12/18/12 Games To Watch

Richmond at Kansas 7pm ESPN2

Richmond has been playing good ball this season and has Derrick Williams down low - who is an absolute load. How will Jeff Withey and company fare against his physicality? Ben McLemore has scored at least 17 points in his last three games, besting his scoring average each time. Travis Relaford has been the best perimeter defender for Kansas and has created many easy baskets. And he is also much improved at the free throw line this year. He was the Jayhawks glue guy last year and has turned into a major player this year. Kevin Young has done a nice job taking over as the new glue guy. Elijah Johnson has scored over 8 points twice in his last 6 games and has actually taken less shots this year than the previous season.

Stanford at North Carolina State 9pm ESPN2

North Carolina State gets their first test since the edged out UCONN early in the month. TJ Warren has taken over the scoring lead for the Wolfpack, with Richard Howell surprisingly the #2 guy. Both have been ultra efficient. For Lorenzo Brown, he will have another tough matchup against a point guard - this time seeing Chasson Randle. He's already been bested by Marcus Smart, Shabazz Napier, and Trey Burke this year. Randle doesn't get much exposure on the West Coast, but he's a big time player. He played great in Puerto Rico and is now looking to get back on track on a national stage.

Oral Roberts at Arizona 9pm Pac-12 Network

After an emotional victory over Florida that saw their upperclassmen step up, Arizona looks to continue their winning ways against Oral Roberts. Nick Johnson has been their best player early on - leading the team in assists and points while managing less turnovers and better efficiency than Mark Lyons. Lyons change of teams and positions has gotten off to a shaky start. Also look out for Oral Roberts' Warren Niles, a senior who is averaging 21 points per game. He has scored 21 in each of his last three contests and has been deadly from three.

UC Santa Barbara at California 11pm Pac-12 Network

For the night owls, there are two good games over on the west coast. I'm really looking forward to seeing  sophomore Alan Williams who has appeared to be an absolute beast this season. He's 25-40 from the field over his last 3 games, including a 29 point performance in a win over Santa Clara. He also rebounds the ball well and seems pretty nimble for a 6-7 240 pounder. He will need to stay out of foul trouble against Cal - something he has been unable to do. He has acrued at least 4 fouls in 6 of his 7 games against D1 opponents. For Cal, they look to end their 3 game losing streak. Allen Crabbe was 6-26 against Creighton but has been otherwise pretty solid this season.

Long Beach State at UCLA 11pm Pac-12 Network

This game offers two physical and athletic small forwards going against each other. James Ennis is the senior and could very well get the better of freshman Shabazz Muhammad. Long Beach State is battle tested and ready to pull off an upset after losing to North Carolina, Syracuse, Arizona, and Ohio State already.

Scouting Notes: Texas Tech vs Arizona

Arizona headed into this game undefeated and ranked 9th in the country and for most hoops fans, this was their first exposure to them all year.

Texas Tech was also undefeated, but had spend their first 4 games beating up on cupcakes en route to averaging 89 points per game. Plenty of their players enjoyed eye-dropping per40 numbers that were finally put to the test versus the Wildcats.

Arizona ended up blowing out the Red Raiders 85-57 who was led by Nick Johnson's 18 point performance. Arizona has a good pool of draft prospects, but most are viewed as a year or two away. Because of that, Arizona has a bright future that has fans focused on what they could end up doing next year.

The present is now though and with UCLA faltering, Arizona may already be the best team in the west.

Scouting Notes:

Grant Jarrett - Jarrett has plenty of talented and showed potential as a pick and pop player tonight. Defensively, he looked slow laterally - looking much like a big forward than small. Jarrett has a lot of potential moving forward and came to the right place to hone his skills.

Brandon Ashley - Ashley was impressive today, showing a lot of heart and smarts. He can operate in the post and really knows how to use his frame to carve out space down low. He moves well without the ball  and was able to finish on cuts to the rim. This should be a good game to get Ashley going as he struggled with confidence in his first couple of games. He is another guy with good potential down the road.

