Samarrippas

[mustangxc]

I don't know why everyone is so surprised!!! After all, he was Florida's Mr. Basketball. That said, he is playing very well for a freshman!!!

5A player of the year. 3rd in Mr. Basketball for Florida.

I stand corrected!!! I knew it was something big! 5A player of the year is still a huge honor!

[Charleston Pony]

he's a true PG who thinks assist 1st; shoot when you are needed. With a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio as a Frosh, if he improves year after year he may run the point for this team for 4 years

[smupony]

I don't know why everyone is so surprised!!! After all, he was Florida's Mr. Basketball. That said, he is playing very well for a freshman!!!

5A player of the year. 3rd in Mr. Basketball for Florida.

I stand corrected!!! I knew it was something big! 5A player of the year is still a huge honor!

I agree. 5A player of the year is big. It has been a while since SMU has had a true PG with some handles.

Remember a few years ago when Jon Killen had to play PG and we had something out of control like 20 plus turnovers every single game. Every team pressed us because they knew we didn't have a ball handler. This is a breath of fresh air.

[gostangs]

i agree he has been great. Even so, i would not be surprised to see him struggle to keep his job next year. Think about how fast that position became a strength .......

[Fresh]

It just took a little while for Samarripas to adjust to the college game. There are several wasted scholarships on the team however.......

Way to get your obligatory negative shot in there - expected nothing less.

As for the Mr. Basketball thing, that's true, although there are a lot of highly decorated high school athletes who do nada in college - sometimes because they simply aren't big enough or fast enough to make the jump to the next level. Samarrippas looks like he's not big enough or fast enough, but the man can play. He looks like an exceptionally smart player.

[GiddyUp]

he's been solid. I can't remember the last true PG we've had. Hancok, Hop, Williams, were all shooting guards. Killen was just ok, was not a good ball handler. Look what happens when you get a handler in there, your TO's go down.

Now, let's work on getting out of those traps with the other guys. Walker, Pats, etc.

[wcspony]

Samarrippas will continue to bring the ball up for the foreseeable future. His assist to turnover ratio is already stellar for a true freshman. As for his defense, the job he did on Joe Jackson ( a McDonald's All-American) was great. I think he will continue to mature as a player and not necessarily be a shutdown defender, but be able to hang with some of the better guards in the conference. His height, however, is a weakness.

[gostangs]

Mark my words - i will be surprised if by midway through the season next year he is starting.

I think that will be for good reasons. We will be really strong in that position next year.

[wcspony]

Who do you think will be the true starting PG next year? The only possibility other than Jeremiah would be London, but he will be much more concerned with scoring rather than creating. While there are much more talented guys than Jeremiah that will be available to start next season, he makes the most sense as a 1.

[ponyscott]

Cotton Giles is a PG, but really more of a combo and will bet will play a 2 and the real true PG JFrog will be running the point. He is a talent and gets the ball into the shooters hands and he is reliable to break the press. With his liability: his height he makes up for by being down low on the ball and makes alot of steals...he will be better next year on the steals front as he matures as a D-1 player and watches more film on his opponents and their tendencies.

And wcspony your avatar is real pretty!

[wcspony]

Glad you like it ponyscott: for your enjoyment,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y

Beat UTEP!

[HorsePower]

Here's hoping Giles and the freshman next year (Manuel?) are good enough that we're actually three-deep at point guard.

[ponyscott]

Glad you like it ponyscott: for your enjoyment,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y

Beat UTEP!

I like turtles!.....that's a little different...wow.

With Ryan, Giles and Jfrog, maybe we throw a three guard rotation out there as a change up during the course of the game?....with all the talent coming in and/or becoming eligible, the variations/possibilities are endless.

[Mitch McConnell]

On a related point, if you want to really recognize how important a point guard is, go watch Minnesota. The Gophers lost their guy Al Nolen to a foot injury -- they hope to have him for the Big 10 tournament -- and it's really cost them. Lost 4 straight, defensively they can figure out what they want to deploy and the ball movement is horrible.

So as go into the last month with Samarrippas, we can definitely appreciate what he gives the team. Of course, I haven't watched them but I can reflect upon comments that were made.

Maybe the turning point for him was at Tulsa in the closing seconds. Tulsa had fouls to give and he somehow got the ball to Nyakundi for the game-winning 3.

[Harry0569]

On a related point, if you want to really recognize how important a point guard is, go watch Minnesota. The Gophers lost their guy Al Nolen to a foot injury -- they hope to have him for the Big 10 tournament -- and it's really cost them. Lost 4 straight, defensively they can figure out what they want to deploy and the ball movement is horrible.

So as go into the last month with Samarrippas, we can definitely appreciate what he gives the team. Of course, I haven't watched them but I can reflect upon comments that were made.

Maybe the turning point for him was at Tulsa in the closing seconds. Tulsa had fouls to give and he somehow got the ball to Nyakundi for the game-winning 3.

Reminded me of the stopped 2 point conversion last year at UAB. Guys figured out a way to win on the road in the final seconds. Now, both teams have confidence that they can win down the stretch in a tight ball game.