sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Watched the game from courtside tickets, ala Spike Lee and the Metro Mattress King. Many thanks to my mysterious not so secret benefactor.
I guess the first thing to point out is the obvious one...the opponent was Colgate, a bad program we have beaten 46? times in a row, some ridiculous number that might be the longest active winning streak against an opponent. Anyway, I don't think you should take too much from a game against this level of opponent.
That being said...
Was a little disappointed with the defense in the 1st half. We of course played the 2-3 zone, mixed in with a little full court press. Like last year, JB likes to put on the press in conjunction with bringing Keita into the game. I think this is in part due to his extreme mobility, and in part to insulate Christmas and Coleman from the foul trouble pressing often encourages in big guys while pressing.
Thought the man was pretty weak early, Colgate got it in the paint and kicked it outside a couple of times for easy threes. JB was not pleased, especially with Christmas, who doubled down low instead of covering one of the respected Red Raider shooters. This drove an early 2011-12 type exit for Rak in the first half.
Anyway, I thought we were a little sluggish and lackadaisical out there. Last year, I thought the effort on the defensive end was consistently strong. This is a concern, this isn't the first time this has happened this year. After getting chewed out by JB a couple of times, things improved and I was happy, actually really happy with the defense the last 30 minutes or so. There were manyColgate possessions where they worked the ball for 35 seconds and just could not get a decent look. Heck, they struggled to even get the ball into the 3 point circle at times. Great to see this team can be really good defensively when they want to. I just want to see consistency here.
After last season, it was clear to me MCW would be wonderful running the fast break on the offense. I wasn't so sure in the half court setting. He didn't look nearly as comfortable or confident in the half court setting. Thought he started off somewhat shaky there this season as well. Might have been looking for his shot a little too much, maybe forced the issue too quickly.
As the season has progressed, I feel a lot better on this. MCW is doing a masterful job attacking half court defenses. He gets the ball inside when possible, and is a master of getting the ball to our outside shooters in a good position to score as well. 13 assists today and it could have been closer to 20 if we finished a little better. He has sacrificed his own scoring for the team and appears to be bending over backwards trying to set up his teammates for easy baskets. At times, I have been concerned over our ability to score points, especially in half court settings, but I think we are getting better here. That being said, if James did not have a white hot day today, the score at halftime would have been pretty close...I am pretty sure they would have been within 10 points.
Colgate played a mix of man and zone. Neither were successful, but they ended up playing more zone, mostly I think, to try and keep out of foul trouble. Last year, we ran a lot. The running is more restrained this year...not as many fast break baskets. Part of it is the loss of Scoop and Dion. Both loved to run and would try a convert a fast break even with 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 situations. KJ also loved to run and ran the court as well as any 3 in the country. Losing those 3 has affected things. Brandon and MCW both seem more committed to helping on the defensive boards this year as well.
When we get fast break points, a lot of times it is from a drive in the paint in an unsettled situation and kick out to someone for a 3. Just as effective, just different.
DC had his first double figure scoring game. Looked a lot more relaxed and confident, but it was against some undersized Colgate centers who he could physically dominate. And he did. He is going to have to make the adjustment to D1 college ball all HS players need to do, where they are no longer the tallest, most athletic player on the court, and it is going to take time. On the positive side, it looks like he is rebounding really well even now. His defense is the biggest concern. When he is in, opposing players drive to the hoop for uncontested scores with disturbing frequency. Nothing makes JB more angry than major defensive lapses, and if this continues, he is going to be big man #4. Would love to see him either a) start drawing fouls on charges or b) foul someone attacking the hoop hard, using all his strength. That old school DeJuan Blair type move sends a strong message.
Thought Triche played decently. Nothng spectucular, solid floor play.
Trevor got a lot of playing time. It was a good chance to get off the snide and gain a lot of confidence. He had a lot of good looks with open 3s and didn't hit them. Wasn't even close on a lot of them. Looks really tight, looks like he is rushing his shot. Complete night and day what he does in practice and what he does in games. It has to be hard after sitting out a year but it is time to put aside early nerves and start playing like he can. I like his hustle on defense. Did a nice job attacking the hoop on a fast break (drew a foul, made both FTs). He is more than just a shooter. But at some point, he needs to start hitting his outside shots. I hope it starts soon. With only 3 guards, it will be tough if he cannot produce in big games.
Grant also got more PT than he has been getting. I hate to be repetitive but the story also seems the same with Jerami. He is fundamentally sound. Almost never makes mental errors. Really impressive player who has a high ceiling. Playing time is going to be hard to come back this season; he is in very much the same position that MCW was last season. But it is good to have him around and there will be some games this year, big games, where I think he will play a big role for us.
