#322 R.P.I. Presbyterian @ #268 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

The 4-8 Big South Presbyterian, Blue, …Hose -and no, no, no, I’m not making that- the Blue Hose are on their way to Blacksburg Virginia for a Military Bowl overlap game on a quite looking Christmas break 24o6o campus as I type.

Shew!

Yah.

Me too.

So much wise to crack here and so little time. As one can only presume that the Blue Hose is most likely connected to the blue- ………….oh, never mind!

Recall, this is the team that Duke opened up with and razed 114-44. Recall this is an o for the year road team, as these Blue Hose have been pumped good and hard in 29 of their last 30 visitations.

Yikes!

Clearly, this is our final and only remaining likely W of the season.
As guess who is 3o4 area code up next???

Presbyterian at a glance:

• 317th in Turnover Margin (–3.7)
• 318th  in scoring  (6o ppg)
• 341st in 3-point percentage allowed (40.9%)
• only 2 metrics ranked better than 218th
• 2 injuries:

Player		Status/Updated
DeSean Murray	F	Late Jan – Undisclosed (back-up) – 12/3/14	notes
Reggie Dillard	G	out for season – staring Pt. G, Excellent defender, (knee)- 11/15/14	notes

Blue Hose Backcourt: (returning starters=all)
Jordan Downing: star of the show or the biggest Blue Hose if you will –and as any member of the wimminz species will tell you, size matters. Davidson transfer baller in his r-senior 6’5” 2o9 lb. lead-G final year. Father and Uncle both won the N.A.I.A. National Championship together in 1987, so you know he has the Hooping Genome Project on his side. Leads Presbyterian in scoring at 16.1 ppg, on 42% overall and a steady 40% from beyond the arc. Has 375% more 3-point makes than anyone else on the squad, and therefore must be honored as the one truly credible distance threat accordingly. Jordan holds the top five spots in the Presbyterian College Division I record book for highest scoring games; as this kid can light it up as the scoreboard goes from time-to-time. Almost in first place in FT-shooting at a highly pedestrian 72% and change –which tells you something team wide right there. That said, Downing is down from 20.2 ppg on average from 2013-2014. Overall, he is a good shooter who can slash just enough that you have to honor both. Could very well become a lower echelon overseas Pro due to handsome off-G size.

Markus Terry:  Naismith Award winner, as well as the Region Player of the Year as a junior in high school, star Qb on top of all of that. Right now however he is a 6’2” Off.Guard outta necessity due to the season ending injury to Dillard up above (knee). Showed flashes of high-octane scoring at times last year, and is a physically strong kid to be a One. 7.3 ppg, 2.5 rebounds and 2.o assists on a limited 29% from downtown. Seems to have the look and feel of a kid who could possibly do more; although let’s wait and ask his senior year otherwise known as 2017 about that, first.

Austin Anderson: 6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 3.4 assist leader in his junior campaign as a 6’5” 195 lb. shooting-G who seems to enjoy some on the ball point-G skills. Only 22% from 3-point land and a likewise lowered 34% overall do not suggest a pure shooting-G to me. Does lead the playing rotation in FT-attempts at 81% however, and was something of a surprise chooser as basketball over football goes.

Presbyterian Frontcourt: (starters back=everyone)
Ed Drew: 6’5” 215 Suffolk Va. native S/F 2-Guard classic ‘tweener who is the de facto Swing in coach Greg Nibert’s 3-guard offensive set. Very good perimeter defender who fields an uncanny ability to time and therefore block shots from distance. Averaged nearly 7 blocks per game (bpg) in high school as evidence. Uncle and cousin (both Larry Drew’s), played for the Lakers and Miami Heat respectively; big-time saxophonist in his spare time. When he’s not chipping in with 4.5 ppg, 4.8 boards and a second best .8 blocks. Pretty limited range on his J however, as this is a Three that you can actually sag-off-of from the outside.

William Truss: Truss -great low-post name, is it not?- Truss is said to be a walking double-double just looking for a place to happen. A 6’6” 265 lb. Zeus looking human ballistia down in the paint. As this guy is a frontcourt siege-machine indeed. What with a third best 11.8 ppg, and the team lead in rebounds (8.8), blocks (1.8) in and shooting percentage (65.5%) as well. Not half bad for a lean looking offensive-tackle sized football player gone inside mega physical over-match in hoops. Clearly a very strong player is this Mr. Truss –who looks like he’s gone through the Greg Oden instant-aging machine, more than once. Could maybe, possibly, be a fringe overseas professional at the Three spot for his sincere physical strength, willingness, and defensive/rebounding acumen alone.

B.Hose Bench: (depth=2)

1. Jaron Withers: pure high school Pt.Guard who did score and pass alike. McDonald’s All-American honoree. Good size at 6’4” and 200 lbs. as a rookie year voter. Right now Jaron nets you 2.3 ppg in relief with 1.3 rpg and 6/10ths of an assist. The book says he needs to work on his range on his J. 28% on 3’s would appear to agree.
2. Ruben Arroyo-Felix: 4.6 ppg 6’8” 2oo lb. freshmenic year Richmond Va. native. Does have pretty nice size to be a home position Three. Did not have “wow” you high school numbers however. 2.6 rpg to go with 27% shooting are not doing a whole lot to change that. Only kid I’ve ever seen to list both biological parents and both legal-guardians on his biography page. God Bless any story behind that.

 

Illation, conclusion (s) and OPT digits:
Presbyterian won a total of 6 basketball games overall last year as a Big South Conference member. This from a basketball program that is well known to go o-for a given month beyond the O.O.C. (out of conference) portion of their scheduling docket. Likewise the fact that this men’s hoops program has been very user-friendly for a while, ranking not better than 310th in points per game allowed, defensively, for years according to one preview I read. Further, most magazines have Presbyterian slated to finish between 9th and 11th in the eleven team Big South race. 8 straight L’ing D-1 season are difficult, just like that.

***

Presbyterian is not a good basketball team folks, and this just in, rain is still rumored to be wet.
Check it…

• 83 ppg allowed on the road
• 52.2% shooting overall allowed on the road
• 49.5% FT shooting allowed on the road
• 59% FT Hose shooting on the road
• -5 Rebounding Margin on the road

Or in other words, it won’t take many points to spray the Blue Hose good and hard –so to speak. That’s what you get when you host a D-1 men’s hoops program that has only managed to beat the following schools, –perhaps the only schools they will beat all year:

1. Montreat
2. Bob Jones
3. Toccoa Falls
4. Piedmont

So let’s see?
Presbyterian beat … a defunct Airlines, a waterfall, the guy who founded the Masters and built Augusta and … well, I have no idea who or what Montreat is? Canadian?  Bob and Doug, eh?

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Or in other words, if Presbyterian invades and upsets us in our very own Cassell, I b.street will eat, rent and promptly return these very words myself.

You all will get to see them twice, once going down, once coming back.

(88% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=76, Presbyterian=49

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**