Alabama State 2009 NCAA Tournament Preview

Alabama State Hornets - SWAC (22-9, 16-2)

Seed: #16 - Midwest Region

RPI: 179

Big Wins: 1/3 Jackson State (66-60), 1/10 at Arkansas Pine Bluff (71-66), 1/31 at Prairie View A&M (65-53)

Bad Losses: 11/18 at Southern Miss (61-74), 11/22 at SMU (51-56), 1/26 Alcorn State (74-79)

Last NCAA Tournament: 2004, First Round loss to Duke

Coach: Lewis Jackson (First NCAA appearance)

Probable Alabama State Starters:

• Brandon Brooks, Senior, Guard, 13.8 ppg, 6.8 apg, 4.1 rpg

• Andrew Hayles, Senior, Guard, 13.6 ppg, 1.5 apg

• Rashad Provitt, Senior, Forward, 6.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg

• Wesley Jones, Junior, Forward, 9.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg

• Chief Kickingstallionsims, Senior, Center, 8.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.7 bpg

Key Alabama State Roleplayers:

• Tramaine Butler, Freshman, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 1.3 apg

• Roland Fitch, Sophomore, Forward, 9.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg

• Menji Mundadi, Junior, Guard, 3.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg

• Ivory White, Freshman, Guard, 4.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg

Why The Hornets Can Surprise:
Brandon Brooks has emerged as a great scorer, distributor and ball handler. The 6-2 senior is a capable outside shooter, but most of his scoring will come from inside the paint. Brooks does a superb job getting to the basket and once he is there he will find his teammates or finish himself. At the least, Brooks will get to the charity stripe and he is the best free-throw shooter on the team. Brooks will even play solid defense and nab a steal or two and help out on the glass.

Andrew Hayles will see plenty of time on the wing. He is the team’s best outside shooter and knocks down 2.2 per contest. When Hayles’ shot is falling, Alabama State’s offense can be difficult to stop. Roland Fitch is an intriguing piece of the Hornets puzzle. The 6-7 forward does not see much playing time, but he is averaging 9.8 points per game and can add another dynamic to the offense. Fitch will do most of his scoring in the paint, but he can step outside and hit the mid-range jumper.

Why The Hornets Can Disappoint:
The problem is Alabama State is not a great shooting team. Hayles is the lone threat from beyond the arc and he, along with Brooks, will need some help from the bench players. Rashad Provitt, Menji Mundadi, Ivory White and Tramaine Butler are capable of hitting the outside shot, but they do not take too many attempts. Provitt is capable of coming in off the bench and scoring a dozen points or so. Mundadi has been very quiet late in the year, but he did score 17 points earlier in the campaign against Jackson State.

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Who To Watch:
The frontcourt has a superstar in Chief Kickingstallionsims. The 7-1 senior is a major presence in the paint and blocks 2.7 shots per contest. Kickingstallionsims has always been a solid defender, but now he has developed into a major scoring threat in the paint. He averages 8.8 points per game and his presence in the paint has opened up looks for the rest of the team. Wesley Jones, a 6-7 junior, is a decent scorer around the basket too. Unlike Kickingstallionsims, Jones can stretch out the defense with his outside shooting ability. The Hornets have the weapons to compete with more talented team in the tournament, but they did earlier this season too and they lost just about every non-conference game against Division I opponents.

Alabama State By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 70.0 (139th in nation, 3rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 64.1 (83, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 47.7 (31, 1)

Field-Goal Defense: 40.5 (42, 1)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.0 (180, 2)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.1 (156, 1)

Free-Throw Percentage: 64.2 (291, 6)

Rebound Margin: 1.4 (142, 4)

Assists Per Game: 14.4 (83, 1)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Opening Round loss to Morehead State

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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