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Message: [QUOTE="TinyManInside, post: 2411660, member: 1251"] Crisp was great last night, but he's been pretty bad all year. I've watched every minute of every UW game and he drives me absolutely crazy. Last night was the first time all year that he played like a point guard. The rest of the season he's been a gunner who takes A TON of bad shots, lots of off-balanced and fadeaway 3s that have little chance of going in. In aggregate Frank Howard has been much, much better than Crisp. It just so happens that Howard's worst game and Crisp's best came right after one another. Matisse Thybulle playing at the top of the zone is not an adjustment for Hop. Every minute he's played this year he's been at the top of the zone. That kid is an incredible defensive player. I mean, one of the top defenders I've seen in college hoops over the last 10 years. Great hands, great lateral quickness, incredible nose for the ball, and super anticipation. He's a lot like MCW was defensively, but better. He hasn't been a very good offensive player this year until last night. Nice to see him finally make some shots. --------- Some of my thoughts: 1) Super happy for Hop. This guy is a tireless worker, has a great basketball mind, and is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. As Jake said, the question was never whether he could recruit, teach, gameplan, or get kids to buy into his system... the question has always been would he be a good 'in game' coach. Last night was a huge step in the right direction. The VaTech game last month was a debacle and Hop didn't do a very good job of adjusting the zone or taking appropriate timeouts, but last night he called all the right shots. Great to see. As I said before, I've watched every minute of every UW game this year - it is amazing how much they've improved since their opener against Belmont. 2) Last night UW basically played their A+++ game. I mean, if they play this game against Kansas in KC 10 times I honestly think they win once. UW is not a very gifted offensive team, but they put it all together last night. Their PG play this year has been bad (Crisp was great last night though), they don't shoot the ball well from the perimeter (they shot it great last night), and they turn the ball over a lot and are not a very good passing team (last night 17 assists to 12 turnovers). So everything came together all at the right time. Thybulle entered the game under 30% from three and made 5-8 from beyond the arc. Dickerson has been in foul trouble almost every game, and last night he only picked up 2 fouls. Dickerson only had 6 assists total coming into the game, but last night had 5 (great job reading double teams, which is something he's never shown before). Crisp had a season high in assists. A lot of this is a result of good coaching and good gameplanning, but a lot of it was just about every one of their players having their best game on the same night. 3) I like Hop's freshman class. Can't believe what he was able to pull together in such short time. Jaylen Nowell is fantastic - great offensive feel (and improving defender) - knows how to get to spots where he can be effective is deadly from 15 feet and in. Reminds me somewhat of Lawrence Moten to be honest. Just has a knack for knowing how to score. Hameir Wright - long, lanky, 6'9" - has been asked to play a lot of C and PF this year but he's probably better suited for the wing. Was totally lost in the early games but has made significant contributions in their last 3 games. Has really improved, can shoot it a little from the perimeter, and is starting to put the ball on the floor more and look for other ways to score. He also looks like he could turn into a pretty good passer. Nahz Carter - terrific athlete, long 6'6" - has been pretty good in the zone and can jump out of the gym. He's got a long way to go (and he can get out of control on drives), but he's also shown consistent improvement. Michael Carter III is hurt but was showing some nice signs as a pass-first PG earlier in the year. He's the farthest from being a consistent contributor though. 4) For people comparing SU and UW, I don't think this is a case where transitive property applies. I'd guess SU would win 7 out of 10 on a neutral court. UW isn't going to shoot like that on most nights, SU would kill them on the offensive glass, and I don't think UW would be able to take care of the ball well enough. I think SU's size at the forwards position would pose a huge problem for UW. I'm much more comfortable with the idea that SU can make a run at an NCAA tourney bid than I am that UW will. Mason [/QUOTE]

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