Weaver: Brief thoughts prior to Saturday’s basketball games against Arkansas Little Rock
Today presents a case of baptism by fire for South Alabama men’s basketball as they will do battle with Sun Belt West leading Arkansas Little Rock on today at the Mitchell Center.
This afternoon’s game (tipoff, 2 p.m.) will also be the Jaguars’ first under interim head coach Jeff Price, who took over when Ronnie Arrow mysteriously retired on Wednesday morning.
It’s a tall task to expect Price to take a team that has been so inconsistent this year to defeat a Little Rock team that appears to have one of the best rotations in the league. But if there was ever a predictor that indicated success under this sort of situation, this would be it.
For starters, we know this team has talent. They showed it at the start of the season when the defeated nationally ranked Florida State University. The team has yet to put together a full 40 minutes and some have speculated that is what Price was promoted to inspire.
It’s no secret that Arrow was not a popular figure amongst many of his players over the past few years. Perhaps the decision for Arrow to retire was based on the hopes that a new coach would produce different results down the stretch and in years to come.
The same issues have plagued South Alabama men’s basketball over the past few seasons including apathy on defense, especially from outside the perimeter and cold stretches on shooting from the floor.
Perhaps a change of leadership will produce a change of fortune as well.
There is increased emotion surrounding this game — and now the entire season. In addition to the overall Sun Belt lead at stake, South Alabama is now looking to prove they can win on their own merit, regardless of coaching and rise the occasion when it counts the most.
And today’s game certainly counts.
The facts:
South Alabama is 2-0 in the Sun Belt Conference thus far and are tied for first place with Western Kentucky in the East Division. The Jaguars are 2-1 at home this season and they have played the 323rd ranked schedule in the country. South Alabama is averaging 71.9 points, 12.1 assists and are shooting 42.5 percent. Defensively they are allowing 70.4 points and 12.7 assists. Their opponents are shooting 44.5 percent from the floor.
The Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans are also unbeaten in the Sun Belt thus far and lead the West Division. However, they’ve lost two of their last three games and are 0-3 on the road. Arkansas-Little Rock is averaging 68.2 points, 13.5 assists and is shooting 43.1 percent from the floor. Defensively their opponents are averaging 63.9 points, 11.0 assists and have allowed a shooting percentage of 39.8 percent from the floor.
Game on.
Matt Weaver is attending today’s game for Thunderjags and can be found on Twitter @MattWeaverJag. Follow him and @USAThunderjags for live game updates and postgame stories and quotes.
Happy Thanksgiving
From our family to yours, happy Thanksgiving Jaguar Nation!
Jags Cross Country Finish Well In Conference Championships
The South Alabama Men’s and Women’s cross country teams placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday in Kentucky.
Freshman Patrick Rohr received All-Conference honors and placed ninth individually in the 8k. Alex Shields and Ronny Wilson both earned top-30 finishes.
The men finished with 139 points while champion UALR totaled 58 points.
The Women was led by junior Salome Lecoq who also earned All-Conference honors with a fourth place finish in the 5k. Sophomores Shannen Weyer and Kristin Parry both finished in the top-25 individually.
The women had 139 totoal points while Georgia State placed first with 52 points.
Both teams finished in the top half of the conference despite injuries to a number of key athletes. Senior Tori Lawson, who was the Jags top runner and an All-Conference competitor last season has been missing. Sophomore Derek Westbrook has missed all season while Robert Mann has been dealing with injuries over the last few weeks.
But the Jags have a bright future as they return some very good distance runners in the future.
They will next compete in the NCAA South Regionals in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, November 10. The regional meet will be a 10k for the men and 6k for the women.
Vote For The Jags In ESPN’s Wear Your College Colors Contest
Go vote for your Jaguars!!
ESPN is hosting a ‘Wear Your College Colors’ contest right now. We blew up the voting for the Coach Of The Year the last two years before fading behind some of the bigger schools. We can do it again with this.
Visit http://ESPN.com/CollegeColorsDay and vote for YOUR South Alabama Jaguars! Vote Early and Vote Often!!
Go Jags!!
Jags Announce Kickoff Times For First Three Games
Coach Joey Jones speaks with an NC State coach during team warm-ups.
Last week South Alabama Athletic Director Joel Erdmann announced kickoff times for the first three football games of the 2012 season.
The Jags will open the season on Thursday, August 30th at 6:30pm against Texas-San Antonio at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Jags defeated UTSA in San Antonio 27-20 in double overtime.
The next week the Jags will host Nicholls State with kickoff scheduled for 4pm on Saturday, September 8. Jags won the first game against Nicholls State in 2010 39-21, which was the Jags first game against an FCS school.
