Thanks for the nice comments on the preview everyone!

jf wrote:

Stunning to see that student turnout for most any game, much less one against a D2 team in early November. They were all over the student areas and spilling into the other side.
Excellent job Ryan and George's Army leadership!

Seconded, the student turnout was impressive! Great job Ryan.

Thought yesterday's performance was generally positive which I'm happy to say because generally games against this kind of competition usually lead to disappointment as players aren't engaged. There were some careless passes here and there, but I saw more passes "around the horn" in this game than in JC's tenure combined. We were usually making the extra pass more often than not. We struggled a bit against VSU's zone in the second half but I'm sure CC will work with the team on that. Probably needed to get into the offense a bit quicker as we hoisted a few shots late in the shot clock that were largely contested from the perimeter/drained the shot clock a bit too much on consecutive possessions. With the better passing, I feel more comfortable taking our time in the halfcourt, although I'd prefer us to get a shot closer to 10-15 seconds left in the clock than 5.

Not worried about free throw shooting yet. Seemed like everything was rimming out, both for VSU and us.

Liked CC's "inside-out" approach to defense better than the "outside-in" approach from JC. We were fortunate on a few occasions that VSU missed some bunnies near the hoop, but I thought Noel/Hunter did a good job contesting and generally the activity down low made it harder to finish. We were able to recover decently well and defend the three point line. VSU isn't exactly Davidson from distance, so it will be interesting to see how this holds up against better shooting offenses.

While I was hoping we would concede fewer offensive rebounds, I was pretty happy with the rebounding effort yesterday. Both Noel and Hunter secured the ball better than they did last season, and even Max/JB/Brendan fought for boards more than our guards have in the recent past. Granted, this was still against D2 competition, but after being outrebounded by WCSU, I will take a +7 margin.

JB was solid as usual. He was definitely making an effort to get others involved. Still think we don't have many scoring outlets offensively so I am OK with him looking for his shot sometimes. His block that came from a VSU player trying to score in transition was a product of CC's "don't make anything easy" philosophy on defense. That was one of many examples during the game where VSU just wasn't able to finish in transition by us just playing hard.

If Brendan is hitting those open threes like that all season, that would give the offense a huge lift moving forward. Liked his activity rebounding, but I have to laugh at classifying him as a "point guard". He may bring the ball up the court, but it's handed off to JB pretty much right after he crosses halfcourt. If even a couple of his turnovers were assists, I think this would have been a perfect game from him.

Max had some very freshman-like moments, but it was nice to see him get going in the second half. One thing that stuck out to me from a "second half adjustment" is that CC made an effort to get both Ricky and Max going when they didn't have the best first half which was cool to see. I don't believe Max even shot the ball once before halftime which was kind of strange to me. He attacks the glass harder on the offensive end than any guard I feel like we've had in recent memory (partly due to philosophy, but still). As LSF mentioned above, glad CC held Max accountable for a bad possession and pulled him from the game when he went up the court and hoisted a jumper without any passes made. Refreshing - even if it was brief because the roster is thin, that message needs to be sent early on.

Ricky continues to be frustrating. There were actually periods in the game where I thought he played in control on both ends, and there was an improvement in avoiding the silly fouls he tends to commit. He was great overall defensively, and rebounded very well as he usually does. I guess this is more of an offensive issue still - I would prefer if more of his shots were "assisted". He can certainly create for himself - whether pulling up from 3 or driving it inside, but results have mostly been negative when that happens. I think his jumpers rimming out was just a bad game. I liked that he wasn't settling for jumpers in the second half, but when he drives to the hoop it's usually out of control and he doesn't give the ball up. I'm still not convinced he can be a #2 option on the team.

It's also slightly frustrating at times when Noel is out there, but that might be more due to his lack of playing time in previous seasons. I think JC stunted Noel's growth by not getting him more minutes last year. Noel has real promise defensively, and has the size and strength to make an impact. Offense has taken a step forward, but the timing still needs to be developed when he goes up with the ball/passes to others. He is also prone to fumbling the ball when he receives it - which may again be a product of insufficient court time. I think if he can improve on that, he can definitely be a force but that's been an issue for a couple seasons. He did a great job attacking the VSU zone in the second half on consecutive possessions. I'm glad he started, and I think I prefer Noel starting and Hunter coming off the bench/finishing the game moving forward. Noel just needs playing time.

Hunter was on a minutes restriction, but looked really good when he was in the game, and I liked that he was slightly more aggressive when he got the ball compared to last year. Others need to do a better job of getting him the ball in the mid-post, which would have helped us against the zone in the second half. He is also an underrated passer and most importantly plays under control.

EJ gave us some really nice energy - if he can provide 2 baskets per game like he did yesterday that will really give the bench a lift. He actually reminded me a bit of Alex Mitola in his play style - I did like that he tried to push the ball off a stop and his three point shooting is really good. He failed to stay in front of his man on a couple of occasions, but certainly tried on defense. I want to believe his effort (which is much appreciated) will outweigh height limitations when we get to A10 play, but he should at least be a fixture for the remainder of OOC season.

