Bryson Hampton shows potential in losses
Saad Siddiqui
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: Sports
This past week the Highlanders fell to two Northern California teams in Big West Conference showdowns. The losses hurt the mood of the Highlanders' locker room and further frustrated players.
However, from my vantage point, I saw one significant factor come out of both games. That factor was senior Bryson Hampton. Hampton is a senior and has become a fixture in the UCR starting rotation.
In the game against the UC Davis Aggies, Hampton scored five points and grabbed four rebounds on 2-3 shooting. He would've produced more but he was limited to 17 minutes of action because of foul trouble.
This Saturday against the Pacific Tigers, Hampton had 10 points and five rebounds on 5-5 shooting. In this game he played 31 minutes.
My analysis of Hampton's play is that he needs more touches as junior Dwight Gordon, senior Sean Cunningham, senior Larry Gurgonious, senior Rudy Meo and senior Brandon Dowdy have been increasingly ineffective or inconsistent.
I really think it is time for the Highlanders' coaching staff to give up on their perimeter play and just pound the ball inside to junior Kyle Austin and Hampton and have a dual post game. Hampton has shown ability to hit jump shots and score in multiple ways on the block.
Coach Jim Wooldridge said that he is willing to give Hampton the opportunity if he plays hard.
"That's going to depend on [Hampton]," he said. "If [Hampton] keeps doing this he's got the opportunity to do it every night so he played well and he got the minutes because of it."
Hampton also has the ability to give the Highlanders what the graduated Aaron Scott gave them last year. Scott became a consistent double double and complemented Austin very well last year with his hard play.
Hampton and Austin have the ability to operate much like how Austin and Scott operated last year. Last year, Austin and Scott played a lot of hi-lo offense as both players had the ability to shoot and score on the block. This year, the Highlanders apply the same sort of tactic with Hampton and Austin.
In the game against the Tigers, every single time the ball was thrown into Austin he was double- and triple-teamed. If the ball had been moved around more and Hampton was set up for more than just the five shots he took I am sure the defense the Tigers employed would have softened up on Austin.
At the end of the day, the Highlanders have found a second scorer in my opinion. All season, the Highlanders have longed for a second option on offense and, from my view, they have found their man. Now it is the job of the Highlander coaches to design some plays for Hampton.
The Highlanders currently stand at 2-7 and a half game behind UC Irvine for the eighth and final Big West Conference Tournament berth and with nine conference games left to play the Highlanders are still very much alive for a tournament berth.
Let's see what the Highlander coaches come up with at the Student Recreation Center day after tomorrow at 7 p.m. against CSUN.
However, from my vantage point, I saw one significant factor come out of both games. That factor was senior Bryson Hampton. Hampton is a senior and has become a fixture in the UCR starting rotation.
In the game against the UC Davis Aggies, Hampton scored five points and grabbed four rebounds on 2-3 shooting. He would've produced more but he was limited to 17 minutes of action because of foul trouble.
This Saturday against the Pacific Tigers, Hampton had 10 points and five rebounds on 5-5 shooting. In this game he played 31 minutes.
My analysis of Hampton's play is that he needs more touches as junior Dwight Gordon, senior Sean Cunningham, senior Larry Gurgonious, senior Rudy Meo and senior Brandon Dowdy have been increasingly ineffective or inconsistent.
I really think it is time for the Highlanders' coaching staff to give up on their perimeter play and just pound the ball inside to junior Kyle Austin and Hampton and have a dual post game. Hampton has shown ability to hit jump shots and score in multiple ways on the block.
Coach Jim Wooldridge said that he is willing to give Hampton the opportunity if he plays hard.
"That's going to depend on [Hampton]," he said. "If [Hampton] keeps doing this he's got the opportunity to do it every night so he played well and he got the minutes because of it."
Hampton also has the ability to give the Highlanders what the graduated Aaron Scott gave them last year. Scott became a consistent double double and complemented Austin very well last year with his hard play.
Hampton and Austin have the ability to operate much like how Austin and Scott operated last year. Last year, Austin and Scott played a lot of hi-lo offense as both players had the ability to shoot and score on the block. This year, the Highlanders apply the same sort of tactic with Hampton and Austin.
In the game against the Tigers, every single time the ball was thrown into Austin he was double- and triple-teamed. If the ball had been moved around more and Hampton was set up for more than just the five shots he took I am sure the defense the Tigers employed would have softened up on Austin.
At the end of the day, the Highlanders have found a second scorer in my opinion. All season, the Highlanders have longed for a second option on offense and, from my view, they have found their man. Now it is the job of the Highlander coaches to design some plays for Hampton.
The Highlanders currently stand at 2-7 and a half game behind UC Irvine for the eighth and final Big West Conference Tournament berth and with nine conference games left to play the Highlanders are still very much alive for a tournament berth.
Let's see what the Highlander coaches come up with at the Student Recreation Center day after tomorrow at 7 p.m. against CSUN.
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