Greenfield vs. Upper Room
Tonight I was lucky enough to get to watch Aaron Rountree and his Greenfield teammates take on Rodney Purvis and Upper Room. While Aaron didn't have the best shooting night from the outside, I came away very impressed.
Aaron did everything else that you would want a player to do. I have no idea how many points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks he had. I thought his court vision was fantastic and he regularly made the correct entry pass to his teammates. He seemed to crash the glass every time down the floor on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court (which we did today against VT, but could use a whole lot more of). He had several steals and blocks, and a few others that looked to be clean blocks that the ref called phantom fouls on him. He also had a really good touch around the rim, where he made his layups and tip-ins off his rebounds. He hustled on defense and helped coach up some of his younger teammates mid-game. I really thought he did everything well except shoot the ball from the outside. His outside shot did not look particularly good tonight, but even though he was struggling from outside, I was very encouraged by his attitude and effort throughout the game.
Greenfield won the game by 8 or 10, thanks to a great overall performance by several of Aaron's teammates in the 4th quarter.
For our NC State friends, they are getting a really good shooter in Rodney Purvis. He was on fire in the 3rd quarter from 3point range. He also probably made 13 of 14 free throw shots. He attempted to take over the game in the 2nd half and almost succeeded. Reminds me of a cross between Rashad McCants and Reyshawn Terry. I fully expect him to be starting by his sophomore year, and will probably end up being someone we don't like too much (as Deacon fans). I think that his effort on the defensive end wasn't what it should have been. But there is no doubt that he is a talent, and he already has the strength and body type to be a great player for the Pack. If Aaron had Purvis's strength and shot, he would be the best player in the country. Here's hoping that Aaron can improve his shot and his weight. I think we got a good one.