Just back from the game -
1. I don't think I will ever be able to take a seat in the Schott where my first thought isn't how much I miss St. John. Oh well......
2. Three players who impressed me most were Dials, Foster and Butler.
3. Dials is becoming a complete version of who he has always been. Played very strong on both ends of the court tonight. And he nailed his free throws!
4. The folks who have been saying Foster is a stud know their Basketball. He blew me away on both ends of the court. Very aggressive on Defense - two consecutive possessions where he stole the ball and went full court for a layup and at least 4 steals that he was credited with. All over the floor, sweet shot, and great stroke from the line as well. I like this kid a whole lot.
5. Butler does not play like a Frosh - he is ready to go. Great court presence, some very nice ball handling, and good decision making. (Sounds like a nice backup for Troy Smith.) I should back up a bit and not over-sell. He is not polished and has his lapses, but he is not a redshirt candidate and will batlle Fuss for the job.
6. I don't mean to sell Sullinger and Stockman short by not including them in my top three, but I wasn't as 'impressed' by them because I knew what to expect and that is what I got. Tony played solid but still suffers from necrophilia.
Wait, that's not it... nyphomania? Necromancy? Narcolepsy!! That's it. He still falls asleep from time to time.
Sullinger was incredibly athletic and was at the line all night long - but his shooting was still awful - including free throws.
7. Whatever Billings was doing in the summer league that had folks so excited did not translate to the court tonight. He saw limited PT and didn't deserve that.
8. Harris was much improved, but not where I was hoping he might be. Still, just a first game under a new coach. Sylvester did not impress.
9. Team defense has a looooong way to go. But that is to be expected as well.
10. I REALLY enjoyed watching the up-tempo offense. A lot of crisp passes and penetrate and dish and none of this moving the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds hoping a defender will fall down.
11. There is a HUGE hole behind Dials - who fouled out late. Without Velimir we can't afford that. The first man off the bench was Marinchick, but I think that was jsut to spell Dials for a little coaching as he never returned. I didn't see anything in his brief stint to indicate this was a new and improved version. Terwilliger was raw but I saw nothing to suggest the potential isn't their. He needs to step up and fill that void.
12. The only guy who looked lost was Jackson-Wilson. Ugo didn't play.
13. Despite getting 11 kids on the court for extended time in the first half, of 38 points scored only two came from the bench.
14. The crowd could not have been more than 6k - regardless of what the paper might say tomorrow.
15. With all the notoriety we are getting from MoC it was nice to see the University show some class at the half - by having two students compete to see who could roll around the court the fastest in an over-sized hamster exercise ball. I understand that next week students in gerbil outfits will see who can be quickest to scramble into a giant rectum.
16. I had to check my eyes when I first sat down to make sure I wasn't seeing double. There are now two three point lines (men's and ladies) and sets of lines bordering the free throw lane (men's and ladies as well). There is also a new symbol in the lane. It is a half circle in the middle of the lane that seems to emanate from beneath the backboard and extend around the area below the basket.
I looked these up and they are all 'experimental' lines. The explanation on the arc is: "The restricted area arc is to be drawn 2 feet from the center of the basket ring. An offensive player should not be charged with an offensive foul when a secondary defensive player has established position with one foot inside the restraining arc near the basket unless the defensive player is making a legitimate attempt to play defense and not attempting to draw a charge."
Sorry, but I don't know what that means.
They have also changed the rule on media time outs. If a foul is called when a media timeout is due any free throws will be taken after the time out. i.e. - tv can now ice the foul shooter.
17. Finally, a couple of tidbits I picked up on the radio.
Fus is out for as long as he needs to be per Matta. Obie was also at the services for his mom - class act.
Matta also mentioned he was glad to get what he got from Butler because he likes Stockman coming off screens and involved more in the O - not running the point. Looks like that position will be a battle between Fus and Butler. From what I saw tonight Fus has his hands full.
