30 to 40 minutes, Graham can be a better scoring option to get pressure off Huertas and White. 

Auburn swept the Rebels last season, and I'm pretty much worried that we might be overconfident after a couple good games.

Final prediction: Ole Miss 73 Auburn 68