For almost two seasons, Russ Pennell struggled with how to use Ethan Lee.
Lee, the only player Pennell kept when he took over the Central Arkansas men's basketball team in 2014, is an undersized post player at 6-6, but not quick or athletic enough to play guard. He played sparingly his first two seasons, then redshirted last year.
Now, in his fourth season with the Bears, Lee's natural abilities have given them just what they've needed.
"I kind of like them to have more of a definite role," Pennell said. "But, he's athletic and he brings energy, and that's good enough. Sometimes as coaches we're looking for the basketball-skill part and we're not factoring in the energy. And the one thing I think our team has needed is that influx of energy."
It showed up most last weekend when UCA (2-13, 1-1) opened its Southland schedule by beating Sam Houston State and then lost 78-75 to Lamar. Lee had 5 points and 14 rebounds Saturday, and 10 points and 8 rebounds on Monday.
He's averaging just 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, but the last two games might have landed him a home in the starting lineup.
Pennell said he had been thinking about putting Lee in the starting lineup for a couple of weeks, but it wasn't until a hip injury to Jeff Lowery that he finally did it. Thatch Unruh has been limited with a wrist injury, too, making Lee's productive minutes all the more helpful.
"He's kind of waited his turn and waited for me to figure out that he can help us," Pennell said. "He's taken advantage of the opportunity, for sure."
ASU MEN
Latest gem
Arkansas State has had plenty of eye-catching individual performances through the first half of the season.
Devin Carter made 10 three-pointers in a victory over Tennessee-Martin, Rashad Lindsey's 27 points against Louisiana-Lafayette were the most for any Red Wolf in their conference debut and Donte Thomas had 13 assists in a victory at Central Arkansas.
But Coach Grant McCasland liked Tamas Bruce's 19 points and 15 rebounds in 24 minutes of Monday's victory over Louisiana-Monroe, and it had just as much to do with what he didn't do.
Bruce tied a season-high in minutes against the Warhawks, made possible by his staying out of foul trouble. A problem for most inexperienced post players, the junior from Osceola by way of John A. Logan College, had fouled out three times and had four fouls four times in his first 13 games. But Bruce, who has 31 points and 27 rebounds while starting the last three games, had no fouls Monday, and just one while playing 24 minutes in Saturday's victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
"His numbers per minute played are similar to that," McCasland said, of Monday's production. "That's where I was excited to see his consistent effort."
At times, McCasland said statistics can trick people into inflating the quality of performances. Not Bruce on Monday, though.
"I try to trust my eyes," he said. "The exciting thing for our team is you see him reach his potential over consecutive possessions, and not just one play here or there."
UALR MEN
Forward, not back
After a home loss to Louisiana-Lafayette on Monday night, Coach Wes Flanigan's task is foreign to anything the Trojans faced a year ago -- bounce back from a blowout home loss.
The Trojans (10-5, 1-1) went 19-3 against conference teams last year on their way to Sun Belt regular season and tournament titles. None of the three league losses came by more than six points and Monday's 69-52 loss to the Ragin' Cajuns equaled the margin of their worst loss last season, which came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Iowa State.
But Flanigan, who was the team's associate head coach last season, said he's not concerned about his team's ability to bounce back from the loss, instead looking forward to Saturday's game at Appalachian State.
"Obviously, we have some things that we struggle with," he said. "This is a different team. We can't worry about anything in the past. What we have to do is get our minds set on Appalachian State. That's the next game. We've got to come in here and practice better, we've got to practice harder, we've got to execute better, that's the bottom line. We've got to step up and make shots, and make plays when we have to."
The Trojans, who have already equaled last year's number of losses, have slipped mostly on defense. They're allowing 73.2 points per game this year after giving up 60.8 last year; teams are shooting 44.0 percent against them after they shot 39.5 last year and their turnover margin dropped from plus-3.5 to 1.7.
ASU WOMEN
Ford's infusion
Arkansas State's recent surge in offense has come in large part to a freshman Coach Brian Boyer hesitated to put on the court until needed.
Jada Ford, from Muskogee, Okla., has started the last five games for the Red Wolves, who have averaged 69.2 points per game during that stretch while increasing their season average from 58.2 points to 62.1. Ford's defense still needs work, Boyer said, but there's no denying what she's done for the Red Wolves' offense while scoring 21, 30, 14, 24 and 12 points in her five starts. She's averaging 12.5 points, a Sun Belt best for freshmen.
"There are still shots that aren't great and we're working through that," Boyer said. "But the one thing I want her to do is be confident to shoot the ball. And if it's not a great shot, we'll work through it after the fact."
Ford finally found her way onto the floor when guards Akasha Westbrook (foot) and Tayton Hopkins (ACL) suffered season-ending injuries.
"We had to just throw her out there," he said. "Fortunately she's done well on the offensive end and she continues to get better on the defensive end."
Sports on 01/05/2017