SEC short on experienced point guards

Posted 7:20AM on Friday 29th October 2004 ( 20 years ago )

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - Three years ago, Alabama won a Southeastern Conference title with freshman Mo Williams at point guard. This year, half the league's teams will have new guys running the show on the court, including three top title contenders Alabama, Mississippi State and Kentucky must replace their point men. Ditto for Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina. Vanderbilt's Russell Lakey is gone, too. He started only 13 games last season but was fourth in the league in assists. In fact, only four of the league's top 11 assist men return. ``That's the hardest job and it is very difficult as a freshman to try to come in and do that,'' said Arkansas coach Stan Heath, who started freshman Eric Ferguson at the point last season. ``The thing that you hope for as a freshman is to have some guys around you that make it easy for you. Really, you can be a guy that plays off the other guys on the team.'' Alabama's Mark Gottfried is relying on freshman Ron Steele to run the show. ``It's a tough position to play as a freshman,'' Gottfried said. ``We won an SEC championship with Mo as a freshman so it can happen. You have to remember everything is a new experience for them, the long practices, the level of competition, going on the road. ``Going to play over at Homewood's a whole lot different than going over to play at Florida.'' Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said his philosophy with breaking in sophomore Gary Ervin is ``just letting time take care of itself.'' ``I have total confidence that he's going to be able to do it. It's just understanding where he's at right now and where we need him to be.'' Kentucky has several candidates to start at point guard, including freshman Rajon Rondo and transfer Patrick Sparks. ROBERTS OK: Mississippi State forward Lawrence Roberts had to skip media days after spending Wednesday night in the hospital following a hard fall in practice. Contrary to rumors, coach Rick Stansbury said his star player is just fine. ``It got just kind of blown-up a little bit,'' said Stansbury, adding that it happened just before ``Rick's Rowdies'' student cheering group came into the gym. ``It happened about 6 o'clock and there was about 700 students coming into that gym and Lawrence lays on the floor for about 20 minutes and came off the floor on a neck board.'' He said rumors starting flying quickly. ``By the time we got to the hospital, I get a call and the first thing I hear was, 'Lawrence's neck was broke, he was carried off the floor and his neck was hanging off boards,''' Stansbury said. ``That's where it got started.'' He said Roberts hit the floor hard on his elbow and had tingling in his fingers, prompting fears the injury might be more serious than it actually was. Stansbury said Roberts was kept in the hospital as a precaution. TINY TIGERS: It's hard to imagine Auburn's basketball team getting any smaller, but the new run-and-gun playing style has definitely shrunk guard Ian Young's waist size. He has trimmed down from 225 pounds to 193, and figures fitness will be paramount for the Tigers. ``We're probably going to be in the best shape and the quickest team in the league,'' Young said. The key: ``We run before practice, during practice and after practice.'' All the players had to run a 6-minute mile. The Tigers will open the season with a starting lineup that's all 6-foot-5 or smaller. Only freshman center Ryan Daniels (6-10) tops that mark. ``My coaching staff is taller than the five we'd put out there and that is the truth,'' first-year coach Jeff Lebo said. Chances are, that means Auburn will be only as good as its shooters on any given night. Young said every player on the roster can shoot the 3-pointer, even Daniels. ``We're going to have to shoot a lot of 3s,'' Lebo said. ``We're going to have to make a lot of 3s. We're going to have to be a threat at every spot to be able to score the ball.'' Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said Auburn's smaller lineup will create problems for opponents defensively. ``Offensively, they're going to be fine, because they're going to spread that floor and put a bunch of shooters out there and make it difficult for you to guard,'' Stansbury said. ``Defensively, the lack of size and lack of depth will cause them some problems along the way.'' RAZORBACKS HOPES: Jonathan Modica figures Arkansas is a team to watch after starting three freshmen last season and with an improved inside presence thanks to two center signees. ``We're in a position now where we can really do something special,'' the high-scoring guard said. ``We have some talented players on our team. We've got big guys that can score and that can defend, and that's what we haven't had in the past. ``I think we're going to be the team in the SEC that makes the biggest jump.'' The Razorbacks went 12-16 last season, losing their last four games. But the top four scorers are back, giving coach Stan Heath some hope that Modica could prove prophetic. ``We could make a major jump,'' Heath said. ``Every year there's going to be a surprise team and we hope it's us. The potential is there for it to be us, but there's a big challenge in front of us, too.''

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