Big South tourney time

– Chris Lang

Third verse, same as the first. I’m sure the Flames and Keydets are sick of seeing each other at this point, but there’s a little extra buzz for this Big South tournament quarterfinal game. VMI has beaten Liberty two straight times at the Vines Center by a combined three points, including last year’s conference tournament quarterfinal.

Liberty, strangely enough, has won during its last two ventures to Cameron Hall. The Keydets are 5-2 on the road in Big South play this year, so I doubt they’ll be intimidated.

Some nuggets and thoughts about the game, and other topics:

* On the all-Big South voting … Four spots on the first team were no-brainers. Arizona Reid is one of three players in the country to average 20 points and 10 boards a game. Reggie Williams is the state’s all-time leading Division I scorer. Alex McLean was in the top five in the Big South in scoring and rebounding. Bryan Smithson was the top scorer for the league regular-season champ.

So who deserved the final spot? Jack Leasure or Chris Gaynor? Both have flawed resumes this season. Gaynor leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and steals, but his scoring numbers and assists totals were middling. Leasure is the Big South’s all-time leader in 3-pointers, but he disappeared for entire games this season. To name either to the fifth spot would feel like you’d be giving out a career award.

Leasure got the nod. It’s hard to argue with either player in that spot. My biggest problem with the final voting was that Kenny George was named to the Big South’s second team. Sorry, but he missed five league games and huge stretches of others. I’m fine with him being defensive player of the year. His 7-foot-7 presence alone was enough to force teams to scrap their entire offensive schemes. Both Liberty’s Anthony Smith and High Point’s Mike Jefferson had better resumes than George.

* Now for some keys to the game. Liberty will win if its point guards penetrate and create and Alex McLean gets going inside. That’ll open up some shots for Smith, Kyle Ohman and Jeremy Anderson. VMI will win if it shoots the way its accustomed to from the outside. The Keydets won here last week despite hitting only five 3s, a ridiculously low number for them. Also, Reggie Williams is going to get his. If Liberty can limit VMI’s secondary scorers, the Flames will have a good chance at earning its first Big South tournament victory in four years.

* This rivalry has gotten a bit chippy of late. VMI’s Chavis Holmes spent much of the last meeting yapping at Liberty’s players, and the Flames gave it right back to them. I say good. Two teams in the same league 50 miles apart should have some animosity between them. Makes it more fun.

* The whole Curry family is around tonight at the Vines Center. Former Virginia Tech star Dell Curry brought his sons to Lynchburg for a night of hoops. One of those sons, Stephen, will likely earn All-American honors this season for his play at Davidson. The other son, Seth, will join the Flames next season.