The Flames’ road to defending their 2012-13 conference championship begins tonight against the Radford Highlanders. Every Big South team is playing their conference opener tonight in a huge kickoff for Big South conference play. This part of the season is one of the most exciting for college basketball fans.
Team Introduction: The Highlanders will be a very tough first matchup for the Flames. They top the conference with a 10-5 record after non-conference play, and are one of two Big South teams (VMI 7-6) with a winning record going into the conference match ups. It is hard to say how much their superior record actually means as Radford has played an awful slate of teams to this point. Of their ten wins only 1 has been against a higher (KenPom) ranked team than Liberty, and that was a 1 point victory against 211th ranked Florida Gulf Coast.
Offense: Radford has a respectable offensive attack. They shoot an impressive 47% as a team from the field and average 76 points per game. The attack is led by Javonte Green, a 56% shooter who is averaging 16.1 points per game. RJ Price also contributes 13.4 per contest while Ya Ya Anderson is shooting an outrageous 46% from behind the arc thus far.
Defense: The Highlanders do not have an overly impressive defense, but they do have one of the nation’s best stealers. Javonte Green gets a steal on over 5% of possessions he is in the game. That is good for the 8th best steal per defensive possession in the nation.
Player Turnover: Radford did not lose any of last year’s major contributors. The only real loss is Blake Smith, a guard who accounted for 4.7 points per game.
Possible Starters
Guard: Rashun Davis (#5) 6’0″ Sophomore- Davis is tied for the team lead in assists at 3.3 per game. He averages 8.3 points per game and has 3 point range, but has not been able to find his stroke this season behind the arc. Davis also leads the team in turnovers.
Guard: RJ Price (#10) 6’0″ Junior- Price struggled in his last outing when the Highlanders took on Hampton. He went 1-9 and 0-5 from 3. Still yet, the junior is putting together a fine season. He ties for the team lead in assists at 3.3. He also averages 13.4 points per game and has played the most minutes for the Highlanders.
Guard: Ya Ya Anderson (#11) 6’2″ Sophomore- Giving Radford the range they need is Ya Ya Anderson. He shoots a
Javonte Green drives against Andrew Smith.
bigsouthsports.com
remarkable 46% from 3 and is averaging 9.9 points per game.
Forward: Javonte Green (#2) 6’4″ Junior- Javonte Green is Radford’s best player. He leads the team in points (16.1), rebounds (6.4), steals (2.0), and shooting percentage (56%). Somehow he does all this on just 22.6 minutes per game. It is tough to say why the Highlanders don’t try and ride Green more. He is the type of player that you will find all over the court.
Forward: Brandon Holcomb (#55) 6’7″ Sophomore- The young sophomore, Holcomb averages 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 points per game. He will have his hands full trying to win rebounds against a much taller Liberty team.
Others: Kion Brown (7.7 ppg, 56% shooting), Jalen Carethers (6.1 ppg, 55% shooting), and Kyle Noreen (20.7 mins, 3.7 rpg) will all play significant roles.
Prediction: Liberty will be one of the tougher teams Radford has played thus far and that inexperience may help the Flames out tremendously. I also expect Liberty to dominate the glass due to their height advantage. Despite these advantages one thing sticks out; Liberty has still not won on the road. Will they finally get it done tonight? My guess is the Flames lose a close one 75-70.
