DG141

More nonconference games from the College Basketball 2012-13 season are featured in dread gallery #141, as we look at action from the month of December.
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There were several games in December that had players with dreads on opposing teams, including one on the first day of the month that featured a pair that made my Dread all-America team.
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1. He started the season with his dreads reduced, but Morehead State senior G Devon Atkinson begins December with his dreads right, as G Reggie Arceneaux drives to the basket between him and F Bruce Reed on Dec. 1 at Dayton.

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2. Devon Atkinson tries to knock the ball away on another drive by Reggie Arceneaux. Atkinson finished the afternoon with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers in 36 minutes.
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3. On the floor for a season high 31 minutes for Wright State was sophomore F Tavares Sledge, here trying to knock the ball away from G Bakari Turner. Sledge had just 2 points and 3 rebounds in all that playing time, but WSU improved to 5-2 with a 66-57 victory. 
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4. Listed at 6-foot-9, Tavares Sledge doesn't even come close to the opening tip on Dec. 22, as 6-10 C Cheikh Mbodj controls it easily for Cincinnati.
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5. C David Nyarsuk attempts (and misses) a shot as Tavares Sledge defends with 5:11 remaining in 1st half. Sledge had a decent game with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in 20 minutes, but Wright State, after leading by 6 at halftime, lost to Cincinnati 68-58. If he can keep his name off of the ex-dread list during this offseason, Tavares will begin next season in the running for the longest dreads in Division 1.
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6. Tavares Sledge was not the only Wright State Raider with dreads this season. Here on Dec. 8, 6-5 freshman F Jacoby Roddy battles for a rebound against VMI in one of his rare appearances on the court. Roddy had 2 points and 3 rebounds in a season high 7 minutes as the Raiders whipped VMI 92-59.
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7. Freshman G Russell Wilson of Samford and freshman F Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky reach for a loose ball during 2nd half on Dec. 4 at Lexington. Wilson, who had double figures in minutes played for every game this season despite starting just once, had 3 assists, 4 points, and 5 turnovers in 23 minutes against UK in an 88-56 defeat as the Bulldogs dropped to 2-8.
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8. Freshman F Juwan Wells of Radford can't stop this shot by Delaware F Josh Brinkley on Dec. 4 at Newark, DE. Wells had 3 points and 2 rebounds in 11 minutes as Radford lost 68-59.
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9. Star F Keith Rendleman of UNC-Wilmington tries to defend as star G DeAndre Kane goes to the basket for Marshall on Dec. 1. Kane finished with 16 points (very close to his average) despite shooting 5 for 18 from the field, while Rendleman was in foul trouble and played only 19 minutes, finishing with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Marshall got the home win 61-58.
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10. One week later Keith Rendleman had his only other game this season in which he didn't score in double figures, finishing with 6 points (3-13 FG) against Georgia Tech. Here Rendleman misses a jumper against F Robert Carter during 1st half at Atlanta. Along with his 6 points, Keith had 7 rebounds and 3 steals. The Seahawks were outscored 16-4 in the final 5 minutes and lost 73-66 to drop to 4-5, and they remained under .500 the rest of the season.
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11. UNC-Asheville senior C Jon Nwannunu takes it to the basket on Dec. 8 against Montreat (who?). Nwannunu had 8 points and 7 rebounds as UNCA won 85-51 to end a 6-game losing streak and improve to 2-6. 
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12. After missing the previous 2 games due to injury, Lamar junior F Amos Wilson returned to action on Dec. 4 - with his dreads reduced - as he and freshman G Donnell Minton defend G Anthony Johnson of Purdue on a drive to the basket. Wilson finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds. Minton. playing close (kind of) to his hometown of Indianapolis, finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 turnovers as the Cardinals got blown out by Purdue 72-39.
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13. Amos Wilson has dreads back to normal a week later, as he and teammate Stan Brown try to make F Rico Gathers miss during 1st half at Waco on Dec. 12.
