My Take

[sutomcat]

Did not go to the game. Watched on TV. The 8 pm start and a really early flight from Florida yesterday stopped me from going in person.

Quick thoughts:

Hughes looks really comfortable in the leader role. In this game, we really needed someone to hit the defensive boards and bring the ball up against their pressure defense. Elijah answered the call in both areas.

He didn't rebounded very well last year and didn't show much interest. Last night, he was physical, boxed out and took care of business. If he can get 7 rebounds a game, it will help us a lot. Also liked him running the half court offense from near the high post. He looked really good at it. I don't want to ding our young PGs but they have some work to do, especially on the offensive side of the ball. If Hughes can fill some of that void, it would be great.

Anyway, he looks much improved. His handle and passing were impressive, as was his court sense. He plays like the veteran he is, which is good to see and not something we have been able to take for granted from our veterans in recent years.

Speaking of improved, Buddy is really looking good. Looks like he and Marek are going to work together really well on inbounds plays. Marek hit Buddy twice for open 3s and then Buddy hit Marek with a return pass on another inbounds where Marek missed a bunny. I like Buddy's new found abilties scoring off the dribble (he could do this a little last year but looks much better) and his passing has stepped up too. His defense appears to be getting better too.

The centers all look pretty lost. Edwards just let a little guy go by him and put up a layup when he had position. That said, he has a good feel for the game and makes surprisingly good decisions on a regular basis. His athletic ability and good instincts will lead to a good player down the road.

Bol Ajak is barely playing. I think he is going to be good but he might end up redshirting this season and it might be the best thing for him. If he is asked, I hope he is willing. Bourama can look quite good at times but has a tendency to stand around and watch things. That said, I am pretty sure he is going to get a lot of rebounds when he is in. If he can manage to avoid JB's wrath and foul trouble, and consistently get 25 minutes a game, I think he will lead the team in rebounding and get 7 or 8 points a game, mostly on putbacks or offensive rebounds.

QG had another worrisome first half. Hate to see a guy well equipped to playing in the paint never venture into it. Glad he played better in the second half. Sad he didn't learn anything from his bad first half in the intrasquad scrimmage. But the kid can play and do damage when he leaves the perimeter on offense and gets the ball inside 15 feet from the basket. We need him to play inside. I hope he is willing to do this.

I wish Marek would get more rebounds and take more shots. He is another that spends too much time on the perimeter and needs to get into the paint more. But he can pass better than anyone on the team and he makes a lot of little plays that win games. That dive for a steal was awesome for a game like this one. I love his heart and I think the team plays harder when he is in.

Jalen is still getting the ball stolen way too much and getting his shot blocked way too much. A good PG needs to have good judgement and learn from his mistakes. It is time for him to start to learn from his mistakes. If he can't, someone else is going to play more. I like his shooting form and his defense.

I think Goodine is already probably our best defender in the backcourt and our most athletic player. I think he has a really high ceiling and needs to get playing time early so he can help us later in the season. Even if it hurts us in the short term. It will be interesting to see how much PT he gets against UVa.

JGIII looked good again. His defense is not going to be great and I think he will get negated by a good man defender but against zones or bad defenders, he can really make the opposition play, even now. Also looks pretty comfortable running the offense. The PT for PG is a legit 3 player race. Cool.

 

[UD1954]

JGIII has the best handle of the PG's from what little I've seen...

 

[rrlbees]

JGIII has the best handle of the PG's from what little I've seen...

a few people have said that and I don’t see it. Girard is fine but so are the others. We only had 1 turnover against their pressure bringing the ball up court. That was when Goodine tried to get cute and did a shake and bake and lost his dribble, picked it up and dribbled again and was called for double dribble. JB yelled out to him to just go by the guy. That was it the whole game for all the guards. Carey didn’t have a turnover, Girard had 2 but both were offensive fouls (1 was BS) and Goodine had the one. They were all fine as JB even said in his presser.

