PORTLAND, Ore. | The man charged with facing Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first round game says he’s “looking forward to it.”
Jon Brockman, the 6-foot-7 Washington senior, said Varnado’s skills set is unique.
“I've played against people who have a lot of skills he has, but I think he's got pieces from different players all put together,” Brockman said. “He's unbelievably athletic, great shot blocker, great timing, obviously.
“He's unbelievably active. And everyone talks about his shot-blocking, but watching him on the rebounding aspect of the game, he gets his hands on a lot of balls, keeps things alive. He's going to be a fun person to play against. I'm looking forward to it.”
But Brockman isn’t t exactly lame. He has 58 career double-doubles, a fact that wasn’t lost on MSU coach Rick Stansbury.
Stansbury said his goals against Brockman are to limit his offensive output and keep him off the boards.
“I think every coach that comes to the podium has said that, (but) no one seems to be able to do that,” Stansbury said.
As a day of work inside the Rose Garden wears down, more excerpts from the notebook that'll be in Thursday's Clarion-Ledger:
STILL SOCKLESS: MSU trainer Scotty Johnson was wearing socks during Wednesday’s shootaround, but he will not Thursday. Johnson, you’ll recall, forgot matching dress socks for the first day of the SEC Tournament. State won, and he decided not to wear socks the rest of the time.
As for Portland? “Didn't even pack any,” he said.
Adding to the superstition, Johnson recalled a story from his time as a graduate assistant at Chattanooga. That year, the pregame meal for the Mocs was breakfast — all the way through the Southern Conference Tournament and their improbable run to the Sweet Sixteen. Pregame for the Mocs’ Sweet Sixteen loss? Dinner fare.
Fast forward to last week, when State ate breakfast prior to each game through the SEC Tournament.
Thursday, State’s pregame meal, which will take place at around 10 a.m. PT, will be breakfast.
HEADING TO PADRE: Mississippi State will participate in the South Padre Invitational early next season, associate athletic director Scott Stricklin said.
The field for the exempt event includes Missouri, Old Dominion and Richmond. Illinois — which is playing in the night session of today’s Portland games — won last year’s event over Tulsa.
In tomorrow's Clarion-Ledger, plenty: The Guv opines and tries to find MSU fans here in the Pacific Northwest, I take an in-depth look at what a year at prep school meant to Dee Bost, and we'll break down the matchup and give reasons State can win and State can lose.
Original Story:
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbc...
