Tag: Pinky Wiley

Game 4 of 37 Hampton @ Towson

Game 4 of 37

Towson dominates Hampton with ease

Coming into this game I had no idea what to expect. Hampton was 2-0, but there was a catch. It was against Mid-Atlantic Christian University (yes, that is a real school) and Regent University. Towson on the other hand, blew out Albany and had a respectable loss to Monmouth.

Hampton hung in there for the first ten minutes or so, until Towson went on a run and controlled the game the rest of the way. Hampton has some individual talent spread through their roster, but the cohesion doesn’t seem to be there. Maybe it will happen at some point….. I wouldn’t take that bet. Towson dominated the boards 47-28 and scored inside basically at will. The final was 78-54, in favor of Towson.

Hampton had three guys I wanted to watch specifically. Johquin “Pinky” Wiley, Najee Garvin and Mario “Rio” Haskett Jr.

Wiley who spent four years at Delaware State (God bless him) is a steady point guard. He sets the offense well. He’s unselfish. Plays the game a way a point guard should. He will shoot if open, but not often. Hampton needs to leave him on the floor all game. When he’s not, its ugly isolation, 1v1 stuff. Wiley played okay. He finished with five points, three rebounds and one assist. His presence on the floor alone is what his team needs.

Rio Haskett Jr. struggled to make much of an impact. He struggled to get into whatever possible flow of offense there was. His shot was a little off and thats his best skill. Rio finished with five points and two assists.

Najee Garvin is the Pirates best player. He has a pro body, but is more of a finesse player at 6’8 210. While he did have 18 points and four rebounds, he also had four fouls and four turnovers. Garvin has quickness in the post and an ability to drive the lane. He had a quick spin and reverse finish in the post in the second half that was smooth. He is still developing shooting range, but he would be more suited for a fast paced offense. Maybe Hampton will pick up the pace this year. It looked to me that would be there best chance, with a real lack of overall size.

Garvin shooting a three. This was an airball FYI.

Towson impressed me. They don’t have a lot of big men depth. Charles Thompson and Cam Holden basically had there way when they posted up. Holden is an interesting player. Listed at 6’5 200, he plays bigger and tougher than that. He’s an undersized 4. Holden isn’t going to shoot much from mid range or from the outside. His game is backing down defenders, using fakes and his adept scoring ability close to the basket. He had a good showing with eleven points, twelve rebounds and four assists.

Terry Nolan Jr. had a massive dunk in the second half. He plays with pace, sometimes too much. Nolan is still inconsistent as a shooter, but very dangerous when slashing to the basket. His length gave Hampton issues on offense as well. Nolan had eleven points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Jason Gibson looks like Coach Pat Skerry’s favorite player. The crowd loves him and its hard not to. He’s all over the court. Running off screens, diving on the floor and even driving the lane against defenders with five inches on him. He’s a spark plug that Towson hasn’t had in a while before he got there. Gibson led the team with 13 points, three assists, three steals and was 8-8 from the foul line.

Nicolas Timberlake and Charles Thompson also had eleven points a piece.

Towson had five players with eleven points or more.

Up next for me is George Mason @ Maryland on Wednesday.

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 13 – Delaware State vs Coppin State

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 13

 

February 25 – Delaware State vs Coppin State

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Once again I have been very busy. This was the first game I have had a chance to go to since February 6 at UMBC. In this time period I had several things go on. As is usual for me. Of course there’s Valentine’s Day, which is also my daughter Winter’s fifth birthday. So we did a family birthday, as well as celebrating Valentine’s Day as a family; and just chilled and watched some of the movie “The Indian in the Cupboard”. She also had a huge friends party at a trampoline place for kids. There was like over twenty kids, a bunch of pizza, a pretty sweet ninja turtle cake and a ton of gifts. Sounds like a decent amount of stuff right? Oh, yeah my wife’s birthday was yesterday also. We went to Cheesecake Factory and then went to see the new movie, “How to Train Your Dragon : The Hidden World”. February is always a little crazy for me and of course its during the middle of the conference schedule for college basketball. But, hey at least all of this isn’t in MARCH MADNESS. That would have been very bad timing for this guy!

 

After work I had to make the daunting task of going to Walmart before the game. I made it back unloaded everything, shaved, ate dinner and then left for the 7:30 tip at around 6:25. I have never been to a game at Coppin State before. It was pretty easy to get to. It’s a very nice facility that provides a very nice atmosphere. I got into the gym around 7:05. Little did I know what I would have to endure before the tip-off. There was the women’s game before the men’s. This is fine, no big deal. It seemed like the last quarter was an eternity though. The game finished around 7:25. That is a red flag that the men’s game is obviously going to be pushed back. Well it was also senior night. So all of the senior’s were honored and pictures were taken. There was five senior’s……. So the game didn’t start until like 8:05. Needless to say, I was probably going to leave early if I felt I did what I needed to do and the game was going a certain way. Spoiler alert. I indeed left with under two minutes left and Coppin trailing by 5. Delaware State went on to win 70-60.

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Delaware State lacks a lot of size. They rely heavily on their guard play. Kevin Larkin, Saleik Edwards, Pinky Wiley and Jon Mitchell all stepped up to secure the win. Larkin, a 6’5 175 guard, is tough. He hit countless big shots in isolation situations. He seems to be trying to help resurrect the mid range jumper, which is very admirable of him. Despite his lack of girth he is also more than just a capable rebounder. He finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds. Mitchell, a 6’4 210 guard/forward, was solid throughout. He never forced the issue and played with a senior poise. He’s a solid athlete and plays on both ends of the floor. Mitchell is a threat when driving the lane. He uses his strength to get to the rim and can take the contact that he draws. Edwards provides spot up shooting from three and Pinky Wiley is a steady guard that can shoot or distribute the three.

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For Coppin State they struggled to get anything going on offense. They lack a true lead guard and they committed 17 turnovers on the night. Juan Dixon will have his work cut out for him in the coming years. I think he will be able to right the ship though. Even though it was senior night Coppin’s seniors struggled to make an impact besides shooting guard Lamar Morgan (6’6 200). Morgan is a shooter. He can come off screens, pull up and shoot on the move a little bit. He loves shooting the three from the top of the key. Morgan has great size for a two guard and he can probably play some small forward as well. Morgan was not enough on senior night; the guard play of Delaware State was just too strong. Morgan finished with 26 points, 5 three-pointers and 7 rebounds.

 

I’ve got a busy ending to the season lining up for me. I will be trying to got to as many games as humanly possible for a Dad/husband of two humans (with another on the way), three dogs and wife that works a lot of nights. It’s time for a double header Saturday!