Vanderbilt Legit, Crocs Win 1st Game

Will AJ Ogilvy be the next Aussie to taste the NBA lifestyle?


I'm here to tell Dick Vitale, Andy Katz and anyone else who wants to listen, the Vanderbilt Commodores will be a legit team this upcoming NCAA season.

They have a Sweet 16 roster, then luck plays a part the rest of the way.

Here is why the Commodores bandwagon will be full by March. (Although they went down 104-99 to the Townsville Crocodiles, Sunday afternoon.)

Jermaine Beal is a scoring point guard who is going to give teams fits for 40 minutes. He dropped 31 on the Townsville Crocodiles without breaking a sweat. He was 8-16 from the field and 11-13 from the charity stripe.

He waltzed into the keyway with ease and finished well around the basket. It seems his improved jumper is here to stay as he shot with confidence and without hesitation.

Although AJ Ogilvy finished with 21, his game time was disrupted by early foul trouble. Two charge calls early saw the big unit do a lot of watching from the sidelines during the first 20 minutes.

In the second half he came to life. He scored on an array of moves and from different spots on the floor. One minute it was a baby hook, then a wing three followed up with a pull up jumper from 15 feet. The kid has an impressive skills package.

This was first time I saw small forward livewire Jeffrey Taylor live. Vandy must be counting the number of days this sophomore has left on campus.

He already moves and plays like a pro. He was the only player to register a double double in this game with 19 & 10.

He needs to work on his stroke from deep and he is a little lose with the ball at times. He had some soft turnovers much to Coach Kevin Stallings amusement.

Add incoming freshman John Jenkins and the 'Dores will win their share of games in the tough SEC-East.

Vandy have some big bodies on the bench as well as guard Brad Tinsley to keep the defense honest.

The only question I would have is, can Beal keep his teammates happy will servicing his own needs?

Now to the Crocs.

Russell Hinder went for 30 on 11 of 12 shooting. The Crocs will be hoping Hinder can re-produce this type of performance a handful of times during the regular season. In my opinion the Crocs will need Hinder to be a consistant offensive threat this year.

Rolan Roberts had one he would rather forget. He fouled out in under 14 minutes and "air balled" a free throw. (Cam Tovey had a rye smile one his face while this took place.) He finished with 7pts and 5 rebs. They need Roberts on the floor so they have some kind of intimidation and athleticism around the basket at the defensive end.

Michael Cedar started at the point guard spot. His 21 points came courtesy of 5 of 9 from long range and 6 of 6 from the free throw line. He also added 4 assists and 4 steals to his stat line.

Corey Williams (12pts, 4 assists) played limited minutes as it was unsure if he would be cleared to play. His paperwork arrived in time for tip off but Williams' demeanour seemed like he was happy to set up camp on the bench for all 40 minutes.

He did come off the bench to help the Crocs hit the lead late in the fourth quarter. Doing his best John Bagley impersonation in using his body strength in getting to the hoop, Beal had no answer for Williams' penetration.

Newcomers Steve Hoare and Jeff Dowdell should only get better as they get a better understanding of the Crocs style of basketball.

Hoare did give us his best Steve Nash impersonation by parking himself face down on the floor at the end of the bench when he was not in the game.

If the Crocodiles are to make a push for a playoff spot this season, they will need Hinder to produce offense like tonight on the regular, get more minutes out of Roberts and get Peter Crawford up to speed quickly once his Australian commitments are over.