– Cards vs Bulldogs

The most anticipated early season tournament of the year “The Battle for Atlantis” kicks off Thursday with the preliminary games. Our Cards will face the Southern Conferences Samford Bulldogs in their opening round at the KFC Yum center.

Samford begins a new era with the hiring of Indiana assistant Bennie Seltzer. He spent the last six years working under Tom Crean at Marquette and Indiana. The Birmingham native took over at Samford on April 5. The job is Seltzer’s first as a head coach, but after everything he saw in Bloomington, he thinks he has the tools and poise to tackle the task ahead of him. The Bulldogs don’t have a Senior on the roster but do return three starters and a couple key contributors off of a team that won 11 games last season. Seltzer and his newly formed staff rounded up a five-player recruiting class that includes a pair of Florida high school players of the year.

-In-conference offense: 1.05 points per possession (3rd)
-In-conference defense: 1.08 points allowed per possession (12th)

Coach Seltzer: “We have some skill players and we’ve got a couple of tough guys,””That skill set and that toughness, that gives you a chance.”

The Bulldog Players:

Tyler Hood SOPH (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg) All-SoCon freshman team last year. Hit 47 percent of his shot attempts last year. Sports the highest scoring average of any returning player.

Raijon Kelly SOPH (9.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg) All-SoCon freshman team last year. Hit 46 percent of his shot attempts last year.

Will Cook JR (8.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) Is the lone member of the junior class who started on a regular basis last season. The 6-4 guard started every game. Grabs an unusual number of boards for a 6-4 guard.

The guys above are the three returnees who started on a regular basis last season.

Connor Miller SOPH (2.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg) Gained valuable experience last season averaged more than 10 minutes per game off the bench.

Brandon Haymen SOPH (3.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) Gained valuable experience last season averaged more than 10 minutes per game off the bench.

Levi Barnes JR (6-10, 205) Didn’t see the floor much a year ago.

Gregg Wooten JR (6-2, 195) Redshirted because of a leg injury suffered in the preseason.

Hamilton Bailey JR (6-4, 190) Didn’t see the floor much a year ago.

Arthur McMillan JR (6-6, 220) After starting his career at Morehead State, McMillan played at Lawson State (Ala.) Community College last season.

Clide Geffrard, Jr. FR (6-5, 215) Florida high school player of the year. Expected to be a great scorer.

Russel Wilson FR (5-11, 170) Florida high school players of the year. Has shown the capability of being a hard-nosed defender.

Jaylen Beckham FR (6-0, 160) Seltzer believes Beckham, might end up being a steal. And says he is a high major player.

Tim Williams FR (6-8, 210) Chicago product who originally signed with FIU before Isiah Thomas left the school. Seltzer believes he can contribute right away.

Seltzer is a defensive minded coach who will have his team playing a hard nosed style. They won’t be afraid to lock it up with the Cards Thursday and he will have them expecting a win.

Coach Seltzer: “I’m going to take the same approach we took at Indiana,” “We’re going to try to win every single game. We’re going to be prepared to win every single game. We’re going to prepare like we’re trying to win a championship.”

Our Cards are coming off a decent performance in their first game, but do expect improvement in some areas. I know I’ll be looking for Wayne Blackshear and Luke Hancock to have better games and become more involved in the scoring. We will also see if the offense continues to improve as the players become more conditioned and acclimated to the season. I do expect a big night from our frontcourt, but will the rebounding be better?

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 84 Samford 57