Radford Preview
Friday, November 21 2008 by Tiki
I am sitting in the Charlottesville Red Roof Inn, nursing the last remnants of my hangover. Tonight will be my first venture into JPJ this season, and I'm psyched to see this team with my own eyes for the first time. This is going to be a quick preview because I need to start drinking soon, in order to make sure I've got a decent buzz by gametime.
Radford is the second Big South team we will have played this season, and despite VMI's upset over Kentucky, this team might be the tougher one. Coach Brad Greenberg, brother of Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, has the Highlanders on the right track after a few pretty bad seasons including last years 10-20 overall record.
Radford plays a 3 guard lineup, led by 5'9" PG Amir Johnson. Johnson had almost half the team's assists last year, to go along with 13 points and 4 rebounds. The other two guards are Kenny Thomas and Martell McDuffy, last years top two scorers. Thomas and McDuffy are both about 6'3" or 6'4", and are both streaky shooters who can put up points in bunches, or shoot their team out of a game. Thomas is also the top perimeter defender on the squad, and will likely be guarding Landesberg most of the game.
Up front for the Highlanders is 6'8" junior Joey Lynch-Flohr and Artsiom Parakhouski. Parakhouski is a 6'11" 260 pound transfer from Southern Idaho. Lynch-Flohr was the Highlanders leading rebounder last season, and is leading the team so far this season. Parakhouski is a bigger offensive threat that his frontcourt mate, and will likely get a lot of touches with his back to the basket. Without a real post defender, he could be a problem for the Hoos.
Behind the starting 5, there are a bunch of upperclassmen, led by 6'8" Eric Hall, who was a starter a year ago, and 6'7" Nick McFarlin. The only freshman expected to get much PT is backup PG Aaron Austin.
All in all, this a tough matchup for the Hoos. Facing a deep, veteran team is dangerous for such a young team. The Radford big men can get easy scoring opportunities inside against a Hoos defense that hasn't overly impressed so far this season. On the offensive end, if Thomas can keep Landesberg from getting his shots, who on the Hoos will step up into the scoring role? Tucker might have a good matchup with his size and perimeter skills. Zeglinski and Baker both have a big height advantage on Johnson, so maybe the two of them can get some options down low.
Again, I'm excited to see the team play live, and I'm excited to see JPJ again (I can't get enough of that place). But, I'm concerned about this game. Hopefully, a friday night crowd aided by people in town for tomorrow's Clemson game, will help pump the team up and they'll get another W.