This weekend’s lines are chosen to give the youngsters out there some inspiration. You don’t have to be big to play big.

Friday

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Aaron Fitzgerald       25  3-6   1-2  1-1  0-1  14 1 3  1  0   8 
Result: Win. UC Irvine 94, Mississippi Valley St. 40

The 6-3 Anteater point guard served up 14 assists in only 25 minutes. In fairness, it was against the Delta Devils, whom I now ban from future appearances as an opponent of the Line o’ the Night honoree.

Saturday

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Mike Gansey            33 10-14  2-5  0-3  7-14  1 3 2  0  0   22
Result: Win. West Virginia 88, Louisiana Monroe 69

The 6-4 small forward not only had a nice evening shooting the ball in the Mountaineers’ opener of the Guardians Classic, but he gets rewarded with Line o’ the Night for his rebounding efforts. Gansey is one of the better small rebounders around, posting the following numbers during his first three seasons:

Season           OR%   DR%  Minutes
05 (WVU)         6.8  14.3   1070
03 (St. Bonny)   6.7  12.7    781
02 (St. Bonny)   8.6  15.1    708

Those are nearly four-type numbers from an undersized three.

Sunday

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Rajon Rondo            30  7-13  2-4  1-3  5-12  6 0 6  2  0   17
Result: Win. Kentucky 71, South Dakota St. 54

Welcome to D1 basketball, South Dakota State! That line speaks for itself, but I’d like to add that Rondo’s teammates likely cost him a few more assists – and the season’s first triple-double – by shooting 19-of-54 (35%).