Wednesday Report Card: Aaron Bruce's Struggles

    
February 20th, 2008 by Shawn Siegel
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A - Hasheem Thabeet

The big 7-3 soph lacks the consistency of conference rival Roy Hibbert.. but considering the experience gap, Thabeet's having a much more impressive season. (Thought it should be noted they're similar in actual age despite Thabeet being a sophomore and Hibbert being a senior.) With 8 blocks last night against DePaul, its now 5 games in a row with at least 6 blocks. Thabeet is averaging 4.4 blocks per game, twice the amount of Hibbert, and he also averages more rebounds. I compare these two for obvious size & position reasons, and also because they'll be vying for position in this summer's NBA Draft. Coming into the year, Hibbert was considered to be a much better prospect, but Thabeet is steadily moving up the charts.

 

B - Oklahoma

How many more close wins does this team have left? Last night's wild double-OT win.. which Baylor basically gave away multiple times, was one of many close wins for the Sooners. There was the miracle shot against Texas Tech, down to the wire wins over OSU and Tech again, and back in December they beat WVU in double-OT and escaped with a close win over Gonzaga. For all the tight wins, the only real heart-breaking loss was to Kansas State when Michael Beasley hit a late game-winner. Something tells me this team's good luck will run out when it counts.. early in the NCAA Tournament.

 

C - Justin Fuehrmeyer

The Missouri State sophomore guard might seem like an odd choice for the Report Card considering his so-so stats and his team's mediocrity. A couple years back I saw him play in some late round of the Missouri high school tournament, shortly after he had signed with Barry Hinson. At the time he didn't really look like a D1 player due to his tiny build and lack of height. Yet here he is playing almost 30 mpg for a team that although itsn't good, isn't bad either. Who knew.

 

D - Jerome Dyson

I still find it hilarious how good UCONN's been since Dyson was suspended.

 

F - Aaron Bruce

Bruce has had a nice career and deserves respect for really being the first guy to get on-board Drew's rebuilding project at Baylor. He's stuck it through lean times and the four-year starting point guard should finally reach the NCAA Tournament this year. Yet, he's had a rough stretch here.. fouling Crocker on a 3-point attempt that turned into a 4-point play, and then there was the phantom time-out call late in the recent loss to Texas. On an unrelated note, Bruce is a rare player whose mpg has diminished in each of his four years.. from 34.8 to 31.1 to 29.7 and now 23.0

 

The Daily Report Card tells you all you need to know about the day in college hoops. From good to bad and bad to worse, I'll be laying down the law.

 

Previous Best / Worst

February 19th - Josh Duncan / Tim Welsh

February 18th - Wake Forest / NJIT

February 15th - Oral Roberts / Big Ten Predictions

February 13th - Mike Green / Ed Donato

February 11th - Charron Fisher / Tim Morris

February 8th - Big West / Virginia

February 6th - Chris Lofton / Dick Vitale

February 5th - Bob Knight / Josh Heytvelt

February 4th - New York Giants / Washington State

February 1st - Nevada / Penn

January 31st - Kansas State / St. John's

January 29th - Winthrop  / Dyson & Wiggins

January 28th - Rutgers / Doris Burke

January 25th - Ron Hunter / Princeton Offense

January 23rd - Kentucky / Archbishop Burke

January 22nd - DJ Augustin / Scott Sutton

January 21st - New York Giants / Marquette

January 20th - Maryland / ESPN.com editors

January 18th - Cleveland State / Marquette

January 17th - Drake / HP Laptops

January 14th - Roy Hibbert / Michigan State

January 10th - Tony Bennett / Saint Louis

January 9th - DJ White / CSTV

January 8th - Robert Morris / Schedule Makers

January 7th - Wayne Ellington / Illinois

January 6th - Herb Sendek / Kentucky

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