Of the freshmen that played this year, Josh Southern had the most abbreviated season. He didn't get off the bench much in the first part of the year, yet worked his way into the rotation by the end of the season.
Southern's strengths are his offensive tools. While he doesn't have Craig Smith's power, Southern is good close to the basket. Size is part of the equation, but he also has touch. And he's not afraid of contact (it helps that he makes free throws). What I especially liked about him was his ability to move around the low blocks without the ball. Southern proved apt at cutting close to the basket -- which should be a reliable scoring play next year. He also did a decent job on the offensive boards.
For all his ability on the offensive end, Southern had real issues on D. He was very passive against other big men. He let smaller players back him down and quick players drive around him. There were a few games where he also got into foul trouble.
Southern has real potential. Playing 30 minutes a game next year will give BC a much needed inside presence on offense. To stay on the floor, he is going to need to become a more reliable defender and avoid fouls. His progress will be critical if BC is to improve upon this forgettable year.
Season Grade: B-
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5 comments:
We are thin up front no matter whether we sign another big man late so Southern's service are at a premium. The key to this seas IMHO is for him to stay out of foul trouble and being able to give us 30 a night.
After this season I would expect Rice, Sanders, Raji and Southern to start next year, but who's our power forward? Roche?
Or if Reggie Jackson is good enough to start, Rice 1, Jackson 2, Sanders 3, Southern 5, and what? Raji as a 4?
Do either of these make sense? Any ideas what we can expect?
Trapani will be the 4
Yeah, if Trapani is as good as we've heard we'll have a very solid starting 5 with Paris giving us some good depth in the backcourt...the problem will be frontcourt depth. Losing Spears really hurts us...we've got one big guy coming in in Ravenel but from what I've heard he needs to lose some serious weight before he's going to be able to really contribute at the ACC level. Hopefully we'll lock up Sutton or another big man who can eat up some minutes just to give Southern and Trapani a break.
The thing that I like most about Southern is that the big man can shoot FT's. It seems like a small deal, but with as many trips as he'll take to the line next year, being able to convert the freebies is going to be big.
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