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14. Amos Wilson gets set to take a shot as F Isaiah Austin looks on. Amos had one of his best games of the season, with 21 points (on 10 of 17 FG shooting), 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in a season high 38 minutes, but Lamar lost to Baylor 85-68.
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15. Donnell Minton drives against G Gerrell Martin of LIU-Brooklyn as Lamar finally plays their home opener on Dec. 29. This was probably a turnover. I say that because Minton's stat line for the game was 3 minutes and 2 turnovers, nothing else. Without any help from Minton, the Cardinals improved to 2-10, snapping a 6-game losing streak with an 81-80 victory.
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16. While Amos Wilson and Donnell Minton at least got to enjoy a few victories this season, such was not the case for Grambling G Derron Hobbs in his senior year. Here Hobbs defends against G Neil Watson of Southern Mississippi on Dec. 15. Hobbs had 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 points, and 5 fouls in 24 minutes in a 93-45 defeat that dropped the Tigers to 0-8. Sadly Derron was able to play just 20 more minutes the rest of the season, as he suffered a sports hernia injury either in this game or before Grambling's next game. And that's a shame because with a shorthanded roster, Grambling was counting on him to play major minutes. He had averaged 27 MPG in the 8 games before his injury. But after exiting GSU's game after playing 5 minutes on Jan. 14, he did not play at all for the rest of the season. He ended up averaging 5.9 PPG (28.3 FG%), 1.5 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 10 games played for the season.  
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17. As freshman G Cameron Dobbs backs away to avoid picking up a foul, teammate Julius Francis tries to strip the ball from G Jalen Crawford as Mississippi Valley State takes on Bradley on Dec. 19 at Peoria. Dobbs shot 1 for 8 from the field in 18 minutes, finishing with 3 points and 2 rebounds.
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18. Bradley F Shayok Shayok finds out the hard way how dangerous Montreal Holley's elbows are. Holley, a 7-0 junior C, had 2 rebounds and a season high 3 points in 16 minutes as MVSU fell to 0-7 with a 77-42 defeat. But for some reason he played a total of just 6 more minutes the rest of the season. He ended up averaging 0.6 points (25.0 FG%) and 1.3 rebounds in 10 MPG in a total of 9 games for the season.
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19. Freshman F Darryl Palmer of South Carolina State gets only a couple of fingers on the ball, but they're enough to block a shot by G Andre Filer during 1st half at Clemson on Dec. 23. But Filer was able to get his own rebound and ended up being fouled.
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20. This time Darryl Palmer gets his whole hand on the ball as he goes for a rebound against C Landry Nnoko (#35) and F Bernard Sullivan. Palmer, listed at 6-7 and 190 pounds, finished the game with 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots in 30 minutes. He was not the only player with dreads in the game, of course ......
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21. ..... Sophomore G Rod Hall was on the floor too, here putting up a short shot against G Khalif Toombs. Hall hit all 3 of his FG attempts, finishing with 6 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals in 20 minutes as Clemson rolled to a 77-41 victory over SCSU.
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22. Rod Hall began the month starring in a road victory over South Carolina on Dec. 2. Here G Brenton Williams watches Hall goes in for a layup. Rod made 3 of his 5 FG attempts in the game.
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23. 8 days after scoring 2 TD catches in a 27-17 football victory over Clemson, G Bruce Ellington is in uniform for South Carolina's basketball team, defending  Rod Hall on a drive to the basket. Ellington also scored 12 points against Clemson in basketball but was on the losing team this time.
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24. Rod Hall scrambles for a loose ball on the floor and gets a knee to his forehead for his trouble, courtesy of F Lakeem Jackson. Hall finished with 15 points (one of only 2 games he scored in double figures), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals as the Tigers defeated the Gamecocks 64-55.
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25. Things didn't go quite as well for Rod Hall and his teammates in their next road game on Dec. 19. Rod misses a jumper against Coastal Carolina G Anthony Raffa. I know he missed because he went 0 for 4 from the field and finished with 0 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. And even worse for Rod .....
