VALDOSTA — Valdosta State’s men’s basketball team has dominated its first three games. But tonight, the competition gets tougher. A whole lot tougher.
The Blazers (3-0) welcome Florida Southern to The Complex tonight. Tip-off comes at 7:30 p.m.
Florida Southern is ranked No. 2 in Division II basketball, behind only Findlay. The Moccasins have started the season 4-1, with their only loss coming to Miami (Fla.), a ranked Division I team. Their wins include a 73-58 win over Montevallo, a Gulf South Conference rival of VSU.
“They’re very well-coached and very skilled,” Valdosta State head coach Mike Helfer said. “They’re just a complete basketball team. You try to find their weaknesses, and they’re very hard to find.”
One thing that concerns Helfer is the Moccasins’ size inside. Florida Southern has a 7-foot center, Rashaad Singleton. Defending Singleton (11.4 points, 7.6 rebounds per game), a transfer from Georgia, will be a challenge.
“He plays hard, he’s smart, he does a great job around the basket,” Helfer said. “He’s going to be somebody who’s going to have an impact on the game. You just don’t see many (7-footers) at our level, and his skill at our level. It’s a very difficult matchup to get some things done. But we’ll do our best.”
Singleton is hardly the only weapon the Moccasins have. Rob Eldridge leads the team with 14.6 points per game. Rion Rayfield averages 10.6 points a game, while John Thompson is scoring 10.0.
“They’re probably one of the best shooting teams we’ve seen in a while,” Helfer said. “They have a lot of kids that can make shots. They’re unselfish, which is a credit to Coach (Linc) Darner.”
Nevertheless, Helfer feels this game, and the level of competition Florida Southern will bring to the court, will help the Blazers in the long run.
“It’s a great game to play,” Helfer said. “They’re a Sunshine State (Conference) team and we’re a Gulf South school. Those are two great Division II leagues. We’re not going to shy away from playing great teams, and Florida Southern’s the same way. They want to play great teams. It’s a great inter-conference game.”
So far this season, it has been smooth sailing for the Blazers. Valdosta State opened the season with a 67-point victory over Carver Bible, 123-56, and a 62-point win over Puerto Rico-Cayey, 114-52. On Wednesday, the Blazers knocked off Fort Valley State, 77-59.
“We won those games, but we weren’t looking at the scoreboard,” Helfer said. “We were trying to live by our principles. No matter what the score was, we were trying to be consistent on both ends of the floor, and do things that can make our basketball team better, and I think we did that. We still have a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of growing to do, and a lot of things to learn. It’s going to be a long road, but hopefully we can continue to improve each game and each night.”
Valdosta State’s head coach expects a hard-fought game tonight.
“I think that to compete in this game, you have to do a lot of things right, and eliminate your mistakes, and I think the team that can do that is probably the team that’s going to end up on top at the end,” Helfer said.
“I hope a lot of people come out to support us, and watch a great basketball game. It should be fun to watch.”
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