Trey Smith (Photo by Max Bechtoldt)
By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
The Nevada Wolf Pack (10-13, MW 4-8) are primed to show the Mountain West that their recent win over Utah State wasn’t a howl at the moon as they take on the San Jose State Spartans (7-17, MW 0-12).
The goose egg next to the right of the MW for SJSU could remain as Nevada is coming off of its most exciting game of the year. So exciting as a matter of fact, that Jon Rothstein honored them with one of his classic taglines on Friday night.
Know Your Foe
Heading into the bout against Utah State, the Wolfpack were on a five-game skid, losing by an average of 13.8 points in each contest.
Senior Desmond Cambridge Jr. and junior Grant Sherfield combining for 51 of the 85 Wolf Pack points were key to them putting an ice pack on Utah State’s recent hot streak.
Cambridge Jr. is coming off of a two game stretch where he averaged an ungodly 31.5 points on an out of world 71.5% clip from three. With those kinds of numbers he can double park in front of any fire hydrant in Reno and not get a ticket.
This clip below illustrates why Cambridge Jr. is so dangerous.
He starts on the right wing, snakes around the baseline, waits for a screen to open up space and immediately pops once the ball is in his fingertips. Offensive fundamentals that Greg Poppovich would use in a powerpoint about how 3-pointers should move without the ball.
If that clip doesn’t make the powerpoint then this one against Colorado State surely will.
Sherfield’s first game back from a foot injury against Colorado State wasn’t up to his standards. He had 11 points on 1 of 6 shooting from three and only had one FG in the final seven minutes of the game. Despite this, he had one of the better passes I’ve seen all year.
First, he goes no-look like Matt Stafford in the Super Bowl and then he rips an Aroldis Chapman 107 MPH fastball in between a picket fence of three Rams defenders.
If Cambridge Jr. catches the ball wrong his fingers are sure to look like Michael Strahans’.
Spartans Route To Victory
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” This quote is from Winston Churchill, say what you want about him, but the guy knows how to dial up big plays.
Now back to basketball.
Playing the Cambridge Jr. and Sherfield battery pack offers a wide ranging variety of difficulty which provides a young Spartans squad an opportunity to build cohesion.
As you saw from earlier clips, the Wolf Pack are blood thirsty for open shots away from the ball. Each possession will be a dire situation for the Spartans to keep the puck in front of them and not get beat on any back door cuts.
Offensively, I’m very intrigued to see how Myron Amey Jr. and Omari Moore will play with each other. Amey Jr. is averaging 22 points in the last three games on 56.2% from three.
Now that the Spartans have their paws on a lethal sniper from outside, driving lanes big enough for Moore to start doing donuts amongst other illegal activities, like this slam dunk against San Diego State are there for the taking.
Game plan is to stop the Wolf Pack’s battery pack to get momentum going for the Spartan’s battery pack in waiting.