LAWRENCE, Kan. In the teams biggest sport of 4 seasons at this point,
Cameron Fleming Jersey Georgetown center Joshua Smith demonstrated that hes still not the user he needs to keep order to have the Hoyas a force in March. After a few minutes of inspired play to begin with this online game, he was really a non-factor everyone else in the way as the Jayhawks blew out Georgetown, 86-64 , in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.
Smiths day begun good enough. He hit the games first bucket for the reverse layup after sealing off Kansas center Joel Embiid. Our next trip around the court, Smith posted up Embiid again, that time period hitting a cutting Nate Lubick for a running layup. Two po se sions later, Smith hit another layup.
MORE: Perry Ellis takes woozy free throw | Kentucky rallies back against Belmont
But as followers of school basketball have experienced from Smith frequently throughout his college career, sustaining an advanced level of production remains challenging for any UCLA transfer.
Aside from the technical foul for elbowing Kansas forward Tarik Black, Smith did little of consequence through out the experience. Kansas adjusted through the first half, guarding Smith closer and daring Georgetowns limited defense to help make the stops nece sary to topple the Jayhawks their very own home court. Smith fouled out in 19 minutes of action after scoring just five points and unable to corral an individual rebound or block a try.
When asked whether Smiths struggles stemmed using a scarcity of activity, failing to make the secondary adjustment after Kansas athletic front line paid closer attention, or maybe just when i was in unacceptable places on the wrong times, Georgetown head coach John Thompson III was short but direct: All of
Scott Chandler Jersey the aforementioned.
On the other one end, Embiids effort, where he scored 17 points on just four shots and added eight rebounds, illuminated the stark contrast between where he can be for an NBA prospect at this point and where Smith was on December 2, 2010, while he must have been a freshman matchup nightmare for Marcus and Markieff Morris current NBA regulars on his method to a 17-point, 13-rebound performance for
Jamil Douglas Jersey UCLA for the same court.
Its important to note that at similar stages for their careers, Embiid is a really different prospect than Smith was. Embiid has turned scouts heads all season long which includes a wide-ranging skills while Smith has counted on his size, brute force and a soft touch around the bucket. Josh has been a load and then he couldnt guard him [that day], Kansas head coach Bill Self recalled. Joel isnt that adheres to that in anyway. Joel is efficient in which he can impact the action in plenty of ways. Hes not our very best pa ser, but hes out soon.
PHOTOS: College coaches then and
Its still entirely po sible for Smith to generally be a powerful weapon for that Hoyas. Besides Saturdays performance, hes been precisely that these days. He came into Lawrence averaging 14.5 points per game in 21 minutes per contest over Georgetowns last six outings, but his prospect shine wore off previously since he struggled with conditioning and foul trouble and hell be approved by stronger front lines should the Hoyas start Big East play.
For Embiid, however, his pro potential remains virtually unlimited. His footwork is advanced, he gets outside transition, and hes been a sponge utilized and film review se sions, depending on Self. Hes as bright as anybody we certainly have on our team with picking stuff up and reading things.
While Smith will continue to toil, Embiid has matured in to a nightmare for both ends for opposing coaches and hes with the best collegiate programs for developing NBA big men. Embiid still isn
Ryan Allen Jersey t a finished product, but his performance on Saturday demonstrated the difference between his accelerating development and Smiths stunted growth.
(Brian Goodman can be described as columnist for Rush A legal court 's Big 12 microsite, featuring news, commentary and analysis on Big 12 basketball )