In Coach Good's post game comments he mentioned that Kevin turned his ankle. I was not able to follow on radio but it seem Kevin was in the game at the end. Does anyone know the severity of the turn. I'm hoping it just a tweak.
I was watching the game online, I honestly didn't remember seeing kevin check back in. It was towards the last couple minutes in the game so I dont think they felt any urge to force the issue. KY spent about 30 seconds on the floor, was clearly in pain but he popped up under his own strength and ran back to the bench with a bit of a limp so I honestly think this shouldnt be a big concern unless there's a big turn of events.
We definitely have a unique squad, against teams like montana and Tulsa we've been able to push the ball and use our athleticism to keep teams on their heels. Mixing up the tempo between fastbreak and halfcourt offense definitely helps keeps their defense honest.
It was a disappointing game in some ways. We could have done much better, although they definitely had a strong showing against a seasoned team. I was probably most pleased that they didnt sink into a further deficit and kept on fighting.
Kyoung-Great game, the most confident I've seen him. Hopefully the ankle doesnt hold back the progress he showed this game. Two things, He seemed confident in taking threes when he had his feet set, he only took one ill advised three in which he was under tight pressure, otherwise they were good looks and he nailed them. Additionally, he's seemed to be a bit timid in trying to move with the ball, this game on at least a couple of occasions he put the ball on the floor and threw down some nice crossovers to create space, He didn't go on to blow by his man, but he clearly showed his quickness, and it helped draw the defense onto him to get better ball movement. Instead of simply catch, pass and slash for the pass under the basket, young showed he could hit the outside shot and take his man off the dribble.
Viney- GET HIM THE BALL. GET HIM THE BALL. The other day they asked kobe if he was gonna move out of the post for bynum and pau and he responded, I eat first. I love team basketball but Viney is our leader, and at some point he needs to make it clear that he wont let his team fall, he needs to demand the ball. There were some serious stretches where he didnt even get a decent touch on the offensive end, let alone look at the basket. Sure he was getting covered, but he's good enough to score on that, i'd rather see him miss some tough shots then not get any at all.
JD- solid effort, his stroke from outside looks ON this year.
Teel- One of my favorite games from him, He pushed the ball, he was everywhere. He didn't have any dumb turnovers. If there was nothing coming on his drive he would pull the ball back up and use more clock. We definitely did a better job of playing more disciplined basketball and cutting the TO's. He had a few shots of his get swatted that he should have made, and even had an "airbank" layup as the announcer called it. Regardless, he showed his importance on the team as far as getting the offense churning.
Ed- Considering he's a freshman, he should get a pass considering he was playing against a beast of an opponent. That being said I was pretty bummed he looked so flat footed at times. He didn't do a good job of contesting some shots he should have, and some put back attempts he had were just plain awful (flat footed, showed the ball to early, weak put backs). It wasnt as though he didnt have the legs for it, cause even at the end of the game when he was a bit more open he showed some pop off the floor, seems to be a bit more of a mental thing where he doesnt use his size when covered tight or against guarding opponents. Maybe on the defensive end the coaches wanted him to give up those shot attempts in order to avoid fouls.
Overall, EVERYONE got swatted at least a few times.
Given had a brief run, showed some speed on the floor but didn't have enough time to do anything significant.
Osbourne got a run, but looked a bit lost out there. He needs to focus on being a reliable physical presence.
armstead-brought in for some defense as their guys heated up.
Hamilton- He needs to stop playing so soft, He didn't post up once. He took a couple outside shots. They weren't bad ones like that three he jacked up previously, I'd just rather see him use his strength inside. I definitely think his athleticism and size allows us to play a bit more of a physical game against bigger lineups. Although he didnt have a great game, he showed promise.
Tim- Solid effort, but he still looks like he lacks confidence. He had one play against jordan where he faked to the baseline, spun on his pivot foot and had a wide open look at the basket, and for some reason spun back to his previous position infront of jordan, and then hacked up an awful contested shot. He seems to be overthinking things, He had the right move originally, and but clearly wasnt looking for the shot, then panicked and took one he wasnt ready for. I've seen him do that move a few times, He needs to be more decisive on the floor. I think once he has one good game we'll see a different player.
We also had a ton of blocking calls on us under the basket.
Long post, but it was a game where there was a lot to learn from.