I heard Carson has an offer from Samford?? or someone like that. Can anyone confirm this?

 

I believe that is true.

Being a little over a third of the way through the season, it is evident to me that the 12th has the best talent it's had in years. These players are putting up impressive numbers and often against big-time teams. Some comments on each of Purple Pride's top 10 players:

 

Edwards - have not seen him play but appears he's averaging in the high teens while leading SW to a better season than most predicted.

Woods - has established himself as a potent offensive force in his junior season - and on a very good team. Just a great scorer. Can do it in a variety of ways. Has height as well as he's listed at 6'3".

Peters - coming off a 46 point performance last night. Very athletic and strong. Has improved his shot. Very tough match-up. Taking over where Fain left off. Benefits from playing with Henderson as his PG.

Carson - has had crazy amounts of points. Very quick first step. Can get into to the lane at will. Finishes very well. Very good FT shooter. I think he and Woods are clearly top 2 at this point.

Stearns - just a sophomore. Very strong and a good leaper. Guessing he's chipping in around 20 a game. Probably 8 + boards too. Seems he's stepping up when defenses focus on Woods which is exactly what they need him to do. Has not disappointed.

Tyler - has improved his game in his junior season. Attacks the rim more and handles the ball better. Also rebounding well. When he's hot can put up some big numbers. Probably averaging low 20's and high single digits rebounds.

Hager - just a sophomore. Listed as 6'4" and playing PG, is starting to mature physically. Gets to to the basket well. Versatile player that's proven to be a difficult match-up as he has developed a post game to exploit smaller defenders. Per an article, averaging around 19/8/6.

Taylor - most under-rated PG in the state. Watched him control games against high level teams while leading his to victories. Very unselfish. The BEST pure PG I've seen, and he can do it against any level. Deceptively quick and great floor vision

Conway - per an article, averaging around 19 & 8. Has improved his ability to score off the bounce. Listed as 6'4". Has a nice shot. Has improved his game relative to his soph season. Benefits tremendously from playing with Taylor.

Blevins - only a sophomore. Like Stearns, is doing a nice job of stepping up when teams key on Woods. Is the third of 3 very good options for Wayne and they all seem to accept their roles. Would think he'd have to be averaging mid-teens at this point.

 

The pre-season top 10 picks seem to be living up to their billing and then some. The big difference from years past is that I think that several of these kids will play at the next level, whether NAIA, D2 or, in some cases, even D1.

12th region teams occupying 4 spots in top 25: #14, 16, 20 & 24.

 

Not sure of regional alignments. What other regions have 4 or more?

 

Ballard, Trinity rated 1-2 by Cantrall | Fields Notes