Random thoughts: By Dave Estes
January 25, 2006
Who’s the only team in the nation with two players ranked in the top ten in scoring, three pointers made, and assist to turnover ratio? LSU Shreveport. It’s really no surprise. The Pilots are perhaps the best offensive team in the nation. NAIA Player of the Year candidate Fredricko Payne, 5'11 Sr, is the nation’s third leading scorer throwing in over 21 points per game, teammate Josh Porter, 6'3 Jr, isn’t far behind at 20.8 points per game. The two are also among the NAIA’s best three point shooters. Payne is second nationally making over four treys a game while Porter is sixth at nearly three and half made threes a game. The perimeter duo of Kyle Blankenship, 6'2 Sr, and Freddy Hughs, 5'9 Jr, have done a good job getting Payne and Porter the ball without turning it over. Both Hughes and Blankenship are among the national leaders in assist to turnover. Add all the individual talents together and you get the NAIA’s top scoring team at 103 points per game, the second most deadly three point team with over ten makes a game and the number two team in assist to turnover ratio. With all that said, it was offensive rebounding that secured their win over Gulf Coast rival Mobile on Saturday. Anton Palmer, 6'8 Jr, tipped in a missed shot in the final second for an 81-79 LSUS win.
Story courtesy of Steve Estes and naiabasketball.net
