I never have time these days, but I wanted to post my thoughts about the game, because honestly, I came away really excited and happy, because I saw a ton of things that excite me for this year and beyond. Here are some thoughts...
I was most happy with the defense...I know a few people said it on here, and I told my dad this after the game, but if this was an Oliver Purnell coached team, we would have won, but it would have been by 10 points, and we would have given up layup after layup. This wasn't the case. I loved the pack line defense...it's the same defense we ran in AAU, and it's proven to work (ie. Michigan State, Wisconsin, Xavier, etc). For those who don't know, it's man-to-man, however condensing the defense more towards the paint, therefore eliminating many dribble-drives. You do, however, give up more 3's typically, but with us having extreme length on the perimeter, that only helps. I thought we didn't give up easy baskets, and I thought we talked a ton better as a team. I think there are improvements to be made, however it's so much better since last year.
The offense is definitely more structured...If you noticed, we don't just roll the ball out and say "Go Play!". We were running good plays, moved the ball around alot, a ton of passing, dribble drive kick outs, and we utilized the post. We 16 assists on 30 makes, however I think that's only going to go up because this was Game 1 under the new coach. There were a couple of plays that really impressed me. One was called "Bombs Away", setting up a 3 in the corner, and the other was a version of Horns where it was a high low play that worked extremely well. I just remembered the days were Leitao would get Drake open over and over again, even when the other team knew he was getting the ball. I really like what I saw from the team.
Some players I'm excited about...Here are some that I'm excited about:
- Obviously the box score shows that Eli Cain did a great job, and he did. Love how he attacks the basket, and has that Andrew Wiggins spin that you can't stop going into the paint. He really had some good passes out there too. Really liked what I saw.
- The box score showed that Erten Gazi didn't have a good game, however I like what I see in him. Judging by what I saw in the open scrimmage, what other coaches told me about him, what DePaul coaches have told me about him, and the fact that he barely played the first half because of fouls, I'm excited about what he can do. He's the best communicator on the court in terms of talking to his team, which I love to see. He needs to get less jittery on defense, where he's always trying to go for that steal.
- I loved how Stimage played. Why? He played his role. He said amazing screens on the court, he played on the blocks, and only the blocks, and he really took up real estate. He only was credited for 3 rebounds, however Tommie got some rebounds because Stimage boxed out his man so damn good. Loved what I saw in him. Excited about him.
- I like that Ryckbosch knows his role. I thought he played strong, and I like him going into the season giving 5-7 good minutes for us. I think he got better with this new staff.
- Barry played just 2 minutes, however his block was AWESOME (showed his athleticism), but what I liked even more is that he was on the bench ALWAYS listening, cheering his team on, paying attention in huddles, and never pouted. Says alot about the kid.
What worried me...These are some of the players that worried me:
- Tommie is the same. His stats show better, but his rebounds he never had to fight for, he couldn't do anything in the low block (looked pathetic in the post IMO), and he just doesn't know his role. Wish he used his body better. Seems to be the same ole Tommie. I think maybe we think too highly of him. I think his ceiling may be a 12 and 5 type of player.....which is fine. Just don't expect more.
- Billy looks a step slow. Not sure what was up with him, but just didn't look too into it. I'm not worried about him though. I do like him off the ball better though because of this. I like Cain and Gazi at PG better. Seem to push it better.
- Simpson can't guard, and his shot selection is nuts. When we play against BE competition, he won't be able to guard anyone. I'm calling it now.
- Fred Scott showed well offensively, but defensively he doesn't have a clue. I'm curious if he loses time because of this. Maybe the worst defender on our team.
