While it's clear that Navy is in full rebuild mode, it was a very dominant performance. The Midshipmen were barely able to set up their offense, and the defense really stood out. Unlike last year, I saw a mature team that got back defensively and dug in even during stretches where shots didn't fall. A lot is talked about depth every year, but it was felt last night. The subs came in waves, and allowed for the defensive pressure to be relentless. The level did not drop when the reserves checked into the game. 

It was nice to see Arceneaux and Frost be integrated better in the offense compared to the Georgetown game. TA had some nice passes (and of course defensive moments), although the ball was slipping out of his hands quite a bit. Happy for Ryder that the shots fell, and I think it helped his confidence. I don't think Jean attempted a shot the first 30 minutes or so of the game. No doubt the offense moves better when he's in the game. Once he's in the paint, it's over for the other team with his passing vision. Omari's defense and Dylan's motor stood out as well (along with Andrew's effort). Andrija looked a lot better compared to the exhibition. Not sure how I feel about him throwing/catching passes, but he is certainly pretty skilled and big. Not banking on him hitting threes every game, but that was a pleasant surprise. The Canadian duo of Promis and Felix was fun to watch. Not much needs to be added about N'Landu. He's fearless and one of the best freshmen in the league. When the three point shot falls, he's unstoppable. I was perhaps the most impressed by his defense when asked to guard Kim - Navy's top player. N'Landu hounded him, blocking a couple of attempts and in general contesting well. How about him and Witherspoon combining for six blocks as guards? Not quite on Akingbola's level though (I kid). This is what I hoped to see from Kossaras as a 3 & D guy. He's a good connecting piece who people will forget with other "bigger" names on the floor. A few buckets from him nightly off the bench will really boost the team.

To CC's credit, we've seen GW dominate buy games the last couple years - something not seen for a while in the years before. The question is whether this team can continue playing at this high of a level when the calendar flips to December, and even more importantly whether they can compete in a close contest. Obviously, the competition will get better and be a lot bigger. Only time will tell, but this was a good first step.

One thing I noticed last night was the support and celebration the coaching staff and bench players showed when the hockey lines came off the floor. Last year when players came off the floor, the body language would sometimes be one of frustration. 

The bench was warned by the referee at the end of the game that they had to sit down, because half of the bench was standing at the end clapping, cheering, and yelling.

We’ll see what happens when they don’t dominate a game, but very hopeful sign.

All we have to do to get a Post article on a Revs game is to win the national championship. Actuallly, if  we win BIG they may cover us before that.The same thing happened with Mason a few years ago. Now they're relegated to a box score like us! Meanwhile, G'town and Maryland get daily coverage--win or lose. On the other hand, I love getting girls high school field hockey results!

I suppose other fan bases may also be like ours, but it is funny to win a game by 52 points and have fans point out that we'll have to wait and see how we perform against bigger, faster and more athletic opponents.  This is a given and it's a given every year that the majority of our OOC opponents are in the 250+ range.  Just not convinced that immediately after pulling off such a convincing win is the time to be reminded about this.  One thing this game did reinforce is that with all of the player movement in the sport, it will be very hard to know much about our November opponents as we still get to know ourselves.  Navy was a 26 win team last year so even with the loss of some key players, it was hard to fathom a performance like the one they gave entering last night's game.  And that's because they won 26 games last year.  The moral of the story in college basketball is that last year was exactly that and may bear no resemblance to this year's performances.  The same may be said for GW as well.

I think back to CC's first year here when he was forced out of necessity to play a watered-down version of Amir Harris as his 6th man.  CC mentioned during an interview that he would love to routinely play 9-10 guys but that he needed the depth to be able to do it.  Today, he most definitely has that kind of depth.  I'm interested in seeing whether the bench shortens at any point during the season, based on something other than injuries, and if it does, whether that will appear to be warranted.  Maybe the 10th man on this team, with fresher legs, is a better alternative than a tired 8th best player?  We shall see.

As for the game, just a great effort at both ends.  Your Disco Dan of the game was notably Felix whose confidence seemed to soar when his shots fell through the hoop.  Jean continues to be a floor general who helps run the offense very efficiently.  Omari hit the two early threes and could seemingly have kept the scoring going if he chose to.  Terrence is a great asset on defense and is detinned to be the "quietest" scorer on this team.   . Guys like Dylan and Lovro played well but didn't too much.  They will have other games where their contributions will be necessary. Andrija showed an awful lot after not showing very much previously.  He's a real defensive force in the paint based on size alone (at least that was the case against Navy) and like every European big to play in the US, we now know he can hit a 3.  In addition to everything else others have said about Promis, I'll add one more.  His passing is extremely precise.  Ryder's first 3 came on the break when Promis threw a perfect bounce pass that Ryder could catch and shot in practically one fluid motion.  And that play really seemed to set up Ryder for a big night as he became more assertive, at both ends.

The reality is that this team may have one true test (Harvard) before the Greenbriar games.  That's not to suggest several more 52 point wins should be anyone's expectation.  Nevertheless, a team working this hard on both ends, with as much depth as it has, should be a great deal of fun to watch.  

Not much more to say about a completely dominating performance - remarkable.

One thing I noticed in the second half is that we didn’t double team in the back court like we did in the first half. Early on, that seemed to give Navy some open threes, which they missed.

We played straight up in the second half and didn’t give them hardly any open shots. Kudos to the coaching staff if they made that adjustment to minimize just about the only thing that wasn’t perfect in the first half.

i continue to be somewhat wary that our switching on defense and going under screens will create some tough matchups and give good shooters too much space. At least one time Vukovic had to switch on to one of their guards. However, the athleticism we demonstrated last night can compensate, I hope.

Very exciting start. We seem to have all the pieces - up to CC and company to put them together. A good problem to have.

Anyone know what’s up with Shaw?