Cotton’s Game Good, but Still Not His Best

They all answered quickly, not even taking a second to ponder. And the question seemed curious to some, even after they saw the latest numbers.

The consensus is that Long Beach State guard James Cotton can play better. Everyone in the Long Beach State locker room said so Thursday night after watching Cotton do his thing yet again.

Cotton scored a game-high 27 points to lead Long Beach past Cal State Fullerton, 73-56, at Titan Gym. His timely three-point shooting and intense defense might have impressed some, but his coaches and teammates said that stuff wasn’t anything to get excited about. According to the 49ers, Cotton hasn’t unveiled the complete package yet.

“You always know JC is going to come through,” point guard Rasul Salahuddin said. “That’s what you expect.”

Cotton, a sophomore, struggled in the first half, making only three of nine shots from the field. But he was clearly the best player on the floor in the second half, making big shots to thwart Titan rallies and generally looking every bit the Big West Conference’s best shooting guard, which Coach Seth Greenberg says he is.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t patient in the first half,” Cotton said.

But like Salahuddin and Cotton, Greenberg wasn’t overly excited by Cotton’s performance. He has seen this before.

“Oh, he can play a lot better,” Greenberg said. “You can always get better.”

Wait just a second. Cotton leads the Big West Conference in scoring, averaging 21.2 points after Thursday’s game.

Cotton has averaged 26.6 points in his last three games--49er victories. And Cotton has made nine of 15 three-point attempts in those games.

So, come on, he can play better?

“Hey, James is a great player,” Greenberg said. “The thing right now is that he’s playing so efficiently.”

Cotton agreed with that assessment. His play is efficient--but that’s it.

“I just have to relax and slow down,” Cotton said, sounding like a guy who was 0-20 from the field.

“I can play much better than I did tonight.”

Titan Coach Bob Hawking would like to see it . . . but against someone else.

“I’d say he’s as good as there is in the conference,” Hawking said. “He’s a sophomore playing like a senior.”

Yes, a senior on the rise.