Pace Postgame

[IthacaMatt]

Appreciate the note -- that is concerning. JJ do ok with shot selection?

Yeah, he was fine. Anthony took the worst shots tonight.
His head is getting all screwed up.
His very strange late FT attempts have me concerned that he can't just be a teammate on a good team, and we are going to see some hero ball from him next game.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I may be in the minority, but I think we’re better off if JJ plays less than 20 mins per game. It won’t happen, but I think it should.

He kept the ball moving tonight. He had a few good moments, like that drive late. He's steadying, but man, he fell apart at times tonight.

I agree that he has to be better. I agree he might get worse.
But both Kingz and George were not particularly good tonight.
Kingz did ok late, but mostly they both were not good.

If they were killing it, then sure, JJ becomes the 3rd guard, but neither of them did, at least tonight.

 

[Orangezoo]

That first half was nonsense. They didn’t play hard. Didnt respect the opponent and things were said at halftime that needed to be said. They got the message and they came out and played hard the way they should.

Sadiqs ability on the pick and roll to have that explosive of a dunk so quickly was best play of the game. Kiyan is proving he’s the real deal as well. The kid is good.

The offense needs an identity. It’s that simple. Kingz needs to do what he did in the last 10 mins if this team is going to play well. Lots to work on but we see what they are capable of, but that first half was a joke on their part

I get these are kids but coming out that first half after a bit of a letdown late against UB is just perplexing. I know there are many former athletes on here over different sports and at varying levels and as part of that crew and still playing in older
Rec leagues it’s so agitating not to see the effort and intensity.

Gotta have that fire in the belly to win. I sure hope
they find it the rest of the way going forward.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Here’s a little secret I’ve learned throughout the years. You can take absolutely zero from these games , bad and good., no matter what you tell these kids, in their hearts they know these games are not real. Unless you hypnotize them .. I’m not worried at all .. if they looked awesome , I would not be encouraged at all .. they mean nothing projection wise

 

[sugrad68]

How was the interior defense? That was a major weakness last year.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

The offense needs an identity.

Every thing goes through Freeman. Simple. Should have been that last year as well.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We sucked early because we didn’t play hard. Looked like we thought we could go through the motions. George has to play better and I think he will. Not worried about Kiyan, Kingz, Donnie, and George at the line long term, but everyone else is and will be terrible there.

What are you talking about?

Kyle is a solid player. He's a Jae Crowder type. He'll be fine for us. He really got it going in the 2nd half. Maybe not the shock blocker he was advertised to be, but I like his activity and effort once he got it going.

Soare is a big guy, a legit 7 footer. I liked him on defense. He blocked out, he went for blocks, and he hit the offensive boards.

You didn't mention Saddiq, and he was electric when he was out there. He's this team's version of Dennis Rodman or Terrence Roberts. He's going to play a big role for us. Saddiq and Donnie were working off each other, and so were Kyle and Donnie. Nice passing among the big men.

To me, our guards all played really poor defense except Zephyr, and to a lesser extent, Anthony. The other guys allow Pace players to get around the corner on them time after time, and not just on the high screen; it happened down low close to the basket, too, where they just let guys drive past them. To me, it was the guards, not the bigs.

 

[Ottoman]

Sadiq and Donnie were dominant tonight. I think we are going to have to find a way to get them on the court together for the majority of the game. Kiyan is probably not ready for big minutes, but he definitely has the right attitude. In general, this looks like a really good freshman and sophomore class.

The guards have been super underwhelming.

If there is an offensive or defensive scheme, I can't tell.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I’ll give them Binghamton to show me something but this was an extremely concerning effort across the board. When good players like George look worse all the sudden that is a big red flag on the coaching front.

It's early, but there is cause for concern.
I think these guys are good enough that they could make a good showing in Vegas, maybe even steal a win or two.
But they have to play hard for 40 minutes, or they could find themselves on the end of a 15 or 20 point run and get blown out before they knew what hit them.
I think Binghamton is going to be another messy game.
I just hope they make improvements.
I like the high/low action and passing among our bigs.
I want to see more motion without the ball from the guards and wings, more guys moving without the ball, rather than camping on the 3 point line, sitting there covered.
Make it hard to guard you. Easy stuff. Just do it.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Could be a case of knowing you can play hard for 5 to 10 minutes and still win easily

Bad attitude, though.

 

[pearl31]

That was mostly horrendous.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I don’t blame Red for that first half at all. These are semi pro players, they need to be more self motivated. I play harder in my men’s rec league.

1 i think its a generational thing. they see the nba guys play non chalant. its cool to not try hard (just assuming)

2 but i also think there isnt really any system in place, esp on offense...the players dont know where to be or where to go...they can only react after things happen so its hard to be proactive (esp if they dont have a natural feel for the game)...its hard to hustle when you legit dont know what is about to happen

 

[IthacaMatt]

The last 10 minutes were what we were expecting from this team.

Kingz and Kiyan both showed flashes of impressive skill sets (as far as scoring).

