A couple small takeaways...

[jekelish]

Jerami Grant was absolutely not intimidated. Not in the slightest. He was ready to attack from the get go, and absolutely never backed down. This kid is going to be special.

Trevor Cooney didn't play much, but I was actually really impressed with him in his limited minutes. He had a nice pump fake, dribble, pull up jumper, and then he aggressively attacked the press and found Coleman with a terrific pass for what was eventually a foul and two shots.

I thought Rak was great on the boards, for the most part.

CJ rebounded well, but man, he disappeared offensively after the first couple minutes. He wasn't nearly as aggressive offensively as Grant, which was a little disheartening. Hell, Grant was getting swatted but at least he was taking it to the rim. CJ needs to take note and do the same.

MCW looked incredibly intimidated in the first half. That three pointer to tie things up right before halftime was HUGE. I absolutely, 100% believe that changed the game, mainly because it stopped him from being scared of the Louisville pressure.

Great win. We take care of the ball even a little bit and we wouldn't need last minute heroics to win.

 

[iommi]

Good post. I'll add that it's helpful that Grant played big-time high school hoops at Dematha. He will never shrink in a big spot. He probably spent a lot of time in NBA arenas too with his pop and uncle. I hesitate to say he has big upside because he's already a stud.

 

[Hoov50]

Jerami Grant was absolutely not intimidated. Not in the slightest. He was ready to attack from the get go, and absolutely never backed down. This kid is going to be special.

Trevor Cooney didn't play much, but I was actually really impressed with him in his limited minutes. He had a nice pump fake, dribble, pull up jumper, and then he aggressively attacked the press and found Coleman with a terrific pass for what was eventually a foul and two shots.

I thought Rak was great on the boards, for the most part.

CJ rebounded well, but man, he disappeared offensively after the first couple minutes. He wasn't nearly as aggressive offensively as Grant, which was a little disheartening. Hell, Grant was getting swatted but at least he was taking it to the rim. CJ needs to take note and do the same.

MCW looked incredibly intimidated in the first half. That three pointer to tie things up right before halftime was HUGE. I absolutely, 100% believe that changed the game, mainly because it stopped him from being scared of the Louisville pressure.

Great win. We take care of the ball even a little bit and we wouldn't need last minute heroics to win.

Grant is going to be scary when/if he puts on a little bit of muscle. The only downside I see with him is he gets knocked around since he isn't as strong as others.

I hadn't really seen Cooney dribble under pressure and he looked comfortable doing it.

Fair didn't catch very well, especially in the first half, but I don't think you can question his effort.

I thought MCW needed to be more aggressive when pressured. He backed off a few times and tried to pass it over the press. IMO the one thing he lacks and needs to improve upon is his quickness in open space. He seems to make a good move but never gets separation from the defender. Reminds me of a possession wide receiver in football. He is clutch and fearless and is the difference between us bring a top 20 team and a top 5 team.

Now that I have reiterated your points I will be on my way.

 

[jekelish]

I agree with that. He's seen high pressure moments from his dad, his uncle, and even his brothers. He's a legit 6-8, he's super athletic, he's got solid skills at 18 or 19 years old, and he's just a smart ballplayer.

The kid is a future All-American, assuming he stays three or four years and continues to improve and fills out to about 220-230.

 

[MadNY3]

You summed it up well. Great, great win.

The grittiness outweighed some of the stupid TO play. Really impressed that MCW showed up big in the final two minutes when he was used for soooo much of the game.

Grant does not know what a Frosh is. Cooney is starting to look like more of a ball player than a scared firdst-year player.

If we can get ANY solid play out of the 5/4 slot, we could be loving life for most of the rest of this season. Still waiting, but man, what a great game and tremendous win.

 

[orangenirvana]

Grant will be a lottery pick next year.

 

[RF2044]

Good post. I'll add that it's helpful that Grant played big-time high school hoops at Dematha. He will never shrink in a big spot. He probably spent a lot of time in NBA arenas too with his pop and uncle. I hesitate to say he has big upside because he's already a stud.

...AND he grew up probably playing against a 6-9 father who was an NBA player--to say nothing of his two older brothers [Clemson / Notre Dame, respectively]. Part of Grant's readiness is that he's played against big guys his entire life, and knows what the F to do with the ball against players his own size.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Jerami Grant was absolutely not intimidated. Not in the slightest. He was ready to attack from the get go, and absolutely never backed down. This kid is going to be special.

Trevor Cooney didn't play much, but I was actually really impressed with him in his limited minutes. He had a nice pump fake, dribble, pull up jumper, and then he aggressively attacked the press and found Coleman with a terrific pass for what was eventually a foul and two shots.

I thought Rak was great on the boards, for the most part.

CJ rebounded well, but man, he disappeared offensively after the first couple minutes. He wasn't nearly as aggressive offensively as Grant, which was a little disheartening. Hell, Grant was getting swatted but at least he was taking it to the rim. CJ needs to take note and do the same.

