College BB '13 - First Look

At around this time last year I did a College Basketball post featuring seven newcomers, all of whom had sick dreads and all of whom were good players with bright futures. To refresh your memory and for your convenience, you may click on the link below to view that post.
http://www.yardbarker.com/forum/2/6/discussion/4_3_2_2_2_2_1/9421250

Well, all seven players still have bright futures; but as for the dreads - man, it has been almost non-stop disappointment so far this season. And, not surprisingly, at the root of the disappointment is our good old friend (not!) - reduced dreads.

• Johnny O'Bryant and Anthony Hickey - Actually the problem here isn't reduced dreads, it's no dreads (notice that their names aren't in boldface type). Both O'Bryant and Hickey cut off their dreads at some point during the offseason. I was kind of expecting this too, so it wasn't too disappointing.
• Terran Pettway - By rule Pettway can't play this season because he transferred (from Texas Tech to Nebraska) after last season. Apparently he hated Coach Gillespie so much (I don't know that for a fact) that he wanted to leave Texas Tech ASAP. But if he had waited, he could have stayed at Tech, becasuse Gillespie ended up resigning. Terran still has his dreads, and hopefully we'll them them on the court next season with his new teammate .......
• ...... David Rivers - All was going well (top photo below) until the calendar turned to 2013, when Rivers got the bright idea that he should reduce his dreads (bottom photo below). And just like that I went from looking forward to Nebraska games to ignoring them. David, come on man, your dreads deserve better than this. (Fortunately after 6 games in a row with his dreads reduced, he was back to normal for the game against Illinois last night, so hopefully his experiment with reduced dreads is over. We'll see.)

• Bryant Allen - Speaking of reduced dreads, meet the king of reduced dreads. Allen had his dreads reduced for about half of his games last season, so I knew that this year might be a problem. But I didn't expect it to be this bad. Instead of seeing Bryant on the floor with the longest dreads in Division 1, we see him with a different style of reduced dreads seemingly for every game. In the game against Dayton on Dec. 19 Allen gave us a glimpse at how long his dreads can be (photo below). But for most games he's had them reduced far more than that, and in no games have we seen them in their full glory. I hate to admit this, but I'm kind of glad to see ISU doing so poorly this season. And may their struggles continue until Bryant unleashes the dreads. 

• Rod Hall and Marcus Thornton - Finally some good news: no reduced dreads here! I have the tiny complaint that Hall (right photo below) - who last year didn't band all of his dreads, keeping a few of them loose in the back - has them all banded together this year. But that's not a problem. Both he and Thornton (left photo below) are starting and doing well so far this season.

The total number of players with dreads on Division 1 rosters dropped by 25 after last season. 14 of those players were seniors (with only Jae Crowder currently in the NBA); 5 transferred to JC or to D-2 schools (including former Utah F Dijon Farr); 3 are ex-dreads (O'Bryant, Hickey, and Missouri G Jabari Brown). And the other 3 (Rondale Livas, Martez Harris, and Terry Tidwell) - their whereabouts are unknown.
The good news is that in the first two months of this season I've already become aware of 28 newcomers with dreads (and hopefully that total will increase as the season goes along). The freshmen with dreads class is 16 strong (so far). There are 9 transfers from JC. And 3 players who didn't have dreads last year have them now. Let's take a first look at most of these 2012-13 newcomers in this quick dread gallery. (Remember this is just a first look. Hopefully I'll have better photos of these players by the end of the season.)

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1. I'd love to say that Kansas State's excellent start to the season (15-3) has been thanks to the contributions of 6-8 freshman F D.J. Johnson, but I can't. Johnson, shown here reaching for a rebound in his debut on Nov. 9 in an 85-52 win over North Dakota, had double figures in minutes played in K-State's first nine games but hasn't played very much in the last nine.

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2. Brandon Taylor, 6-7 freshman F for Penn State, tries not to lose possession while being double teamed by G Traevon Jackson (#12) and F Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin on Jan. 3 at Madison. Taylor had 8 points and 2 rebounds as PSU lost their Big 10 opener 60-51. Taylor, a 235-pounder, is 2nd on the team with 24 3-points FG made.

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 3. 6-9 freshman F Jalen Robinson puts up a shot in his debut for Dayton on Nov. 10 against Arkansas State. Robinson, who is a key reserve for the Flyers, had 7 points and 2 rebounds in 16 minutes on opening night as Dayton won 74-61.

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4. Jeff White, 6-1 freshman G from Peoria, is a key reserve for Loyola (Chicago). Here White watches G Trivante Bloodman take a shot during Loyola's 59-51 victory over Mississippi State on Dec. 15. So far this season White has 28 assists and 29 turnovers. 

