SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 33,958
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- It’s hard to know how to react to these games without knowing what our goals are. Obviously, this is not a national championship team. It’s not going to win the ACC regular season. We’re unlikely to win the ACC tournament. That leaves making the NCAA tournament but will that be taken away from us by the NCAA? That would leave us with just trying to see how many games we can win, hopefully enough that Rakeem Christmas can get some kind of national recognition. Then there’s the development of young players who could be a part of more successful teams in the future.
- By the latter measure, the big news was the emergence of Tyler Roberson, who was our best player tonight with 10 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block. In those situations where he was left unguarded he didn’t put up one of his creaky jump shots: he drove to the basket to score. And he rebounded like a demon. I’m torn about his giving up all those jump shots. He obviously doesn’t have confidence in his shot - and neither do I. But he’s not going to get it until he starts to make some. Then he will really be a terror. But we’re beginning to see the strong inside player people had been talking about when he came here and he’s become a very productive player for this team.
- In the first half. I though Rakeem Christmas got a taste of what awaits him in the NBA: a bigger, stronger guy, (Tonye Jekiri), muscling him out of his comfort zone and blocking his shots. Like Roberson, Rakeem needs a medium-range jumper to play in that league because he can’t tame the monsters inside like he’s doing to college kids. But, very impressively, Rak found away to get around Jekiri and was dominating him by the end of the game. The big change was that he operated from the side and long the baseline, where he was already close to the bakset when he got the ball, instead of being in front of the basket where the slower but stronger Jekiri could push him away from the basket. Rak hit his last six field goal attempts and got to the line 11 times, (unfortunately missing 6 of them), and wound up with 23 points and 8 rebounds. I’d rate him our best scoring center, even above Seikaly and Otis Hill. I think by the end of the year his numbers will hard to ignore.
- We’ve been playing the bottom-feeders of the conference close. What did that make us? Now we’ve played a contender close. What does that make us? Outside of Virginia, who is taking no prisoners, who should be afraid of in this conference?
- Were you not entertained? This team doesn’t play dull basketball games.
14-6, (5-2) with 11+ more
LET’S GO ORANGE!!!!
- By the latter measure, the big news was the emergence of Tyler Roberson, who was our best player tonight with 10 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block. In those situations where he was left unguarded he didn’t put up one of his creaky jump shots: he drove to the basket to score. And he rebounded like a demon. I’m torn about his giving up all those jump shots. He obviously doesn’t have confidence in his shot - and neither do I. But he’s not going to get it until he starts to make some. Then he will really be a terror. But we’re beginning to see the strong inside player people had been talking about when he came here and he’s become a very productive player for this team.
- In the first half. I though Rakeem Christmas got a taste of what awaits him in the NBA: a bigger, stronger guy, (Tonye Jekiri), muscling him out of his comfort zone and blocking his shots. Like Roberson, Rakeem needs a medium-range jumper to play in that league because he can’t tame the monsters inside like he’s doing to college kids. But, very impressively, Rak found away to get around Jekiri and was dominating him by the end of the game. The big change was that he operated from the side and long the baseline, where he was already close to the bakset when he got the ball, instead of being in front of the basket where the slower but stronger Jekiri could push him away from the basket. Rak hit his last six field goal attempts and got to the line 11 times, (unfortunately missing 6 of them), and wound up with 23 points and 8 rebounds. I’d rate him our best scoring center, even above Seikaly and Otis Hill. I think by the end of the year his numbers will hard to ignore.
- We’ve been playing the bottom-feeders of the conference close. What did that make us? Now we’ve played a contender close. What does that make us? Outside of Virginia, who is taking no prisoners, who should be afraid of in this conference?
- Were you not entertained? This team doesn’t play dull basketball games.
14-6, (5-2) with 11+ more
LET’S GO ORANGE!!!!
I edited myself and blurted out GOSH DARN IT!" 
