One of the things I think that was lost in the loss on Saturday was how well McNeal played. He hit his shots, played good d, and didn't force nearly as many things as he typically does. His missing that ft in the final 35 seconds was huge, but shouldn't overshadow his overall game.
It was a travesty that Mike Jarvis who called that game for ESPN spoke so much about Caracter and never said a word about McNeal. For those that didn't see it, Jarvis spoke of Caracter throughout the game and was critical any time he picked up a foul. Jarvis' feelings for Caracter were known early on when the play by play announcer speaking of Caracter said, "Caracter rejoined the team 11 games ago after having been kicked off the team following problems with his weight, discipline, issues with his teammates and his coaches." To which Jarvis replied, "Caracter is a wonderful young man". What?
I'd say he had a good offensive/shooting night - definitley carried the load offensively, but I don't think he played a very complete game. I have a hard time saying any individual played good D when the opponent shoots 53% from the floor - the reason we lost. He had a total of 1 rebound, and as you pointed out missed FT's were huge.
Naivin,
I didn't realize McNeal only had one rebound, that does cast his game in a different light as we need more from him in that department.
McNeal is the man. Kid comes to play every nite..you cannot ask for more and no one else on the team matches his intensity or energy. Not that he is without weaknesses, but he is coming on strong this season. Great basketball player.
Quote from: NaivinRJohnson on February 19, 2007, 09:46:01 AM
I have a hard time saying any individual played good D when the opponent shoots 53% from the floor - the reason we lost.
And I have a hard time saying you can pin a high shooting percentage on ONE player, especially because the reason that percentage was so high was the interior defense.
It's Jerel's fault for not being 6-10 and able to guard the post.
McNeal is the best player on our team and at this point of the season, he's our MVP.
Quote from: MUfan12 on February 19, 2007, 12:20:28 PM
Quote from: NaivinRJohnson on February 19, 2007, 09:46:01 AM
I have a hard time saying any individual played good D when the opponent shoots 53% from the floor - the reason we lost.
And I have a hard time saying you can pin a high shooting percentage on ONE player, especially because the reason that percentage was so high was the interior defense.
It's Jerel's fault for not being 6-10 and able to guard the post.
I'm not pinning it on ONE player. I'm saying he didn't have a particular good game defensively. I didn't see any MU player that played a very good game defensively.