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26. ..... On defense he spent most of the night watching Raffa score. Raffa lit up the Tigers for a game high 25 points on 10 of 17 from the field. Vowing revenge after last season's embarrassing 60-59 home loss to Coastal, the Tigers instead suffered an even more embarrassing 69-46 defeat at the hands of the Chanticleers.
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27. Rod Hall goes in for a left handed layup past Arizona F Brandon Ashley on Dec. 8. Rod had 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 5 turnovers as Clemson lost to Arizona for the second straight year. Of course, this was another game in which Hall wasn't the only player with dreads in uniform .....
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28. ..... For Arizona, sophomore F Angelo Chol defends a shot by G Adonis Filer. Considering that Chol had 0 points and 3 fouls in 3 minutes in the game, I'm guessing that this was in foul against Filer with 11:31 remaining in 1st half. Without any help from Chol, Arizona improved to a 7-0, defeating Clemson 66-54.
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29. Angelo Chol defends without fouling this time against Miami C Kenny Kadji during 2nd half in a Diamond Head Classic semifinal game on Dec. 23 at Honolulu. Angelo had 3 points and 3 rebounds in 12 minutes as the Wildcats rolled to a 69-50 victory. And they defeated San Diego State 68-67 for the championship two nights later to finish nonconference play with a 12-0 record.
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30. Montana State freshman G Marcus Colbert has the inside track to gain possession of this loose ball against F Travis Peevey of Northwest Indian on Dec. 29. Talk about scheduling a cupcake. Northwest Indian? Not surprisingly, Montana State scored their most points in a game all season. Colbert scored 17 points (his first of 4 games in double figures) and added 5 rebounds and a season high 7 assists as the Bobcats won 101-70.
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31. Surrounded by the enemy, freshman F Jalen Robinson of Dayton commits an offensive foul, charging into G J.J. Cravatta with 6:36 remaining until halftime and Dayton leading Northern Illinois 20-2 on Dec. 1. Robinson finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. After hitting their first shot of the night, NIU went 16 minutes before hitting another, missing 15 in a row. The Huskies trailed 26-5 at halftime, and Dayton went on to an easy 60-43 home victory. 
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32. Jalen Robinson shoots an easy layup past F Ed Daniel of Murray State and his famous Afro during 2nd half on Dec. 22 at Dayton. Jalen had 7 points and 8 rebounds as the Flyers improved to 9-3, dealing Murray State their 2nd defeat of the sason, 77-68..
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In a couple of games earlier in the month Robinson's opponents had dreads instead of 'fros.

33. At home on Dec. 15 Jalen Robinson looks to get rid of the ball before being called for a 3-second lane violation as freshman G Stefan Moody of FAU stands by.
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34. This time Jalen Robinson is the spectator as Stefan Moody dribbles the ball while defended by F Devin Oliver.
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35. Stefan Moody launches a jump shot over G Kevin Dillard. Moody hit just 3 of 14 from the field and finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds,. and 4 assists in 24 minutes. He then was suspended for the Owls' next 3 games due to academic shortcomings.
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36. 6-foot-7 F Andre Mattison tries to box out 6-9 Jalen Robinson, which must not have happened on many other occasions than this. Because Jalen finished with a season high 14 rebounds in just 20 minutes, and also scored 5 points in Dayton's easy 81-56 victory.
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37. Freshman G Retin Obasohan, from Belgium, attempts and misses a reverse layup against Jalen Robinson midway through 2nd half at Tuscaloosa on Dec. 5.
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38. Jalen Robinson tries to pull in a rebound before the ball goes out of bounds. He finished the night with 5 rebounds and 4 points in 14 minutes.
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39. Jalen Robinson battles for possession against fellow dreadhead Levi Randolph.
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40. Levi Randolph, 6-5 sophomore G, shoots a layup in front of G Vee Sanford. Levi scored 15 points, which at that point was his season high, but Dayton led almost the entire game and won 81-76, leaving both teams at 6-2.
