{"id":2735,"date":"2009-11-18T06:29:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-18T06:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/sports\/lbsu-bball-vs-pepperdine-player-by-player-review\/"},"modified":"2009-11-18T06:29:00","modified_gmt":"2009-11-18T06:29:00","slug":"lbsu-bball-vs-pepperdine-player-by-player-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/lbsu-bball-vs-pepperdine-player-by-player-review","title":{"rendered":"LBSU BBall Vs. Pepperdine: Player-By-Player Review"},"content":{"rendered":"


Photo by Andrew Veis<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to a new feature we’re pretty excited about\u2014let us know if you like it, and we’ll keep doing it.\u00a0 The idea is to give a little bit of in-depth analysis of how every player who got playing time did in a game, after a little reflection and a second look at the game film.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Long Beach State @ Pepperdine, 11-17-09<\/p>\n

The Starting Five<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

#2 Eugene Phelps<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Phelps did not have a good game.\u00a0 <\/span>First, it seems like he might be trying to set school records for early fouls, getting whistled for his first just 40 seconds into the game, and finishing with 4 (that’s 9 in two games).\u00a0 <\/span>He’s being asked to play against centers much taller than he is, but if he keeps trying to make up for that differential by hacking guys on the forearm, he’s going to keep getting under 20 minutes as a starter.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On offense, the intensity was still there\u2014he did a good job drawing fouls by not shying from contact under the hoop, but he also didn’t shy from situations he maybe should have, getting blocked twice in the first four minutes.\u00a0 <\/span>Also in the first four minutes, got his second whistle for trying to draw a foul\u2026while moving both feet.\u00a0 <\/span>I’m pretty sure I know how that story ends\u2014with Phelps on the bench five minutes into the ballgame.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In the second half, he definitely came out with an attitude on the offensive side of the ball\u2014on the defensive side, though, he was a great representative for the 49ers’ bad rebounding.\u00a0 <\/span>Repeatedly tried to “poke” the ball forward to breaking teammates, instead of grabbing it, didn’t hold position on box-outs (which again, is a problem made worse by the fact that those guys are taller than he is).\u00a0 <\/span>Did not do a good job on help defense when dribblers got by Ware or Anderson.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The upside for Phelps on this game is that he clearly shows the potential\u2014and it’s obvious from his demeanor that he’s bringing energy and he wants to get better.\u00a0 <\/span>But so far, he’s not there.\u00a0 <\/span>Scored just four points and grabbed one rebound in the first half (again, with limited minutes due to fouls).\u00a0 <\/span>Doesn’t have much time to keep struggling\u2014he’s had a hard time against Pepperdine and Alaska\u2026Notre Dame might be a bit of a stretch.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

“We’re better with Gene in,” said coach Dan Monson.\u00a0 <\/span>“But he has to settle down.”<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#15 T.J. Robinson<\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Robinson won the tip for the second straight game, giving the Niners the first possession.\u00a0 <\/span>Robinson is a quiet workhorse, and that demeanor was one of the team’s biggest problems first half.\u00a0 <\/span>Robinson had nine points on 3-4 shooting, and had drawn three fouls in the first half.\u00a0 <\/span>The next best shooter was Gilling, at 1-5 (with Anderson and Ware both 0-fers).\u00a0 <\/span>In other words, Robinson was the only player scoring, Pepperdine clearly had no idea what to do with him\u2026and he shot the ball four <\/em>times.\u00a0 <\/span>If he demands the ball, they’re not losing at halftime.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

That said\u2014he had a good game.\u00a0 <\/span>Continued to mystify defenses with that left hand, double-clutching his first shot off the glass.\u00a0 <\/span>Wasn’t in great position on the defensive glass, failing to box out several times\u2014but that was the entire team.\u00a0 <\/span>He was the only guy who went for the ball with some attitude in the air, finishing with 10 rebounds\u2014almost a full third of the team’s paltry 33 boards (to Pepperdine’s 54, 25 of which were on offense).\u00a0 <\/span>15 points, 10 rebounds\u2014against teams at or below LBSU’s level, Robinson can get that every night.\u00a0 <\/span>But if they’re going to take the next step, he has to do more, at least until a great post player develops or arrives.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Was T’d up for hanging on the rim after a dunk\u2014a bad call though, since he was moving so quickly he would have fallen on his back if he hadn’t righted himself (you can also see there’s a Pepperdine player under him).\u00a0 <\/span>Would not be surprised if that’s the only aggression based technical he’s whistled for this year.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#21 Larry Anderson<\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

So many positives from Anderson, even in a sloppy affair.\u00a0 <\/span>For one, he continues to look like a leader in all the little ways\u2014he got an unfriendly ref to laugh and smile twice while gabbing with him during stoppages.\u00a0 <\/span>It seems stupid, but you need a guy who can do that\u2014watch any NBA team with an alpha leader, and I promise you’ll see it at least a few times a game.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He did, however, have an awful (if crafty) first half.\u00a0 <\/span>He was missing everything\u2014an at-the-rim finish where he was fouled softly, an open jumper.\u00a0 <\/span>So he did what great players (at all levels) do when their shots aren’t falling\u2014he made the other team foul him, taking six shots in the first half and making five of them.\u00a0 <\/span>When none of your scorers are hitting (and aside from Robinson, none of them were), you need a smart player who can get you those points, and Anderson was that guy on Tuesday.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

