Cinco de Starters-o: Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils

Ramp it, Jon. Ramp it. Of all the questions surrounding the disheartening loss yesterday, one stands out above the others: What was with Jon Sciambi's hair? Did he do that intentionally? He looked like a disheveled idiot. Let's go to the video tape! ... No clip? Hmm. Would've worked a lot better with a clip. The photo will suffice, I suppose. Thank goodness for ESPN 360 replays! Alright, well, the DD's of MVSU (Jimmy Dykes, if he were calling today's game, would talk about how they don't want to be Mississippi SVU), led by the unforgettable Unforgettable Sean Woods, meekly, uh, saunter into Rupp Arena this afternoon. The Devils of the Delta have had a rough go of it, winless thus far in 9 games. For Woods' sake, I hope he is impervious to the embarrassment felt after being blasted on his old home floor. This one will probably get ugly for poor MVSU, who is being completely whored out for cash, as they play their first 12 games on the road (wait, maybe 11. Arkansas State might be in their conference. I'm not looking that up.). Wankstas, your DeltDevs: Editor's note: The MVSU Athletics website is a bit dated. Pictures will not be available. Deal with it. #15 Shannon Behling, 6'7'', G-F, Junior 2008-09 Stats: 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg Behling started his career at a junior college, transferred to TCU, then was kicked off the team after a rather serious run-in with the law. I'm not entirely sure what happened in the aftermath, but Behling, now two years removed from the incident, is playing some pretty solid ball. He tends to shoot a lot, but he's certainly a capable scorer, as he went for 22 against James Madison and 21 against Iowa State. He's tall, so it's easy to get his shot off, and he's not shy from anywhere on the floor. #24 Eric Petty, 6'6'', F, Senior 2008-09 Stats: 9.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg Petty's stats are up a bit from last year, when he averaged just over 6 points a game. He had a high of 18 against Montana, but he's been a non-existent scorer in some other games. He's a strong rebounder, and he has registered two double-doubles this season. He also turns the ball over quite frequently, for a non-ball-handler, averaging 3 a game. #44 Emmenle Preston, 6'9'', F-C, Junior 2008-09 Stats: 1.3 ppg, 1.3 rbg Though Preston starts, he doesn't typically get much clock. It appears that the Delta Devils often like to play small, with a four guard-ish line up, so perhaps Preston serves as the designated tipper. I don't know. He may not start, but he's started the last two. If he does start, look for him to come out after only 8-10 minutes. #3 Tashan Newsome, 6'4'', G, Freshman 2008-09 Stats: 8 ppg, 1.7 apg Newsome appears to be a legitimate talent, as he's seen his minutes increase since the beginning of his first season. Last time out, Newsome dropped 22 on Creighton. The typical ups and downs of a freshman season are evident, though, as Newsome has had trouble taking care of the ball. He's becoming a bit more of a distributor, as he's tallied 4 assists in each of his last three games. He seems to be a nice little player for Woods and co., though I say this having seen him log exactly 0 minutes. #1 Dwayne Harmason, 5'10'', G, Senior 2008-09 Stats: 10.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3 apg Harmason has dramatically picked up his scoring from a season ago, when he averaged only a tad over 4 a game. His high of 17 came against Montana, and he had a double-double, 12 points 12 rebounds, against Creighton Tuesday. Again, he is a bit turnover-prone, after having a solid season last year taking care of the ball. Key Reserves: Julius Cheeks, 6'2'', G: Did not play in the first five games, but has been a solid contributor since. Really wants his shawty to turn it around, and let 'em see sumpthin'. Amos Studivant, 6'8'', F-C: Really, the only other big man, and he's not very big. Typically, he doesn't really score. Or rebound. And he kind of fouls a lot. Patterson should score 800 points against this team. Michael Clark, 6'2'', G: Shooter. Had 16 against Arizona State to open the season, and has yet to come close to that figure again. Clark is actually MVSU's leading returning scorer. They have an Orlando Smith on their team...he might play...Woods lost 11 players from last year...they've turned the ball over 154 times this season...that's a lot...we've turned it over 168 times...that's more...Woods inked a pretty solid recruit, Cameron Nettles, who was graded as an 87 by ESPN but has not played much at all this year, and I don't know why...read more about him here, become his Facebook friend here