Courtesy: South Alabama http://www.usajaguars.com/

MOBILE, Ala. --- With an exhibition game one day away, University of South Alabama men’s basketball head coach Ronnie Arrow hopes his offense can quickly get on the same level as his defense.

Defensively the Jaguars have excelled so far and will have their first public test Thursday night in an exhibition against West Florida.

“Through three scrimmages I feel like the best part of what we’re doing right now is our team defense, which is what we’ve spent the most time on,” said Arrow. “Now we have to have our offense catch up. The guys have worked hard to get where we are right now but we’ve put in a lot of stuff for these new guys to know for these first few games. We’d like to take longer to get them up to speed but you can’t. We’ve put in a lot of stuff and now we have to refine them.”

The preseason tilt against the Argos, a member of NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference, will give the Jags an evaluation in game conditions before the season opener Nov. 13 vs. Houston Baptist.

“We have certain things that we want to work on,” said Arrow. “We’re going to be doing some different things this year offensively and defensively. We don’t have the same team as last year. We have a much quicker team and our wings are much bigger. We’ll probably stretch our defense 94 feet.”

SMALL WONDERS

Because of the lack of depth in the frontcourt and the athleticism of the “wings,” the players who were penciled in to the small forward or ‘3’ position, will have to play in the post as well.

“We’ve had to adjust a lot of that because some of those ‘3s’ are now playing the ‘4,’ said Arrow. “For us to get the best five guys on the court, some of our ‘3s’ are going to have to play the ‘4’ and in some cases, some of them might have to play the ‘4’ and the ‘5’ to get the speed and quickness we want.”

Senior LaShun Watson (Greenville, Ga.), the team’s top returning scorer (7.0 ppg) and rebounder (4.2 rpg), has cemented his spot at the small forward position. He started 21 times last year, more than any other returning players combined.

“LaShun has been doing well,” said Arrow. “He’s shooting the ball better. He has to consistently do the things that he can do well and that’s guard and offensive rebound. He has to do more dirty work than what he’s used to doing. He’s starting to get there but he’s the type of player that has to get offensive rebounds and put-backs, go to the free throw line and get three to five steals a game. For him to be the best he can be, he needs to be the guy who does the dirty work.”

Juniors Gary Redus (Decatur, Ala.) and Tim Williams (Pontiac, Mich.) are two versatile players that can play a multitude of positions.

“Gary has definitely shown that he will be in the lineup, either at the ‘2’ or ‘3’ spot and even at the point guard spot. He’s 6-7, a big wing (player) and can shoot the ball from the outside. He’ll be out there doing his thing and giving us size at the wing. Tim Williams can play the ‘3’ and the ‘4’ and we can take advantage of his quickness on the inside.”

A wildcard in the mix is freshman Martino Brock (Memphis, Tenn.). Brock averaged 18.7 points per game last year at Maine Central Institute, a prep school.

“Martino is really a ‘3’ but he’s so explosive that we’ll be playing him at the ‘4,’ said Arrow. “He can beat taller, bigger, stronger people by using his quickness, especially off the dribble.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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