Scouting the Five: Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils

by:Thomas Beisner12/18/10
***Before he took the solemn vows of initiation at The Brown Tweed Society, Evan Hilbert and I enjoyed some good times at WildcatBlitz.com and here at Kentucky Sports Radio. I liked the way he laughed, his firm embrace and, mostly, his preview of the starting lineups of opposing basketball teams. So, just like the bat signal, I'll be posting these each game, hoping that it brings Evan home. Actually, scratch that. This is the third year I've been doing this without so much as a telegram. Evan, you're dead to me.   You have to give the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils some credit.  They're show up every night.  And I don't mean that in a metaphorical way.  I mean they literally show up at the arena and that really takes some guts.  Faced with a program that's drastically losing money each year, former Cat Sean Woods and his players have done exactly what they have to do:  travel to big schools and get beat down.  The Delta Devils have played eight of their nine games on the road and have taken their lumps willingly to teams like Georgia, Indiana, St. Mary's, BYU, Butler, Ole Miss and Arkansas.  After they get beat down tonight, they'll travel to Marquette for another helping.  Not surprisingly, this has left MVSU with a slew of impressive rankings nationally in categories like points per game (313th), assists (315th) and field goal percentage (333rd).  On the bright side, they're rebounding the ball well?  They're 175th.  I hope Sean Woods wasn't expecting a fancy homecoming like Joe B. Now let's meet the guys who are here for the check and can't wait to afford team photos next year... kevin-burwell  #25 Kevin Burwell, 5-10, G, Senior 2010-11 stats: 7.3 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 rpg, 40% from the field, 24% from three Burwell shows the kind of intelligent discipline you want out of your senior point guard by averaging more turnovers than assists.  He had his best game of the season, 13 points and 8 assists, against Butler.  That makes him better than Peyton Siva, but that's not really saying much, I guess. dangelo  #0 D'Angelo Jackson, 6-1, G, Senior 2010-11 stats: 10.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 turnovers, 34% from field, 31% from three Jackson is the Delta Devils' second-leading scorer and is averaging 15 points against the SEC this season.  His turnover to assist ratio is nearly 3-1 and his shooting percentages have all dropped from last season.  Nice abs. falando-jones  #23 Falando Jones, 6-4, F, Junior 2010-11 stats: 5.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 28% from field, 22% from three Jones, a former Mississippi State football recruit, logs only the seventh-most minutes on the team and barely made it to Mississippi Valley State in time to play.  I'd love to write more, but I'm not sure that there's anything really worth saying. orlando-smith  #22  Orlando Smith, 6-5, F, Senior 2010-11 stats: 5.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 45% from the field  Former Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky coach.  Currently at Minnesota.  The only coach in NCAA history to win a championship with players who would later be determined to not be his.  His son looks like Aladdin. jason-holmes  #42 Jason Holmes, 6-9, F, Junior 2010-11 stats: 8.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 45% from the field, 28% from three If you Google "Jason Holmes Mississippi Valley", you get a number of pictures featuring him getting dunked on or elbowed in the face.  Look for several more to be added tomorrow.   Head Coach Sean Woods Sorry, Coach. BenchTerrance Joyner (G): The team's leading scorer at 10.8 per game.  Transferred from New Mexico State.  Should transfer back if he doesn't get a few starts on this team. Notes: This is going to be a long game...But I know you still want to watch it...Here is the TV info...It's only for Insight though...You know you love Insight....
  • Lexington — Channel 14 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
  • Bowling Green —Channel 5 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
  • Northern Kentucky — Channel 99 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
  • Evansville — Channel 74 for Analog (Classic) customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.
  • Louisville — Channel 15 for Analog customers and channel 505 for Digital box and Mini Box customers.

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