CJ had another quiet game. He isn't really looking for his points right now. Letting the game come to him, taking what the defense gives him, getting rebounds, playing good defense. I am not concerned he is not scoring a lot against these bad teams. Old Reliable will be fine, and will be better than fine when we need him most.
James had another explosive game, burning white hot from off the bench in the first half. At one point, despite not even starting, I believe the score was Colgate 20, James 16. While his game is built around the perimeter jumper, he can and does score in many other ways. Has become far more comfortable in the paint than he was in previous years. Noticably better on defense and rebounding too. Fun player to watch.
I guess you have to say MCW is the most improved player on the team (though he was very good in limited minutes last season) but Christmas is right there with him. Way more comfortable on offense, if he gets the ball within 8 feet of the basket these daysx, he is going to score. Using his improved strength well on the blocks rebounding, plays good defense (at least when he is at the 5; the 4 is still what I would term a work in progress).
That leaves Keita, who played quite well in somewhat limited minutes. Think JB is really trying to get DC some confidence by playing him extended minutes, often at the expense of Baye. But Baye is better on offense, and a little tougher and stronger on the boards and on defense this season. Seems to have at least one crazy good block every game; these seem to really affect the enthusiasm of the opposition to come inside and challenge him.
The NA was sung beautifully by a barber shop quartet. Again, someone is doing a fine job selecting the singers.
Almost no students, maybe 18K actually there. No SSS, but Otto was there, along with 30 or 40 cheerleaders and the dance team.
Good news on the ribbon board front. They are using it to show real time stats like team totals for steals, rebounds, 3 point shooting %, FT shooting % and FG shooting %. That is great. Didn't see any out of town scores, they still need to do a better job on this front.
The food in the VIP area was good, much improved from the botched efforts of recent years.
Otto's costume is badly faded and is in dire need of replacement.
I think Colgate is not a bad team...they have some shooters and a few good athletes. Really need a couple more big guys but I expect they will finish above 500 in their league and wish them well there.
Fun watching the team develop and players find their roles. So far, so good. Arkansas will be a real challenge. Their press is going to wear down MCW and BT. I hope they will not get worn down and hope TC can play some quality minutes to give them both a rest. It will be really hard to try and play JS or CJ at guard against a pressing team on the road. Don't expect to see JB try that except in an extreme emergency.
I guess the first thing to point out is the obvious one...the opponent was Colgate, a bad program we have beaten 46? times in a row, some ridiculous number that might be the longest active winning streak against an opponent. Anyway, I don't think you should take too much from a game against this level of opponent.
That being said...
Was a little disappointed with the defense in the 1st half. We of course played the 2-3 zone, mixed in with a little full court press. Like last year, JB likes to put on the press in conjunction with bringing Keita into the game. I think this is in part due to his extreme mobility, and in part to insulate Christmas and Coleman from the foul trouble pressing often encourages in big guys while pressing.
Thought the man was pretty weak early, Colgate got it in the paint and kicked it outside a couple of times for easy threes. JB was not pleased, especially with Christmas, who doubled down low instead of covering one of the respected Red Raider shooters. This drove an early 2011-12 type exit for Rak in the first half.
Anyway, I thought we were a little sluggish and lackadaisical out there. Last year, I thought the effort on the defensive end was consistently strong. This is a concern, this isn't the first time this has happened this year. After getting chewed out by JB a couple of times, things improved and I was happy, actually really happy with the defense the last 30 minutes or so. There were manyColgate possessions where they worked the ball for 35 seconds and just could not get a decent look. Heck, they struggled to even get the ball into the 3 point circle at times. Great to see this team can be really good defensively when they want to. I just want to see consistency here.
After last season, it was clear to me MCW would be wonderful running the fast break on the offense. I wasn't so sure in the half court setting. He didn't look nearly as comfortable or confident in the half court setting. Thought he started off somewhat shaky there this season as well. Might have been looking for his shot a little too much, maybe forced the issue too quickly.
As the season has progressed, I feel a lot better on this. MCW is doing a masterful job attacking half court defenses. He gets the ball inside when possible, and is a master of getting the ball to our outside shooters in a good position to score as well. 13 assists today and it could have been closer to 20 if we finished a little better. He has sacrificed his own scoring for the team and appears to be bending over backwards trying to set up his teammates for easy baskets. At times, I have been concerned over our ability to score points, especially in half court settings, but I think we are getting better here. That being said, if James did not have a white hot day today, the score at halftime would have been pretty close...I am pretty sure they would have been within 10 points.