 

[Mareiniss]

UD1954 said:​

JGIII has the best handle of the PG's from what little I've seen...​

a few people have said that and I don’t see it. Girard is fine but so are the others. We only had 1 turnover against their pressure bringing the ball up court. ... Carey didn’t have a turnover, Girard had 2 but both were offensive fouls (1 was BS) and Goodine had the one. They were all fine as JB even said in his presser.

I think some people are impressed by Girard's handle because they saw him as solely a spot-up shooter, which he is not. His handle is actually pretty good, although I haven't noticed him create his own shot yet, the way he often did in high school.

 

[supp]

Did not go to the game. Watched on TV. The 8 pm start and a really early flight from Florida yesterday stopped me from going in person.

Quick thoughts:

Hughes looks really comfortable in the leader role. In this game, we really needed someone to hit the defensive boards and bring the ball up against their pressure defense. Elijah answered the call in both areas.

He didn't rebounded very well last year and didn't show much interest. Last night, he was physical, boxed out and took care of business. If he can get 7 rebounds a game, it will help us a lot. Also liked him running the half court offense from near the high post. He looked really good at it. I don't want to ding our young PGs but they have some work to do, especially on the offensive side of the ball. If Hughes can fill some of that void, it would be great.

Anyway, he looks much improved. His handle and passing were impressive, as was his court sense. He plays like the veteran he is, which is good to see and not something we have been able to take for granted from our veterans in recent years.

Speaking of improved, Buddy is really looking good. Looks like he and Marek are going to work together really well on inbounds plays. Marek hit Buddy twice for open 3s and then Buddy hit Marek with a return pass on another inbounds where Marek missed a bunny. I like Buddy's new found abilties scoring off the dribble (he could do this a little last year but looks much better) and his passing has stepped up too. His defense appears to be getting better too.

The centers all look pretty lost. Edwards just let a little guy go by him and put up a layup when he had position. That said, he has a good feel for the game and makes surprisingly good decisions on a regular basis. His athletic ability and good instincts will lead to a good player down the road.

Bol Ajak is barely playing. I think he is going to be good but he might end up redshirting this season and it might be the best thing for him. If he is asked, I hope he is willing. Bourama can look quite good at times but has a tendency to stand around and watch things. That said, I am pretty sure he is going to get a lot of rebounds when he is in. If he can manage to avoid JB's wrath and foul trouble, and consistently get 25 minutes a game, I think he will lead the team in rebounding and get 7 or 8 points a game, mostly on putbacks or offensive rebounds.

QG had another worrisome first half. Hate to see a guy well equipped to playing in the paint never venture into it. Glad he played better in the second half. Sad he didn't learn anything from his bad first half in the intrasquad scrimmage. But the kid can play and do damage when he leaves the perimeter on offense and gets the ball inside 15 feet from the basket. We need him to play inside. I hope he is willing to do this.

I wish Marek would get more rebounds and take more shots. He is another that spends too much time on the perimeter and needs to get into the paint more. But he can pass better than anyone on the team and he makes a lot of little plays that win games. That dive for a steal was awesome for a game like this one. I love his heart and I think the team plays harder when he is in.

Jalen is still getting the ball stolen way too much and getting his shot blocked way too much. A good PG needs to have good judgement and learn from his mistakes. It is time for him to start to learn from his mistakes. If he can't, someone else is going to play more. I like his shooting form and his defense.

I think Goodine is already probably our best defender in the backcourt and our most athletic player. I think he has a really high ceiling and needs to get playing time early so he can help us later in the season. Even if it hurts us in the short term. It will be interesting to see how much PT he gets against UVa.

JGIII looked good again. His defense is not going to be great and I think he will get negated by a good man defender but against zones or bad defenders, he can really make the opposition play, even now. Also looks pretty comfortable running the offense. The PT for PG is a legit 3 player race. Cool.

Buddy's shot release looks quicker. I think he's going to hit a higher percentage from deep. Looking more and more like Rautins coming off the screens.

Also Goodine: has anyone mentioned how much physically he looks like Moten? He even moves like him. Moten was far more advanced as a freshman, though.