-Tommy Foltz
The Mason Jones Show just keeps keepin’ on.
In the Hogs’ most recent outing, Mason Jones scored 21 points in a 14-point loss at Florida. Jones is the best guard in the SEC, but he’s going to have a hard time getting SEC Player of the Year if the Hogs don’t rack up some wins going forward.
He’s the most consistent scorer in the league and his motor is always running. After practically every game, opposing coaches rave about the junior, but as Coach Muss said, “he needs help out there.”
That help, at least for this season, will come in the form of Isaiah Joe and nobody’s sure when he will come back. He dressed out last night and went through warm-ups, but didn’t get out there. Some think he’ll be back as early as this Saturday against Missouri game.
ADRIO BAILEY:
—16 points
—A bunch of rebounds
—Two 3-pointers
—1 flop to draw a technical on Florida
—Priceless
HINDERED:
Ethan Henderson started in front of Chaney and had a whale of a game by fouling out in just 11 minutes. He did score 7, but he fouled out in 11 minutes? That’s almost a foul for every 2 minutes he was in the game. That’s pretty……..ummmmm pathetic.
Chaney came in for 5 minutes and scored 0. Desi Sills played 35 minutes and scored 0. What’s going on here?
OFFICIALLY:
I’m not one who usually complains about the officiating since it’s usually bad on both ends of the court, so it’s a wash.
I’ve played a lot of basketball in my life and trust me when I say I took a lot of shots. I’m not sure how you hit the floor after a shot if you didn’t get fouled when you took it. Our guys were constantly on the floor after a shot in the first half.
Also: It appears that walking on the way to the basket is now allowed in college basketball, but not when you’re out on the court where it doesn’t really matter. Who made the collective decision to start officiating this way?
And then, at the 8:59 mark of the first half we get called for a block on the most obvious charge I’ve seen in all my years of watching basketball. And Jones got called for charging with less than 2 minutes in the game on a very questionable call.
All we really want out of our refs is some consistency. The lack of consistency in officiating in the SEC amounts to effectively changing the rules on a game-by-game basis. Either let them play, or don’t.
It’s an issue that the SEC needs to address.
HERE’S THE DEAL:
The Hogs are in a bad place. When we have to bring a guy (Henderson) in who fouls out in just 11 minutes and the guy (Chaney) who was starting in front of him literally did nothing but take one shot, which he missed, and Desi Sills doesn’t hit a shot in 35 minutes, all is NOT well.
We just don’t have the players to consistently win in this league right now, but we’re still competing to some degree. It’s all because of Mason Jones. We’ll be better when we get Isaiah back, but the other three guys on the court have got to do more than grab an occasional rebound.
Jimmy Whitt was balling out of his mind just a couple weeks ago, but his ability to kill it from mid-range has dried up since Joe left and the Hogs’ offense has become less open.
It’s not Musselman’s fault. He’s doing what he can with what he’s got and what he’s got is not a lot. Help is on the way, but not until next year.
You can coach your players to be tough, but not to be tall. We’re tough, but not we’re not tall. And, even in this era of “small ball” height still matters an awful lot in basketball.
