Just another game for a coach with 400 plus
victories, whose star player plays the wing and is a 3 point
marksman and whose season hinges on a post player who has foot
problems. Must be talking about Stanford, right? Nope, it’s
the Bruins of Belmont.
Belmont’s coach is Rick Bryd who has
compiled 414 wins in his 20-year career and may be the best coach
who coaches a team called the Bruins. Their best player is 6-5
Wes Burtner who averaged 20 points a game last year and is
shooting at a 50% clip so far this year. Adam Sonn is a 6-8
center who played a key role in their victories over Georgia
State and Valparaiso. Sonn is listed as questionable for the
Stanford Invitational due to a stress fracture. He played 11
minutes Sunday vs. Stetson, Belmont scores a lot of points off
free throws. That is where the similarities end however.
The Bruins will be hoisting up three point
shots as soon as they get off the bus. Belmont was second only to
Duke last year in 3-point attempts made at 10.3 per game. The
have been the only school to rank in the top three in that
category for the last 3 years. This year is no different. In an
odd stat, when Belmont wins, approximately 66% of their points
come from three-point land and free throws. Do they have an
inside game? Why do they get fouled so much? Those
questions and more will be answered Tuesday night.
The Bruin offense will remind Booties of
Princeton, Oregon State last year and Southern Utah this year.
They will run a high post motion offense. We will see a lot of
screens and back cuts. The majority of the offense runs through
the high post. Adam Sonn runs the offense to perfection. 6-10
Scott Blackwell and 6-8 Adam Mark will be asked to take over
running the post if Sonn can’t go. Over-play the perimeter
and get back doored. Give the wings some space and they shoot the
3.
Most nights the Bruins play man to man. They
did however, beat Lefty Driesell’s Georgia State team using
a 2-3 zone that turned into a 3-2. They will half court trap on
occasion. The Bruins are holding opponents to under 40% from the
field.
The Players
Starters
| # |
Player |
Height |
Year |
Comments |
| 40 |
Wes Burtner |
6-5 |
Sr |
24 vs. Stetson Sunday |
| 44 |
Adam Mark |
6-8 |
So |
32 vs. Stetson Sunday |
| 55 |
Scotty Blackwell |
6-10 |
So |
|
| 20 |
Wil Howard-Downs |
6-4 |
So |
|
| 12 |
BJ Proffitt |
6-2 |
Sr |
|
Bench
| # |
Player |
Height |
Year |
Comments |
| 14 |
Steve Drabym |
6-0 |
So |
Instant offense - went for 21 points vs. Georgia St. |
| 13 |
Adam Sonn |
6-8 |
Jr |
24 points, 9 assists vs. Valpo |
What to Look for
This should be a good game for Stanford to
work on their perimeter defense. Our post players and others will
need to provide weak side help vs. the back door. I look for
Justin to get a lot of touches down low to help him develop his
game. Likewise; I see Casey taking three pointer after three
pointer. School’s out and the kids can concentrate on
basketball – the way it should be :). This could be a great
tournament for Chris Hernandez to get serious PT and the feel of
the offense.
Belmont will be a pesky team who will play
hard for 40 minutes. If the Cardinal doesn’t come to play
and if Belmont gets hot from 3-point land, it could be a closer
game than us Booties would like. The Cardinal will need to defend
the perimeter! The possible shootout between Casey and Burtner
will be worth watching.