Francis03
All American
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- Aug 23, 2011
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-Until the under 4 timeout, it just seemed like one of those games where we would just say at the end that it wasn't our night. Much credit to our guys for fighting and scrapping hard till the very end.
-I thought the biggest shot of the game was when down 57-48 and Gonzaga having total control of the game, Cooney knocking down that three was huge, along with the defensive plays down the stretch. He has really come along strong in the tourney after the rough 1st half against Dayton. Like I said on my pod a few weeks ago, I would've loved nothing better than for him to make us all eat crow after his struggles. Well hey, it's now served up on my plate like a pile of spaghetti.
-Robey's activity throughout the game was huge. With our low shooting % and struggles to finish around the rim, every 2nd chance opportunity that he helped provided turned out to make a difference in a low scoring battle.
-Can't underestimate Frank's contributions in the 1st half. Not just his running of the offense, but the 5 points that he scored came in timely fashion at a point when Gonzaga was building towards a double digit lead. Hated the judgment to risk that bad alley-oop pass to Robey in the 2nd half when we were starting to build some momentum. Gonzaga unfortunately went on to take control of the game after that until the end. Frank's still young and he'll learn, but no doubt he's going to be a good one.
-G wasn't perfect but love the fact that he stayed in attack mode and you sensed that the stage at this point will never be too big for him and he'll go down swinging no matter what.
-Mali is such a frustrating player to watch offensively at times. One game he can go off and score at all three levels and make it a thing of beauty. After that he'll hit witness protection status for the next few games, where his shot is way off and he constantly drives into no mans land. I'll say this though, he's not shy about shooting and had an impressive finish around the hoop that should've been an and-1 in the 2nd half.
-UVA is obviously a tough matchup and are also probably the most physical team left in the field. I'm sure there will be some concern if we'll have enough in the tank tomorrow after the grind last night. I'll just say that most of us thought the same after beating UConn in the Bahamas, then having to face a big and athletic A&M team the very next day. Hopefully with a day to rest, the batteries will be all charged up for tomorrow. Can't expect to shoot 36% again and win. My hope is that some of those shots that we missed around the rim yesterday will go down tomorrow. UVA isn't a great shot blocking team but they contest every shot well. So I think the difference between winning and losing will be how we can finish in those one on one situations, unless we simply go bonkers from 3. I think our defense will be fine as UVA is prone to go through long scoring droughts at times. Let's hope we can take advantage of that if it happens.
-I'm very proud of this bunch, regardless if we win or lose tomorrow. After all the bullsh!t that has surrounded the program over the past year or so, it only serves these players right to experience a moment and time like this. Hopefully it'll cap off with a final four trip.
-I thought the biggest shot of the game was when down 57-48 and Gonzaga having total control of the game, Cooney knocking down that three was huge, along with the defensive plays down the stretch. He has really come along strong in the tourney after the rough 1st half against Dayton. Like I said on my pod a few weeks ago, I would've loved nothing better than for him to make us all eat crow after his struggles. Well hey, it's now served up on my plate like a pile of spaghetti.
-Robey's activity throughout the game was huge. With our low shooting % and struggles to finish around the rim, every 2nd chance opportunity that he helped provided turned out to make a difference in a low scoring battle.
-Can't underestimate Frank's contributions in the 1st half. Not just his running of the offense, but the 5 points that he scored came in timely fashion at a point when Gonzaga was building towards a double digit lead. Hated the judgment to risk that bad alley-oop pass to Robey in the 2nd half when we were starting to build some momentum. Gonzaga unfortunately went on to take control of the game after that until the end. Frank's still young and he'll learn, but no doubt he's going to be a good one.
-G wasn't perfect but love the fact that he stayed in attack mode and you sensed that the stage at this point will never be too big for him and he'll go down swinging no matter what.
-Mali is such a frustrating player to watch offensively at times. One game he can go off and score at all three levels and make it a thing of beauty. After that he'll hit witness protection status for the next few games, where his shot is way off and he constantly drives into no mans land. I'll say this though, he's not shy about shooting and had an impressive finish around the hoop that should've been an and-1 in the 2nd half.
-UVA is obviously a tough matchup and are also probably the most physical team left in the field. I'm sure there will be some concern if we'll have enough in the tank tomorrow after the grind last night. I'll just say that most of us thought the same after beating UConn in the Bahamas, then having to face a big and athletic A&M team the very next day. Hopefully with a day to rest, the batteries will be all charged up for tomorrow. Can't expect to shoot 36% again and win. My hope is that some of those shots that we missed around the rim yesterday will go down tomorrow. UVA isn't a great shot blocking team but they contest every shot well. So I think the difference between winning and losing will be how we can finish in those one on one situations, unless we simply go bonkers from 3. I think our defense will be fine as UVA is prone to go through long scoring droughts at times. Let's hope we can take advantage of that if it happens.
-I'm very proud of this bunch, regardless if we win or lose tomorrow. After all the bullsh!t that has surrounded the program over the past year or so, it only serves these players right to experience a moment and time like this. Hopefully it'll cap off with a final four trip.
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