Fatboy
02-12-2009, 08:57 PM
I have to agree with Nardo on this. Thoughts?
http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/content/view/123852/92/
Varnado on Mitchell: ‘He’s probably the SEC Player of the Year’
Thursday, 12 February 2009
By AARON SEIDLITZ
Starkville Daily News
What may be focused upon as quite a tandem, Mississippi State came away from Wednesday’s game thinking that LSU is much more than just Tasmin Mitchell and Marcus Thornton.
Those two gain most of the notoriety and the attention – and after Thornton had 31 against State at LSU earlier this year and Mitchell had 41 this time around – it’s easy to see why.
But MSU guard Barry Stewart felt as though it took a complete LSU team to provide the opportunities that Thornton and Mitchell ended up with.
“Them two, they’re some good players, and what makes them even better is their team” Stewart said. “They’re a true team, they know their players and their go-to players. Then they get them the ball.”
That was the case for 15 Mitchell field-goal attempts. He made 12 of those, made both 3-point attempts and made 15-of-18 from the free-throw line.
The result was another mention for SEC Player of the Year.
After the last time these two teams met it was Thornton being mentioned, but this time it was Mitchell.
“He’s just a smart player,” MSU center Jarvis Varnado said. “He knows how to use his body to score.
“I think right now, he’s probably the SEC Player of the Year because he’s just such a smart player.”
In this game, State tightened up on Thornton – who leads the Tigers with 20 points averaged per game.
In this double-overtime game he had 19 to go along with 10 rebounds. He did turn the ball over six times, however.
There was a noticeable difference to LSU coach Trent Johnson in regards to the energy MSU defended Thornton with. He said the Bulldogs wore his shooting guard down.
“They were just physical with him, really physical and they put him on the floor a couple times,” Johnson said. “Marcus is a really good basketball player, and sometimes when he doesn’t have 20 points in 20 minutes you realize that you’re getting spoiled.
State’s rotation showcases Benock
In the minutes that mattered down the stretch – at the end of regulation and throughout the two overtimes – back up guard Riley Benock was on the court.
On the bench, however, was State’s leading scorer Ravern Johnson.
Johnson played 16 minutes in the second half and 14 in the first half, but it was Benock who collected 24 minutes – mostly when the game was in its later stages.
Part of the reason for that, Stansbury explained, was because of how LSU defended Johnson. The guard finished with five points on 2-of-6 shooting and 1-for-4 from 3-point distance.
“He had Tasmin Mitchell up into him,” Stansbury said. “Give them credit for getting up into him and taking his shot away.”
Miscellaneous numbers
There were some numbers to behold from this contest.
The two teams combined for 57 personal fouls, which led to 61 free throws.
Of the 102 rebounds, State collected 50 and LSU had 52. There were 32 turnovers in the game, of which the Tigers had 21.
19 blocks were produced, and the nation’s leader in that category, Varnado, had a game-high six.
In it right to the very end, State only shot 31.2 percent in the game and only 20.8 percent from 3.
http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/content/view/123852/92/
Varnado on Mitchell: ‘He’s probably the SEC Player of the Year’
Thursday, 12 February 2009
By AARON SEIDLITZ
Starkville Daily News
What may be focused upon as quite a tandem, Mississippi State came away from Wednesday’s game thinking that LSU is much more than just Tasmin Mitchell and Marcus Thornton.
Those two gain most of the notoriety and the attention – and after Thornton had 31 against State at LSU earlier this year and Mitchell had 41 this time around – it’s easy to see why.
But MSU guard Barry Stewart felt as though it took a complete LSU team to provide the opportunities that Thornton and Mitchell ended up with.
“Them two, they’re some good players, and what makes them even better is their team” Stewart said. “They’re a true team, they know their players and their go-to players. Then they get them the ball.”
That was the case for 15 Mitchell field-goal attempts. He made 12 of those, made both 3-point attempts and made 15-of-18 from the free-throw line.
The result was another mention for SEC Player of the Year.
After the last time these two teams met it was Thornton being mentioned, but this time it was Mitchell.
“He’s just a smart player,” MSU center Jarvis Varnado said. “He knows how to use his body to score.
“I think right now, he’s probably the SEC Player of the Year because he’s just such a smart player.”
In this game, State tightened up on Thornton – who leads the Tigers with 20 points averaged per game.
In this double-overtime game he had 19 to go along with 10 rebounds. He did turn the ball over six times, however.
There was a noticeable difference to LSU coach Trent Johnson in regards to the energy MSU defended Thornton with. He said the Bulldogs wore his shooting guard down.
“They were just physical with him, really physical and they put him on the floor a couple times,” Johnson said. “Marcus is a really good basketball player, and sometimes when he doesn’t have 20 points in 20 minutes you realize that you’re getting spoiled.
State’s rotation showcases Benock
In the minutes that mattered down the stretch – at the end of regulation and throughout the two overtimes – back up guard Riley Benock was on the court.
On the bench, however, was State’s leading scorer Ravern Johnson.
Johnson played 16 minutes in the second half and 14 in the first half, but it was Benock who collected 24 minutes – mostly when the game was in its later stages.
Part of the reason for that, Stansbury explained, was because of how LSU defended Johnson. The guard finished with five points on 2-of-6 shooting and 1-for-4 from 3-point distance.
“He had Tasmin Mitchell up into him,” Stansbury said. “Give them credit for getting up into him and taking his shot away.”
Miscellaneous numbers
There were some numbers to behold from this contest.
The two teams combined for 57 personal fouls, which led to 61 free throws.
Of the 102 rebounds, State collected 50 and LSU had 52. There were 32 turnovers in the game, of which the Tigers had 21.
19 blocks were produced, and the nation’s leader in that category, Varnado, had a game-high six.
In it right to the very end, State only shot 31.2 percent in the game and only 20.8 percent from 3.