Vandy Game Thoughts

[The Thing]

I don't know if anybody else mentioned this in another thread but while I was thrilled with this victory I was less than thrilled with Katin. It seemed to me like he was throwing up a wild shot every time he got the ball. I know he made a few in the second half but not sure he deserved the minutes he got in this game. Am I totally off base here?

[Marcus92]

I don't know if anybody else mentioned this in another thread but while I was thrilled with this victory I was less than thrilled with Katin. It seemed to me like he was throwing up a wild shot every time he got the ball. I know he made a few in the second half but not sure he deserved the minutes he got in this game. Am I totally off base here?

Katin did take more shots than anybody else. But I didn't have a big issue with his shot selection. He is a 37% career 3-point shooter. Wojo has repeatedly emphasized offensive efficiency, so I'm sure he'll address that if he's concerned.

I was encouraged by the other things Katin did — playing tough defense, pulling down 4 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and making 2 steals. While he may not have had a great offensive game, he did make key contributions.

[MuMark]

Katin struggled in the first half but was pretty darn good in the 2nd.

Wojo took him out when he took bad shots which I'm,sure is the way he will handle the roster this year with so many interchangeable parts.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

He was 0-7 in first half and 6 of the7 shots were very good looks, a few rattled out.  Second half 4-7, and after taking a rushed shot got pulled n brett nelson had a word with him.  Hes gonna be really big for us.  A big strong athletic kid thats 23-24 years old and a double digit scorer on an ncaa team is a real nice addition.  People lament the transfers we lost but this kid is good. 

[HoopsterBC]

Katin, had a bad first half and they were down by 1, but he was the key ingredient in the beginning of the second half to get them going.  He has played lots of hoops,
he is a veteran that is needed for this team to be successful.  3 seniors compared to last year, big difference.  At the end, the 3 seniors were the difference.  His shooting as a stretch 4 is very important.  This team will shoot MU to some big victories and with the bench having the ability to score, hopefully this team will not have
those 5 minute brain farts like they have had in the past.  Michigan game will be interesting.

[murphmurphy]

Very impressed with Sam Hauser.  He is not only a shooter, he actually looks for guys to block out and get position for rebounds.  Great fundamentals that MU has been lacking.  Standing around and looking up does not lead to a lot of rebounds.

[muwarrior69]

Novak is top 5 pure shooter in human history. But he couldn't do anything else (a bit more well-rounded senior year but still). Sam has a sweet stroke but he's already a more well-rounded college player than Novak. Not saying he's already better than Novak was as a frosh (although he might be), or will end up having a better career (although he might). They just have different games.

No argument from me. He just reminded me of Novak when he shoots from beyond the arc. I think Sam is a more complete player than Steve as Sam can play in and outside of the arc.

....and his brother is supposedly better; now that would be a combo I would like to see at MU.

[GoldenDieners32]

•We turned it on in the 2nd half
• KR took some bad shots, came back with a solid 2nd half
•JJJ had six steals
• Traci Carter played great defense

[Marcus92]

He was 0-7 in first half and 6 of the7 shots were very good looks, a few rattled out. Second half 4-7, and after taking a rushed shot got pulled n brett nelson had a word with him. Hes gonna be really big for us. A big strong athletic kid thats 23-24 years old and a double digit scorer on an ncaa team is a real nice addition. People lament the transfers we lost but this kid is good.

This is right on. I watched the game again last night on DVR — specifically looking at Katin's shot selection. He knows how to find the open space, and his teammates look for him. Katin knows what a good shot is. Just wasn't knocking them down in the first half.

[GGGG]

He did rush a couple shots, but really I'm OK with that.  I'm not one to come down on players for taking shots early in the shot clock as long as they are shots within their ability to make and there isn't some overall clock consideration also going on (end of half or game.)

[jsglow]

I think it might be a learning process for Katin.  I'm not sure how things were at USC but he might have been asked to shoulder a heavy load.  As he comes to appreciate the contributions of his fellow Warriors, I'm confident he'll be an excellent piece of our puzzle.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Nothing wrong with early shots. A rushed shot can happen early or late in the shot clock.  One thing i liked about the game was we took very few bad shots.  He took a few. I likethe guy alot as my post stated.

[PGsHeroes32]

Katin will be a huge help. Frustrating at times when he's biffing wild shots.

But the way he can get involved in a hurry is nice. When he's hot he will be deadly because he can get good looks frequently.

[Newsdreams]

•We turned it on in the 2nd half
• KR took some bad shots, came back with a solid 2nd half
•JJJ had six steals
• Traci Carter played great defense & 0 TO'S

There

[GoldenDieners32]

There

Thanks

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I think it might be a learning process for Katin.  I'm not sure how things were at USC but he might have been asked to shoulder a heavy load.  As he comes to appreciate the contributions of his fellow Warriors, I'm confident he'll be an excellent piece of our puzzle.

This^.  It was only the first game.  Yes, he took 3 to 4 shots that were probably ill-advised/low percentage.  Clean that up and he will be outstanding given all the other pieces around him.

Reminded me a little bit of Carlino the first half dozen games.  I actually agreed with the "chucker" label at first.  But Carlino had almost no help around him that year.  Imagine him on this team the way they can spread the floor.