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41. VCU G Rob Brandenburg makes sure that Levi Randolph doesn't have a clear path to the basket during 2nd half on Dec. 15 at Richmond,

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42. The official game play-by-play doesn't include any made or missed dunks by Rob Brandenburg, so what I think this is is a shot of him just after he was fouled by Levi Randolph on a play early in 2nd half, which caused him to miss the dunk attempt. Both Randolph and Brandenburg finished with 10 points in the game. VCU jumped out to a 26-7 lead and cruised to a 73-54 victory, the Crimson Tide's 3rd straight defeat after a 6-0 start.  .
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43. Freddie Riley, 6-5 senior G for Massachusetts, shoots a layup against East Carolina during 2nd half on Dec. 22. After scoring a total of 22 points in the first 9 games of the season, Riley broke out in this game, finishing with 14 points (the first of his 15 games in double figures), 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 27 minutes as UMass improved to 7-3 with an 88-81 home victory.
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44. Hameed Ali, 6-2 sophomore G for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who debuted his dreads this season after growing his hair out as a freshman, plays defense against G Mike Gesell during 1st half at Iowa City on Dec. 1. Despite 13 points and 3 steals by Ali, TAMU-CC lost to Iowa 88-59, the 5th loss in what would become a 12-game losing streak.
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45. Carl Hall, 6-8 senior F for Wichita State, before he cut his dreads off near the end of the season, puts up a shot against F Jarnell Stokes on Dec. 13 at Knoxville.
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46. Carl Hall is called for an offensive foul as he tries to drive to the basket against Tennessee C Yemi Makanjuola midway through 2nd half.
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47. Just like that man from Mars in that old episode of the Twilight Zone, Carl Hall unveils his third arm in an attempt to stop a shot by G Trae Golden. All kidding aside, I think it's actually G Malcolm Armstead who is the one guilty of an illegal hand to Golden's face ..... Hall's 3-point play with 3:55 to play put Wichita State in front 59-58, but the Shockers scored just 1 point the rest of the way. Hall hit 9 of 10 from the field, finishing with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots, but WSU lost for the first time this season, 69-60. Hall broke his thumb during a practice a few days later and missed the Shockers' next 7 games. 
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48. Only a couple of weeks after walking on to the team, 5-10, 150-pound junior G Jeremy Purvis is in the starting lineup as he makes his debut in an Austin Peay uniform, here driving against G Carter Sanderson of Lipscomb on Dec. 18.
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49. Jeremy Purvis played 32 minutes, finishing with 0 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and this 1 blocked shot of an attempt by Carter Sanderson with 13:58 remaining in 2nd half. All was good for Purvis and his teammates - until the clock reached the 3:00 mark. In those final 3 minutes, the Governors had 4 turnovers, including 1 by Purvis, shot 0 for 4 from the field, and 0 for 6 from the line (including 4 misses by Purvis). Lipscomb finished on a 15-0 run to steal a road win 87-84.
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50. In his first road game four days later against Illinois State, Jeremy Purvis knew he would be up against G Bryant Allen, so he figured he might as well reduce his dreads too. Allen had 1 steal in the game - although this wasn't it - along with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Purvis finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 0 assists, and 4 turnovers in 34 minutes as Illinois State easily defeated Austin Peay 83-57.
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Speaking of reduced dreads .....

51. In DG126 last year I mentioned that Tavon Sledge was transferring from Iowa State to Iona. The good news is that the 5-9 sophomore guard got a waiver to play this season and did not have to sit out for a year. But the bad news is that Sledge kept his dreads reduced for each and every game this season, so much so that from a distance you wouldn't even know that he had dreads. Here on Dec. 15 he drives against G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Tavon had 10 points and 5 assists as Iona won at Georgia 81-78 in OT to improve to 4-4.
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52. UALR freshman G Josh Hagins drives against G Rashad Ray at Little Rock on Dec. 15, with the familiar face of Tulsa Coach Manning (the former NBA star) in the background. Hagins finished with 11 points (his first game in double figures) and 5 assists as the Trojans improved to 8-4, defeating Tulsa 72-65.
