by Kip Dynamite » October 29th, 2013, 11:55 am
Another exhibition tonight against Missouri Southern which will be a little tougher competition. This write up from today's paper talks a little about our depth this year.
Nixa star Ruder off to good start with Bears
Written by
Lyndal Scranton
Missouri Southern at Bears
What: Basketball exhibition
When: 7:35 p.m. today
Where: JQH Arena
There’s no telling how Austin Ruder’s college basketball career will turn out, but the first taste of competition was everything the local kid had imagined.
“It’s nice to be able to stick around your hometown and play Division I basketball,” Ruder said after scoring 16 on Sunday in Missouri State’s 104-71 exhibition victory over McKendree.
“There are a lot of great things about it,” the guard from Nixa said. “I feel blessed to have the opportunity to do it.”
Ruder and the Bears get their second sampling — and final tune-up for the regular season — at 7:35 tonight when Missouri Southern visits JQH Arena. The Lions figured to be more of a challenge than was McKendree, a program still making the difficult transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
Bears coach Paul Lusk said Ruder, a two-time Class 5 all-stater at Nixa High who was ranked the No. 7 3-point shooter in the nation from the class of 2013 by Rivals.com, showed that side of his game. He made four 3-pointers in seven attempts against McKendree.
“He consistently has made shots,” Lusk said. “We stat everything in practice and the way he shot (Sunday) is the way he’s been shooting on a day-in, day-out basis.”
But Ruder demonstrated quickly that he’s not one-dimensional. Soon after knocking down his first 3-pointer, he put the ball on the floor, split two defenders and scored while being fouled.
Again, it was no surprise to Lusk.
“I’ve talked about it since we signed him. He’s not just a shooter,” Lusk said. “It probably surprised some people early in the game when he caught it and there were two (defenders) there and he made a drive.
“He’s going to be a good player for us. He’s still got a lot to learn, but I like what he brings to the table.”
Ruder said the physicality of the college game is his biggest on-court adjustment. There’s maybe more layers off the court that incoming freshmen have to learn.
“Just all the things that come along with it, like study hall, having to get up early and watch individual film and stuff like that,” Ruder said. “It’s kind of hard to adjust to all of that, but all the guys who have been through it before, they help us. It’s been nice.”
Lusk said tonight’s game is another step in the process toward determining minutes for the Nov. 8 opener at Old Dominion. He said the starting lineup will remain a moving target early in the season with 10 players receiving at least 13 minutes on Sunday.
“It’s not that the guys in the top 10 haven’t been solid, it’s just that those 10 that I put out there early (Sunday) have been pretty consistent in practice and earned it,” Lusk said. “You’re going to have to earn your minutes.
“It lends well to having healthy competition.”
Bears notes
Missouri Southern is picked sixth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Lions, 13-15 last season, return their entire roster led by 6-4 senior Marquis Addison (17.4 points) and 6-8 senior Jordan Talbert (12.9). … Robert Corn begins his 24th season as Lions’ coach. Lusk was an assistant to Corn from 1999-2002.
