OXFORD, Miss. ? Changes are coming.
In searching for the answer to what has caused its recent slide, Arkansas State will adjust with a bigger lineup on the interior as the Indians visit Southeastern Conference member Ole Miss tonight.
Tipoff at the 8,700-seat Tad Smith Coliseum is 7 p.m., and the game can be heard on KCJF (FM-103.9).
After losing two straight at home last week, Arkansas State (4-6) will turn to 6-foot-8 senior forward Kitus Witherspoon this evening as Witherspoon will replace freshman Brandon Ballard in the starting lineup.
?When things aren?t working, we?ve got to change some things up,? Nutt said Sunday afternoon following practice. ?It doesn?t mean that any one guy is doing anything wrong particularly. We?ve got to change it up; we?ve just got to keep moving the pieces of the puzzle around.?
Witherspoon started 17 games last year but hasn?t started any of ASU?s 10 games this season. Witherspoon is averaging 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds coming off the bench this season after averaging 8.6 points and 7 boards a game last year.
The adjustment is a major change for Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt, who has traditionally used an up-tempo offense that relies on 3-guard lineups. For Ole Miss, the Indians will start two guards and three forwards.
?We?re going to start Isaac in the small forward position, and put Kitus in the lineup along with Marcus Ardison because these guys have been our most productive players,? Nutt explained. ?Although Isaac has been doing really good on the block, it does give us a bigger body out there and it will allow us to do some things defensively that has been hurting us a little bit.?
A lack of depth has become a key factor in ASU?s recent struggles, which includes double-digit home losses to Lamar and Georgia Southern.
The Indians lost the team?s top returning scorer Jerry Nichols, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who was Arkansas State?s only preseason all-conference selection, for the season with a torn ACL. Another setback has been the slow recovery of 6-foot-4 junior guard Korrell Henderson, who is returning from foot surgery prior to the season.
Nutt said Witherspoon will be asked to fill in for Ballard to give ASU more size inside, more experience on the floor and a bigger defensive presence. Ballard, a 6-3 freshman from Leachville, is averaging 7 points a game.
But in Arkansas State?s last four games Witherspoon is averaging 11 points and four rebounds, prompting his promotion to the starting five.
?Kitus has been doing really good for us,? Nutt said. ?He?s very productive. Now, he can?t go for a long length of time, but we need him in there.?
The switch will move Ballard into a reserve role where he will substitute for both shooting guard Jim Jones and Wells at small forward.
Ole Miss (6-3) had won two straight games before No. 5-ranked Memphis blitzed the Rebels 72-49 Saturday night in Oxford. Memphis led by 13 at the half and continued to pull away in the second half in a game that was never very close.
The Rebels are led by sophomore Dwayne Curtis, a 6-foot-8 post who transferred from Auburn. Curtis averages 11.6 points and 7 rebounds a game while four other Ole Miss players average 8 points or better in what has been a fairly balanced offensive attack that emphasizes patience.
The Rebels have scored less than 60 points three times, including a 95-42 loss at New Mexico.
Ole Miss also had a couple of former Arkansans on its roster who Arkansas State was interested in signing itself.
Junior Bam Doyne is from Little Rock Mills and has started eight of nine games, sophomore Jeremy Parnell is from Gosnell and has started five games, while sophomore Brandon Patterson is from Altheimer and has started five games. All three have played in every game this season for the Rebels. Freshman forward Mike Smith is from Jacksonville and has played sparingly in eight games this season.
ASU, which trails Ole Miss 15-9 in the all-time series, has beaten the Rebels four straight games, including a 70-68 win last year in Jonesboro and a 74-69 victory two years ago in Oxford. The last time Arkansas State lost to Ole Miss was in 1961.
Nutt said he knows the Indians could be walking into a hornet?s nest tonight.
?They are going to be ready, they?re out for revenge,? Nutt said. ?There?s no question about that. They?ve said that all summer long every time we run into them. The last two years in my mind don?t count, they definitely don?t count toward this year. We?re desperately trying to find a way to win a game.?
ASU senior guard Dereke Tipler leads the Indians with averages of 15 points and 4.7 assists a game, establishing himself as the vocal leader of the team on and off the court, too.
Tipler believes he will be ready for Arkansas State?s second SEC opponent of the season, but said the Indians as a team are yet to play a full 40-minute game. ASU lost at Mississippi State 68-63 on Nov. 21.
?Going into a game, I always feel like we are ready to play,? Tipler said. ?We just haven?t been able to withstand a whole game with intensity, whether it?s the first half of playing hard or the second half. We just haven?t been able to put a complete game together.?