The Jags first road game against NC State will kick off at 5pm (CDT) on Saturday, September 15 and will be available on ESPN3.
Other times will be released at a later date.
UVa Transfer Quarterback Metheny Joins Team
Head coach Joey Jones working with the field goal unit during one of South Alabama’s Spring scrimmages.
Transfer quarterback Ross Metheny graduated from the University of Virginia just two short weeks ago. He earned his degree in sociology in only three years, now he is at the University of South Alabama entering the masters program and looking for playing time at quarterback.
Metheny is a 6’3″ 205 pound quarterback who played two seasons at Virginia. He has a little over two weeks to get settled in before the Jags being fall practice. But he will need to make a quick impression on Coach Jones and Coach Matthews.
Metheny played in a pro-style offense while at Virginia. He was 15 of 19 for 207 yards adn three touchdowns. His game against Florida State as a redshirt freshman in 2010 was his best performance where he hit on 7 of 9 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Metheny has two years of eligibility left and is eligible to play this season per NCAA Rules since he is transferring to a school to persue his masters.
“Just a couple of Fridays ago I graduated from college, which in itself is a big accomplishment,” said Metheny. “Then the next day I started my journey down here. I finally got the first week under my belt. Its been great to jump in and start working out with the guys and going through the workouts with coach Schwind (the Jags strength and conditioning coach) and doing 7-on-7 and things like that. I’m just trying to mix in with my new teammates and get to know each other and learn about each other. It’s still a learning process but it’s good to finally be here.”
“Luckily I’m not taking classes this month so that leaves me a lot of free time,” Metheny continued. “It hasn’t been as tough (a transition) as you would think. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by good people and they’ve helped me make the steps I needed to make along the way and they’ve put me in situations to be successful so it’s been pretty easy and pretty smooth. I’m just looking forward to keep going.”
“Luckily, while I was still at UVa, coach Matthews sent me the hard drive of the playbook so I was able to learn it while I was still up there and kind of get a grasp of it this spring and summer while I was still there,” Metheny said. “I come over to the football building and get three or four hours a day of just studying and asking questions and watching film, really trying to nail down the offense. I would like to think I have a better good handle on it now, I just need to practice it.”
Metheny is ready for the challenge and competition for playing time. “I’m excited to finally get on the field with my new teammates,” he said. “Me coming down here, it wasn’t about me. It was about this program and the people who are already here and if I can help them win games in any way possible, that’s what it’s all about. I think it’s a neat opportunity to be able to start up with a program at zero, this being their first year in Division I football. We’re setting the bar for what South Alabama football is going to be. That’s a neat opportunity and I’m excited to be a part of it and I’m excited to start working for it.”
Coach Jones spoke about Metheny’s place in the offense, “I think it depends on him. “He’s a very intelligent young man, there’s no doubt about that. Going out and being able to do something – really, in a two-week period we kind of start finalizing things, not that it’s over but you kind of have to give reps, especially at quarterback, to the top two guys and so we just need to figure out where he is at that point. It’s very tough and they’ve got to fight for reps. One thing about our guys, they know they have to compete for any position on the field and they understand when it gets to game week we’ve got to really narrow things down, so whoever wants to play better get out there and do something early.”
As for playing time, Coach Jones said it’s there for him to grab as well. “We wouldn’t have brought him in here if we didn’t think he could (play),” Jones said. “He’s a tall guy and he can run and throw and he’s intelligent. We’ll just have to see how fast he can pick up on things.”
Happy Thanksgiving Jag Nation
Always remember 9/11
Remember the innocent that perished this day 10 years ago. Remember those who selflessly went into those buildings to help evacuate and save so many lives. Remember those who gave their lives to serve and protect us.
Today is a day of remembrance. Please return tomorrow for a recap, but today we ask you to remember those who are no longer with us and cherish those that are still with us.
Absence
As you may have noticed, my writing has been quite sparse for some time and recently completely absent. It’s not that I don’t want to write or that I have lost that fire. I have been going through some problems personally. Surgery and recovery during the first part of the year. Then my mother lost her job of many years. My family then got the terrible news that my uncle, who truly acted as my father after my parents were divorced at an early age, was diagnosed with lung cancer that had already spread. Followed by having to find a new place to live.
Needless to say, 2011 has been a rough year so far. Between work and dealing with these issues, I have been tired both mentally and physically. My writing does not pay the bills, but is a labor of love, so I had to take a step back of sorts.
However, I hope to return to writing about my South Alabama Jaguars soon. I am blessed to have great friends around me help through times like these.
Thoughts and prayers for my family are welcome and much appreciated.
Thanks and Go Jags!
Happy Holidays from all of us at Thunderjags
All of us at Thunderjags want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We have had another amazing year and things continue to look great for the future of South Alabama.
Go Jags!