Zach Cleveland Away From Team
Liberty forward Zach Cleveland did not play in the Flames’ win over Midway on Tuesday night and he was not on the bench.
“We had another surprise,” head coach Ritchie McKay said following the game. “Zach woke up this morning and didn’t feel well. So, we left him away from the Arena.”
McKay was unsure if the forward would be available for Saturday’s game at Dayton. “I hope so,” he stated.
Cleveland currently ranks third in the nation with a team-best 8.0 assists per game. He also leads the team in rebounds (8.8) and blocks and ranks third on the team in steals. Cleveland is having an incredible start to his senior season as he pushes for the Flames to get back to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. In his absence, Josh Smith got the start and led the team with 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting.
Zander Yates: “His Voice Was Terrific”
“It’s been a long six days,” said McKay thinking back to the loss at NC State last Wednesday night. “We aren’t as bad as we played and NC State had a ton do with that, but if you get stuck on one performance you will have a long season.”
One person McKay highlighted who has been key in the team’s response to their 40-point setback in Raleigh was Zander Yates.
“He hadn’t played great, turned it over a couple of times against NC State,” McKay said of his forward. “He had three really good days of practice. I thought his voice was terrific and did a good job of playing, as well.”
Yates was the first one off the bench against Midway. He went on to play 18 minutes, scoring 9 points on 3 of 4 shooting from three to go along with five rebounds and three assists. After Ihnen went down to injury last December, it was Yates who stepped into a key role for the Flames’ off the bench in the frontcourt down the stretch. With Ihnen again suffering an injury and missing the entireity of the season, we could see Yates have an increased role the rest of this year as Liberty prepares for conference play which begins at the end of the month.
Flames a ‘Work-in-Progress’ in Frontcourt
With the loss of Ihnen, the Flames are a “work-in-progress,” as Coach McKay put it, in the frontcourt. Liberty was hoping the 6’9″ and former four-star recruit in Ihnen could return to his pre-injury self before suffering a fourth major knee injury in five years putting his future playing career in jeopardy.
With Ihnen sidelined, Liberty’s only proven post player is Josh Smith who is coming back from an ACL tear himself. Smith suffered his injury late in his playing career at Stetson before transferring to Liberty and sitting out last season. Smith has continued to see his workload increase after missing the beginning of the season. In 9 games played, Smith is averaging 5.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 65.5% from the field in 10.3 minutes. Expect his minutes to continue to increase as we get deeper into the season.
Others to keep an eye on in the post, in addition to Smith and Yates, are RJ Jones and TJ Drain. Jones has been up and down some this season, but he has played in all 10 games and is shooting 33.3% from three-point range. Drain, a true freshman, is someone McKay spoke highly of in the summer. He has been limited during much of the non-conference schedule as he is fighting through injury, but he had his best performance on Tuesday against Midway. Playing six minutes, Drain made all four of his field goal attempts for 8 points against Midway.
Liberty Signee Cam Wood Leads Carrollton to Georgia State Championship Game
Liberty running back signee Cam Wood had a breakout season as a senior this past fall for Carrollton. He rushed for over 1,500 yards and 30 touchdowns this year while leading Carrollton to the GHSA Class 6A State Championship Game earlier this week. Wood and Carrollton lost to Buford, 28-21, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the championship. Wood rushed 24 times for 98 yards and a touchdown and added 3 receptions for 66 yards in the loss. Both Carrollton and Buford entered the game ranked in the top 5 nationally as many pointed to this game as the de facto high school national championship game.
Wood’s recruitment was slow developing with Liberty being one of his only reported offers after he exploded as a senior. He rushed for 150 yards and scored four touchdowns in the regional championship. Wood helped lead Carrollton into the state championship with an undefeated record before they suffered their first setback in a close contest.
