Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – After four weeks of practice and two preseason exhibitions, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team will finally tip off the 2011-12 season Saturday afternoon at Mississippi State’s Humphrey Coliseum.

The game, which starts at 1 p.m., will serve as a baptismal for USA’s six new guards, although three, juniors Trey Anderson (Carrollton, Texas), Wendell Wright (Long Beach, Calif.) and Xavier Roberson (Houston, Texas), have previously played at the Division I level at another school.

“We knew that this year’s team would be very inexperienced at the guard spots,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said. “The only way to get experience is to play tough teams. Mississippi State is a team that’s going to be very high in the SEC. They’re big, physical and have experience. They went on a tour of Canada over the summer and by the time we play them, they’ll have played two exhibitions and two regular season games. But there’s no doubt in my mind that if we do the things that we worked on, take care of the ball and keep them off the boards, we’ve got a great chance of winning this game.”

The Jags got solid production out of their guards in two exhibition games, including 12.0 points per game and five 3-pointers from Roberson, and a team-high 14 assists from Anderson. Sophomore Dallas Jones (New Market, Ala.) made four of his six 3-point attempts.

“We’ve gotten better every day in practice and in the games that we’ve played,” said Arrow. “The guards are showing signs of getting better at guarding, executing our offense and getting more physical. Now we have to put it all together and get to where our guards are equal to the posts in experience.”

While it will be the season opener for South Alabama, Mississippi State enters the game with a 1-1 record. The Bulldogs defeated Eastern Kentucky 76-66 on Monday but fell to Akron 68-58 on Wednesday. Additionally, MSU went on a preseason tour of Europe in August, giving the team five extra games.

“The experience they got on their tour, where they were able to play together for five games, is invaluable,” Arrow noted. “The flip side of it is we’ll be their fourth game in a week (including exhibitions), so when we play them, they’ll be fatigued and we’ll be fresh.”

The Bulldogs’ go-to player is senior guard Dee Bost. The Preseason First Team All-SEC selection averages a team-best 18.0 points, and poured in 23 in the season-opening win over EKU.

“He will shoot it from anywhere on the court,” said Arrow. “He’s very quick and has logged a lot of minutes. We have to go right at him and make him work hard—we can’t leave him open.”

Mississippi State holds a considerable size advantage, with six players listed at 6-8 or taller, including three in the starting lineup.

Renardo Sidney (6-10) and Arnett Moultrie (6-11) combine for 16.5 rebounds per contest, with Moultrie grabbing 10 or more in each of the first two games.

“Inside, they have monsters that we have to keep off the boards. Sidney is 6-10, 280 and he might be even bigger than that. Moultrie is very active—if you don’t keep him off the boards, he’ll get every offensive rebound.”

Arrow believes the rebounding battle will be the key to the game.

“We will not get beat by Mississippi State on first shots. They thrive on second shots and we have got to keep them off the boards.”

An important cog in winning that rebounding battle will be freshman Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.), the Jaguars’ top performer in the exhibition season. He led the team averaging 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game—besting Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) by 3.5 boards per contest—and had a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) against Spring Hill.

“Ammons already has a Division I body,” Arrow commented. “People won’t beat up on him and he won’t be bothered by the physical nature of the game. We need him playing outside and he’ll have smaller guys guarding him. When he’s going to the boards, those guys have no chance. He has to learn how to maneuver his body inside and finish. The biggest thing now is he’s playing with energy and going to the boards, but he needs the knowledge and experience.”

Beating a high-major opponent in Mississippi State would hardly be a first for the program. Despite going 0-2 against the SEC last season, the Jaguars have split their last four games against the conference, getting two wins in 2009-10 with a team consisting mostly of untested players.

“We’ve had success in beating teams like Florida and Arkansas. Those teams bought in to what we were doing, whether it was taking time off the clock, playing zone or pressing, and we made the other team guard us.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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