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53. Junior F Chris Anderson spent almost the entire game on the bench during the first meeting between UALR and Louisiana Tech but was on the court for 9 minutes in the rematch on Dec. 17, here battling for a rebound with teammate Michale Kyser and UALR F Gus Leeper. Anderson finished with 3 points and 3 rebounds. LA Tech finished the game on a 10-4 run in the final 3:30 to get the road win 75-73 and sweep both games between the nonconference opponents.
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54. Junior F Cordarius Johnson challenges a shot by F Daveon Boardingham as Louisiana Tech hosts Southern Mississippi on Dec. 8. Johnson had 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in the Bulldogs' 65-55 victory. But Southern Miss would get their revenge later on.
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55. Junior F Hunter Harris of East Tennessee State battles for a loose ball against North Carolina F Joel James on Dec. 8 at Chapel Hill.
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56. Hunter Harris gets inside position on F Brice Johnson and tips in an offensive rebound, cutting North Carolina's lead to 32 with 7:53 to play. Harris finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds, but this one was over early. After Harris' gave ETSU a 2-0 lead, UNC put the game away with a 34-2 run. ETSU came back a bit in garbage time and ended up losing by only 23, 78-55.
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57. Senior G Sherwood Brown battles for a rebound against F Anthony Booker during 1st half at Ames on Dec. 4. Brown finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds, but FGCU dropped to 6-4 with an 83-72 loss to Iowa State. 
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58. Sophomore F David Rivers of Nebraska didn't have one of his better games on Dec. 6 against Creighton, finishing with 2 points, 2 turnovers, and 4 fouls in 13 minutes. Both of the turnovers were offensive fouls, and this looks like one of them, as G Austin Chatman falls to the floor. The Cornhuskers shot 32% for the night and were blown out at home by Creighton 64-42.
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59. David Rivers did have one of his better games on Dec. 22, in fact it was his best game statistically, although here he reacts after being called for a foul before G Kyle Randall goes to the basket during 2nd half of a tournament game at El Paso.
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60. David Rivers goes up for a shot between F Olivier Mbaigoto (left) and F John Simons (I think, on right). David scored in double figures for the first time, finishing with 20 points (8-10 FG) and 7 rebounds in just 25 minutes as Nebraska improved to 8-3, defeating Central Michigan 89-75. 
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61. 6-3 junior G Rafriel Guthrie, a key reserve in his first season in a Towson uniform after transferring from JC, puts up a shot against Temple G Khalif Wyatt on Dec. 12 at Philadelphia. Guthrie had 8 points and 4 rebounds, but the Tigers lost to Temple 72-61.
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62. Here's Rafriel Guthrie shooting again, this time against F Eric Moreland on Dec. 29 against Oregon State. Rafriel (not Rafael) hit just 2 for 11 from the field and finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds, but the Tigers came back from a 19-point deficit in 2nd half to win 67-66 in overtime, handing the Beavers their 1st home loss of the season. Towson, which went 1-31 last season, improved to 5-8 with the win.
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63. Sophomore G Marcus Thornton of William & Mary goes up for a shot between Purdue forwards Travis Carroll (#50) and Jacob Lawson during 1st half on Dec. 29. Thornton had 21 points and 6 assists, but the Tribe's 4-game winning streak ended with a 73-66 road loss to Purdue. W&M finished December at 7-4, already surpassing their total number of wins from last season, when they finished 6-26.
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64. Saint Louis junior G Jordair Jett can't hit the driving layup as he gets fouled by G Bobby Jones with 4:02 remaining in 2nd half on Dec. 15. Jett made both free throws, the last 2 of his 17 points. He also had 4 assists and 3 steals as SLU easily defeated Tennessee-Martin 73-51.
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65. Jordair Jett is called for a foul as G Morris Woods of Eastern Illinois goes to the basket against him and F Rob Loe during 2nd half on Dec. 19. After hitting 6 of 7 from the field in the previous game against UT-Martin, Jordair made all 3 of his FG attempts against EIU, finishing with 7 points and 3 assists in an easy 72-45 home victory. After going 3-3 in November, the Billikens won all 7 of their games in December.