DRC..Jerome Rogers steps up his defense

OldTimer · December 8, 2002

Rogers? defense proves noteworthy

12/08/2002

By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer

ROCK HILL, S.C. ? North Texas coach Johnny Jones was in no mood to talk about reserve point guard Jerome Rogers? shooting touch Saturday night.

Never mind that Rogers? accuracy from behind the 3-point arc provided a key spark in the Mean Green?s 65-56 win over Winthrop in the championship game of the Brothers Air and Heat Shootout. Forget the fact that the 5-10 junior led UNT in scoring with 16 points in just 21 minutes off the bench.

Jones was too busy raving about the diminutive Dallas Madison product?s defense to allow offense to enter the discussion. Rogers had a pair of steals and helped hold Winthrop guard Pierre Wooten, who had 10 points in the first eight minutes of the game, to five points the remainder of the night.

"For one of the first times since I?ve been here, he did an excellent job defensively," Jones said. "He was hawking the ball. He got into his man and turned him, making him take tough shots or turn the ball over."

But, boy, did Rogers change the game with his shooting range.

UNT trailed by nine points when Rogers entered the game with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. He immediately hit a pair of 3-pointers to provide a spark. He knocked down another bomb and had a couple of assists to key a run that cut the lead to one at halftime.

Rogers drilled just one more 3-pointer in the game, but he picked a pretty good time to do it. UNT scored seven unanswered points to take a five-point lead before Winthrop got a layup to trim it back to three. Rogers, however, made sure the Mean Green kept the momentum by hitting a rainbow from the right wing with a hand in his face to begin an 8-0 run midway through the half.

UNT, with Rogers on the floor, outscored Winthrop 41-22.

"I always feel like I can step up and hit big shots," said Rogers, who hadn?t scored in the two games since recording a season-high 21 points at SMU. "If I get a good look at it, I know I can knock it down."

Hopkins, Green make all-tournament team

UNT guard Leonard Hopkins and forward Jermaine Green were named to the all-tournament team.

Hopkins had 33 points in the two games, including a career-high 24 in the opener against Weber State. He made 11 of 15 shots from the floor, including all seven from 3-point range. Green had 29 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in the tournament.

The other selections to the all-tournament team were Winthrop forward Tyrone Walker and guard Pierre Wooten, and Weber State guard Jermaine Boyette.

Briefly ...

Forward Jermaine Green bowled over Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall while chasing a loose ball in the second half. Coach Johnny Jones made Green apologize during the ensuing timeout. ... Swingman Chris Davis, who has never had more assists than turnovers in a season, had 12 assists and two turnovers in the tournament.

TIM MACMAHON can be reached at 940-381-9572.