Non-Con Match-up #1 - Davidson

2009-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

OOC matchups

As much as I’m looking forward to the Horizon League season to get here, where this team really has a chance to improve their games and test themselves before another (hopefully) tournament run. This team will have some big time matchups and some not so big match-ups. I’m going to break down each game (that we know of). Enjoy!

First up: Davidson – 27-8 (18-2) Southern Conference

Overall: It’s obvious that Davidson will not be the same team since Stephen Curry jumped off to the NBA and the graduation of Andrew Lovedale, leaving the Wildcats wondering not only who will step up and lead them, but even what their offense is going to look like after designing it around one player for the last 3 years. It’s the first game of the season, and no one really knows how this team will respond now that they’ll be more dependent on a balanced scoring attack. Below are the match-ups that I assume will happen between the starters.

PG – Brendan McKillop – 6’0 vs. Ronald Nored – 6’0

This will be an interesting match-up. McKillop is the most experienced point guard returning this season and as the coach’s son, he should have a pretty good knowledge of the offense (whatever it will look like). Additionally, in the game against the Citadel when Curry was out last year, McKillop led the team in scoring, so he has the ability to score. The only issue I see here is that Nored was able to stick with Curry enough to make things difficult, so I can only imagine how Nored will do against him defensively when he doesn’t have to run through 30+ screens a half. On the other side, McKillop is a capable guard and should be able to keep up with Nored on his drives to the basket. Depending on how Ron improved his outside shooting, I can also see him sagging a little in order to help the Davidson bigs defend Howard in the post. The Bulldogs don’t need much scoring from Ron, but Davidson will need some scoring from McKillop or the Wildcats could be in trouble.

SG – Bryant Barr – 6’4 vs. Shelvin Mack – 6’3

This is a match-up in which Butler should have a solid advantage in. Mack is a PG/SG hybrid that Butler has been fortunate enough to attract the last few seasons. The real question is how Mack will play defensively against the White Lobster. Barr is a pure shooter who absolutely CANNOT be left alone on the outside. His lack of assists in all 3 years of his time with Davidson tells me he is a pure catch and shoot type ball player. Mack should be able to drive at Barr pretty effectively and either try and finish himself or dump the ball off to one of his teammates.

SF – Will Archambault – 6’6 vs. Gordon Hayward – 6’9

This match-up may change since I believe Hayward would be better served guarding Rossiter leaving Veasley on another shooter in Archambault. However, if last year was any indicator, Brad will at least try to get this match-up more than just a few times during the game. Archambault is really just a shorter, bulkier version of Hayward, with the ability to drive to the basket and a fairly accurate 3 pt shot (34.5% last season). As the team’s returning leading scorer, the Wildcats are going to lean pretty heavily on Archambault for a scoring punch. Whether Veasley or Hayward end up guarding him remains to be seen, but both I believe should be able to keep in front of him, which should limit his scoring opportunities to long range bombs, which he hit pretty effectively in last year’s game. On the other end, after last year’s game, you can bet the Wildcats are going to be trying to shut down Hayward, so I would expect Davidson to throw their biggest and most mobile defender at him. It remains to be seen how Hayward’s game will have progressed after a summer of playing basketball for the U-19 team, but this will be one of the key matchups in the game.

PF – Steve Rossiter 6’7 vs. Willie Veasley 6’3

Again, as stated before, I personally think that the Bulldogs would be better served having Hayward on Rossiter, especially considering Rossiter is almost purely going to provide his scoring in the paint (with a total of 10 3PA for his entire career). Rossiter is more of a rebounder than a scorer, but with the departure of Lovedale, the Wildcats are going to be looking to one of their plethora of big men to pick up the scoring slack from a year ago. If Rossiter can establish inside position early on Veasley, he could certainly get some easy scoring opportunities. On the other end, Veasley will have opportunities, especially from behind the arc. As well as Hayward played, Howard will be another concern from the Wildcats, so I could see them have Rossiter sagging more towards the paint, especially if Howard gets going early, which should open things up on the perimeter.

