2014–15 Longwood Shooting Guard Preview
[caption id=”attachment_3820" align=”alignright” width=”219"]
DJ Allen is expected to be the starter for Longwood heading into the 2014–15 season.[/caption]
2014–15 Season Preview:
Point Guard Preview
Get LancersBlog’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Tristan Carey is a guy that dominated the shooting guard position in Willett Hall for much of the past three years. Gone is TT now to Marso NYKK in Hungary and Longwood is looking to fill the void left by the volume scorer. The good news is that void isn’t necessarily dependent on offensive production. The shooting guard battle right now is between sophomore DJ Allen and freshman Kanayo Obi-Rapu, who we touched on in our point guard preview.
Generally you hear in college basketball that the biggest jump a player will take will be the summer between their freshman and sophomore year. By all accounts, DJ Allen is following that blueprint as he’s stronger and a much more polished player going into the 2014–15 season. Allen started the final six games of the year last season and averaged 8 points per game across that span. We all know that he’s one of the most athletically gifted players on the roster but if he is going to take the next step then he needs to improve his jump-shooting where he was just an 18.4% shooter from three a year ago. If Allen can find a way to continue to slash to the basket while also becoming a perimeter threat then he’ll be a huge weapon for Longwood moving forward.
Obi-Rapu has a little more size and polished shooting ability than Allen at this point but this really may come down to who can prove they are better defender in the preseason. The great news is that having two young, athletic players vying for a starting role is a very good problem to have and it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things who gets the starter label.
Another thing Longwood fans should be excited about is the addition of Ryan Badowski. Last fall, when Badowski committed, you could see the excitement on Coach Gee’s face when he labeled Badowski as a “must have for us”. Badowksi has a professional attitude, will be a flag bearer on and off the court, and has a game to back it up. The 6'3 freshman averaged over 21 points and 4 rebounds per game a year ago and expected to become a premier threat from beyond the arch in the Big South. Badowski shattered the Medina County career record for three pointers with 201 in 86 career games in high school.
Isaac Belton and Tyler Akers will still contribute in various ways as well this year. Obviously Akers is a guy that really benefits the most for Longwood in practice where he always gives 100%. Meanwhile it’s more about maturation and finding a role for the sophomore Isaac Belton. Last year Belton busted on the scene with a 17 point performance against Penn State but then he seemingly fell out of the rotation. He finished the year averaging 7.8 minutes per game and only shot 23.9% from the floor. The question is now, what is Belton’s roll? Can he come in be a defensive stopper or does he need to improve his offensive game. We’ll certainly get a glimpse into that as the season goes on.
