Basketball cruises to 103-60 exhibtion win at McKenzie
Jeremy Acree
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: Sports
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All this while sophomore Ricky Taylor, from Brownsville, Tenn., made nine of 13 from the field and totaled 27 points.
It was just a 103-60 exhibition win over Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday night, but guessing who may step up for this year's men's basketball team may be an ongoing crapshoot.
Taylor and junior Ridge McKeither, from Danville, Va., combined for 44 points, but the sparks came from Odem and Hampton.
"Josh Odem may be our best player out there," Coach John Shulman said. "He's not scared of anything. Nothing rattles him. He goes out there in his first college game and he's the one that made the plays. He's the one that got us going early."
Hampton was the unlikely star at point guard, where sophomore and Vanderbilt transfer Keegan Bell, from Hazel Green, Ala., was expected to split time with sophomore Jasper Williams, from Washington D.C.
"Today, I thought [Hampton] played better than anybody else," Shulman said. "He did what we asked him to do and ran this team."
Bell shot 1-7 from the field and had four turnovers in 18 minutes.
"It was frustrating personally," Bell said. "I was definitely feeling that year off. I hadn't been in the game atmosphere for so long, but I know I'll be fine. It was just a matter of getting my feet wet."
Shulman seconded that by saying Bell would end up being a great player for this team. But the play of Hampton did stir ideas about Williams possibly moving to a position with less depth on the wing.
The Mocs are struggling to fill holes at a number of positions because four potential starters are out for the first part of the season due to injury or suspension.
