Wednesday night, No. 8 Houston Cougars (2-0) will host the (1-1) Jacksonville State Gamecocks (which is in Alabama, not Jacksonville, Florida). This one is special for me: I grew up 20 miles from Jacksonville, and it would take me 20 minutes to get there. Now I live 20 miles from the Fertitta Center, and it takes me an hour to get there!
I had the opportunity to coach in JSU’s arena when the high school team I coached made it to the regional tournament for the first time in school history. I have a lot of memories there, so this one means a lot to me.
Jordan Stiemke is my “Head of the Snake” in this one. The 6’5″ guard is an outstanding shooter and athlete. I’d look for Coach Sampson to take him away. It would be a perfect match-up for currently eligible Chendall Weaver to defend.
I don’t think Jax State has enough talent depth to compete with the Coogs. The Gamecocks have some good players, but not enough to handle an elite program like UH. I think Houston can limit them to one tough shot on the defensive end of the court. Houston should be able to do whatever they want on offense. Coogs should win big in their return to the Fertitta Center.
Jax State Offensive Notes
- Over half of the Gamecocks’ shot attempts have been from beyond the arc, and they are shooting 42% from there. It will be important for the Coogs to keep them off the three-point line and force them into tough two-point jumpers, as they rank second nationally in three-pointers made per game!
- The Gamecocks do an excellent job sharing the ball. Houston will need to identify who is hot and try to take them away.
- Jax State doesn’t have a great inside presence, and they don’t often drive to the basket. Houston should play tight on their man and force them to drive the lane, where Jojo, Reek, Arafan, and Braden will be waiting to challenge them at the rim.
- Half of the JSU shot attempts have come from three guys (Stiemke, Lockett Jr., Cunningham). The Coogs will likely look to take away at least two of them and make their other role players look to shoot more than normal.
Gamecocks Defensive Notes
- M2M – 91% of the time.
- They try to blitz the pick-and-roll, but the blitzers rarely have help, which leads to the roller getting wide-open looks at the rim.
- The Gamecocks tend to play one-on-one in the post. I’m feeding Jojo the ball on the first play to see what they do.
- Zone – 9% of the time (I suspect they’ll try it at times Wednesday night).
- JSU likes to run a 2-3 Zone vs. a baseline-out-of-bounds (BLOB) play. They get killed in the post when they try it (FEED the big man Arafan)!
- They ran a 1-3-1 Zone at times vs. South Alabama. They got diced up with a “high-low” play that led to a layup. I would flash Jojo or Reek to the free-throw line and have them look down low for the other big man.
- Press – 4% of the time
- They have run a 1-2-1-1 “Diamond Press” and a “Full-court M2M Trap”. Both were somewhat effective against lesser competition. They may try them when DJ Thomas is out.
Interesting Team National Rankings (Through 11-9-26)
- Assist/Turnover Ratio: 32nd (2.04)
- Assists Per Game: 11th (23.5 APG)
- Bench Points Per Game: 39th (41 PPG)
- Blocks Per Game: 36th (6 BPG)
- Effective FG%: 39th (0.612%)
- Scoring Offense: 16th (101.5 PPG)
- Steals Per Game: 33rd (11.5 SPG)
- Three-Point Attempts Per Game: 8th (38.5 3PA)
- Three-Point %: 31st (42.9%)
- Three-Point Makes Per Game: 2nd (16.5)
- Three-Point % (Defense): 9th (18.8%)
- Free-Throw Attempts Per Game: 201st (21 FTA)
- Free-Throw %: 234th (66.7%)
- Free-Throw Makes Per Game: 210th (14 FTM)
JSU Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)
*#2 – Jordan Stiemke – 6’5″ – SR – Guard/Forward – (Loyola MD) – 22 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 SPG.
- Head of the Snake.
- Super athletic/tall guard.
- Solid three-point shooter (10-24, 41%). He has a kind of weird shooting form, but it works for him. He can shoot from DEEP.
- He is a high-flyer in transition. He’s explosive and gets to the rim quickly.
- Leads the team in free-throw attempts (6-8, 75%).
*#1 – Chris Lockett Jr. – 6’5″ – JR – Guard – (Jacksonville, Boise St) – 17 PPG, 3 RPG, 9 APG, 2 SPG.