1. I don't think I will ever be able to take a seat in the Schott where my first thought isn't how much I miss St. John. Oh well......
2. Three players who impressed me most were Dials, Foster and Butler.
3. Dials is becoming a complete version of who he has always been. Played very strong on both ends of the court tonight. And he nailed his free throws!
4. The folks who have been saying Foster is a stud know their Basketball. He blew me away on both ends of the court. Very aggressive on Defense - two consecutive possessions where he stole the ball and went full court for a layup and at least 4 steals that he was credited with. All over the floor, sweet shot, and great stroke from the line as well. I like this kid a whole lot.
5. Butler does not play like a Frosh - he is ready to go. Great court presence, some very nice ball handling, and good decision making. (Sounds like a nice backup for Troy Smith.) I should back up a bit and not over-sell. He is not polished and has his lapses, but he is not a redshirt candidate and will batlle Fuss for the job.
6. I don't mean to sell Sullinger and Stockman short by not including them in my top three, but I wasn't as 'impressed' by them because I knew what to expect and that is what I got. Tony played solid but still suffers from necrophilia.
Wait, that's not it... nyphomania? Necromancy? Narcolepsy!! That's it. He still falls asleep from time to time.
Sullinger was incredibly athletic and was at the line all night long - but his shooting was still awful - including free throws.
7. Whatever Billings was doing in the summer league that had folks so excited did not translate to the court tonight. He saw limited PT and didn't deserve that.
8. Harris was much improved, but not where I was hoping he might be. Still, just a first game under a new coach. Sylvester did not impress.
9. Team defense has a looooong way to go. But that is to be expected as well.
10. I REALLY enjoyed watching the up-tempo offense. A lot of crisp passes and penetrate and dish and none of this moving the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds hoping a defender will fall down.
11. There is a HUGE hole behind Dials - who fouled out late. Without Velimir we can't afford that. The first man off the bench was Marinchick, but I think that was jsut to spell Dials for a little coaching as he never returned. I didn't see anything in his brief stint to indicate this was a new and improved version. Terwilliger was raw but I saw nothing to suggest the potential isn't their. He needs to step up and fill that void.
12. The only guy who looked lost was Jackson-Wilson. Ugo didn't play.
13. Despite getting 11 kids on the court for extended time in the first half, of 38 points scored only two came from the bench.
14. The crowd could not have been more than 6k - regardless of what the paper might say tomorrow.
15. With all the notoriety we are getting from MoC it was nice to see the University show some class at the half - by having two students compete to see who could roll around the court the fastest in an over-sized hamster exercise ball. I understand that next week students in gerbil outfits will see who can be quickest to scramble into a giant rectum.
16. I had to check my eyes when I first sat down to make sure I wasn't seeing double. There are now two three point lines (men's and ladies) and sets of lines bordering the free throw lane (men's and ladies as well). There is also a new symbol in the lane. It is a half circle in the middle of the lane that seems to emanate from beneath the backboard and extend around the area below the basket.
I looked these up and they are all 'experimental' lines. The explanation on the arc is: "The restricted area arc is to be drawn 2 feet from the center of the basket ring. An offensive player should not be charged with an offensive foul when a secondary defensive player has established position with one foot inside the restraining arc near the basket unless the defensive player is making a legitimate attempt to play defense and not attempting to draw a charge."
Sorry, but I don't know what that means.
They have also changed the rule on media time outs. If a foul is called when a media timeout is due any free throws will be taken after the time out. i.e. - tv can now ice the foul shooter.
17. Finally, a couple of tidbits I picked up on the radio.
Fus is out for as long as he needs to be per Matta. Obie was also at the services for his mom - class act.
Matta also mentioned he was glad to get what he got from Butler because he likes Stockman coming off screens and involved more in the O - not running the point. Looks like that position will be a battle between Fus and Butler. From what I saw tonight Fus has his hands full.
