Fellow Leg-Humpers, Prepare For a Frontcourt Battle
When last we checked in with Texas A&M, their fans were sending us insane emails after we wrote about that whole Seahawks/12th man dispute. (Texas A&M has a 12th man tradition too, they said the Hawks were infringing on it).
Our favorite such email concluded thusly: "Keep your latte sippin, tree huggin, PETA lovin, flannel shirt, leg humping asses off our traditions."
It's funny because it's true. Honestly, what is it with our asses here in the Northwest, always humping legs! We just hope our ass will restrain itself long enough for us to watch tonight's NIT semifinal between the Dawgs and the Aggies.
It's going to be a good early test for Husky forward Jon Brockman, who's dominated against both small (Eastern Washington) and unathletic (Utah) front lines this season.
Texas A&M's front line is neither--they've got both an All-America candidate (Joseph Jones) and a future NBA lottery pick (DeAndre Jordan) up front.
6-9 senior forward Joseph Jones was an honorable mention on the preseason All-America team, and is among 50 players on the Wooden Award watch list. He averaged 13.4 points and 6.8 boards last year.
7-0 true frosh center and future NBA lottery pick DeAndre Jordan (at left, via Scout.com) may end up making that team too--he set the Big 12 record for consecutive field goals (16) early this season. ESPN ranks Jordan as the #6 prospect in the 2008 NBA draft [insider].
The Aggies also get minutes from 6-9 Bryan Davis and 6-10 Chinemelu Elonu. New Jersey Institute of Technology this is not.
The backcourt is a bigger question. The Aggies lost point guard Acie Law to the NBA draft lottery; lockdown defender Dominique Kirk replaces him at the point. So far, so good, as Kirk has nearly a 3/1 turnover ratio. He's not nearly the scorer Law was, though.
6-7 wing Josh Carter has picked up the scoring slack, he's averaging 16 points a game. Carter's got a deadly three-point shot--he shot 50% from three last year and is even better so far this year, at 52%. He'll be Quincy Pondexter and Justin Holiday's responsibility, they must stay out on him.
We think it's pretty obvious that the Dawgs can't expect Brockman to score as easily as he has in the season's first three games. They will need scoring from the backcourt, and hopefully some of that scoring will come from defensive pressure on A&M's new point guard.
One final note: A&M has a new coach this year, as Billy Gillespie went to Kentucky. The new guy, Mark Turgeon, runs the motion offense, so Texas A&M has been converting to that. Hopefully the Dawgs can exploit any growing pains that go along with learning a new offense.
This is a solid Texas A&M team, almost a sure NCAA tournament entrant. It will be a great barometer for the Dawgs. So grab a latte, put on one of your flannel shirts, love the nearest PETA member, and settle in for, hopefully, a Husky win.
