So an interesting game in that it's regular season -- so it counts, even if Colgate is absolutely atrocious -- and yet, it doesn't count much because it's a small sample size and, well, Colgate is atrocious.
Regardless, a few observations -- starting with the negatives -- that I'll keep marginally short (for me) since it is just one game:
The not so awesome stuff
1. Lydon will be great no matter what but ...
So I'm not even remotely pressing the panic button particularly b/c Colgate won't mirror the teams we play when it really matters. But I will say I was disappointed in how Lydon played -- struggling from 3? Fine. Get inside and get active inside the paint. instead it was a lot of floating around, he had one awful looking runner and otherwise took just two other shots (the three threes, obviously excluded). Now there is no need to force it, but get him the ball deep in the post or on the wing and back a guy down. I don't know just wasn't very active for being, IMO, the best player on the floor by a long shot (depending on what Battle is, which brings me to point 2).
2. Battle will be great no matter what but ...
Battle going 0-for-7 is fine as well but again, he's not got a reputation as a shooter and half the shots are 3s. Then, he had just one other entry into the score sheet -- a single defensive rebound. It's fine but I'd like to think in 23 minutes there'd be a steal, maybe an assist ... something. Not the greatest debut ever for a player who's obviously very good.
3. Lydon's and Battle's consistency are important b/c ...
The team put up 83 with those two contributing nothing so obviously there's zero point in panicking but they need those two playing well to avoid what we saw last night. We were playing Colgate and had 4 points in the first four minutes. That's ... not good. They then turned it on and got to 69 with 13 minutes left. However, with basically 4:30 left, they were stuck on 72. Ouch. This team should be scoring at will fairly consistently against a team like Colgate. They would be if during those sloppy stretches, Lydon and/or Battle bailed them out (or White, perhaps) with an individual play. That didn't happen but it will have to against better teams. Who will get the bucket when you desperately need a bucket remains to be seen. That was Richardson in the tourney last year but part of the reason that team struggled is that questioned lingered for much of the season.
4. The defense is a work in progress
Thought the defense had some really nice moments vs. a completely flustered team. Also thought there were some holes that Colgate simply wasn't comfortable enough or talented enough to exploit. But 55 points, while it looks good on paper, is tied mostly to Colgate not only missing but missing horribly even on open threes (17 % on 37 threes for the game. ouch.). they also only turned it over 14 times vs. what is usually a very active zone mixed in with a ton of pressing. Those aren't great numbers.
Now the good
1. There are a ton of intriguing players on this team
Thompson is a guy I would never have guessed would have gotten any run at all and he actually looks pretty good. Chukwu may have a lot of struggles this year but there are some intriguing skills there. Gillon and Howard were excellent. White looked pretty solid and Roberson did what I think we may see more of this year which is play really efficiently on the offensive end.
2. They looked really well for a long stretch mid-first half through the 13-minute mark of the second half
This team's true talent showed in that stretch and it's impressive.
3. JB teams are better when they have a real point guard. This team has two
Is Gillon a true point guard? I'm not entirely sure but he's going to be a factor on both ends in that position and he certainly looked like a facilitator last night. Howard is the guy I think is the real x-factor. If he shoots ok and plays solidly that is a huge factor for this team.
4. At the end of the day they scored 83 and routed a team in their opener despite literally next to no production from two of their top 3 players.
Lydon and Battle were non-existent and, for all intents and purposes, it didn't matter. That has to bode well.
Regardless, a few observations -- starting with the negatives -- that I'll keep marginally short (for me) since it is just one game:
The not so awesome stuff
1. Lydon will be great no matter what but ...
So I'm not even remotely pressing the panic button particularly b/c Colgate won't mirror the teams we play when it really matters. But I will say I was disappointed in how Lydon played -- struggling from 3? Fine. Get inside and get active inside the paint. instead it was a lot of floating around, he had one awful looking runner and otherwise took just two other shots (the three threes, obviously excluded). Now there is no need to force it, but get him the ball deep in the post or on the wing and back a guy down. I don't know just wasn't very active for being, IMO, the best player on the floor by a long shot (depending on what Battle is, which brings me to point 2).
2. Battle will be great no matter what but ...
Battle going 0-for-7 is fine as well but again, he's not got a reputation as a shooter and half the shots are 3s. Then, he had just one other entry into the score sheet -- a single defensive rebound. It's fine but I'd like to think in 23 minutes there'd be a steal, maybe an assist ... something. Not the greatest debut ever for a player who's obviously very good.
3. Lydon's and Battle's consistency are important b/c ...
The team put up 83 with those two contributing nothing so obviously there's zero point in panicking but they need those two playing well to avoid what we saw last night. We were playing Colgate and had 4 points in the first four minutes. That's ... not good. They then turned it on and got to 69 with 13 minutes left. However, with basically 4:30 left, they were stuck on 72. Ouch. This team should be scoring at will fairly consistently against a team like Colgate. They would be if during those sloppy stretches, Lydon and/or Battle bailed them out (or White, perhaps) with an individual play. That didn't happen but it will have to against better teams. Who will get the bucket when you desperately need a bucket remains to be seen. That was Richardson in the tourney last year but part of the reason that team struggled is that questioned lingered for much of the season.
4. The defense is a work in progress
Thought the defense had some really nice moments vs. a completely flustered team. Also thought there were some holes that Colgate simply wasn't comfortable enough or talented enough to exploit. But 55 points, while it looks good on paper, is tied mostly to Colgate not only missing but missing horribly even on open threes (17 % on 37 threes for the game. ouch.). they also only turned it over 14 times vs. what is usually a very active zone mixed in with a ton of pressing. Those aren't great numbers.
Now the good
1. There are a ton of intriguing players on this team
Thompson is a guy I would never have guessed would have gotten any run at all and he actually looks pretty good. Chukwu may have a lot of struggles this year but there are some intriguing skills there. Gillon and Howard were excellent. White looked pretty solid and Roberson did what I think we may see more of this year which is play really efficiently on the offensive end.
2. They looked really well for a long stretch mid-first half through the 13-minute mark of the second half
This team's true talent showed in that stretch and it's impressive.
3. JB teams are better when they have a real point guard. This team has two
Is Gillon a true point guard? I'm not entirely sure but he's going to be a factor on both ends in that position and he certainly looked like a facilitator last night. Howard is the guy I think is the real x-factor. If he shoots ok and plays solidly that is a huge factor for this team.
4. At the end of the day they scored 83 and routed a team in their opener despite literally next to no production from two of their top 3 players.
Lydon and Battle were non-existent and, for all intents and purposes, it didn't matter. That has to bode well.
