UMBC Preview
December 07, 2005 11:42 AM | General
December 7, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia’s 50-point victory over Division III Washington & Jefferson last Saturday gave Coach John Beilein an opportunity to get some younger players a chance to get their feet wet on the court.
 |
||
| Senior center Kevin Pittsnogle is averaging 17.7 points and 6.1 rebouds per game.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“That was a game where we wanted to see some of our young guys get on to the floor, make a shot and get a rebound. I had almost 20 cuts just for Joe Alexander that I can’t give him in practice,” said Beilein.
The coach said all of the highlight clips he showed the freshman forward were positive in nature.
“It was, ‘Look at your body angle here.’ For Joe, offensively he tries to go in and dunk rebounds instead of getting the rebound,” Beilein said. “Be less sensational and just be good. That’s how great players become great – they just make a lot of good plays.”
Because the Mountaineers (4-3) have had a difficult early season schedule, Beilein says it has been tough finding spots to get his younger players some playing time.
“I sense a lot of people want to see Joe and Alex (Ruoff) more and they’ll be ready when they’re ready. We’re pushing it like crazy to get them as ready as we can. But we also have to make to make sure it’s the right time,” Beilein said.
Perhaps that might be tonight when the Mountaineers play host to 2-3 Maryland, Baltimore-County at the WVU Coliseum.
The Retrievers show wins over Maryland Eastern Shore (75-65) and Delaware (85-84), and losses to La Salle (70-55), Towson (60-55) and Loyola, Md. (71-64). UMBC’s top scorer Joe Zito did not play in the Retriever’s most recent game against Delaware due to a sprained ankle. Zito is averaging 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
“They’re very much like St. Bonaventure who gave us great trouble with dribble drives,” Beilein said of UMBC. “They’re a very athletic team and they get to the rim.”
Six-three sophomore guard Brian Hodges averages 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound senior forward Jerrell Dinkins averages 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
“They’re smaller than some of the teams we play and that may cause problems at times. That’s why we were able to play Texas so well because we were smaller than them,” Beilein said.
The Retrievers are also expected to start 6-6, 220-pound junior Mike Housman at forward, 6-10, 255-pound freshman Chris Timba at center, and 6-2, 170-pound junior Chris Pugh at guard.
UMBC is 13-22 in two seasons under Randy Monroe.
West Virginia will utilize the same lineup it has used all year with Frank Young and Mike Gansey at forwards, Joe Herber and J.D. Collins at guards, and Kevin Pittsnogle at center.
Gansey and Pittsngole have been West Virginia’s two most consistent scorers through seven games, averaging 19.1 and 17.7 points per game respectively. Unlike last year when Tyrone Sally was West Virginia’s go-to player, Beilein says he’s still not sure which player that is right now.
“After all these years you’d think you’d have it figured out but I don’t have it figured out yet who we want to get the ball to at the right time at the right place depending upon the match ups,” he said. “Tyrone did a lot of those things. Kevin is being more of a presence inside.
“We’ll do the right things sometimes and we’ll push the wrong button sometimes. It’s all part of the growth of the team.”
The objective for these December games, according to Beilein, is finding out what his team does best and eliminating the things they don’t do well.
“When you’re changing the way we do it can become very complicated and sometimes you can outsmart yourself a little bit,” he said. “We’re trying to find out what works so we can actually cut down a little bit. We’re throwing a lot of things out there so we can see what we need to cut down in January and February.”
Tonight’s game is a Dairy Mart 2-for-1 special, meaning any fan can pick up a coupon at a local Dairy Mart and present it to the Mountaineer Ticket Office to get two tickets for the price of one. The contest will tip off at 7 pm.
MSN radio’s live pre-game coverage begins at 6:30 pm.