C – Matt Howard 6’8 vs. Ben Allison 6’9

Davidson is really going to have to pick how they want the Bulldogs to try and beat them in this matchup. They have enough big men (five active guys on their roster at 6’7 and taller) to play “Hack-a-Howard” and try to break up the rhythm of the game and the Bulldog’s offense without hurting themselves too badly. They can also double down on Howard, but as stated before, this could leave some shooters open on the perimeter. If they do decide to play one-on-one, Davidson’s bigs will have to do a better job of positioning themselves defensively than what was seen for the short stretch in the first half when Howard scored all 10 of his points in last year’s contest. It definitely won’t just be Ben Allison taking on Howard. McKillop will likely throw Frank Ben-Eze, Dan Nelms and even freshman Jake Cohen into the mix, as none of these guys have really proven yet to be the team’s “go-to” post player. On the other side, even though I feel the bulk of the team’s scoring is still going to come from the guards and Archambault, the Wildcats will need to give their big men some opportunities in order to get Howard into foul trouble. This (at least last year), seemed to be a consistent formula for throwing a wrench into the Bulldog’s offensive flow and forced them to become a perimeter oriented team.

Bench Players: Didn’t list them all, just the key ones that I figure could be making an appearance in the game.

Davidson – JP Kuhlman 6’3 G, Frank Ben-Eze 6’9 F, Dan Nelms 6’9 F, Nik Cochran 6’2 G, Jake Cohen 6’10 F, Aaron Bond 6’4 G

Davidson is VERY deep at the forward position, but the real question for them is how much scoring they’ll be able to get from their 4 and 5 positions in the games this year. Though I would anticipate that most of these guys are going to be looked to in order to rebound effectively, McKillop at least needs a consistent threat on the interior to keep teams honest if their guards drive the lane. I have really heard some great things from the Wildcat fans about JP Kuhlman. Though Kuhlman is a natural shooting guard, he does possess the skills necessary to run the point and could be a viable weapon for the Wildcats immediately (and could theoretically start). Also, Cochran, a native of Canada has looked like an effectively option for the Wildcats to play the point as well. Any scoring that Davidson can get from its bench, whether from its guards or forwards is a bonus for the Wildcats. The remainder of their bench are big, physical forwards who are solid defenders, but will need to step up offensively this season. The Wildcat fans appear to be pretty high on Ben-Eze, as well as Jake Cohen to come off the bench and provide some big minutes, or even start a few games in the not-so-distant future.

Butler – Shawn Vanzant 6’0 G, Avery Jukes 6’8 F, Garrett Butcher 6’7 F, Zach Hahn 6’1 G, Andrew Smith 6’11 C, Chase Stigall 6’4 G

One thing that Butler lacked for the majority of the season last year was a consistent scoring threat from its bench, and that showed as the starters averaged around 30+ minutes per game during last season’s contests. At the guard positions, Vanzant is a defensive stopper much like Nored, but he can occassionally get a hot hand (as demonstrated by his 20 pt outburst against Milwaukee). Hahn is a pure shooter who is not afraid to let it fly from anywhere on the court (outside the 3pt line) if given enough room. Stigall, a redshirt freshman is kind of a cross between the two, being more athletic than Hahn, but a more consistent shooter (from what I hear) than Vanzant. Jukes, Butcher and Smith will likely provide relief for Howard, Hayward and Veasley, and if the Bulldogs really get into trouble, there might be some playing time available for redshirt freshmen Emerson Kampen (6’9 F).

In my opinion – The Bulldogs should take this one pretty easily, as they have their entire starting five back and Davidson is not only learning how to play with new combinations of players, but a whole new style of offense. On paper, Butler has superior talent and firepower at nearly every single position but the point. Butler’s bench will be relied more for defense, whereas Davidson’s bench (especially Kuhlman and the frontcourt) will need to provide some scoring and energy when they come into the game. However, the games aren’t played on paper and if last year’s season opener hasn’t taught Butler fans anything (a 58-48 shocker over Drake), it’s that you never know what college kids will bring on a night in, night out basis (or afternoon in this case).

The Dawg Blog

Non-Con Match-up #1 - Davidson