Started the second half by missing an offensive tip-in.\u00a0 <\/span>His next shot was a dagger of a three, and from that point on, he was 5-6 and finished with a team-high 20 points.\u00a0 <\/span>He provided the spark they needed with a solo steal, breakaway dunk, followed by another dunk (this time switching hands while he threw down).\u00a0 <\/span>The three and the two dunks took the team from down two, to up five, and they never trailed again in the game.\u00a0 <\/span>The dunks also got the entire team fired up, and helped spur a 16-5 run. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Plenty of negatives in Anderson’s game in the first half\u2014in the second?\u00a0 <\/span>Here’s what I wrote: “Could have grabbed the Pepperdine shot he spiked into their bench.”\u00a0 <\/span>That was his biggest mistake of the second half.\u00a0 <\/span>Seriously.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#22 Casper Ware<\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Ware had what his coach called a “very solid” game.\u00a0 <\/span>“I thought he was real active all game,” said Monson.\u00a0 <\/span>He was\u2014it was the kind of effort you expect from Ware.\u00a0 <\/span>He didn’t do a great job dribble-penetrating against the Pepperdine zone in the first half, which might have helped to open the court up a little.\u00a0 <\/span>In the second half, he carved them up, which helped facilitate a lot of guys getting open looks (Plater was the biggest recipient).<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Made a smart point guard move\u2014seeing that Phelps was struggling, and having the option to hit either he or Anderson for an easy two on a fast break, he chose Phelps.\u00a0 <\/span>Good to see a PG trying to ease the frustration of good role players like that.\u00a0 <\/span>Did figure out that the Pepperdine zone was weak towards the baseline, and zipped a pass to Robinson under the basket for an easy bucket.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Finished with just six\u00a0 <\/span>assists and three points\u2014but his movement in the second half did key other guys getting off.\u00a0 <\/span>Also played very well with Anderson in the press, as they combined for eight steals (and 17 in the first two games).<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#33 Stephan Gilling<\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

There’s an old, stupid Music major joke that goes, “What’s a drummer without a girlfriend?\u00a0 <\/span>Homeless.”\u00a0 <\/span>Along those lines, what’s a shooter who’s gone cold?\u00a0 <\/span>Jobless.\u00a0 <\/span>Gilling was just 1-7 (1-5 beyond the arc) on Tuesday.\u00a0 <\/span>That means in two games he’s 7-18, and 3-11 beyond the arc.\u00a0 <\/span>Defensively, he remains solid in dribble defense\u2014but this team has other guys who are solid in dribble defense as well.\u00a0 <\/span>That he might be being pressed for his job showed when he spent 11 minutes on the bench in the second half, watching Plater go 3-6 from beyond the arc.\u00a0 <\/span>Plater, it’s worth mentioning in Gilling’s section, is very solid in dribble defense.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Gilling’s lone steal was his quintessential play, as he backed a Wave towards the backline, then headfaked at him and grabbed the ball out of his hands, leaving the Wave to spread his arms at the ref, who just shook his head.\u00a0 <\/span>Still\u2014he’s on the floor not just to play good defense, but to knock down shots.\u00a0 <\/span>And for the second game, he didn’t do that.\u00a0 <\/span>Final count for minutes\u2014Gilling: 25.\u00a0 <\/span>Plater: 21.\u00a0 <\/span>Points total?\u00a0 <\/span>Gilling: 4.\u00a0 <\/span>Plater: 11.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The Reserves<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

#3 Greg Plater<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Played just over half the game, and was pretty good.\u00a0 <\/span>This was the kind of sloppy game where the appearance of energy stands out, and Plater brought that.\u00a0 <\/span>He did a very good job working in the offense, slashing back and forth across the court to get his looks, almost all of which were open as a result.\u00a0 <\/span>On defense, he was good in one-on-one situations, but not so great in transition, and in man-switches.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

At one point, closing out on a perimeter shooter, he literally tripped over himself, allowing a wide open three (which Pepperdine converted).\u00a0 <\/span>If he’d played a little better on defense, or been a little better shooting (3-8 from beyond the arc, including 3-6 in the second half) it would be easier to see him becoming a bigger part of the rotation than the already starter-like minutes he’s getting.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#10 Arturas Lazdauskas<\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

For anyone hoping the Big A would evolve into a dominant post player between Saturday and Tuesday\u2014didn’t happen.\u00a0 <\/span>Still just looks out of rhythm and slow.\u00a0 <\/span>Shortly after coming into the game, he had the ball stripped from him\u2014he proceeded to run down the court and foul the guy who stole it.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

