Sleeping with the Enemy: The Red Wolves of Arkansas State

Your Fighting Hoyas of Georgetown look to rebound from that epic collapse against Maryland with some home cookin’ against the Red Wolves of Arkansas State, and as usual we here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON are bringing you everything you need to know about Georgetown’s next opponent. Here with us to shed some light on our Sun Belt foes is Mid-Major Madness, your premier source for all things mid-major on the internet. And yes, that includes UConn. Let’s do this!

Arkansas State! Tell us something about Arkansas State the school that we might find interesting.

Might be a bit off the radar, but how about this. The Red Wolves’ home arena, the Convocation Center, was christened by country music legend George Strait performing a concert. Not a bad opening act!

Who are some of the guys on the Red Wolves that the Hoyas need to be aware of?

Have to center attention on the guards, as Arkansas State usually goes with a four-guard lineup. Devin Carter is a senior and averaged over 17 a game last season. Hit on 42% on his three-point attempts. Donte Thomas is another senior who already has 17 assists through two games this season, and was one of four players to average 11/5/5 nationally last year. Salif Boudie is starting as a freshman up front and has promise, and junior JUCO transfer Tamas Bruce has been good off the bench in the first two games up front. A guy to keep an eye on off the bench is sophomore Connor Kern who is 5-6 from three-point land through the first two games.

What is the outlook for the Red Wolves this season? Any postseason dreams?

With limited depth in the frontcourt, Arkansas State will find it tough to deal with teams with length and beef up front. Being so guard-heavy, teams likely will throw some zone looks at the Red Wolves. Projected in the bottom half of the Sun Belt this season, and I suspect that will be pretty accurate. There will be nights where they can score 80 points, but defending I imagine will be a problem night in and night out, as the Red Wolves were next to last in scoring defense last season in the Sun Belt. With a new coach in Grant McCasland, defensively with some improvements there could improve Arkansas State in the Sun Belt, but there are teams just a bit better as far as roster balance and depth goes.

Are there any red wolves in Arkansas?

Apparently there are not currently. After a little digging around, red wolves are currently only located in North Carolina at present time. The species nearly became extinct years back, but efforts have been made to protect the ones remaining.

This game is being played in Georgetown's on-campus gym and you are going to lose. No real question here other than that you should be mentally prepared for the Red Wolves to be bludgeoned.

Well…………. Bulletin board material right here!

Oreo recently announced a line of new candy bars with what appears to be oreos inside of a chocolate coating. Please rank where this new chocolate oreo bar would fall in your list of top 5 chocolate bars.

Hmmmm. My rankings are: Hershey’s Cookies and Cream, Milky Way Midnights, Three Musketeers, Twix, and Take 5’s. Hard list to crack! I’ll have to check those out.

What is a TV show you are watching right now that you can recommend to the Hoya masses?

Well, I do like NCIS and it is based in D.C. (Technically speaking) Does that count?

(Casual Note: No.)

After watching Georgetown against USC-Upstate and Maryland, how has your outlook for the Hoyas changed for this season?

Well, Robert Morris transfer Rodney Pryor certainly made his presence felt in the opening game with 32 points and six three-pointers. I think he’s a steady 18-20 points a night guy which is such a luxury to have and with his experience he brings, he’s a perfect fit for the Hoyas. Against Maryland however, as well as they played and they had everything under control, to lose in that type of fashion basically summarizes JTIII’s coaching career. They were the better team, were in perfect position and they just crumbled. And Thompson had that odd look of panic during that final minute that is all too familiar with Hoya fans. A loss that simply should not have happened.

You saw why many like what Georgetown has. Experienced guards that attack the rim when needed, but can shoot it from the perimeter as well. Bradley Hayes being suspended obviously doesn’t help much, but when he gets back in the fray, you’ll get a good look at what Georgetown can be long term. I don’t think a lot has changed how I see the Hoyas. Mentally they need to be a bit stronger in crunch time, but this team I think will come together as the year progresses with Pryor and Peak leading the charge.