Sports

I went over to the practice facilities at Stegeman Coliseum today to clear up a few things that I wondered from the live-blog last week. Here are a few notes and thoughts with some audio at the end (including Matt Bucklin’s interview virginity!)

First, Ebuka Ayanorah is not spelled with an “h”. I briefly thought about going back and changing all of the mistakes but I’m not embarrassed. Get an easier name to spell for crying out loud. How, you ask? Nicknames. Boom. So yes, I did come up with nicknames for the team. See below.

Second, he’s not competing to be the backup point guard. Though he was bringing the ball up on occasion, he’s really a combo guard from the 2 to the 4. They’re going to use his size and versatility in a wide range. Plus, his shooting and ball handling aren’t really what you’d want out of a point guard.

Coach Fox cleared up that Ricky McPhee would be working for the 3rd point guard spot. Bucklin, who’s minutes that might have been, added that you’d want the senior leader out there. It makes a lot of sense, but I wouldn’t imagine Ricky taking the ball up in any key situations.

Fox also revealed that he wouldn’t give up any starting lineups before games, so it’s unclear whether Albert Jackson will be reinserted into the starting lineup. It seems as though he’ll be switching up lineups during the out of conference schedule until he finds one he likes for SEC play.

Albert told us that he’d been working a lot with his right hand as his left hand has been in a cast. This should add another dimension to the natural lefty’s game. He also said he hopes to play tomorrow against New Orleans.

You may have noticed Coach Fox’s name was not announced at the start of the exhibition. He commented that these games are about the team, not him, and it’s something he’s always done. Trey Thompkins said it’s great to play for such a selfless Coach but that the team would like to show that they appreciate him too. I have an idea: just win, baby.

He also added that the perimeter shooting was probably his main concern with the team. With Ricky McPhee being the only real threat, that wasn’t a real shocker. Fox then noted that the team is probably where he thought they’d be in terms of progression, but the way he stated it didn’t really convince me. We probably won’t really see what is irking him until the tougher competition, but Trey mentioned something about still making too many mistakes. We’ll see how that goes in the home opener tomorrow.

Those are about all the notes I had. Here’s the interview with Matt Bucklin along with the nicknames I have for the team.

Matt Bucklin

Until next time, Ball Hard