- Tall/athletic guard.
- Three-point specialist. 14 of his 19 field-goal attempts have been beyond the arc.
- Outstanding three-point shooter (9-14, 64%). Really quick release. Has NBA range, but is much better closer to the line.
- He will flop to draw fouls if he can.
*#6 – Leon Horner – 6’5″ – JR – Guard – (Texas Tech) – 8.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG.
- Strong scorer in the paint and at the rim. He was not good at Texas Tech.
- Not overly skilled, but he does a good job using his body to get into position to score off the bounce or in the paint.
- Has not been a good three-point shooter so far this year (0-4, 0%).
- Decent at getting to the free-throw line, but not a great shooter (3-7, 43%).
*#10 – Ethan Croley – 6’8″ – SO – Forward – (Nevada) – 8 PPG, 7 RPG.
- Big-bodied forward.
- Works hard on the glass.
- Decent moves in the post. Really nice spin move!
- Good hands and footwork.
- Freaks out under pressure. MONSTER will be rough on him.
*#11 – Kash Polk – 6’9″ – FR – Forward – (Arizona State) – 5 PPG, 5.5 RPG.
- Tall forward. I don’t remember him at Arizona State.
- Not overly skilled in the post. Scores mostly on offensive rebounds and hustle plays.
- Can shoot the three-pointer (1-1, 100%).
- Works really hard on the glass. He’s their “Glue Guy”.
#3 – Naas Cunningham – 6’7″ – SO – Forward – (UNLV, Alabama) – 11.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 4 APG, 1.5 BPG.
- Former 5 Star Recruit. Was the #1-ranked sophomore in the nation in high school.
- Long/athletic guard. Can do a little bit of everything.
- He’s a three-level scorer, but prefers to shoot the three-pointer (5-14, 36%).
- Takes REALLY tough mid-range shots.
- He moves really well without the ball. They like to run him through off-ball screens to get open looks.
#4 – Alijah Curry – 6’8″ – JR – Guard – (Pittsburgh St, Manhattan) – 8 PPG, 1 RPG.
- Long/athletic guard off the bench.
- Five of his six shot attempts have been from beyond the arc, and he’s been knocking them down (4-5, 80%).
- He appears to have a long wingspan.
- He celebrates every made shot like it’s a game-winner.
#0 – Ma’Shy Hill – 6’10” – SR – Forward – (Abilene Christian) – 5 PPG, 4 RPG.
- Big-bodied forward off the bench.
- He doesn’t have an array of post moves, but he has a nice right-handed, short hook shot over his left shoulder.
- Not horrible in the pick-and-roll game. I don’t see him being successful in it vs. Houston.
- He’s not a threat away from the rim.
#20 – Williams Itumo – 6’10” – FR – Forward – 12 PPG, 6 RPG, 1 BPG.
- Big-bodied post player.
- Did not play against South Alabama last week.
- Really good footwork for a freshman big man.
- Can step out and shoot the mid-range jumper.
- He will struggle vs. any of the UH bigs if he gets in. He’s not ready for that level yet, but he will be really good next year or two.
#8 – Jordan Vick – 5’11” – FR – Guard – 3 PPG, 2 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 1.5 APG.
- Small guard off the bench. Has some swagger.
- I don’t know that he’ll play in this one, but he has good potential.
- Can shoot the three-pointer (2-3, 67%). Can also get in the paint, but is a little shaky in there against the trees.
#34 – Brandon Walker – 6’8″ – 5th – Forward – (Mississippi St, Montana St) – Hasn’t Played Yet This Season.
- BIG-bodied post player.
- Played against UH last year in the exhibition game (0 points, 1 rebound).
- He wasn’t great for MSU last season, but he could be a key contributor for Jax State if he’s eligible.
My Game Plan vs. Jax State
- Limit their big 3: the trio of Stiemke, Lockett Jr., and Cunningham makes them go. I would look to erase two of them and have the third guy and their role players do most of the scoring.
- Post players heavily involved: Jacksonville State struggles guarding in the post and in the pick-and-roll. I’d hit them with a heavy dose of both, early and often.
- Defend the three-point line: Jax State has been an elite three-point shooting team in their first two games. I would look to run them off the three-point line and force them into shots they’re not comfortable taking.