For a player lacking speed as Big A does, footwork and positioning become even more essential, and he was as bad as anyone at failing to box out and get position on defense, allowing offensive rebound after rebound.\u00a0 <\/span>Two points, three rebounds, and one block aren’t enough for 13 minutes of work in the paint\u2014the points were on a put-back of a Plater miss, easy points earned with great positioning, which he never really did on defense.\u00a0 <\/span>Defensive play of the game was drawing a charge in the first half.\u00a0 <\/span>Also failed to provide help defense when dribblers broke the front line (this, like the rebounding, was systemic of the whole team).<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#11 Lin Chang<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, the debut of Lin Chang!\u00a0 <\/span>If you blinked, you may have missed it, however, as he got in for just forty seconds or so in the waning minutes of the first half.\u00a0 <\/span>He looked athletic and ran well up and down the court (both times he made the trip, that is).\u00a0 <\/span>His quick yanking\u2014he went in with 1:23 left in the half and was pulled before it ended\u2014seemed to be in response to a specific play.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He tried to run a pick-and-roll with Ware at the top of the key.\u00a0 <\/span>He screened the Wave for a moment, but came off the screen much too early, dropping back quickly and holding his hands up for the pass\u2014but he’d come off so early that the defender easily got back on top of Ware and intercepted the pass.\u00a0 <\/span>If he’s going to run the pick-and-roll (and play in the post as it seems his coaches want him to), he’s going to have to learn not to shy from contact.\u00a0 <\/span>Monson put him back on the bench immediately.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

#24 Jesse Woodard<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

Woodard played an impressive three minutes, if that’s possible.\u00a0 <\/span>He was whistled for a foul on his first play, when he practically climbed into Pepperdine’s PG’s shorts defending him.\u00a0 <\/span>I didn’t see an actual foul, it seemed the ref blew the whistle because he was just too close to him, which was emblematic of his defensive style.\u00a0 <\/span>Very hassling, very quick, and with good enough footwork to let guys go around him.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Was actually most impressed with him on offense on a play he didn’t score (he didn’t take a shot).\u00a0 <\/span>Despite the fact that he’s surely hungry for court-time, and to have the ball in his hands, he made a very unselfish play while leading a fast break.\u00a0 <\/span>It was three on one, with Woodard carrying the ball downcourt and Anderson and Richardson in front of him.\u00a0 <\/span>The lone Wave defender was playing off him enough that he could definitely have gone up for a shot, possibly making it and certainly drawing a foul.\u00a0 <\/span>When a guy hasn’t played all game, you almost expect him to make that decision\u2014instead, he head faked and dished to Anderson, who dropped it to Richardson for an easy dunk.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Very mature decision.<\/p>\n

#34 Kyle Richardson<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re in Vegas and you see the lines for “Long Beach post player most likely to blossom into what the team needs to hit the next level,” I doubt you’re going to make much money by betting on Richardson.\u00a0 <\/span>Looked pretty good once again, particularly on the offensive side\u2014his first points came (Long Beach fans should prepare to gasp in delight) after backing in the Pepperdine center, then turning, dropping his shoulder, and hitting the short jumper.\u00a0 <\/span>That’s right, a Long Beach State player scoring on a back-to-the-basket effort.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He did commit a bad foul on defense, weakly slapping a Pepperdine player as he went up for a layup, drawing the whistle while allowing the bucket.\u00a0 <\/span>Also fumbled a must-have rebound in the first half when the team was desperate to stop the rebound-fumbling bleeding.\u00a0 <\/span>If he’d been more aggressive on the glass, he undoubtedly would have gotten more than the nine minutes he did.\u00a0 <\/span>The team didn’t need points inside, which he was getting them\u2014it desperately needed someone to pull down boards.\u00a0 <\/span>Drew a charge perfectly the play after Robinson’s technical, putting his hands up, taking a deep breath, and not flinching just before a Pepperding player put an elbow into his stomach.\u00a0 <\/span>Got the whistle, and stole the momentum back.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Already looking forward to watching his development\u2014there’s just so much upside once he puts it all together.\u00a0 <\/span>And again, if you’re in Vegas and you’re looking at Lazdauskas, Phelps, Richardson, and Fleming…I’d put my money on Richardson.\u00a0 <\/span>If he steps up, it’ll help Phelps enormously, since Phelps’ biggest problem seems to be that he’s just not tall enough to play where his coaches have him.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/p>\n

#50 Andrew Fleming<\/o:p><\/strong><\/p>\n

A definite step back for Fleming this week, as he got just four minutes, committing two fouls and grabbing two boards.\u00a0 <\/span>He, like the rest of the team, struggled to simply put both hands on a rebound, press them together, land with the ball, and stand up without turning it over.\u00a0 <\/span>On one play, he let a rebound slip through his hands, and Corbin Moore caught it.\u00a0 <\/span>When Moore went back up, Fleming fouled him\u2014it was at least hard enough to keep him from making the shot, but that clumsiness seemed to sum up Fleming’s short night, as well as his team’s first half.\u00a0 <\/span>Drew one foul in the bonus, and missed the free throw.\u00a0 <\/span>Will watch his minutes against Notre Dame carefully\u2014he simply has to pull in more rebounds to justify his court time.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re going to break down the performance of every 49er who played in yesterday’s game against Pepperdine\u2014yes, even Lin Chang, who was in for forty seconds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2735\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2735"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2735"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}