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5. 6-5 freshman F Jacoby Roddy sets to throw a pass on Dec. 8 in one of his rare appearances for Wright State. Roddy had 2 points and 3 rebounds in a 92-59 home win over VMI in one of the 5 games he's played in this season.

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6. With seven players fixated on the ball, Darryl Palmer rises above the crowd on Dec. 3 in South Carolina State's MEAC opener against Norfolk State. Palmer had 19 points, a game high 11 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots, but SCSU lost 78-72, their first of 11 consecutive losses. Palmer, a 6-7, 190-pound freshman, has been in the starting lineup in 12 of the Bulldogs' 17 games.

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7. 6-7 F Hunter Harris of East Tennessee State appears to be losing this battle for a loose ball to G Dexter Strickland during 2nd half on Dec. 8 at Chapel Hill. Harris had 11 points and 8 rebounds in ETSU's 78-55 loss to North Carolina. Harris, a JC transfer, is averaging 7.4 PPG and leads the team in FG percentage at 50%.

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8. 6-3 G Rafriel Guthrie, a key reserve for Towson, drives against G Marcus Lewis on Nov. 17. Guthrie, a JC transfer, scored a season high 16 points in the game, but Towson lost to Eastern Kentucky 71-69 in overtime.

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I tuned in to the Montana State-Northern Colorado game a couple of weeks ago expecting to see nothing special. Much to my surprise, however, I found out that both teams have a player with dreads ......

9. 5-11 freshman Marcus Colbert, shown here on Nov. 29, has been Montana State's starting point guard for most of the season. He's averaging 5.6 PPG with 36 assists and 20 turnovers.

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10. 6-2 freshman G Greg Tucker, shown here in a 90-62 victory over Tabor College (who?), didn't play much in Northern Colorado's first 6 games of the season but has been getting regular playing time since then and is averaging 2.3 points in about 10 minutes per game.

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As I have mentioned in the past, I'm skeptical whenever it looks like someone has switched from braided hair to dreads. I want to be sure someone actually has dreads before I welcome him into the house. Yes, I've made mistakes in the past (including RG3 would be the most glaring) but I try not to. So for the next three pictures, we ask the question: are they braids or are they dreads?

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11. Here is Memphis freshman F Shaq Goodwin diving for a loose ball. This is a tough call. In all of his HS photos he has braids; and although he has the look of dreads, for most of the games I've seen him this season he's had his hair bunched together, so I haven't gotten a close enough look to see if it's still in braids. There's not enough proof  yet to welcome him to the house.

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12. Estan Tyler, sophomore G for UMKC, has a pass deflected by Kansas State G Rodney McGruder in a game on Dec. 29. As I recall, I had Tyler on my BND (braids not dreads) list last season. This season there have been some photos of him where it very much looks like he has dreads but also others where it doesn't. I'm leaning toward welcoming him to the house, but not yet. I want to wait to see what he looks like next year.

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13. I've included Tyrone Garland in some of my dread galleries the last two seasons, when he was at Virginia Tech before transferring to LaSalle. But unfortunately I was wrong. And even Garland himself (in an article from a couple of years ago that I just recently read for the first time) says that his idol was Allen Iverson and that he has braids not dreads. So as much as I want to include him as a member of the house, I can't.
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The next three photos are of players who have just started growing dreads within the past year.

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14. Hameed Ali, 6-2 sophomore G for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, puts up token resistance as G Buddy Hield drives to the basket in Oklahoma's 72-42 win on Dec. 31. Ali isn't doing poorly (7.9 points and 2.1 assists per game) but his team is. The Islanders are 2-14.

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15. Senior G Bryson Johnson of Bucknell tries to hold back both C A.J. Hammons (#20) and F D.J. Bryd from a loose ball on Nov. 9 at West Lafayette, IN. Johnson, who you may recall was in the growing hair stage when Bucknell played in last season's NIT, had 14 points and 3 assists in this season's opener as the Bison defeated Purdue 70-65. He's averaging 11.2 PPG and has made 41 3-point FG so far in 2012-13.

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16. 6-7 senior F Jarvis Garner, one of the best players for Central Arkansas, tries to defend a shot by F Le'Bryan Nash during Oklahoma State's 91-63 home win on Dec. 16. Garner, who leads the team with 199 FG made in 16 games, joins sophomore G Oliver Wells to give the Bears two players with dreads. 

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17. 6-7 junior F Kendrick Washington is no newcomer, but he has a new uniform. After playing two seasons for Houston and then sitting out last season after transferring, Washington makes his debut for Arkansas State here on Nov. 10 at Dayton. Kendrick had season highs of 15 points and 9 rebounds as ASU lost the season opener to Dayton 74-61 and is averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game so far.

