One to watch at UNCG
UNCG basketball coach Fran McCaffery's latest find from the Philly area, freshman Kyle Hines, is a crowd-pleaser. And he doesn't do it with thunderous dunks. He does it on the other end. Hines is second in the nation in blocked shots, with a 4.2 average going into tonight's game against Guilford College at Fleming Gym. Only Deng Gai of Fairfield is swatting more shots per game.
In upending Southern Miss 79-78 on Dec. 3, Ricky Hickman scored 29 for the Spartans; Ronnie Burrell poured in 27. Impressive. But what McCaffery remembers was a critical Hines block.
"It was one of those things, the timing of it," McCaffery said. "You're watching the game, and they're going to score -- no, they're not. He's blocked it."
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The immortal Deng Gai graces our blog! I believe he is actually the cousin of former Dukie Luol Deng.
When Fairfield made an appearance in Cameron last season, Deng was there, along with a teammate who was listed somewhere in the 5-5, 5-6 reference. That, of course led to this Cameron Crazy chant.
(Point at Gai). "Deng Gai!"
(Point at teammate). "Short guy!"
Repeat several times.
Speaking of Hines, I can't help but wonder if Fran McCaffery thinks "What could I have done with this guy the past few years?" Since David Schuck departed in 2001, UNCG has been desperately seeking an inside force to go along with Ronnie Burrell. Hines' rebounding and interior defense would have fit in perfectly with the Spartans' perimeter experience.
Now, though, he's come along just as UNCG is extremely young on the perimeter. The Spartans need to hope that Ricky Hickman keeps playing up to the levels he reached against Southern Miss. If he does, UNCG could be a player in the SoCon North.
Posted on December 16, 2004 4:52 PM