Kaleb Tarcewzski - Tarcewzski is playing a big role for Arizona's top ten program and as a freshman 7 footer, he surprisingly isn't getting enough attention. Perhaps its east coast bias, but either way Tarcewzski may be the best freshman center in the country so far. His game is much more polished than the likes of Noel and Adams. He knows his role and does it very well. Tarcewzski is a beast on the boards and is tough to move in the paint. He has strong hands and does a good job keeping the ball above his waist - preventing him from getting stripped. Once Tarcewzski gets his hands on a board - its his. The big man also started the break with a nice outlet pass against Texas Tech, something that could be a strength for him. Offensively, Tarcewzski finishes with authority and is very efficient. He gets his team extra possessions and holds his position down low. Arizona doesn't look for him much on offense, but most of the time he is in position for an easy bucket.


Solomon Hill - Hill is the latest player that Sean Miller has seen grow tremendously under his watch. Hill has improved each year and done just about everything scouts have asked of him. He comes into this year in excellent shape, slimmed down 25 pounds since his first time he stepped on campus as a freshman. His improved conditioning level has him looking much more like a small forward prospect, enabling him to move laterally better and show much better activity throughout an entire game.

He has quietly become a very reliable 3-pt shooter, making 48 of 119 threes taken from the beginning of last season. It is obvious Solomon Hill is a gym rat who has put countless hours of work in - perhaps partially motivated by what former teammate Derrick Williams achieved.

In terms of ball handling ability, Hill also now looks very comfortable handling the ball. He has always been a solid straight line driver thanks to a good first step and strong frame, but he now has added some change of direction ability. In the lane, Hill still has his eyes on the rim and does a nice job finishing. He doesn't show much pull-up ability or change of direction in traffic. Then again, with his superior physical tools, he doesn't have to at this level.

Hill also still can take it down in the post and finish through contact as he certainly hasn't lost any strength after slimming down. Hill has done everything in his power to help his stock, but the biggest factor now working against him is his age - he will be 22 in March.

Nick Johnson - At 6'3'' with a modest wingspan, Johnson has the body of a combo guard and the game to match it. He has tremendous athleticism that really renders his average length obsolete on defense, as he can play the passing lanes well. Out in transition is where he thrives, showing off great speed and explosiveness. Johnson understands the value of running the court and gets a lot of easy baskets by running out on offense.

With his size, he definitely needs to be able to initiate offense and play some point guard at the next level. At Findlay Prep, he created offense, but never had to be a pure PG as he played alongside guys like Kabongo and Avery Bradley. There definitely is potential for him here. He is a good decision maker and runs the pick and roll well. Right now, his 5/1 assist to turnover ratio is a great sign moving forward.

Another thing I like about Johnson is his shooting ability. He can stroke it from 3-pt range and also off the dribble inside the arc. Last year, he shot poor percentages, but he should be more comfortable his freshman year. Part of his ineffectiveness last year was due to forcing up shots and with a better supporting cast this season, that won't be a problem.

Dejan Kravic - Kravic transferred to Texas Tech from York University in Canada. In Canada, he was one of the better rebounders and shot-blockers in the country. He is a 6-11 center with a decent 240 pound frame. Kravic acts as a skilled, lefty center and does have a nice shooting touch - hitting 8-10 free throws so far this year. He doesn't use his size as well as he should, choosing to play a game closer to the high post/3-pt area. While not a serious threat from deep, Kravic does have the ability to take centers off the dribble from the perimeter with his left hand. Tonight, he made a nice move to his left and ended up finishing the play with a right handed hook.

He has some skills and plays with good effort, but his offensive game wouldn't be efficient in the NBA. Defensively his motor is good and he can help on pick and rolls, but his shot blocking prowess doesn't seem to be as intimidating in the States. He gets pushed around and needs to show more fight. He is kind of in the mold of a poor man's David Andersen - who largely was a bust in the NBA. Luckily for Kravic, he will have plenty of opportunities overseas and he holds dual citizenship in both Canada and Bosnia.

Jordan Tolbert - A double-double machine, Tolbert plays much bigger than his 6-7 listed height. If anyone learned how to be tough from Billy Gillespie, he's the guy. Unfortunately for Texas Tech, Tolbert committed a lot of dumb fouls in the game and didn't get enough minutes to make an impact. In the first two minutes of the game he scored 4 points (one on a dunk after a teammate drove the lane and drew the defenders and the other on a hook shot), but those ended up being his only buckets of the game. This wasn't a good game to get a look Tolbert, but there will be plenty of more chances to get a look at the sophomore.