JUCO Elite 8 Notes: McMillian shines, Roberts explodes offensively, & more

Edmond, OK - The Junior College opening weekend tipped off with Mike Mitchell's Elite Eight on the campus of Central Oklahoma. The Elite Eight played host to five Texas JUCO programs: Kilgore, Navarro, Odessa, Ranger and South Plains.

TexasHoops.com Recruiting Analyst, Blue Zertuche was on hand to catch the two-day event this past Friday and Saturday.

Here are five thoughts on players from the weekend

Kilgore’s Tyron McMillian redeemed himself on Saturday after a slow start on Friday night. Kilgore lost to Snow College (UT) by one, 72-71, in the first of two games over the two-day event. The redshirt freshman McMillian became a spectator after fouling out and managed just three shot attempts to only one total rebound. After a night of rest, Kilgore came out Saturday and rolled to a 70-63 victory over Odessa. Thanks to McMillian’s 16 point performance on 6-for-8 shooting versus Odessa, McMillian was able to get back on track himself.

McMillian hit soft 8-foot jumpers and created space inside to score. If you know the hype behind McMillian, then you would understand why the 6-foot-8 Kilgore Ranger had high major programs in attendance over the opening weekend of the Junior College season. Arizona State, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M all spent part of their weekend in Edmond.

Ranger College came into the Elite Eight ranked as the No.2 overall team in the country according to the NJCAA Preseason Poll. The Ranger squad finished the weekend 2-0 with wins over Missouri West Plains and Snow College (UT). The Billy Gillispie coached team was lead by redshirt sophomore C.J. Roberts who went for 17 points and 34 points, putting his average over 25 per game.

Roberts' success was due to his ability to convert from the free-throw line. In his two outings, Roberts drained 20 out of 22 free-throw attempts.

Listed at 6-foot-1, Roberts, who is in his third year of college, still possesses the type of burst we remember him having during his high school days. That ability to accelerate in the open court paid dividends in both wins. Also, part of Roberts' scoring has to be attributed to his teammates' willingness to share the ball. There were several times that Roberts was given the ball at point-blank range where he was able to beat his opponent to the basket. How explosive of a scorer was Roberts? Roberts was able to total 51 total points in just over 44 minutes of court time.

Ranger is a guard-heavy team that will run players in and out, but coach Gillispie will stick with a unit for long stretches when things are going in the right direction for his team.

• Junior Farquhar, a D1 transfer from Middle Tennessee is the floor general for the No.8 ranked team, South Plains. Farquhar has a presence on the floor with his strong physical upper body and will punish opponents as he pounds the ball to the basket. At 6-foot-2, Farquhar plays through contact and takes the hits to get to the free-throw line where he went 11-for-14 on the weekend. He is quick to the basket and makes hard passes to his cutting teammates.

• Bryant transfer Joe Kasparzyk is a scoring guard that gets his shot off by creating space from behind the three-point line. An Odessa product, Kasparzyk is one of the best scorers from the weekend as he went 6-14 from behind the arc, 8-out-9 from the charity stripe and added seven assists. Kasparzyk does a nice job of figuring out how his defender is playing him and then the 6-foot-3 guard will choose if he will take the three or drive to the rim. He is a straight-line driver who is tough and plays strong with the ball. In a pinch, Kasparzyk can be a lead guard, but he definitely has a "go score" mentality.

• Nevada native, Brian Washington caught spectators' attention with his quick twitch offensive scoring. Washington suits up for the Navarro Bulldogs leaps above the rim to score and rebound. The freshman paint player makes the most of his opportunities by attacking the rim. Washington loves the open court and sprints ahead of the defense to get the ball from his teammates in stride to the basket.

Washington wasn't just an athlete on the court, he showed versatility. In game one Friday, Washington only had four points, but he made up for his lack of scoring by grabbing seven boards and dishing out five assists. In game number two, Washington missed out on a double-double by one rebound. Washington finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals against Arizona Western.