Souare brought energy

White was everything we hoped for. Kyle did just what was expected on offense. Still would like to see more on defense as a rim protector (Freeman too)

Betseys stroke looked so smooth the other day and then he disappeared today.

Through two games, George has been a disappointment as far as getting in the paint and setting people up.

One concern that I had today is we played a lot of five out and still struggled to get to the basket in those sets. We did better getting to the hoop when we weren’t running that action.

Biggest concerns going forward would have to be rim protection and free throws.

Good observations!
Betsey has to hit the boards and defend when his shot isn't falling.
He's a big kid, and I saw him doing some work in the lane.
He'll have good and bad games.

 

[IthacaMatt]

How was the interior defense? That was a major weakness last year.

Better, especially in the 2nd half. The guards are very weak, but the bigs seem pretty good when they are tuned in.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Forgot about the game. Replay anywhere?

 

[Cappy3]

What are you talking about?

Kyle is a solid player. He's a Jae Crowder type. He'll be fine for us. He really got it going in the 2nd half. Maybe not the shock blocker he was advertised to be, but I like his activity and effort once he got it going.

Soare is a big guy, a legit 7 footer. I liked him on defense. He blocked out, he went for blocks, and he hit the offensive boards.

You didn't mention Saddiq, and he was electric when he was out there. He's this team's version of Dennis Rodman or Terrence Roberts. He's going to play a big role for us. Saddiq and Donnie were working off each other, and so were Kyle and Donnie. Nice passing among the big men.

To me, our guards all played really poor defense except Zephyr, and to a lesser extent, Anthony. The other guys allow Pace players to get around the corner on them time after time, and not just on the high screen; it happened down low close to the basket, too, where they just let guys drive past them. To me, it was the guards, not the bigs.

Believe he said “at the line” and he’s not wrong on free throw shooting. Gonna be a problem all year I fear.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Forgot about the game. Replay anywhere?

ACC Network on ESPN.com service.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Believe he said “at the line” and he’s not wrong on free throw shooting. Gonna be a problem all year I fear.

Maybe I misunderstood. But I thought he said there was a lack of effort, and everyone but those 4 guys sucked, and were unlikely to get better. That's how I took the post.

 

[Cuse On 3]

That was mostly horrendous.

Overreaction

 

[RedtheGOB]

Here’s a little secret I’ve learned throughout the years. You can take absolutely zero from these games , bad and good., no matter what you tell these kids, in their hearts they know these games are not real. Unless you hypnotize them .. I’m not worried at all .. if they looked awesome , I would not be encouraged at all .. they mean nothing projection wise

Thinking about this more lately. For most of the last 20 years I would’ve never even thought about watching an exhibition or paying attention.

Now with 10 new players on the team each year it’s more interesting. Also the games streaming are much easier to watch.

For years though I couldn’t tell you what even happened in exhibitions. Maybe a score check if that. All the podcasts stirring the pot too.

Maybe I should go back to the old ways.

 

[Oakland]

Surprised he hasn't punched a kid, yet.
That's probably how his career will end.

I would not allow my kid to play for Izzo, but I guess you are talking about Hurley.

 

[Nicknack]

Surprised he hasn't punched a kid, yet.
That's probably how his career will end.

I tend to agree with you. He's incredibly unstable. I'm really surprised that during the NIL era where kids can go anywhere that they choose to play for that lunatic.

 

[MGraves5]

Thinking about this more lately. For most of the last 20 years I would’ve never even thought about watching an exhibition or paying attention.

Now with 10 new players on the team each year it’s more interesting. Also the games streaming are much easier to watch.

For years though I couldn’t tell you what even happened in exhibitions. Maybe a score check if that. All the podcasts stirring the pot too.

Maybe I should go back to the old ways.

I hadn't thought of that either. I never watched the exhibition games, just checked the box score. I guess I pay more attention because of the new faces or maybe because the games are more likely to be competitive recently.

 

[Ottoman]

I agree with other posters that this is the best lineup, based on the first 2 games:

1: George
2. Kingz
3. White
4. Freeman
5. Kyle

I think we need White on the floor, primarily for the rim protection he provides. Donnie is too good to share minutes at PF, so White will need to get his minutes elsewhere. It might be a stretch to ask White to defend the 3 spot, though. And do we have enough shooters on the floor? Probably not. If White or Freeman could play the 5, that would solve A LOT of problems.

IMO, One of these guys is going to need to step up as a reliable 3 and passable D guy:
JJ
Anthony
Betsey
Fennel

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Thinking about this more lately. For most of the last 20 years I would’ve never even thought about watching an exhibition or paying attention.

Now with 10 new players on the team each year it’s more interesting. Also the games streaming are much easier to watch.

For years though I couldn’t tell you what even happened in exhibitions. Maybe a score check if that. All the podcasts stirring the pot too.

Maybe I should go back to the old ways.

Remember how great Carlos looked last year in the preseason ?