Our Take: UNCP Game Player Breakdown (Part 2)

Here is part 2 of our player breakdown from the UNCP exhibition game:

Jordan Vandenberg: After a great showing in the red/white scrimmage, Vandy was back at it again early in this one. He was running the floor, throwing down dunks and altering shots. That was short lived however as he went down with a high ankle sprain only 5 minutes into the game. According to early reports, Big V will miss 4 to 6 weeks of action to start the season. This is very bad news for the Pack who is already pretty thin on their frontline. This can still be a breakout year for the senior form down under, but he needs to make sure he gets back on the floor as soon as he can. For his sake and for the Pack’s sake.

Kyle Washington: I thought Washington was pretty good for his first action as a college player. He was very active and very aggressive, especially on the defensive end. With Vandy out, Kyle is going to have to become a real force in the lane and one of the team’s most trusted rebounders. Judging by his effort in this one, it’s entirely possible he can do that. His final like was 8 points (on 4-6 shooting) and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

Lennard Freeman: Freeman was kind of the forgotten freshman in this class, but judging by his performance in the red/white scrimmage and his line in this one, i think it’s safe to say that he’s going to play a role on this team. With a thin front line and the team in need of some quality rebounding, Freeman might just carve out a little niche for himself. He was very active in his 24 minutes on the floor, and while he is still very raw on offense, he was very physical on defense and was hungry as he went after rebounds. Lennard finished with 3 points (1-1 from the field), but added 5 boards which was good for 2nd on the team.

Beejay Anya: It’s going to be a while before we see Anya logging major minutes. He still is pretty far off in terms of conditioning. He played only 5 minutes in this one, which is a shame because with a very thin frontcourt, State could use a big body in the paint. Beejay simply doesn’t look ready. When he came in early in the game he made a quick turnover and look a little frazzled out there, however thats expected out of a freshman in his first game. The real problem was his conditioning. He just wasn’t able to give constant effort and it showed as guys half his size were grabbing rebounds from right over top of him. We’ll have to keep waiting as Anya keeps working to get into game shape.