sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,423
- Like
- 110,190
Thought Ennis did a really nice job breaking the press. Minnesota doesn't have the athletes or the intensity of UL but their pressure was good and Tyler did a fine job. Made a lot of good choices. Really liked the strategy once the press was broken to get the ball to CJ at the top of the key, where he could drive to the basket or pull up for a relatively short jumper.
In my opinion, it was a mistake to press us. Our half court offense is not very good right now. We struggle to get open shots, CJ has problems when he gets doubled, etc. Playing against the pressure, we had an open jumper just about every time down the court and if we didn't get the ball to CJ at the high post, we were usually able to get the ball to a wing being covered one on one (before their defense had a chance to get fully settled).
Was really impressed with the big guy for Minnesota who was rocking the Nicholas Cage Valley Girl look. Was able to overcome that and his skinny body to dominate the inside and cause us a lot of problems on offense and defense. He had a couple of terrific blocks, including one of JG that to my knowledge was the first time Jerami has had a dunk blocked. Nice passer, nice finisher, good rebounder and a fine shot blocker.
The turning point of the game was when Cage/Eliason got in foul trouble. Looked like there was a concerted effort to attack him and get him on the bench late in the first half, when a Syracuse player went right at him possession after possession. Nice job by JB to take their queen off the board.
Without him, they were still competitive but a different team.
Like others, was surprised at how much the refs let the teams play. This game was called like a game from last year, a Big East game, and it was the first time this season there was no evidence that the rule changes made during the off season had an effect on the game. Strange. Anyone know what conference the crew was from?
The blatant foul on CJ, the extremely aggressive hack on Tyler late in the game, the wild wrestling move on JG late in the game (that to the crew's credit, was called intentional)...this Gopher team played in the grey area between really tough and just plain dirty. That being said, they are not a bad team. They have some outside shooters, Eliason is very good and they are going to be even better when the suspended big guy returns for the next game. It will be interesting to see how they do in B1G play. I think they are a middle of the pack team that will make the tournament.
Good to see DCII play well against a good opponent. His defense still isn't great and he still doesn't finish as well as I would like but he continues to rebound and draw fouls at amazing rates. JB is going to have his hands full trying to find playing time for all 3 centers. RC had another good game (at some point this year he is going to shock the world, face the basket with the ball, take a couple of mid range jumpers and hit them) and while BMK didn't play particularly well last night, he has been solid most games.
Surprised Tyler is having some problems hitting that short pull-up jumper in the paint, surprised he is missing layups (under pressure) as well. I think he needs to get a little stronger, a little tougher to do this at this level. Big step up from high school ball, I can confident he will get this done. On the positive side, I think it means he will definitely return for his sophomore season.
TC had a good situation last night...the pressure defense coupled with a relatively passive zone in half court situations made for a lot of open looks for him. At this point in his career, he is far more effective in these situations than against a straight man defense.
Silent G was quiet, as expected. Not in his element playing against pressure defense, when he replaced TE at the point in the first half, UM went on a run and even took the lead. That wasn't a coincidence.
Cal plays really good defense. We are going to struggle to score against them. Hope we hit the offensive boards really hard and play defense like demons. Should be a good one.
In my opinion, it was a mistake to press us. Our half court offense is not very good right now. We struggle to get open shots, CJ has problems when he gets doubled, etc. Playing against the pressure, we had an open jumper just about every time down the court and if we didn't get the ball to CJ at the high post, we were usually able to get the ball to a wing being covered one on one (before their defense had a chance to get fully settled).
Was really impressed with the big guy for Minnesota who was rocking the Nicholas Cage Valley Girl look. Was able to overcome that and his skinny body to dominate the inside and cause us a lot of problems on offense and defense. He had a couple of terrific blocks, including one of JG that to my knowledge was the first time Jerami has had a dunk blocked. Nice passer, nice finisher, good rebounder and a fine shot blocker.
The turning point of the game was when Cage/Eliason got in foul trouble. Looked like there was a concerted effort to attack him and get him on the bench late in the first half, when a Syracuse player went right at him possession after possession. Nice job by JB to take their queen off the board.
Without him, they were still competitive but a different team.
Like others, was surprised at how much the refs let the teams play. This game was called like a game from last year, a Big East game, and it was the first time this season there was no evidence that the rule changes made during the off season had an effect on the game. Strange. Anyone know what conference the crew was from?
The blatant foul on CJ, the extremely aggressive hack on Tyler late in the game, the wild wrestling move on JG late in the game (that to the crew's credit, was called intentional)...this Gopher team played in the grey area between really tough and just plain dirty. That being said, they are not a bad team. They have some outside shooters, Eliason is very good and they are going to be even better when the suspended big guy returns for the next game. It will be interesting to see how they do in B1G play. I think they are a middle of the pack team that will make the tournament.
Good to see DCII play well against a good opponent. His defense still isn't great and he still doesn't finish as well as I would like but he continues to rebound and draw fouls at amazing rates. JB is going to have his hands full trying to find playing time for all 3 centers. RC had another good game (at some point this year he is going to shock the world, face the basket with the ball, take a couple of mid range jumpers and hit them) and while BMK didn't play particularly well last night, he has been solid most games.
Surprised Tyler is having some problems hitting that short pull-up jumper in the paint, surprised he is missing layups (under pressure) as well. I think he needs to get a little stronger, a little tougher to do this at this level. Big step up from high school ball, I can confident he will get this done. On the positive side, I think it means he will definitely return for his sophomore season.
TC had a good situation last night...the pressure defense coupled with a relatively passive zone in half court situations made for a lot of open looks for him. At this point in his career, he is far more effective in these situations than against a straight man defense.
Silent G was quiet, as expected. Not in his element playing against pressure defense, when he replaced TE at the point in the first half, UM went on a run and even took the lead. That wasn't a coincidence.
Cal plays really good defense. We are going to struggle to score against them. Hope we hit the offensive boards really hard and play defense like demons. Should be a good one.
