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July 20th,
2006
By Joel
Welser
Broadcast Basketball
Arkansas
Little Rock Trojans
Overall Rank:
#116
Conference
Rank: #2 Sun Belt
2005-06:
14-15, 5-9, 4th East
2005-06
postseason: none
 Every time
Arkansas Little Rock strung together a few wins last year, it
would be followed by a couple loses. Despite a couple major
departures, the Trojans have enough talent to improve and turn
their 5-9 record into 9-5.
Who’s Out:
Elijah Muldrow and Zack Wright are big losses. Muldrow, a 6-2
guard, averaged 11.0 points per game and was the biggest long
range threat for the Trojans. Wright is leaving the program
after averaging 12.2 points and 5.9 assists as a junior. That
departure leaves a question mark on the point guard spot,
especially with injury concerns surrounding heir apparent point
guard Buddy Harding. There are plenty of quality options in the
list of newcomers if Harding is sidelined for a lengthy amount
of time; however, he is expected to be ready to play by
mid-August.
Who’s In:
Steven Moore
might not start immediately as a freshman, but the point guard
has the potential to be starting sooner than later. Moore is
quick on both ends of the floor, can score and will develop into
a great defender. The main thing Moore lacks is experience,
which is why fellow newcomer Corey Johnson has the early leg up
on the point guard spot. The junior college transfer is ideally
a deep shooting two guard, but can run the point if he has to.
Terrance Akins redshirted last year with a foot injury and could
be in the mix at the point guard spot. Akins is a dynamic
scorer, who topped the 1,000 career point mark in two seasons at
Holmes Community College in Mississippi, and will see plenty of
minutes at the two if his services aren’t needed running the
show. Adding more depth to the backcourt are redshirt freshmen
James Jackson and Kyley Newth. The frontcourt will find a boost
with the addition of Derrick Bails and Rashad Moss. Bails, a
perennial double-double forward in high school, brings some more
bulk to the frontcourt. Moss, a native of the Bahamas, is
expected to see minutes immediately. The 6-7 forward has
experience at the junior college level and can score from inside
and out.
Who to Watch:
Rashad Jones-Jennings is undoubtedly the star. We’ll give him a
double-double on the season right now, but he is going to need
some help from players like Lekheythan Malone, Byron Ray and
DeAndre Eggins. Malone quietly racked up nearly ten points per
outing as a freshman and is on breakout season alert. Ray is a
solid scorer and Jones-Jennings’ assistant glass cleaner.
Eggins averaged 7.4 points per game in 11 starts as a freshman
last year and those numbers should improve when Eggins slides
into Muldrow’s starting role on the wing.
Final
Projection:
The Sun Belt is
pretty much up for grabs, and with Jones-Jennings, the Trojans
have the star to vault them closer to the top than many expect.
The key is at point guard and if Harding, Johnson or Moore can’t
handle the job, Arkansas Little Rock will slide down to the
middle of the pack, or worse. The rest of the pieces are there
for Coach Steve Shield’s squad, including sliding Eggins to the
two and inserting Ray at the four for a bigger lineup.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
none
Projected
Starting Five:
Steven Moore,
Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Terrance Akins,
Junior, Guard, DNP last season
DeAndre Eggins,
Sophomore, Guard, 7.4 points per game
Lekheythan
Malone, Sophomore, Forward, 9.9 points per game
Rashad
Jones-Jennings, Senior, Forward, 12.2 points per game
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