Wofford has decent history for a MM program. They were a 30-5 7-seed in the 2019 NCAAT. However they really haven’t been able to rekindle that level since Mike Young left for VT.
They were picked 8th out of 10 in the SoCon coaches poll. 7th on the Almanac. They won their first game against a non-D1, their second game against High Point by 1, and have lost five straight since.
They are pretty pathetic defensively per KenPom, ranking 321st in overall defense. They foul a lot. They don’t force turnovers. Bad transition D. All are indications of a team that lacks athleticism. You would assume that’s good news for a team like Middle Tennessee. They do shoot a lot of 3s, 47% of their shots are from behind the arc, 21st in the country.
Never got to write an article this week like I wanted, but would really like Middle to go three wings/forwards and no center in a routine basis, mainly because the center position is such a mess. Ogundele is our best option but has glimpses of being an extreme liability athletically and the conditioning isn’t there for him to play extended minutes. Loofe is simply young physically and mentally.
And that leaves JCJ. He has 27 out of the 110 player turnovers on the season. That’s close to 25%. One quarter of the turnovers from one player. I don’t even blame him much anymore. I simply think he’s being asked to do things that are beyond his capabilities. He had a very good 2H in their only Nassau tournament win against UMKC. The key with him is not putting him in facing the basket ball handling or dribble drive. Give him the ball at normal spots for the center and slow down forcing him into the role Dishman played last year. He has some unique ability for a guy his size but needs to be put in better position for success.
We’ve talked about O’zhell Jackson’s playing time. I’m really happy with what I’ve seen so far. The advanced data likes him even more: he’s 2nd on the team in Net Rtg, and 1st in BPM, WSper40, and PER. Only averaging 11 mins a game. He’s not gonna give you the physicality JCJ or Ogundele are. Post offense and defense will take a hit. But I think giving him opportunity as a pseudo-5 makes a lot of sense. Again, don’t think CNM prefers to play like that, but we will see.
Laslty, I gotta bring up Jalen Jordan’s last game in The Bahamas. Kid had 21 points, which was more than any other Blue Raider in any game this season. Wouldn’t it be some story book stuff if he came in and gave the offense the savvy and skilled guard play they so desperately need. I’m still not all the way there, more just hoping than speculating. Just can’t be understated how difficult his journey has been and probably still is. All that said, the guy deserves major props for being this good this
