Most of the so called experts in college basketball have predicted big things this season for UConn sophomore guard Jeremy Lamb. We caught some glimpses of his immense talents late last season as he played sidekick to Kemba Walker in helping the Huskies win yet another National Championship.
With Walker now starring for Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Bobcats, Lamb is the odds on favorite to take over the Huskies leading scorer role this season. Playing alongside PG Shabazz Napier in the backcourt, Lamb has continually been compared to former Chicago Bulls standout Scottie Pippen and is an early favorite to be one of the first ten players selected in the 2012 NBA Draft.
This past Friday, UConn officially opened up the 2011-2012 season by taking on the Columbia Lions from the Ivy League. I know, not exactly prime competition, but nearly everyone faces creampuffs in the non-conference part of the schedule.
The Lions hung tough, mainly behind a plethora of 3 point shots, before bowing to the Huskies 70-57. But the real story was the outstanding play out of the UConn backcourt, where Walker’s replacement at PG, Napier, tallied 21 points and 8 assists while Lamb notched the first 30 point game of his young career in addition snatching 4 steals.
Interesting of note was the uninspiring play of prized freshman Andre Drummond who was held scoreless and only took one shot because of foul trouble. Drummond also took another direct hit to his already broken nose in the game’s final minutes and was seen in obvious pain even though he continues to wear a protective facemask.
But the play that everyone around college basketball is talking about is when Lamb drove the baseline and put a hapless Columbia defender on a poster by throwing down a thunderous dunk, prompting even the most casual NCAA fan to start calling Lamb by his nickname……..”Lamb Rover.”
Check out Lamb posterizing a Columbia defender:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
