Happy holidays, loyal readers! If you are anything like me, you are feeling awfully fat and lazy around this time of year, but also constantly refreshing your favorite websites dying for some entertainment. It seems like everywhere (else) I look, folks are taking time off, teams aren’t playing, and there just aren’t articles to read. And while I certainly can’t promise I’ll fill the void in any of those categories, at least you’ll have a few more rookies to read on as conference season looms.
This week, I’m going with one homer pick from the Tar Heels’ star studded, underachieving class, and then trying to dispel my east coast bias by spotlighting folks west of the Mississippi. And then it’s off to watch some football, and a U style beat down of the Badgers! C-A-N-E-S, Canes!
How timely placed is this homer selection? Strickland is coming off a career-high 18 points against Rutgers, which I caught via Slingbox while watching my Minnesota Vikings lose again on the big screen. As a die hard Tar Heel fan, I think I can be overly critical and blinded by one performance at the same time. But I think you’d be hard pressed to watch North Carolina and not think Strickland needs more minutes. Larry Drew II has grown tremendously since last year, but he is simply not a point guard of a contending team. I’m not convinced Strickland is a true point guard, but he has shown a unique blend of a combo guard which UNC hasn’t seen in some time. His numbers aren’t great, averaging just 5.3 points, 2.2 assists and 1.8 turnovers in just 14.4 minutes of action. But Strickland can hit a pull up jumper in transition, spot up from downtown, and get to the rim whenever he wants to. Countless times I’ve seen him go coast-to-coast and make a lay up a la Ty Lawson. And other times he is comfortable spotting up and knocking it down from deep a la Donald Williams. It will be interesting to see how Strickland develops with his decision making, because ultimately that will determine his playing time this season. But next year and beyond, the 6-foot-3 guard figures to settle in as a two-guard with tremendous scoring upside.
As we slowly move west, we find young Mr. Crawford, who seems to be finding his groove as Big Ten conference play approaches. After scoring just 40 points in his first seven outings, Crawford exploded for 35 points against North Carolina A&T. He has followed that up with three straight double-figure scoring efforts, while averaging five rebounds in that span. That his two highest scoring evenings have come when he hit five and eight three-pointers shouldn’t surprise, and should further prove what a scorer Crawford can be. Currently third in scoring but fifth in minutes for the Wildcats, Crawford figures to play as much as possible in conference play while the Wildcats search for the ever elusive NCAA Tournament bid. With Kevin Coble out, the ‘Cats need this scorer on the court. And dynasty owners need him on their roster. Crawford is a fun player to own on a boring team in a usually boring conference.
In today’s society, when I say cougar, what comes to mind? And when I mention BYU, you probably go as far away from that answer as possible. Good times! None of that matters in the Mountain West, but as we head further towards the Pacific, we bring you another guard finding his rhythm. Haws growth is obvious, as the youngster averaged 7.2 points in his first six contests while putting up 12.9 points in his last eight. He has scored in double-figures in all but one of those last eight games after just one double-digit outing in his first six, while added a nice 4.6 rebounds in that stretch. Second on the team in minutes, playing 27.1 per contest, Haws is shooting an impressive 88.9% from the charity stripe as well. That number should enable him to avoid any freshman slump. Haws is getting better each time out, and anyone lucky enough to have grabbed him when this hot streak started is grinning ear to ear.
I’m not confident, but I think Eugene is further east than Los Angeles. Anyone who wants to email me with geographic evidence otherwise wins a fabulous prize. We’ve had our fill in the Frosh Pit of shooters, so let’s look at a bruiser in the remarkably tough 6-foot-6, 210 pound Singler. Looking at his game log, it’s been your typical roller coaster freshman season, highlighted with teases of future glory while mixing in disappointing duds that make you say “huh?” Singler is averaging just 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 21 minutes of action on the season. But take a closer look. In his last three contests, Singler has pumped in 9.3 points and pulled down 8.7 boards while playing 29.7 minutes. Amazing what a few extra minutes can do to a rookie’s confidence. Singler does not have a double-double on the season, but if his minutes continue to increase heading into Pac-10 play, I’d expect a few in the near future. He is probably still flying under the radar in your league too, so if its west coast heavy, take a look before it’s too late.
Reeves Nelson, F, UCLA Bruins - Dare I say we’ve gone coast to coast in this week’s column? As we reach Hollywood, it’s time to take a look a pretty boy in Nelson, who again, is finding his own way amidst the struggles in Westwood. Scoring in double-figures in his last four contests, the 6-foot-8, 228 pound Nelson has averaged 7.1 boards in his last eight outings. There is plenty of room for growth here too. Nelson has just two assists all season and is shooting just 56.3% from the foul line. It’s hard to say all is lost in L.A. prior to the start of conference season, but things aren’t looking good right now. That can only mean more minutes for Nelson to earn and grow. Nelson was a highly recruited player coming out of high school who, hasn’t fully lived up to his potential early on. I think that changes before March, and hopefully you can get in on the action before it’s too late.
There you have it boys and girls, a quick look at five rooks from the east to the west. Now it’s Champs Sports Bowl time. For the next four hours, it’s all about the U.
[Edit] Miami stinks. Pathetic performance. Email me and tell me how bad the Canes are. BUT, Ill be in Columbus come next September with green and orange displayed proudly. Now, back to hoops...