Watched it this morning.
Overall, while we did some frustrating things, I wasn't frustrated watching this team. I enjoyed it. The mistakes were usually products of us trying to make things happen, not being lackadaisical or lazy or not mentally present (yes, I am looking at you Lyle and Loving and just the general vibe of our team the past couple seasons). We had some lapses on perimeter D, for sure, which was more a mental/communication thing as opposed to lack of effort. Our defense inside the arc looked good, but then again RMU didn't really have the skill/height, so...
KBD's freak length is so present there on the court. Now that he's feeling healthy you can really see more of what we've been waiting to see from him for a long time now. The competition level is going to rise but as long as he continues to be smart and aggressive about seizing the opportunities that come his way, I expect a lot of double-doubles from him this season. He is going to be a PROBLEM for opponents at the 4.
CJ's shot was still off but I really liked his game last night. Made a lot of hustle plays and some crafty ones, too. Thought he was strong as a floor general and on D.
Watching the game you don't even realize Kam scored that much, felt like he wasn't on the court half the time. But he made good use of his minutes.
Potter looks a lot more physical and explosive this season. If there is a returning player that the new nutritionist and S&C coach seem to have benefited most, I'd say it is him. But he fouled out. We are going to have major foul issues in the post this season.
Thought the announcer pointed out some nice insight when Kaleb wasn't clearing out of the lane for a CJ Jackson drive. Kaleb seems pretty savvy but obviously has a lot to learn. That said, gracious, how awesome is it to have a big man with great hands and a soft touch again?!
Jallow really impressed me. You can see his youth at the same time that he plays with a fire that is a bit more controlled than you'd expect. Very active and fairly purposeful on both ends of the floor. He was the most athletic player on the court by a decent margin, but I am starting to believe that he is a contributor this season.
Dakich seems a decent ballhandler and floor general but I'm just really not sure he is going to give us much production of any sort and I think he is a defensive downgrade from CJ. But he is gonna have to play. Still have not seen anything resembling PG play from Kam or Tate.
Young had a really quiet game until those two sweet dunks at the end. Until he gets his shooting confidence (was a good 3-pt shooter in HS) I am not sure how much he can contribute this season.
3-pt shooting was better than the exhibition but still poor. FT shooting wasn't great but given that it was a 10-17 kind of thing I am not going to look at that too hard. Couple guys missed ones I'd think they'd make more often than not. TOs were terrible, but again, it was more a product of guys trying to make things happen then it was lazy passes or just randomly stepping out of bounds like Loving would do sometimes, lol. I mean, a third of our TOs were Tate trying to do too much with his offensive drives.
It's very early but it is looking to me like we have a nine-man rotation this season, at least. Andre and Musa on merit (and the fact that we're using Musa as a back up to both the 2 and the 3 and Andre to the 3 and the 4). Dakich out of necessity. And Kaleb splitting minutes with Potter at center. Maybe Young does carve out a niche, he certainly will if he starts hitting some outside shots because boy do we need that, but right now if we're gonna narrow down the rotation at all I think he is the most likely scholarship player to get less minutes.
Anyways, yeah, better than Indiana, haha.
