Sonoma State Game

A huge thing is the lack of playing time this group has had together. We forget because our last group was together for basically 3-4 years and knew each others every move. There are a lot of continuity issues and I dont think those can really be avoided with a completely new rotation. It will get cleaned up for sure.

Tarik Turner could cure insomnia.

Haha!  Agree.

Mussini looks like he can't handle any type of ball pressure.

Anyone besides Sima look good. I was thinking Durand would be really good this year.

Marillac prediction about Johnson being All BE may need further thought. Seriously, it is early, but I think he will need time to shed the rust of sitting out. Without him scoring, this offensively challenged bunch will really struggle.

Mussini looks like he can't handle any type of ball pressure.

Braziller tweeted about how much better Mussini would be with Lovett on the court with him and I couldn't agree more. He has some ball handling skills but he shouldn't be the primary ball handler the whole game. Playing off the ball a bit will get him better shots also.

Him and Williams are the concerns for me on the player front right now. I thought both would be good right away

Him and Williams are the concerns for me on the player front right now. I thought both would be good right away

Both haven't played much basketball over the last couple years. Might take them a few weeks before they get into the swing of things.

That's my positive spin right now ha

Oh my god there's a foul on every play. This is terrible to watch. I hope regular season games will not be officiated like this.

Holifield plays with a lot of confidence.

I really don't care what anybody says, but Holifield does not look like a walk-on freshman....

He's composed, has size and plays good defense.

Sonoma State is not a good team, so I don't want to draw too many conclusions. I think we're going to be in a world of trouble against Wagner, but here's some quick thoughts:

• Sima is a big-time player and is going to be a monster at this level at some point. The probability of him getting in foul trouble and his conditioning worries me for the team, but when he is on the court he will be able to play. Could put on a little bit of size to deal with the Big East frontcourts. I loved the way he was going to his left today.
• Christian Jones looks *far* more active on the boards than he has the last 2 years. I really like him and Sima down low.
• Would like to see more of Holifield, especially until Lovett is playing 35+ minutes. He had a couple of nice jumpers, played excellent defense and looked confident.  Mussini does not look ready to run the offense, and good teams/superior athletes will run him off the floor.
• I understand the idea that Darien Williams was a bigtime JUCO player, but I don't see anything right now that warrants any kind of hype. He lost composure, fouled like crazy, his jumper looked flat and he looked lost on both ends at times.
• Durand showed a few glimpses of being the player he was, but he looks very rusty. He probably has the best chance to be our best player by conference play.
• The difference from last year's team in terms of pure athleticism to this group is massive.

Oh, and if we can hit free throws at a high clip like we did today, we may be able to steal some games this year. The refereeing around the country is atrocious and are putting an even higher emphasis on ticky-tack calls.

Score? 

Johnson looked like he was just starting to get untracked, mid second half, when he picked up his third foul.  Was almost hoping they would leave him in to knock off some of the rust.  Kind of worried about the upcoming games. DI teams are going to be in the passing lanes against us.  It could get real ugly. Sonoma was so close to getting a lot more steals and going the length of the court for layups.

How about Sima's free throw stroke? Swish.

We might get killed in every facet of the game, except free throw shooting, on Friday.  I'm worried about turnovers, rebounding and interior defense, in particular.  And also Mussini's defense.

Anyone besides Sima look good. I was thinking Durand would be really good this year.

When Holifield came in to spell Mussini, the team looked better. I was particularly disappointed in Mussini. He stunk it up big time and cried every single time the call didn't go his way. Holifield, however, finishes strong, passes the ball, and makes an effort on defense.

Sima has potential. He has some classic bad habits like he puts it on the floor when he's right under the basket. Jones does, too, but they were active, and unselfish. They need practice plain and simple. M'Vouika was somewhat better. He plays defense and he passes the ball. He didn't shoot it very well, so that was unfortunate.

Johnson really surprised me. I expected him to be the leading scorer on this team. He just doesn't play very hard.

Holifield plays with a lot of confidence.

Better than Mussini.

Quote from: Moose on November 07, 2015, 02:34:16 PM

Quote from: Dave on November 07, 2015, 01:23:33 PM

Game Preview: My thoughts... http://wp.me/p197Z5-2VW

Still waiting on that Lovett news you teased on Twitter.
I keep coming back here looking for it.

Just wondering.
Could Lovett play if there isn't any word from the ncaa? because if the ncaa says nothing then they never said that he isn't cleared.

Have to wait for NCAA clearance. Can't play the well you didn't say no game.