After giving the night to think about things ....
Throughout the game we played hard, and tried to compete and crawl our way back all game (unlike last yr where we'd roll over and quit, probably losing by 25-30). Weren't going to come back with them hitting all their fts and us not being able to touch a 3 all game.
Larry was awful today SHOOTING the ball, but i really dont think he played poorly. I liked every one of his looks and he even drove the ball to the hoop a few times but the lid was on the rim for the kid all day. Not that hes a freshman, but this was the pretty much the 1st time he's played extensive minutes against decent competetion also (which y he didnt play more last yr none of us will really ever know) but I'm not worried about him, just wish he was on a little more yesterday.
We boarded allright yesterday, and I think our freshman had a little rude awakening with guys being as big and as athletic as them. I think by the end of the year this team will be real solid on the boards but right now its going to be inconsistent until they get used to playing with guys their size. So many times we'd have a ball drop out of our hands and roll out of bounds or into their hands and not enough into our own.
Geno is what he is but i thought he was more aggressive then usual which is half good half bad. When he drives the lane im always terrified of something bad happening because he just isnt athletic enough to make things happen consistently. That said, he played nice defense, boarded well and did a nice job doing other things. He also wasnt hitting shots and with him and larry being off from 3 we're pretty much dead.
Justin is an enigma to me because he'll look so good sometimes and sooo bad other times. I hope its just because he is a freshman but a problem im scared of with him is all the minutes hes playing. We can't afford him not being on the floor but i also think his play takes a big dip when he gets tired. For a game that didnt look that good from his part, kid still dropped 10 and 8.
Thought Tomas played well while he was in, but he has to cut out the shitty fouls that are completely pointless. I can't believe i'm saying this but right now hes a guy we need on the floor. The offense flows better with him in and hes a better overall defender/rebounder then dele right now (granted i think dele can get better, he just has to learn).
2nd half our bigs gave up too much position down low and that really killed us. I think thats mostly from inexperience of guys that size and is an easy problme to fix. I'm not worried about it for the future but it was defientely a huge problem last nite.
DJ looked quiet but still drop 10 and 6 and made some nice plays. With Mase out the kid has to be more aggressive and he has the tools to do it. I think game was a nice awakening for him and im not too worried about him.
Paris played real well in my eyes adn lookd the same as he did vs anyone else we played. He has the body and athleticism to play with any team he just needs to get a consistent J. He did hit one nice shot, but we need a little more. I just love his swagger and explosiveness.
Malik did allright, still looks to be getting used to some things but I feel like hes grasping things more and more each game.
For me what i gained most out of this game was our need for another option on offense. Right now EVERYTHING goes through Justin and thats not going to fly all the time. I love the improved Larry but hes more of a guy to feed off of others rahter then just taking control (granted he does have the ability too, hes just not fully there yet). This team NEEDS a healthy mase to succeed. Mostly because of the looks he'll get everyone else. We have no threat but justin and these teams are going to keep suffocating him and right now hes just not good enough out of the doubles and triples. I think a huge x-factor is going to be rob thomas because from what i've been told his offense is on another level and can really help us. I'm not relying on him, but i've been todl hes feeling real good and its not going to be an issue with his knee but rather getting used to being in games again. Someone has to be option #2 though, bc right now its geno and thats just not his game.
Coaching wise i wont lie i dont know as much as a lot of you but i really dont see what norm did wrong. We couldnt hit a shot (not his fault being most of looks were open) and they didnt miss, but i felt like we had decent defense. I would have liked him to put the small line out there earlier. The team played hard and for the most part the freshmen didnt look scared to me which was a nice sign.
As shitty as this loss was, this team needed a reality check. The thing i want to see is how we respond vs Niagara. I want us to go out there and pulverize them from the get go and show that they were pist with the lost and that it actually hurt. If we come out flat, i'll be worried for the rest of the year.