Basketball Rebels Roll

A few thoughts from the Rebels’ 92-52 win over Arkansas-Little Rock …

I am in Denham Springs/Baton Rouge this morning and did not attend last night, but just scanning the box score, some things stood out.

- Derrick Millinghaus. In his first two games he had really been pressing, but he’d gotten a lot of minutes, an indicator of what Andy Kennedy believes his role can be on this team.

Last night he showed up big with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. That’s eight more minutes than starting point guard Jarvis Summers. Millinghaus had pushed the ball to the rim in his first two games. Last night he did that and got to the line too, hitting 9-of-11 free throws.

A good point guard situation is developing with two very different styles.

Kennedy: “Jarvis had a couple of turnovers early, which gave Derrick an opportunity. Five assists and four turnovers are not ideal, but he was very active and I was pleased to see him have a good game.”

- Marshall Henderson through three games has been consistent. He “only” scored 17 last night, which was 7.5 below his average over the first two games. He was 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Henderson is shooting 47.1 percent from 3 after three games. The rest of the team is shooting 5-for-38 (13.1 percent). Some other guys may catch on, but right now the Rebels’ improved perimeter shooting really is all about the presence of Henderson. Wrap him in bubble wrap and keep him healthy.

- Reggie Buckner had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Probably some “coaching up” for Buckner during the week. Kenedy wasn’t happy with the fact that Buckner had only two rebounds in Tuesday’s 90-72 win over Coastal Carolina.

Kennedy: “(He got) his first double-double of the year. For him it’s all about the approach. He’s making his free throws, he’s blocking shots, and he’s just an active force defensively. We were trying to run some plays through him. He was a bobble or two away from having 16 or 18 points.”

More from Kennedy on the Rebels’ 3-0 start: “We’ve won the games that we should have won. It’s been advantageous to us to get these young guys more minutes. Derrick was a little shaky, 19 points, four rebounds and five assists in his third college game which will allow him to exhale a little bit, and the other guys are starting to figure out their roles. We have two games next week where we need to continue doing what we’re doing and take care of our business.”