Gameday Preview: at Safety School (7–10,1–2)
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Radford head coach Mike Jones has the Highlanders headed on the right path.[/caption]
Where: Dedmon Center (Radford, VA)
When: Wednesday, January 16 7PM
TV: Big South Network
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Longwood and Radford seem like they would be natural rivals and would cross paths a great deal. The schools have their similarities and differences but basketball is the “flagship” program for both schools (unless you count Virginia Tech football for Radford). Despite this the two schools have only met once in the Division I era and that was during Longwood’s 1–30 campaign in 2004–05. There was a skirmish at the end of that game between Longwood’s Michael Jefferson and Radford’s Whit Holcomb-Faye that may have inhibited the match up being renewed for many years. Wednesday night the two teams will lock horns for the first time in nine years and, hopefully, ignite a rivalry that will build over the foreseeable future.
If you glance at Radford’s roster you’ll notice that the Highlanders are a very young team with only one senior, one junior, four sophomores, and seven freshman. Radford’s head coach Mike Jones was an assistant under Shaka Smart and inherited a mess at Radford a year ago. The Highlanders were under NCAA investigation due to the actions of former head coach Brad Greenberg and now have had sanctions passed down. Jones inherited a 5–24 team and made the tough decision to clean house and build a program the right way. Jones brought in a talented coaching staff and decided to take his lumps in the 2011–12 season going 6–26 with just two wins coming in conference play. Jones hit the local recruiting circuit hard signing seven players out of the state of Virginia in the past two years.
Jones’ moves are already paying dividends for the Highlanders who have already won more games this year than a year ago and had an big conference victory of High Point a week ago. Eight of the Highlanders losses have also come with a ten or less point deficit. To say Radford has one of the most promising programs in the Big South would be a vast understatement right now. Mike Jones and his staff may have just laid out a blueprint for how to build a program in this conference.
One of those local recruits who really stands out for the Highlanders in RJ Price a sophomore guard from Richmond. Price is averaging 13 points per game and 3 assists and is considered the heart of the Highlanders team. Price doesn’t lead the team in scoring, that honor goes to another sophomore guard from Virginia (Alberta) Javonte Green. Green is currently averaging 13.5 points per game and nearly 8 rebounds. He’s another guard that can crash the glass, which has given Longwood plenty of trouble the past couple of games. The last Highlander who averages double-figures is freshman Ya Ya Anderson from Fluvanna, Virginia. Radford’s prime recruit is averaging over 10 points per game in his freshman campaign.
Longwood has been introduced to conference play with three straight conference losses at home, they’ll now look for different luck in their road opener. Mike Gillian praised Nik Brown’s performance against Charleston Southern and also thought it was one of the team’s better defensive performances. TT Carey has turned up the heat in conference play averaging over 15 points per game. Carey has started slashing to the basket more and has also brought intensity on the defensive side of the floor.
Michael Kessens has been in a bit of a funk lately, but he could be a key piece to victory against a guard-laden Radford team. He will need to stay out of foul trouble against a deep team, along with Jeylani Dublin who came off the bench as Karl Ziegler started on Saturday versus Charleston Southern.
Tip off is slated for 7PM and this will be the first of a three game road trip for the Lancers.
