Kentucky Basketball Preview – Know Your Enemy: Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
By Paul Jordan
GAME 10
December 18, 2010 8:00 PM
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
DELTA DEVILS (1-8)
TV – CSS-TV
Series History
Kentucky leads 2-0
Recent Meetings
12/7/2008: KENTUCKY 88 MVSU 65
11/17/2006: KENTUCKY 79 MVSU 56
It’s been well documented the plight of tiny Mississippi Valley State and it’s head coach, former Wildcat Sean Woods. MVSU’s story is the same as dozens of other small schools struggling to survive and this year the Demons have the ultimate road trip schedule with no home games until January 8. Kentucky is the fourth SEC schhol on the Delta Devils slate and the previous three games have all been losses: Georgia by 2, Ole Miss by 32, and Arkansas by 23. MVSU has also lost to Indiana by 17.
I actually think that the most interesting thing about the Delta Devils is its mascot. Some people think that the mascot is a homage to Mississippi blues musician Robert Johnson, who was said to have made a deal with the devil. Whether that is true or not, I’m not sure but it’s a tidbit you can share with your friends while you are waiting for Jarrod Polson to make an appearance in what should be a tremendous blowout.
THE STARTERS
#11 G – D’ANGELO JACKSON SR 6’1 170
10.2 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.6 apg
#3 G – TERRANCE JOYNER JR 6’2 175
10.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.2 apg
#22 F – ORLANDO SMITH SR 6’5 210
5.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.4 apg
#42 F JASON HOLMES JR 6’9 225
8.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.7 apg
#23 F FALONDO JONES JR 6’4 210
5.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.9 apg
BACK COURT
D’Angelo Jackson is pretty hit or miss as a scorer, with four games under 7 points and 5 games in double digits or better. Jackson can fill the basket up on any given night and is fairly dangerous from beyond the 3-point line and loves to shoot from beyond the line. Jackson can create his own shots, but is not a great ball handler averaging 1.6 assists to 3.8 turnovers per game. Jackson also has a tendency to get into foul trouble with five games over 3 fouls this season. Terrance Joyner brings a similar skill set to Jackson. Both are capable of having big nights and like to launch the threes. Joyner is also not much of a ball handler, with 1.2 assists to 3.3 TO’s a game. Joyner is solid defensively and is adept at stealing the ball but also shares the tendency to get into foul trouble. 5’10 Kevin Burwell is a spot starter and is averaging 7.3 points and 2 rebounds.
FRONT COURT
Orlando Smith is pretty limited as a scorer with six games of four points or less. He is capable of having a decent night as a rebounder with a couple of double digits and does not seem to mind doing the grunt work around the basket. Jason Holmes brings a bit more style and substance to the backcourt. He has good size and is a banger, but he seems to be focusing on the rebounding aspect a bit more than scoring. He’s capable of a good night, but like most of his teammates is pretty streaky. Like some of his fellow mates, he is prone to foul trouble with a four game streak of four fouls. You can pretty much substitute what I have been saying about the whole team for Falondo Jones. Inconsistent scorer, spotty rebounder, and fouls a lot. Jones is actually hitting just 28% of his FG attempts.
OUTLOOK
I’m not going to lie. This is a game that Kentucky should win by 30-40 or so. The Delta Devils have been blown out in virtually every game and their best game was a 2 point loss at Georgia in the first game of the season. Kentucky’s length and athleticism should lead to a ton of turnovers and hopefully we can see lots of Poole, Hood, and Polson down the stretch.
Not to sugarcoat, but the real victory is the fact the Delta Devils get a nice check for this game and hopefully this insane schedule keeps Sean Woods and his program afloat to play in better days. In a call off the dogs early win, Kentucky 85, MVSU 57
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