My thoughts on Qwanzi have changed since A10 play last year. I think he is a decent reserve who has started to make an impact as a "glue guy" who can shoot, rebound, and make good passes. Anything more than that is probably asking too much. He is limited offensively, but I don't hate his three point attempts. He has shown he can knock them down fairly reliably, and they were all good/open shots. I don't doubt that more will fall in the future when he takes them.

Amir definitely makes an impact on the defensive end. That's where I notice when he's in the game. He has quick hands in swiping the ball away and closes out very well when the opposition gets shots up. However, he needs to be more threatening on offense to play 15 minutes a game. Amir can be a good passer, but he is always scared to shoot the ball and all teams know that. We can't be playing 4 on 5 when he's in the game. He showed he can make a three in the WCSU game - but we need to empower him to be more aggressive offensively.

I want Keegan to get an opportunity for a few minutes here and there because I think his shooting provides interesting looks on offense. However, he needs to be more of a factor rebounding the ball and playing good defense. Unfortunately, his thin frame will likely mean he is on the outside looking in when the rotation gets trimmed entering conference play. Perhaps even during OOC.

I will say Daniel looked more "in sync" than he did in very limited minutes last year. I liked his effort on the boards, but am still not really sure how he fits with the rest of the pieces on the team. He is raw as a passer, and usually doesn't give the ball up when he gets the chance on offense. I still don't see him being in the rotation this year.

Laziz wasted NO time lofting that three at the end of the game. Was hoping he made that shot but he rushed it a bit too much.

Next up is a tougher test against Howard. Looking forward to seeing what adjustments CC makes.
 

Free Quebec wrote:

My favorite thing about the game is that the kids played hard. For the last couple of seasons, that’s something that generally didn’t happen until January.

We’re clearly going to be undermanned in many games, but I like the way the team is playing.

Hit the nail on the head, and I think that comes from better coaching.  Hopefully the new coaching quality and experience will show this year, even without 2 stars from last years team.    

Not to be Debbie Downer because I thought there were definitely some encouraging moments during the game but there is no way you will convince me that anything we saw last night other than Bishop's performance (and only because he has done it before fairly consistently) automatically translates to D1 games against better opponents. It might but it also might not. We will have a much better understanding of where we are in the next couple of weeks. Again, I look at this year as a stopgap for CC's program and nothing more or less. We will have mostly a new team next year and then we will see what the future will begin to look like. To me, this year is solely an exercise of hoping that the guys graduating or leaving have the best year that they can.

Last edited by GWRising (11/08/2022 1:37 pm)

Couple of quick responses to Mayhen:

-I was one who saw Brown (2X) in the Kenner.   As I mentioned then, he was making shots that we use to say "how could he miss those".  I think he has gotten stronger, a pretty good passer and is coachable (maybe a little too mechanical?).  But I am in the camp that he will be a solid contributor.  In fact, at least at this stage, I would still  rather see Hunter start and maybe get a few more minutes than Brown, but I suspect the minutes division may be driven by who is or isn't in foul trouble.  
Had to mention your comment about Bishop not playing hero ball.   There was a stretch in the second half, whien the lead was cut to 7 or 8, we were turning it over or just missing shots and it was still a game.  During that stretch, I was looking to see if Bishop would revert to hero ball and try to take over.  Admittedly, the way we were playing then, I was half hoping that myself.   He absolultely did not, things calmed down, on the court and 10 mnutes later we were up 32.  I have absolutely loved James' game over the exhibibition and the opener and hope he can sustain that for the season.  It would appear that the better James may be a by product of different coaching.
OK...one more thing.  We keep hearing of Ricky as being a "second best option".  By start of conference, I am expecting Max to be that second best option and Ricky being a player we can depend on being close to a quiet double/double each and every game but not necessarily one whose number I would call in the final minute of a tight game.
Does anyone else feel that Max' game kinda reminds of Kethen?

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (11/08/2022 1:13 pm)

LSF, I certainly hope you are correct about Noel because we can really use an easy source of points on one end and a rim protector on the other.  Am just not sure that Noel will ever be productive as a back-to-the-basket, low post center.  Would love to be wrong about this.

Rising, that comment about EJ had far more to do with the shooting statistics he compiled at Alabama State than what I viewed last night.  I felt he would be a definite contributor well before last night because this team really can use a backup point guard with his skill set.  With only one year of eligibility remaining and an unused scholarship to give, EJ was a brilliant 11th hour pickup by the staff.

I can see Brown as an efficient low post offensive threat before I can see him as a rim protector due to his not being that fast.

Actually agree that this doesn't show much on the optimism side. D2 team.
Though the increased (or should we say newfound?) passing, if it continues, is a huge plus.
But it's possible this game can show some weaknesses.
As pointed out, even with a big Noel height mismatch at times, we didn't
feed the post at all. Now, I did note during the game, you don't know if Noel will catch or hold onto the ball or not. But Noel can put the ball in the basket from close-in.
 And as you can see from the Hunter/Noel combination, it's worth a try or several.
Both for potential and to try and help at least slightly take the focus off the many 3s we apparently like to shoot.
  Also, as noted in a post above, Noel is a sophomore at best because he got limited playing time his first two years.