As January winds down, I’ve had a few weeks “off” from this column, and have had some time to see some of the nation’s better rookies up close and personal. My second favorite side project (next to this site of course!) is to sit courtside and assist the Richmond Spiders on game days, usually running the game clock. And now that we are in to the meat of conference season, I have to openly say how surprisingly impressed I am as a whole with the Atlantic 10 freshmen. We’ve mentioned some in this column already, such as Lasan Kromah, Carl Jones, Chris Gaston, Terrell Vinson and the since transferred Shamarr Bowden. But the list doesn’t end there, so as the Frosh Pit cranks up again, let's look at some more youngsters that will shape the conference’s future.
We’ll start off with a kid who is just fun to watch. Riley might have more confidence than anyone that has come through the Robins Center this season, which is amazing for a kid with just 15 games under his belt. The UR bench let the scouting report on Riley out early. The minute the 6-foot-5, 175 pounder from Ocala, FL touched the ball, the entire bench could be heard yelling “shooter!” Not overly subtle and not overly effective either as Riley scorched the Spiders for 20 points and five three-pointers. Riley is still coming off the UMass bench as he works to appease coach Derek Kellogg’s defensive desires, but on a team with limited offensive weapons, Riley will get his minutes. On the year, Riley is third on the team in scoring with 10.3 points. The rest of his game leaves something to be desired though, as he averages just 1.9 boards, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals. But he does fire away from downtown, and it’s fun to watch! And he is only going to get better. Riley sat out four games in December while recovering from minor knee surgery so he doesn’t quite have the game experience most other freshmen have yet. I enjoyed watching Riley wait at the scorer’s table to check in. On numerous occasions he was chirping from the sideline at teammates, saying “Take him man,” over and over again. Time will tell if Riley’s confidence in his teammates will boost their play. But between Riley and
Terrell Vinson, UMass has a great nucleus for 2010-2011 and beyond.
Braswell is coming off of his sixth double-double of the year against La Salle, and is long overdue some ink in the Frosh Pit. There isn’t anything flashy about his game however, and it may even be fair to call Braswell a bit of a scrapper. He cleans up a lot of
Shamari Spears’ misses which leads to easy points, boards and free throw attempts. His stroke at the line is not a thing of beauty either, but he is hitting nearly 76% of his attempts. Wow, that certainly doesn’t read like a ringing endorsement of a super talented freshman does it? I think I’m jaded by Braswell’s so-so performance at UR where he was hampered by foul trouble and a rough and tough attitude that led to a Spider defeat; sorry I’ll turn the blinders off for a minute. Braswell goes every bit of his listed 6-foot-8, 235 pounds and has long arms to boot. I’m a little surprised by his lack of blocked shots to be honest, but all in due time I suppose. Braswell’s season averages of 9.9 points and 9.2 rebounds aren’t shabby at all, and would be even better if not for a few flat out stinkers. Charlotte has had a remarkable turnaround season and you can thank Braswell and Spears for this change. And guess what, both will be back to wreak havoc on opponents again next season. Braswell has a future All A10 season in him, this much I’m sure of. My best guess is he learns and grows, while still showing some inconsistencies playing alongside of Spears, and truly becomes a star as a junior. But keeper league owners would be wise to wait this one out.
Murray came in to the season known as the highest ranked recruit to not sign with a Tier 1 school. So when I tell you that, it may not be overly impressive that his season averages sit at 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. You would think a kid at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds who chose La Salle over a host of Big East schools would devour the “lesser” competition. Statistically speaking, maybe Murray hasn’t been the monster fantasy owners had hoped. But if you consider Murray’s background and experience, I’d say he has been absolutely awesome, and better days are ahead. If you are interested in Murray’s path to La Salle, I implore you to read
this article from Rivals.com. A quick summary, Murray has only played basketball for three years, and openly admits to having attended class early in high school at best 50% of the time. It’s quite a leap from that kind of tract record to being as highly ranked as 35
th amongst high school seniors last season. On the court, I witnessed probably Murray’s best game of his career, a 19-point, 15-board, four-block outing against Richmond. These are the kinds of lines the big man is capable of, and he figures to be the focal point of defenses for the extent of his career at La Salle. The downside here is the inexperience. Murray has fouled out of games twice, and committed four fouls in another six games. He struggled mightily against the aforementioned Braswell and Charlotte, playing just 16 minutes and finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. But here is a case where you take the good and the bad, know that the good will become the norm sooner than later, and respect a young man who is working hard to become a better person and player. It’s hard not to pull for this kid.
Maybe these Tier 2 schools have such quality freshmen because they are forced to take chances on players with any host of issues in hopes it works out. Murray may have been a little gamble that La Salle had to make. Ellis looks like he fits that bill as well, but for different reasons. The 6-foot-8, 240 pounder from Perth, Australia was the co-captain of the Australian U-19 national team last year and top 100 recruit coming into college. But the NCAA didn’t like some of his core classes taken while down under, and Ellis had been hanging out in Perth through the first 14 games of the season. Coach Rick Majerus even encouraged Ellis to consider redshirting, and trying again next season. A determined Ellis finally won his eligibility on appeal, and made his collegiate debut on Jan. 9, against, guess who, Richmond. He’s played just four games to date, but is averaging a solid 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in 29.5 minutes. Ellis is proving to be worth the wait in all phases of the game. He has been in double-figures in scoring every time out, hit a “career-high” (we’ll use that term loosely here) four three-pointers last week against Fordham while also collecting three steals. Teammates have raved about his ability to set screens as the big man adjustment to life stateside appears to be going seamlessly. And he probably is making a heck of an in season addition to fantasy rosters. Kudos to the astute owners of Mr. Ellis out there!
It probably wouldn’t be fair of me to go through an entire column without at least mentioning one freshman from a Tier 1 team. And I could have kept this theme of Atlantic Ten rookies going, but when you are hot, you are hot and you get in my article, themes be damned!
First, I’d like to thank my beloved, struggling Tar Heels for giving Mr. Miller the confidence he needed to break out. In 11 contests prior to a December 28
th game in Chapel Hill, Miller averaged 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, with just one double-figure scoring outing to boot. Including the game against the Tar Heels, Miller has more than doubled his scoring to 12.5 points while maintaining his 5.5 rebounds. The turmoil that is Rutgers basketball right now is worth mentioning. F/C
Gregory Echenique was injured and then left the program, there are rumors of G
Mike Rosario following suit, the team has lost eight in a row and to say head coach Fred Hill is on the hot seat would be an understatement. But Miller has been the lone bright spot recently, and wants folks to know
he isn't going anywhere. Stop me if you have heard this before…consistency has been an issue. Miller has twice scored a career-high 26 points in his last five outings. In the other three…he has scored zero, six and 15 points. Two things can happen here. 1) Rosario stays and realizes Miller is there to help, and these two can become as good a duo as any other in the Big East. 2) Rosario leaves, and Miller really becomes the man for the Scarlet Knights. Either way, the future looks bright for this young man. The Rutgers team, well, not so much. But it won’t be Miller’s fault.