Two of my main men squared off in the Value City Arena over at Columbus, Ohio where the 2011 Maui Invitational Champs, the Duke Blue Devils, squared off against the also undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes. Instead of yapping about how the Buckeyes completely annihilated the Blue Devils with its tenacious on the ball pressure and selfless team oriented system, let us talk about the games of both Jared Sullinger and Subzero, Austin Rivers.
Jared Sullinger PF/C Ohio State Buckeyes
Stat line: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 8/14 FGs, 5/7 FTs, 2 turnovers, 37 minutes.
The 2011 All-American and Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year awardee completely dominated Duke's big men even to the point Coach K had to remove Ryan Kelly, the Maui Invitational MVP, from the game because he couldn't keep up with Sullinger. Sullinger opened the game with his back-to-the-basket game shooting hook shots and muscling his way in for the deuce. When Duke went to a 2-3 zone defense with around 8 minutes left in the 1st half, Sully spaced the gaps and tried to find his open teammates. During the start of the 2nd half, Duke already made an effort to double Sullinger when he caught the ball and Sully struggled to find his shot, even had it blocked several times. Sullinger adjusted and protected the ball more and scored easily afterwards.
Jared's weight loss has been evident in his game since he is able to move more fluidly. Sullinger's game is characterized by excellent hands and balance. He possesses strength several players in college have. One thing we didn't see from Sullinger in this game is his outside jumpshot. He attempted one three-pointer which missed but Sullinger does have that range. His dribbling skills were in full display as well as his passing ability.
We cannot compare Sullinger to any player since his game is unique. A quite undersized big man who can score, rebound, assist, defend, run the floor, and has a selfless attitude. I do thing Sullinger is the best player in the country due to the hype and inconsistency of North Carolina's Harrison Barnes but we do have to give credit to the Ohio State coaching staff for surrounding Sullinger with talent which suits his game. Last season, most of their offense revolved around an inside-outside game but this year, it seems that Sullinger is more comfortable with it since the system allows him to create more opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Austin Rivers PG/SG Duke Blue Devils
Stat line: 22 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 8/18 FGs, 2/4 3pt FGs, 4/6 FTs, 37 minutes.
Last year's High School Player of the Year, Austin Rivers had a so-so start to his college basketball career. He started the game missing several lay-ups, which he occasionally makes, and was a ball-hog. Coach K removed him for 3 minutes, which turned out to be his only rest in the game, and came back strong scoring Duke's next five points and continued to toy with the Buckeyes. Austin showcased his unmatchable quickness and his ability to create shots for himself and his teammates. In the first half, Rivers attacked the basket relentlessly scoring and getting fouled in the process. Aside from him and Mason Plumlee, no one played well for Duke which then ignited Austin's natural instinct to take over the game.
After having success in the 1st half, Austin was defended better in the 2nd half. Ohio State tried to cut his angles and forced him to pass the ball to his teammates and which he did. Austin finished the game with only 3 assists, a far cry from what I thought. I personally thought he had around 5 or more assists from the way he tried to create for his teammates. When the game was out of hand, Austin tried to make the most of his offensive arsenal by trying to create for himself. At times, he successfully was able to do so but the ball was just in his hands for too long a time even Dickie V saying over the ESPN commentary that he had held the ball for 15 seconds and everyone was standing and taking pictures.
Austin's game in College is much much different from the Austin Rivers we saw in High School. Over in Winter Park, he relied more on his 3-point shot compared to what we see now presently in Duke. In Duke, he's finding difficulty to create shots for himself since the defense in college is much tighter than in High School. Austin's quickness and explosive first step is still ever present and he is able to still attack the basket. We also haven't seen Austin's floater too much. Defenses have now forced Austin to go to his left, which he doesn't do too much in High School, but he's been able to make them in College. Hopefully, Austin's shooting touch, both from downtown and the charity stripe improve.
Rivers' game is very similar to that of his idol Dwyane Wade plus the added outside touch. Austin needs to improve his off-the-ball game. He finds it very difficult to be able to be effective without the ball. Coach K also needs to let Austin run the point more often since this is his most comfortable position. Duke needs to also run more plays for Austin rather than giving the ball to Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and Ryan Kelly. I do think Austin is going to bounce back and hopefully get an All-American spot.
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