In searching for the answer to what has caused its recent slide, Arkansas State will adjust with a bigger lineup on the interior as the Indians visit Southeastern Conference member Ole Miss tonight.
Tipoff at the 8,700-seat Tad Smith Coliseum is 7 p.m., and the game can be heard on KCJF (FM-103.9).
After losing two straight at home last week, Arkansas State (4-6) will turn to 6-foot-8 senior forward Kitus Witherspoon this evening as Witherspoon will replace freshman Brandon Ballard in the starting lineup.
?When things aren?t working, we?ve got to change some things up,? Nutt said Sunday afternoon following practice. ?It doesn?t mean that any one guy is doing anything wrong particularly. We?ve got to change it up; we?ve just got to keep moving the pieces of the puzzle around.?
Witherspoon started 17 games last year but hasn?t started any of ASU?s 10 games this season. Witherspoon is averaging 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds coming off the bench this season after averaging 8.6 points and 7 boards a game last year.
The adjustment is a major change for Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt, who has traditionally used an up-tempo offense that relies on 3-guard lineups. For Ole Miss, the Indians will start two guards and three forwards.
?We?re going to start Isaac in the small forward position, and put Kitus in the lineup along with Marcus Ardison because these guys have been our most productive players,? Nutt explained. ?Although Isaac has been doing really good on the block, it does give us a bigger body out there and it will allow us to do some things defensively that has been hurting us a little bit.?
A lack of depth has become a key factor in ASU?s recent struggles, which includes double-digit home losses to Lamar and Georgia Southern.
The Indians lost the team?s top returning scorer Jerry Nichols, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who was Arkansas State?s only preseason all-conference selection, for the season with a torn ACL. Another setback has been the slow recovery of 6-foot-4 junior guard Korrell Henderson, who is returning from foot surgery prior to the season.
Nutt said Witherspoon will be asked to fill in for Ballard to give ASU more size inside, more experience on the floor and a bigger defensive presence. Ballard, a 6-3 freshman from Leachville, is averaging 7 points a game.
But in Arkansas State?s last four games Witherspoon is averaging 11 points and four rebounds, prompting his promotion to the starting five.
?Kitus has been doing really good for us,? Nutt said. ?He?s very productive. Now, he can?t go for a long length of time, but we need him in there.?
The switch will move Ballard into a reserve role where he will substitute for both shooting guard Jim Jones and Wells at small forward.
Ole Miss (6-3) had won two straight games before No. 5-ranked Memphis blitzed the Rebels 72-49 Saturday night in Oxford. Memphis led by 13 at the half and continued to pull away in the second half in a game that was never very close.
The Rebels are led by sophomore Dwayne Curtis, a 6-foot-8 post who transferred from Auburn. Curtis averages 11.6 points and 7 rebounds a game while four other Ole Miss players average 8 points or better in what has been a fairly balanced offensive attack that emphasizes patience.
The Rebels have scored less than 60 points three times, including a 95-42 loss at New Mexico.
Ole Miss also had a couple of former Arkansans on its roster who Arkansas State was interested in signing itself.
Junior Bam Doyne is from Little Rock Mills and has started eight of nine games, sophomore Jeremy Parnell is from Gosnell and has started five games, while sophomore Brandon Patterson is from Altheimer and has started five games. All three have played in every game this season for the Rebels. Freshman forward Mike Smith is from Jacksonville and has played sparingly in eight games this season.
ASU, which trails Ole Miss 15-9 in the all-time series, has beaten the Rebels four straight games, including a 70-68 win last year in Jonesboro and a 74-69 victory two years ago in Oxford. The last time Arkansas State lost to Ole Miss was in 1961.
Nutt said he knows the Indians could be walking into a hornet?s nest tonight.
?They are going to be ready, they?re out for revenge,? Nutt said. ?There?s no question about that. They?ve said that all summer long every time we run into them. The last two years in my mind don?t count, they definitely don?t count toward this year. We?re desperately trying to find a way to win a game.?
ASU senior guard Dereke Tipler leads the Indians with averages of 15 points and 4.7 assists a game, establishing himself as the vocal leader of the team on and off the court, too.
Tipler believes he will be ready for Arkansas State?s second SEC opponent of the season, but said the Indians as a team are yet to play a full 40-minute game. ASU lost at Mississippi State 68-63 on Nov. 21.
?Going into a game, I always feel like we are ready to play,? Tipler said. ?We just haven?t been able to withstand a whole game with intensity, whether it?s the first half of playing hard or the second half. We just haven?t been able to put a complete game together.?