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18. After becoming eligible on Dec. 18, 5-10, 150-pound G Jeremy Purvis moved right into the starting lineup for Austin Peay. Purvis, a JC transfer, defends an Eastern Illinois player in a 77-67 loss on Jan. 19. The Governors are 1-9 since Purvis joined the team and 5-15 overall. There is one other newcomer with dreads in the OVC .....

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19. ..... He's sick junior G Justin Childs, a 6-4 JC transfer, here taking a shot for Tennessee-Martin in an exhibition game on Nov. 2 against Illinois College. Childs is averaging 9.7 points and 1.5 steals per game; but like Purvis, his team is struggling - the Skyhawks are 4-15. 

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20. Not to be confused with the QB for the Seattle Seahawks, this Russell Wilson is a freshman G for Samford, here defending G Peyton Siva in a 80-54 loss to Louisville on Nov. 15. Wilson is a key reserve for the Bulldogs, who currently lead the SOCON South with a 5-1 record.

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21. 6-5 F Amos Wilson, a JC transfer, reaches in on F Nino Williams during 1st half of Lamar's 79-55 loss at Kansas State in the season opener. Wilson is a starter for the Cardinals, averaging 7.7 PPG. And he's not the only newcomer with dreads on the team .....

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22. Somewhere behind all those dreads is the face of 6-0 freshman G Donnell Minton, who is listed as weighing 145 points, here trying to challenge Baylor G Pierre Jackson for the ball during Lamar's 85-68 loss on Dec. 12. Minton has played in all 18 games, starting 7 of them. But it has been a tough season for the Cardinals - they're currently 2-16.   

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23. If you're looking for dreads on a very good team, you need to get yourself to a Louisiana Tech game. Joining Kenneth Smith and Cordarius Johnson with the Bulldogs this season, here's 6-6 F Chris Anderson, a JC transfer, trying to block a shot attempt by UT-Chattanooga G Farad Cobb on Nov. 20. Anderson is a key reserve for the Bulldogs, who are currently 16-3 and on the verge of being ranked in the top 25.

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At Mississippi Valley State, not only is the coach a newcomer this season (Chico Potts), but nearly everyone on the roster is too, and that includes three players with dreads.

24. 7-0 C Montreal Holley, a JC transfer, teams up with F Matt Smith to try to block a shot by Virginia G Thomas Rogers during UVA's 67-39 home win on Dec. 8. Holley played in the first 9 games for the Delta Devils but has been riding the bench for the last 8.

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25. As Coach Potts gives instructions during a timeout on Jan. 8, one of the players listening is 6-5 junior F Ervin Thomas (seated, just below #13 Cortland Henry). Thomas, also a JC transfer, has played in every game, averaging 13 minutes, since becoming eligible for the second semester on Dec. 19. And to the left of Henry in that photo .....

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26. ..... It's sick freshman G Cameron Dobbs, who made his way to Mississippi all the way from Albany, NY. Here Dobbs tries for a rebound against F Tyshon Pickett during Bradley's 77-42 win on Dec. 19. Cameron, who has incredibly long dreads for a freshman, has played in every game this season, all as a reserve, and serves as MVSU's designated 3-point shooter (58 of his 82 FG attempts have been from 3-point range). Unfortunately the Delta Devils are struggling along at 2-15.

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27. I was expecting there to be a freshman with dreads playing for UALR this season, but not this one. While Tre'von Wilkerson redshirted last season and then transferred, new to the team is 6-1 freshman G Josh Hagins, here handling the ball on Dec. 15 in a 72-65 win over Tulsa. Josh is looking good to be on my freshman All-America with dreads team. He has played in all but one of the Trojans 21 games, starting 8 of them, while averaging 7.7 PPG with 66 assists and 38 turnovers.   

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28. Last but certainly not least, here's 5-10 freshman G Stefan Moody, showing off his 40+ inch vertical leap while challenging UNC F Brice Johnson for a rebound during FAU's 80-56 loss in the season opener. Moody had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 6 turnovers in his debut for the Owls but has done much better since then and is 2nd on the team in scoring at 14.2 PPG.

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The four newcomers with dreads I don't have photos of are:

• Wright State freshman F Steven Davis
• Georgetown freshman F Brandon Bolden
• South Carolina State freshman G Terrence Linton
• Jacksonville State junior F Teraes Clemmons

None of those four have played very much, and some or all of them may be redshirting this season.

Those are the newcomers that I know of. Please, if you know of anybody else, let's hear from you.

Of the 13 players with dreads who made my 2012 dread all-America team, 5 for sure won't be on the 2013 team: Jesse Perry, Jeremiah Bowman, Jae Crowder, and Tim Owens were seniors; and Terran Pettway is not playing this season. And as long as Bryant Allen keeps insisting on having his dreads reduced, he won't be back either. So there are several spots available on the team. Of the newcomers Cameron Dobbs obviously has a great chance to be on the team, but as for the others I can't say that I'm considering them for the team at this time.