The smart folks inside William and Mary’s basketball program will tell you that the key to their season is a big, affable, gangly kid with floppy, sandy-colored hair who routinely gets pinballed around the basket.
In short, Tim Rusthoven doesn’t fit the profile of an indispensible player. But the 6-foot-9 sophomore from northeastern Illinois isn’t the typical big man, and the Tribe isn’t the typically constructed team.
Basketball
-
Injuries and Wounds
LeBron James
- See more topics »
«I don’t think there’s anybody more important to our team and being successful in CAA play, I really don’t,» Tribe coach Tony Shaver said. «I think him getting back to a high level of play at both ends of the floor, there’s nobody more important to us.»
Given the Tribe’s 2-10 record, it’s hard to fathom one player not named LeBron James or Dwight Howard making a significant difference. But Rusthoven is a key piece to the Tribe’s puzzle.
William and Mary generally plays outside-in, a perimeter-oriented style in which it spaces the floor with shooters. Its big man often plays away from the basket, thus creating shooting, driving and cutting lanes for himself and his teammates.
«I need to be a presence inside in order to give my team a better chance,» Rusthoven said. «If we don’t have any inside presence, (opponents can defend the perimeter and that doesn’t help our team. But if I can establish a presence inside and make them respect our inside game, that’ll open up a lot of room for our guys to make shots. «
As Shaver said, «We need productivity in there because people who have defended us so far have no concern about our post and just play chest-to-chest on our shooters. So we’ve got to have some production inside to really be a balanced basketball team.»
Rusthoven is still regaining form and wind after missing nearly all of preseason and the first two weeks of the regular season with a stress fracture in his left foot. In six games, he averages 9.7 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.
He has been able to practice consistently for the past three weeks. Though the foot is healed completely, his game isn’t what it was before he was injured. In fall workouts he was running the floor well, and his effective shooting range was out to the 3-point arc.
Since he has returned, he has moved in a bit, and the coaching staff limited his playing time initially.
«After the injury,» Rusthoven said, «it was hard enough getting up and down the floor because my legs weren’t there. But now that I’m getting my wind back, I’m able to get in the gym more to get some extra shots up, so I think it’s coming back. «
Rusthoven was part of the injury bug that plagued the Tribe, from last summer through today. All-conference wing Quinn McDowell had back and leg issues that limited him during preseason and affected his shooting, and confidence, through the first month.
Wing Kyle Gaillard has been sidelined with a knee issue since last spring and is unlikely to play this season. Wing JohnMark Ludwick suffered a foot injury just before the season opener and has been in street clothes all season.
«There were myriad factors that contributed to our slow start this season,» McDowell said. «One of them was not having Tim out there at the beginning of the season or even in practice. Having him back gives us some cohesion, and that’s a big part of our team.»
Rusthoven, all knees and elbows and sharp angles, suits the Tribe’s style. He pulls opposing centers away from the basket because of his perimeter shooting. He weighs 225 pounds, up about 20 from last season, when he was easily outmuscled by traditional low-post players such as Old Dominion’s Frank Hassell and James Madison’s Denzel Bowles, to name just two.
«I’m not really the big, beefy post guy that most people play,» Rusthoven said. «I try to be a versatile post — take guys out and drive them a little bit, hit open shots, pass the ball some.»
Rusthoven still needs to get stronger, and he thinks that he can carry another 15-20 pounds comfortably.
«I think the strength of Tim Rusthoven is his skill level,» Shaver said. «I think his ability to make decisions with the ball, his ability to score the ball, are probably his two greatest strengths. «
Shaver said that Rusthoven has good defensive instincts and the ability to block shots a bit, but those qualities aren’t as apparent because he still gets overmatched physically at times inside and isn’t yet in prime basketball shape.
«Timmy’s got really nice hands,» Shaver said. «He gets banged around inside, but his hands make him a pretty good rebounder. He usually gets one or two tips per game on missed shots, because he’s got good hands and gets his fingers on the ball. «
The Tribe recruited Rusthoven to be a power forward, or a 4-man, in its scheme, Shaver said, but the staff moved him to the ’5′ spot, or center, because of his skill level. Rusthoven has advantages on the offensive end, but is disadvantaged on the defensive end, particularly in one-on-one matchups against opposing centers.
«He’s really got got to get a lot stronger to be a true ’5′ man in this league,» Shaver said.
Shaver envisioned a three-man rotation at the 5-spot, with Rusthoven, the 6-8 Ludwick – an excellent perimeter shooter – and 6-9 sophomore Fred Heldring.
But Ludwick’s injury, Rusthoven’s recovery and Heldring’s incremental development changed rotations and the team dynamic in the first six weeks. Injuries didn’t affect Rusthoven’s role, just what the Tribe needs from him, and everyone else.
«There’s a little bit of pressure,» Rusthoven said, «but I think it’s just that everyone on the team feels like, alright, I’ve got to step up now and play my role the best I can. Everybody has to step up a little bit.
Читать полностью или написать коммент.. Про установку спутниковых тарелок в Московской областиhttp://tarelka-tv.ru/
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий