My Take

[sutomcat]

I had the chance to sit courtside for the game, thanks to the gracious cto (thanks!).

The atmosphere for the game was somewhat lacking. No band, no cheerleaders, not even a sleeping Otto in the house. The students are out on Thanksgiving break.

But once the game started, and the fireworks went off, the action was riveting and it was game on.

Bryant is a team of grown men. They aren’t really tall but they are physically developed, tough and very savvy. They played a variety of defenses against us. Mostly played in your face, physical man to man defense but sometimes they pressured us 90 feet with a press and there were times later in the game, when they got in bad foul trouble and we were shredding their man, that they went zone on us.

That kind of defense usually means JGIII is going to be taken out of the game as a factor and that was the case against yesterday. It was a good test for Mintz and not one he handled well. I believe they out their best defender on him (#3) and he caused Judah many problems. He knew Mintz likes to penetrate, over played that and I believe he draw two early charges. The second charge started a series of events that led to Judah and a couple of the Bryant players getting ejected.

The jump from HS to college ball is a big one and Judah got a great (though very short) lesson in how college basketball is played. I think he will be better for it down the road. He is really competitive, which is great, but he got embarrassed and lost his composure. This is what happens when you have a true frosh playing PG.

Jesse is an interesting player to watch play. He is capable of completely dominating games. But he rarely does. Some of that is because we haven’t had players who are good at getting him the ball in places he can score. Part of it is Jesse himself. I don’t think he demands the ball enough. Just seems like a laid back kind of guy. I wish he was just a shade meaner and nasty. It would serve him well.

But the thing that is keeps holding him back is his problem with fouls. It is common for bigs to get in foul trouble early in their career. Most learn how to play better over time, make changes to their game and become reasonably good at avoiding foul trouble. They at least change how they play when he get in foul trouble.

I don’t know why but Jesse has really struggled here. Now, does he get called for some bogus calls? Yes. But sometimes, when you have a guy with the ball close to you and you are in foul trouble, you have to let him go. Let him get a dunk. Life to play more minutes later. Jesse just can’t seem to do this. It is getting late in his career and I am wondering if he is ever going to be able to make adjustments to stay out of foul trouble. If we are going to have a successful season, this has to happen. It is one of the biggest keys for this team.

I will give Jesse props for playing well when he was in. But he missed too much time and with Hima not available, we had to play Pete at center a lot. Pete did a credible job but he is absolutely no threat on offense and a liability rebounding as well. Add in Judah getting ejected, Benny being sick as a dog and JGIII being a non entity because they played him tight and it is a great testimony to the rest of the team that we actually had a good chance to win at the end.

Justin Taylor got a lot of the playing time and was suddenly available and was terrific. He shot well from the outside, made some mid range jumpers, drew some fouls and looked Iike a senior leader out there. Showed me a lot of confidence and poise. Great to see him dominating a game as a true frosh.

I was really disappointed with Chris Bell in the first couple of games. He just stood around the perimeter and took jumpers. Was worried he was a one dimensional player with little upside. Well that turned out to be dead wrong. He was very good yesterday. Yes, he did some outside jumpers but he scored off the dribble several times. He shot the mid range jumper and I think he looked really good playing up at the high post when Bryant played zone. The kid can play. Just as an aside, but I think he is a 2, not a 3. Might become a 3 later, with more time in the weight room, but I would like to see him up top in the zone some.

Seems Iike I write that I thought Symir needed to play more every game and that was the game again yesterday. JGIII is lost right now. He was completely ineffective and when that happens, we are a better team with Sy in there. I get it. You take a 3 year starter and start playing them 10-15 minutes a game and you risk losing them completely. JGIII is going to have a bunch of games this year where he scores 20 points and plays really well. I hope JB can find a way to keep JGIII engaged and confident but also get the players best suited to getting wins out there on the court.

Thought Maliq looked good in limited minutes but I heard 3 guys were sick and I suspect he, along with Benny, and probably Quadir, were the other ones. It is a shame we didn’t have so many key pieces available but it gave Taylor and Bell a chance to play extended minutes and might make the team better down the road.

I think it is unlikely we are going to get to the NCAA tournament. This year is about development and from that perspective, I think progress was made yesterday.

I think as the kids adjust to the college game, find and become comfortable in their roles, we are going to be a very dangerous team as the season progresses. We have a lot of interesting pieces and it looks to me as though when we get things together, we will be capable of doing major damage.

 

[SBU72]

IMHO:This game showed the team CAN go 9 deep, when healthy! I agree that Jesse isn't demanding the ball enough or really presenting himself to get the ball. Which brings up what may be the biggest problem, the pg doesn't set others up! Judah only drives to score not pass. Yes he's the best player on the team but needs to learn to pass. This game showed the possibilities offered by several of the new guys. Bell's play in the 2nd half showed things not seen for awhile, effective high post play. Brown too. Taylor needs more playing time. Either at the 2 or 3. Hima needs to be part of a regular rotation not just coming in when Jesse is in foul trouble.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

IMHO:This game showed the team CAN go 9 deep, when healthy! I agree that Jesse isn't demanding the ball enough or really presenting himself to get the ball. Which brings up what may be the biggest problem, the pg doesn't set others up! Judah only drives to score not pass. Yes he's the best player on the team but needs to learn to pass. This game showed the possibilities offered by several of the new guys. Bell's play in the 2nd half showed things not seen for awhile, effective high post play. Brown too. Taylor needs more playing time. Either at the 2 or 3. Hima needs to be part of a regular rotation not just coming in when Jesse is in foul trouble.

it's easy to have depth when nobody is actually really good. the drop off in talent from 3-10 isn't very steep. says more about the lack of quality of 3-5 than it does the quality of 6-10.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We've had too many developmental years. In college every year you are going to turn over at least half your roster. There should be no more excuses.

 

[Hopkins16]

I agree that our kids are basically that, kids. They are frail but have potential, while the so called cupcake teams we have played against have upperclassmen who are older and physically mature, and are more in sync because they have played together and not just figuring things out.

We might figure things out later in the season, but the losses will have piled up to keep us out of the tournament. I think the best we can do is to continue playing everyone with the goal of getting them experience and confidence for the future.

This means scrapping Jim's usual 7 to 7.5 players. I could deal with a losing season if we decided to play 10 to 11 guys to prepare for a better next season. Yes, the only reason Ajak, Bell and Taylor played major minutes was because of Judah being tossed and Benny and Hima being ill/injured, but those guys were able to show that they can contribute if given playing time. This is not a good team right now and we will get crushed come ACC season, so just play everyone, especially the freshmen and allow them to strengthen their weak areas and reap the rewards in years to come.

 

[MikeSU02]

I had the chance to sit courtside for the game, thanks to the gracious cto (thanks!).

The atmosphere for the game was somewhat lacking. No band, no cheerleaders, not even a sleeping Otto in the house. The students are out on Thanksgiving break.

But once the game started, and the fireworks went off, the action was riveting and it was game on.

Bryant is a team of grown men. They aren’t really tall but they are physically developed, tough and very savvy. They played a variety of defenses against us. Mostly played in your face, physical man to man defense but sometimes they pressured us 90 feet with a press and there were times later in the game, when they got in bad foul trouble and we were shredding their man, that they went zone on us.

That kind of defense usually means JGIII is going to be taken out of the game as a factor and that was the case against yesterday. It was a good test for Mintz and not one he handled well. I believe they out their best defender on him (#3) and he caused Judah many problems. He knew Mintz likes to penetrate, over played that and I believe he draw two early charges. The second charge started a series of events that led to Judah and a couple of the Bryant players getting ejected.

The jump from HS to college ball is a big one and Judah got a great (though very short) lesson in how college basketball is played. I think he will be better for it down the road. He is really competitive, which is great, but he got embarrassed and lost his composure. This is what happens when you have a true frosh playing PG.

Jesse is an interesting player to watch play. He is capable of completely dominating games. But he rarely does. Some of that is because we haven’t had players who are good at getting him the ball in places he can score. Part of it is Jesse himself. I don’t think he demands the ball enough. Just seems like a laid back kind of guy. I wish he was just a shade meaner and nasty. It would serve him well.

But the thing that is keeps holding him back is his problem with fouls. It is common for bigs to get in foul trouble early in their career. Most learn how to play better over time, make changes to their game and become reasonably good at avoiding foul trouble. They at least change how they play when he get in foul trouble.

I don’t know why but Jesse has really struggled here. Now, does he get called for some bogus calls? Yes. But sometimes, when you have a guy with the ball close to you and you are in foul trouble, you have to let him go. Let him get a dunk. Life to play more minutes later. Jesse just can’t seem to do this. It is getting late in his career and I am wondering if he is ever going to be able to make adjustments to stay out of foul trouble. If we are going to have a successful season, this has to happen. It is one of the biggest keys for this team.

I will give Jesse props for playing well when he was in. But he missed too much time and with Hima not available, we had to play Pete at center a lot. Pete did a credible job but he is absolutely no threat on offense and a liability rebounding as well. Add in Judah getting ejected, Benny being sick as a dog and JGIII being a non entity because they played him tight and it is a great testimony to the rest of the team that we actually had a good chance to win at the end.

Justin Taylor got a lot of the playing time and was suddenly available and was terrific. He shot well from the outside, made some mid range jumpers, drew some fouls and looked Iike a senior leader out there. Showed me a lot of confidence and poise. Great to see him dominating a game as a true frosh.

I was really disappointed with Chris Bell in the first couple of games. He just stood around the perimeter and took jumpers. Was worried he was a one dimensional player with little upside. Well that turned out to be dead wrong. He was very good yesterday. Yes, he did some outside jumpers but he scored off the dribble several times. He shot the mid range jumper and I think he looked really good playing up at the high post when Bryant played zone. The kid can play. Just as an aside, but I think he is a 2, not a 3. Might become a 3 later, with more time in the weight room, but I would like to see him up top in the zone some.

Seems Iike I write that I thought Symir needed to play more every game and that was the game again yesterday. JGIII is lost right now. He was completely ineffective and when that happens, we are a better team with Sy in there. I get it. You take a 3 year starter and start playing them 10-15 minutes a game and you risk losing them completely. JGIII is going to have a bunch of games this year where he scores 20 points and plays really well. I hope JB can find a way to keep JGIII engaged and confident but also get the players best suited to getting wins out there on the court.

Thought Maliq looked good in limited minutes but I heard 3 guys were sick and I suspect he, along with Benny, and probably Quadir, were the other ones. It is a shame we didn’t have so many key pieces available but it gave Taylor and Bell a chance to play extended minutes and might make the team better down the road.

I think it is unlikely we are going to get to the NCAA tournament. This year is about development and from that perspective, I think progress was made yesterday.

I think as the kids adjust to the college game, find and become comfortable in their roles, we are going to be a very dangerous team as the season progresses. We have a lot of interesting pieces and it looks to me as though when we get things together, we will be capable of doing major damage.

A few thoughts:

When we say "physical man to man", we need to start acknowledging that that is just "man to man". JGIII will have guys in his face because of his limitations (not that he can't adjust against them). The defense knows he's going to shoot a lot regardless of what's going on.

Judah was definitely having a bad game. He was getting frustrated. He wasn't seeing the help defender coming in on his drives. His touch was off. To your point, he has a lot of talent, needs to learn a bit of nuance there. Defense knows he also will be getting shots up and are ready for it now.

Jesse needs to be a rim runner. I get he can seal once in a while and go to the low block, but I believe he got an offensive foul on a move with his back to the basket. I really wish we kept using him to attack the rim on PnR vs having hi set up on the block so much. On defense, I have a little more leeway for him because we have a lot of guys that either are bad defenders or are inconsistent defenders and that funnels towards Jesse and he has to be the last line of defense and he's not Rudy Gobert (but he's obviously not bad). That's a lot of opportunities to get a foul called against you and, to your point again, he's not quite there in terms of being able to defend without fouling consistently (some of it my be getting tired).

To me, Bell is still a one-trick pony. I know he played well towards the end of the second half in terms of jump shooting, but if that ball isn't going in, he shouldn't be playing. He's essentially a two-dribble jump shooter right now. If it's going in, great. If not, he's a net negative. That said, when it's on, it's on.

I believe Jake said it in another post, JT and/or Bell when they are on, with Joe out there, changes things pretty significantly. I love Sy and Benny, but unless they are showing out in their time, I think that second shooter (and even a version with three shooters out there) has to be given some more weight.

Agree that we're likely missing the tourney unless there is a new lineup that JB uses that clicks and goes wild.

 

[SarasotaPaul]

I had the chance to sit courtside for the game, thanks to the gracious cto (thanks!).

The atmosphere for the game was somewhat lacking. No band, no cheerleaders, not even a sleeping Otto in the house. The students are out on Thanksgiving break.

But once the game started, and the fireworks went off, the action was riveting and it was game on.

Bryant is a team of grown men. They aren’t really tall but they are physically developed, tough and very savvy. They played a variety of defenses against us. Mostly played in your face, physical man to man defense but sometimes they pressured us 90 feet with a press and there were times later in the game, when they got in bad foul trouble and we were shredding their man, that they went zone on us.

That kind of defense usually means JGIII is going to be taken out of the game as a factor and that was the case against yesterday. It was a good test for Mintz and not one he handled well. I believe they out their best defender on him (#3) and he caused Judah many problems. He knew Mintz likes to penetrate, over played that and I believe he draw two early charges. The second charge started a series of events that led to Judah and a couple of the Bryant players getting ejected.

The jump from HS to college ball is a big one and Judah got a great (though very short) lesson in how college basketball is played. I think he will be better for it down the road. He is really competitive, which is great, but he got embarrassed and lost his composure. This is what happens when you have a true frosh playing PG.

Jesse is an interesting player to watch play. He is capable of completely dominating games. But he rarely does. Some of that is because we haven’t had players who are good at getting him the ball in places he can score. Part of it is Jesse himself. I don’t think he demands the ball enough. Just seems like a laid back kind of guy. I wish he was just a shade meaner and nasty. It would serve him well.

But the thing that is keeps holding him back is his problem with fouls. It is common for bigs to get in foul trouble early in their career. Most learn how to play better over time, make changes to their game and become reasonably good at avoiding foul trouble. They at least change how they play when he get in foul trouble.

I don’t know why but Jesse has really struggled here. Now, does he get called for some bogus calls? Yes. But sometimes, when you have a guy with the ball close to you and you are in foul trouble, you have to let him go. Let him get a dunk. Life to play more minutes later. Jesse just can’t seem to do this. It is getting late in his career and I am wondering if he is ever going to be able to make adjustments to stay out of foul trouble. If we are going to have a successful season, this has to happen. It is one of the biggest keys for this team.

I will give Jesse props for playing well when he was in. But he missed too much time and with Hima not available, we had to play Pete at center a lot. Pete did a credible job but he is absolutely no threat on offense and a liability rebounding as well. Add in Judah getting ejected, Benny being sick as a dog and JGIII being a non entity because they played him tight and it is a great testimony to the rest of the team that we actually had a good chance to win at the end.

Justin Taylor got a lot of the playing time and was suddenly available and was terrific. He shot well from the outside, made some mid range jumpers, drew some fouls and looked Iike a senior leader out there. Showed me a lot of confidence and poise. Great to see him dominating a game as a true frosh.

I was really disappointed with Chris Bell in the first couple of games. He just stood around the perimeter and took jumpers. Was worried he was a one dimensional player with little upside. Well that turned out to be dead wrong. He was very good yesterday. Yes, he did some outside jumpers but he scored off the dribble several times. He shot the mid range jumper and I think he looked really good playing up at the high post when Bryant played zone. The kid can play. Just as an aside, but I think he is a 2, not a 3. Might become a 3 later, with more time in the weight room, but I would like to see him up top in the zone some.

Seems Iike I write that I thought Symir needed to play more every game and that was the game again yesterday. JGIII is lost right now. He was completely ineffective and when that happens, we are a better team with Sy in there. I get it. You take a 3 year starter and start playing them 10-15 minutes a game and you risk losing them completely. JGIII is going to have a bunch of games this year where he scores 20 points and plays really well. I hope JB can find a way to keep JGIII engaged and confident but also get the players best suited to getting wins out there on the court.

Thought Maliq looked good in limited minutes but I heard 3 guys were sick and I suspect he, along with Benny, and probably Quadir, were the other ones. It is a shame we didn’t have so many key pieces available but it gave Taylor and Bell a chance to play extended minutes and might make the team better down the road.

I think it is unlikely we are going to get to the NCAA tournament. This year is about development and from that perspective, I think progress was made yesterday.

I think as the kids adjust to the college game, find and become comfortable in their roles, we are going to be a very dangerous team as the season progresses. We have a lot of interesting pieces and it looks to me as though when we get things together, we will be capable of doing major damage.

Great writeup with good information about the sickness bug hitting the team. Thank you for a rational analysis.

 

[Sbucketball]

I had the chance to sit courtside for the game, thanks to the gracious cto (thanks!).

The atmosphere for the game was somewhat lacking. No band, no cheerleaders, not even a sleeping Otto in the house. The students are out on Thanksgiving break.

But once the game started, and the fireworks went off, the action was riveting and it was game on.

Bryant is a team of grown men. They aren’t really tall but they are physically developed, tough and very savvy. They played a variety of defenses against us. Mostly played in your face, physical man to man defense but sometimes they pressured us 90 feet with a press and there were times later in the game, when they got in bad foul trouble and we were shredding their man, that they went zone on us.

That kind of defense usually means JGIII is going to be taken out of the game as a factor and that was the case against yesterday. It was a good test for Mintz and not one he handled well. I believe they out their best defender on him (#3) and he caused Judah many problems. He knew Mintz likes to penetrate, over played that and I believe he draw two early charges. The second charge started a series of events that led to Judah and a couple of the Bryant players getting ejected.

The jump from HS to college ball is a big one and Judah got a great (though very short) lesson in how college basketball is played. I think he will be better for it down the road. He is really competitive, which is great, but he got embarrassed and lost his composure. This is what happens when you have a true frosh playing PG.

Jesse is an interesting player to watch play. He is capable of completely dominating games. But he rarely does. Some of that is because we haven’t had players who are good at getting him the ball in places he can score. Part of it is Jesse himself. I don’t think he demands the ball enough. Just seems like a laid back kind of guy. I wish he was just a shade meaner and nasty. It would serve him well.

But the thing that is keeps holding him back is his problem with fouls. It is common for bigs to get in foul trouble early in their career. Most learn how to play better over time, make changes to their game and become reasonably good at avoiding foul trouble. They at least change how they play when he get in foul trouble.

I don’t know why but Jesse has really struggled here. Now, does he get called for some bogus calls? Yes. But sometimes, when you have a guy with the ball close to you and you are in foul trouble, you have to let him go. Let him get a dunk. Life to play more minutes later. Jesse just can’t seem to do this. It is getting late in his career and I am wondering if he is ever going to be able to make adjustments to stay out of foul trouble. If we are going to have a successful season, this has to happen. It is one of the biggest keys for this team.

I will give Jesse props for playing well when he was in. But he missed too much time and with Hima not available, we had to play Pete at center a lot. Pete did a credible job but he is absolutely no threat on offense and a liability rebounding as well. Add in Judah getting ejected, Benny being sick as a dog and JGIII being a non entity because they played him tight and it is a great testimony to the rest of the team that we actually had a good chance to win at the end.

Justin Taylor got a lot of the playing time and was suddenly available and was terrific. He shot well from the outside, made some mid range jumpers, drew some fouls and looked Iike a senior leader out there. Showed me a lot of confidence and poise. Great to see him dominating a game as a true frosh.

I was really disappointed with Chris Bell in the first couple of games. He just stood around the perimeter and took jumpers. Was worried he was a one dimensional player with little upside. Well that turned out to be dead wrong. He was very good yesterday. Yes, he did some outside jumpers but he scored off the dribble several times. He shot the mid range jumper and I think he looked really good playing up at the high post when Bryant played zone. The kid can play. Just as an aside, but I think he is a 2, not a 3. Might become a 3 later, with more time in the weight room, but I would like to see him up top in the zone some.

Seems Iike I write that I thought Symir needed to play more every game and that was the game again yesterday. JGIII is lost right now. He was completely ineffective and when that happens, we are a better team with Sy in there. I get it. You take a 3 year starter and start playing them 10-15 minutes a game and you risk losing them completely. JGIII is going to have a bunch of games this year where he scores 20 points and plays really well. I hope JB can find a way to keep JGIII engaged and confident but also get the players best suited to getting wins out there on the court.

Thought Maliq looked good in limited minutes but I heard 3 guys were sick and I suspect he, along with Benny, and probably Quadir, were the other ones. It is a shame we didn’t have so many key pieces available but it gave Taylor and Bell a chance to play extended minutes and might make the team better down the road.

I think it is unlikely we are going to get to the NCAA tournament. This year is about development and from that perspective, I think progress was made yesterday.

I think as the kids adjust to the college game, find and become comfortable in their roles, we are going to be a very dangerous team as the season progresses. We have a lot of interesting pieces and it looks to me as though when we get things together, we will be capable of doing major damage.

Before the season started, I thought this would be a team putting it all together in late Winter and would be extremely dangerous in March - the type of high seed no one wants to draw. My fear was they would dig themselves too deep of a hole early in the season. Unfortunately it appears they are in the process of digging that hole.

Sucks to think they were 2 shots taking a different bounce away from being 5-1.

 

[PhatOrange]

How can Copeland not get in this game, was he sick?

 

[NineOneSeven]

This team will not be doing any major damage. I just hope for a few wins we were not expecting, not more of the losses we were expecting. I have more confidence there than last year, at least.

 

[NorSyr66]

Once again, great analysis of the game. Glad you got to enjoy the game from court side. I still feel this team is growing game by game and has a difficult mountain to climb but still will make the NCAAT. Still many wrinkles to be negotiated with the freshmen players but the ingredients are there to blend with the key upperclassmen. Joe will not get any better and he will have games, like Bryant and St Johns, when he needs to watch from the bench. Jesse is not going to stop making stupid fouls early in the game. But we can get better when Hima, Benny and Brown are healthy and ready to go. Mintz has hopefully learned his lesson and will not get ejected from any more contests. We have seen more of what Justin and Bell can do. Copeland is still a question mark, but I also suspect he may not have been able to go on Saturday. This team will get better if the new players are given opportunity to play.

 

[OrangeAl]

I had the chance to sit courtside for the game, thanks to the gracious cto (thanks!).

The atmosphere for the game was somewhat lacking. No band, no cheerleaders, not even a sleeping Otto in the house. The students are out on Thanksgiving break.

But once the game started, and the fireworks went off, the action was riveting and it was game on.

Bryant is a team of grown men. They aren’t really tall but they are physically developed, tough and very savvy. They played a variety of defenses against us. Mostly played in your face, physical man to man defense but sometimes they pressured us 90 feet with a press and there were times later in the game, when they got in bad foul trouble and we were shredding their man, that they went zone on us.

That kind of defense usually means JGIII is going to be taken out of the game as a factor and that was the case against yesterday. It was a good test for Mintz and not one he handled well. I believe they out their best defender on him (#3) and he caused Judah many problems. He knew Mintz likes to penetrate, over played that and I believe he draw two early charges. The second charge started a series of events that led to Judah and a couple of the Bryant players getting ejected.

The jump from HS to college ball is a big one and Judah got a great (though very short) lesson in how college basketball is played. I think he will be better for it down the road. He is really competitive, which is great, but he got embarrassed and lost his composure. This is what happens when you have a true frosh playing PG.

Jesse is an interesting player to watch play. He is capable of completely dominating games. But he rarely does. Some of that is because we haven’t had players who are good at getting him the ball in places he can score. Part of it is Jesse himself. I don’t think he demands the ball enough. Just seems like a laid back kind of guy. I wish he was just a shade meaner and nasty. It would serve him well.

But the thing that is keeps holding him back is his problem with fouls. It is common for bigs to get in foul trouble early in their career. Most learn how to play better over time, make changes to their game and become reasonably good at avoiding foul trouble. They at least change how they play when he get in foul trouble.

I don’t know why but Jesse has really struggled here. Now, does he get called for some bogus calls? Yes. But sometimes, when you have a guy with the ball close to you and you are in foul trouble, you have to let him go. Let him get a dunk. Life to play more minutes later. Jesse just can’t seem to do this. It is getting late in his career and I am wondering if he is ever going to be able to make adjustments to stay out of foul trouble. If we are going to have a successful season, this has to happen. It is one of the biggest keys for this team.

I will give Jesse props for playing well when he was in. But he missed too much time and with Hima not available, we had to play Pete at center a lot. Pete did a credible job but he is absolutely no threat on offense and a liability rebounding as well. Add in Judah getting ejected, Benny being sick as a dog and JGIII being a non entity because they played him tight and it is a great testimony to the rest of the team that we actually had a good chance to win at the end.

Justin Taylor got a lot of the playing time and was suddenly available and was terrific. He shot well from the outside, made some mid range jumpers, drew some fouls and looked Iike a senior leader out there. Showed me a lot of confidence and poise. Great to see him dominating a game as a true frosh.

I was really disappointed with Chris Bell in the first couple of games. He just stood around the perimeter and took jumpers. Was worried he was a one dimensional player with little upside. Well that turned out to be dead wrong. He was very good yesterday. Yes, he did some outside jumpers but he scored off the dribble several times. He shot the mid range jumper and I think he looked really good playing up at the high post when Bryant played zone. The kid can play. Just as an aside, but I think he is a 2, not a 3. Might become a 3 later, with more time in the weight room, but I would like to see him up top in the zone some.

Seems Iike I write that I thought Symir needed to play more every game and that was the game again yesterday. JGIII is lost right now. He was completely ineffective and when that happens, we are a better team with Sy in there. I get it. You take a 3 year starter and start playing them 10-15 minutes a game and you risk losing them completely. JGIII is going to have a bunch of games this year where he scores 20 points and plays really well. I hope JB can find a way to keep JGIII engaged and confident but also get the players best suited to getting wins out there on the court.

Thought Maliq looked good in limited minutes but I heard 3 guys were sick and I suspect he, along with Benny, and probably Quadir, were the other ones. It is a shame we didn’t have so many key pieces available but it gave Taylor and Bell a chance to play extended minutes and might make the team better down the road.

I think it is unlikely we are going to get to the NCAA tournament. This year is about development and from that perspective, I think progress was made yesterday.

I think as the kids adjust to the college game, find and become comfortable in their roles, we are going to be a very dangerous team as the season progresses. We have a lot of interesting pieces and it looks to me as though when we get things together, we will be capable of doing major damage.

I'm encouraged that some people see us developing in-season to become formidable, but I see a team that will get clobbered when ACC time comes around. I'm hoping JAB can scream "We wouldn't win 10 games without him" about somebody - anybody! Because I don't know where seven more wins are coming from at this point.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I'm encouraged that some people see us developing in-season to become formidable, but I see a team that will get clobbered when ACC time comes around. I'm hoping JAB can scream "We wouldn't win 10 games without him" about somebody - anybody! Because I don't know where seven more wins are coming from at this point.

The good news is so far the ACC is probably the weakest it's ever been. Maybe we can steal a few wins and hope they mean something.

 

[Nicknack]

I think it's pretty safe to say, no way we're making the ncaa tournament unless we win the acc tourney. Therefore, I say who cares about wins and losses right now. Just get the TEAM better and play as many guys as you can. Get the team ready for a run in the acc tournament. Playing a short bench in an effort to win games (versus developing players) is not going to get us ready enough when it will count. That said, I don't expect a deep run, but what other option do we have at this point?

 

[djcon57]

I think it's pretty safe to say, no way we're making the ncaa tournament unless we win the acc tourney. Therefore, I say who cares about wins and losses right now. Just get the TEAM better and play as many guys as you can. Get the team ready for a run in the acc tournament. Playing a short bench in an effort to win games (versus developing players) is not going to get us ready enough when it will count. That said, I don't expect a deep run, but what other option do we have at this point?

We can all say and hope for this until we are blue in the face.

JG3 currently averaging 33.5 mins a game.

I'll say O/U 33 rest of season. Anyone want to take the under?

 

[hoopsupstate]

How can Copeland not get in this game, was he sick?

Because he can’t shoot and plays no defense. Other than that, I’m not sure why he doesn’t play!

 

[cuseincincy]

Your post is a testament to giving it a day or so before commenting. Great points all around. The no tourney is a tough pill as so many here have a sense of entitlement about the tournament thanks to JAB's career success. I credit the kids for the heart they showed. I had to shake my head when the announcer commented "Well I'm pretty sure no one thought they'd see this lineup today...Sy, Taylor, Carey, JBA, Brown were on the court. "
I think other than Carey the other 5 freshmen have to play and other than Jesse and Mintz, no one else has shown they "deserve" anymore time than the rest of them. If we continue to lose and see Jesse and Joe play max minutes, what's the point?

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I had the chance to sit courtside for the game, thanks to the gracious cto (thanks!).

The atmosphere for the game was somewhat lacking. No band, no cheerleaders, not even a sleeping Otto in the house. The students are out on Thanksgiving break.

But once the game started, and the fireworks went off, the action was riveting and it was game on.

Bryant is a team of grown men. They aren’t really tall but they are physically developed, tough and very savvy. They played a variety of defenses against us. Mostly played in your face, physical man to man defense but sometimes they pressured us 90 feet with a press and there were times later in the game, when they got in bad foul trouble and we were shredding their man, that they went zone on us.

That kind of defense usually means JGIII is going to be taken out of the game as a factor and that was the case against yesterday. It was a good test for Mintz and not one he handled well. I believe they out their best defender on him (#3) and he caused Judah many problems. He knew Mintz likes to penetrate, over played that and I believe he draw two early charges. The second charge started a series of events that led to Judah and a couple of the Bryant players getting ejected.

The jump from HS to college ball is a big one and Judah got a great (though very short) lesson in how college basketball is played. I think he will be better for it down the road. He is really competitive, which is great, but he got embarrassed and lost his composure. This is what happens when you have a true frosh playing PG.

Jesse is an interesting player to watch play. He is capable of completely dominating games. But he rarely does. Some of that is because we haven’t had players who are good at getting him the ball in places he can score. Part of it is Jesse himself. I don’t think he demands the ball enough. Just seems like a laid back kind of guy. I wish he was just a shade meaner and nasty. It would serve him well.

But the thing that is keeps holding him back is his problem with fouls. It is common for bigs to get in foul trouble early in their career. Most learn how to play better over time, make changes to their game and become reasonably good at avoiding foul trouble. They at least change how they play when he get in foul trouble.

I don’t know why but Jesse has really struggled here. Now, does he get called for some bogus calls? Yes. But sometimes, when you have a guy with the ball close to you and you are in foul trouble, you have to let him go. Let him get a dunk. Life to play more minutes later. Jesse just can’t seem to do this. It is getting late in his career and I am wondering if he is ever going to be able to make adjustments to stay out of foul trouble. If we are going to have a successful season, this has to happen. It is one of the biggest keys for this team.

I will give Jesse props for playing well when he was in. But he missed too much time and with Hima not available, we had to play Pete at center a lot. Pete did a credible job but he is absolutely no threat on offense and a liability rebounding as well. Add in Judah getting ejected, Benny being sick as a dog and JGIII being a non entity because they played him tight and it is a great testimony to the rest of the team that we actually had a good chance to win at the end.

Justin Taylor got a lot of the playing time and was suddenly available and was terrific. He shot well from the outside, made some mid range jumpers, drew some fouls and looked Iike a senior leader out there. Showed me a lot of confidence and poise. Great to see him dominating a game as a true frosh.

I was really disappointed with Chris Bell in the first couple of games. He just stood around the perimeter and took jumpers. Was worried he was a one dimensional player with little upside. Well that turned out to be dead wrong. He was very good yesterday. Yes, he did some outside jumpers but he scored off the dribble several times. He shot the mid range jumper and I think he looked really good playing up at the high post when Bryant played zone. The kid can play. Just as an aside, but I think he is a 2, not a 3. Might become a 3 later, with more time in the weight room, but I would like to see him up top in the zone some.

Seems Iike I write that I thought Symir needed to play more every game and that was the game again yesterday. JGIII is lost right now. He was completely ineffective and when that happens, we are a better team with Sy in there. I get it. You take a 3 year starter and start playing them 10-15 minutes a game and you risk losing them completely. JGIII is going to have a bunch of games this year where he scores 20 points and plays really well. I hope JB can find a way to keep JGIII engaged and confident but also get the players best suited to getting wins out there on the court.

Thought Maliq looked good in limited minutes but I heard 3 guys were sick and I suspect he, along with Benny, and probably Quadir, were the other ones. It is a shame we didn’t have so many key pieces available but it gave Taylor and Bell a chance to play extended minutes and might make the team better down the road.

I think it is unlikely we are going to get to the NCAA tournament. This year is about development and from that perspective, I think progress was made yesterday.

I think as the kids adjust to the college game, find and become comfortable in their roles, we are going to be a very dangerous team as the season progresses. We have a lot of interesting pieces and it looks to me as though when we get things together, we will be capable of doing major damage.

If I had told you, pre-game, that JT and JBell would be our leading scorers and JBA would lead us in assists, you would have looked at me quizzically and asked to smell my can of Canada Dry so that you could ascertain exactly what I had been imbibing before making such a bizarre prediction.

 

[CuseCPT]

Because he can’t shoot and plays no defense. Other than that, I’m not sure why he doesn’t play!

To be fair, that hasn't stopped other players from playing extended minutes.

 

[BigNastyJon]

Because he can’t shoot and plays no defense. Other than that, I’m not sure why he doesn’t play!

Hahaha this sounds like JB in a presser

 

[Gotothehole]

Thanks for thoughts on the game game. Any thoughts about JB retiring?