MCW looked incredibly intimidated in the first half. That three pointer to tie things up right before halftime was HUGE. I absolutely, 100% believe that changed the game, mainly because it stopped him from being scared of the Louisville pressure.

Great win. We take care of the ball even a little bit and we wouldn't need last minute heroics to win.

You wonder if bouncing his head off the floor impacted CJ's play a bit. I didn't see a difference but who knows, it looked like he hit pretty hard.

Shocked Cooney didn't get more run during MCW's meltdown in the second. I know he will never change but I wish JB would give his bench guys a chance to see if they get hot when we are so jump-shot challenged.

 

[RF2044]

You wonder if bouncing his head off the floor impacted CJ's play a bit. I didn't see a difference but who knows, it looked like he hit pretty hard.

Shocked Cooney didn't get more run during MCW's meltdown in the second. I know he will never change but I wish JB would give his bench guys a chance to see if they get hot when we are so jump-shot challenged.

I'll tell you what: when MCW got his pocket picked by Smith with about 5 minutes to go for a breakaway dunk, I was screaming for JB to get his ass out of the game. MCW didn't look like he was ready for today's game, and it was like his 7th or 8th turnover.

But JB left him in, and look what he did: hit 5 straight points when the game was close to give us the lead, and then made a bunch of key plays down the stretch.

That's why JB has won 900 games! Glad he didn't listen to me.

 

[LennX6]

...AND he grew up probably playing against a 6-9 father who was an NBA player--to say nothing of his two older brothers [Clemson / Notre Dame, respectively]. Part of Grant's readiness is that he's played against big guys his entire life, and knows what the F to do with the ball against players his own size.

Today he looked faster and even more "slithery" than he had to this point.

 

[iommi]

...AND he grew up probably playing against a 6-9 father who was an NBA player--to say nothing of his two older brothers [Clemson / Notre Dame, respectively]. Part of Grant's readiness is that he's played against big guys his entire life, and knows what the F to do with the ball against players his own size.

That's very true... On the opposite side of that coin is DC, who is still in the very early stages of adapting to playing big guys.

 

[jekelish]

Also regarding Grant, don't forget the benefit of playing at DeMatha. He's been playing against top flight competition and for good coaches for years. He's mentally so far ahead of most college freshmen, between his family and his high school career, it's ridiculous.

Just imagine how good he'll be as a junior, if he's even here that long.

 

[iommi]

D

Also regarding Grant, don't forget the benefit of playing at DeMatha. He's been playing against top flight competition and for good coaches for years. He's mentally so far ahead of most college freshmen, between his family and his high school career, it's ridiculous.

Just imagine how good he'll be as a junior, if he's even here that long.

Also regarding Grant, don't forget the benefit of playing at DeMatha. He's been playing against top flight competition and for good coaches for years. He's mentally so far ahead of most college freshmen, between his family and his high school career, it's ridiculous.

Just imagine how good he'll be as a junior, if he's even here that long.

Didn't I say that? Lol.

 

[Hoov50]

That's very true... On the opposite side of that coin is DC, who is still in the very early stages of adapting to playing big guys.

As evidenced by his always present power dribble. A very common issue for young bigs. Also a habit that Bernie Fine did a great job of breaking in some of our past bigs.

 

[suhoops4life]

Grant is going to be scary when/if he puts on a little bit of muscle. The only downside I see with him is he gets knocked around since he isn't as strong as others.

I hadn't really seen Cooney dribble under pressure and he looked comfortable doing it.

Fair didn't catch very well, especially in the first half, but I don't think you can question his effort.

I thought MCW needed to be more aggressive when pressured. He backed off a few times and tried to pass it over the press. IMO the one thing he lacks and needs to improve upon is his quickness in open space. He seems to make a good move but never gets separation from the defender. Reminds me of a possession wide receiver in football. He is clutch and fearless and is the difference between us bring a top 20 team and a top 5 team.

Now that I have reiterated your points I will be on my way.

Grant has a physique (broad shoulders & long legs) that'll take on 15-20 lbs of muscle without any loss of quickness. The thing I like the most about the kid are his instincts. I could care less if he gets his shot blocked periodically. He's always in the right place & the right time, trying to make a play. He's been trained to play in a way that keeps the needs of the team at the top of the list, above individual egos. I'm digging the hell out of it!

 

[Hoov50]

Grant has a physique (broad shoulders & long legs) that'll take on 15-20 lbs of muscle without any loss of quickness. The thing I like the most about the kid are his instincts. I could care less if he gets his shot blocked periodically. He's always in the right place & the right time, trying to make a play. He's been trained to play in a way that keeps the needs of the team at the top of the list, above individual egos. I'm digging the hell out of it!

I agree with your assessment. Imagine next year when instead of him being knocked off balance down low he is knocking others off balance while grabbing 12 rebounds and whole throwing down a few dunks on his way to 18 points a game.