Colgate played a mix of man and zone. Neither were successful, but they ended up playing more zone, mostly I think, to try and keep out of foul trouble. Last year, we ran a lot. The running is more restrained this year...not as many fast break baskets. Part of it is the loss of Scoop and Dion. Both loved to run and would try a convert a fast break even with 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 situations. KJ also loved to run and ran the court as well as any 3 in the country. Losing those 3 has affected things. Brandon and MCW both seem more committed to helping on the defensive boards this year as well.
When we get fast break points, a lot of times it is from a drive in the paint in an unsettled situation and kick out to someone for a 3. Just as effective, just different.
DC had his first double figure scoring game. Looked a lot more relaxed and confident, but it was against some undersized Colgate centers who he could physically dominate. And he did. He is going to have to make the adjustment to D1 college ball all HS players need to do, where they are no longer the tallest, most athletic player on the court, and it is going to take time. On the positive side, it looks like he is rebounding really well even now. His defense is the biggest concern. When he is in, opposing players drive to the hoop for uncontested scores with disturbing frequency. Nothing makes JB more angry than major defensive lapses, and if this continues, he is going to be big man #4. Would love to see him either a) start drawing fouls on charges or b) foul someone attacking the hoop hard, using all his strength. That old school DeJuan Blair type move sends a strong message.
Thought Triche played decently. Nothng spectucular, solid floor play.
Trevor got a lot of playing time. It was a good chance to get off the snide and gain a lot of confidence. He had a lot of good looks with open 3s and didn't hit them. Wasn't even close on a lot of them. Looks really tight, looks like he is rushing his shot. Complete night and day what he does in practice and what he does in games. It has to be hard after sitting out a year but it is time to put aside early nerves and start playing like he can. I like his hustle on defense. Did a nice job attacking the hoop on a fast break (drew a foul, made both FTs). He is more than just a shooter. But at some point, he needs to start hitting his outside shots. I hope it starts soon. With only 3 guards, it will be tough if he cannot produce in big games.
Grant also got more PT than he has been getting. I hate to be repetitive but the story also seems the same with Jerami. He is fundamentally sound. Almost never makes mental errors. Really impressive player who has a high ceiling. Playing time is going to be hard to come back this season; he is in very much the same position that MCW was last season. But it is good to have him around and there will be some games this year, big games, where I think he will play a big role for us.
CJ had another quiet game. He isn't really looking for his points right now. Letting the game come to him, taking what the defense gives him, getting rebounds, playing good defense. I am not concerned he is not scoring a lot against these bad teams. Old Reliable will be fine, and will be better than fine when we need him most.
James had another explosive game, burning white hot from off the bench in the first half. At one point, despite not even starting, I believe the score was Colgate 20, James 16. While his game is built around the perimeter jumper, he can and does score in many other ways. Has become far more comfortable in the paint than he was in previous years. Noticably better on defense and rebounding too. Fun player to watch.
I guess you have to say MCW is the most improved player on the team (though he was very good in limited minutes last season) but Christmas is right there with him. Way more comfortable on offense, if he gets the ball within 8 feet of the basket these daysx, he is going to score. Using his improved strength well on the blocks rebounding, plays good defense (at least when he is at the 5; the 4 is still what I would term a work in progress).
That leaves Keita, who played quite well in somewhat limited minutes. Think JB is really trying to get DC some confidence by playing him extended minutes, often at the expense of Baye. But Baye is better on offense, and a little tougher and stronger on the boards and on defense this season. Seems to have at least one crazy good block every game; these seem to really affect the enthusiasm of the opposition to come inside and challenge him.
The NA was sung beautifully by a barber shop quartet. Again, someone is doing a fine job selecting the singers.
Almost no students, maybe 18K actually there. No SSS, but Otto was there, along with 30 or 40 cheerleaders and the dance team.
Good news on the ribbon board front. They are using it to show real time stats like team totals for steals, rebounds, 3 point shooting %, FT shooting % and FG shooting %. That is great. Didn't see any out of town scores, they still need to do a better job on this front.
The food in the VIP area was good, much improved from the botched efforts of recent years.
Otto's costume is badly faded and is in dire need of replacement.
I think Colgate is not a bad team...they have some shooters and a few good athletes. Really need a couple more big guys but I expect they will finish above 500 in their league and wish them well there.
Fun watching the team develop and players find their roles. So far, so good. Arkansas will be a real challenge. Their press is going to wear down MCW and BT. I hope they will not get worn down and hope TC can play some quality minutes to give them both a rest. It will be really hard to try and play JS or CJ at guard against a pressing team on the road. Don't expect to see JB try that except in an extreme emergency.
