There were positives to take away from this game. Enough that lead me to believe that their ceiling is higher than first imagined. There were also plenty of deficiencies exposed that if left uncorrected, will not allow them to reach those heights.
In the negative column:
1. Rowsey. His worst performance as the floor general. Despite his senior status, he still allows his emotions to lead him into poor decisions. It’s always bitter-sweet to see him drain one from 28 ft knowing that the heat check will be coming from even further ....and with 20 plus seconds on the shot clock. When two’s are given, they should be taken no matter how ‘hot’ one might feel.
2. Same as item 1. except insert Howard and to a lesser degree. Ultimately this will be up to Wojo to hold them accountable with bench time and he won’t have that option until he gets comfortable with Elliott bringing the ball up.
3. Shooting. A 9/33 three point performance is well....not good. Especially for a team built on shooting. Everyone touching the ball, moving and shooting should lead to everyone’s offensive game improving. Fix 1 and 2 then 3 takes care of itself.
4. Some here have disparaged our interior offense. While I have listed it under the ‘negatives’, I will reserve judgment until that first post entry.
5. Cheetham. He played some solid D per usual but seems to undo on the offensive end any positive he provides on the defensive end.
In the positive column:
1. Freshmen Decision Making. Anyone complaining about the freshmen’s decision making is expecting too much from guys with 30 or so minutes of D1 ball under their belt. All of Cain’s shots were good decisions, they just didn’t fall. Theo is learning a little more about what he can and can’t get away with every time out. Now he’ll never know the difference between a legal and illegal screen but I’ve yet to see an official have any clue either so I won’t hold that against him.
2. The interior D. It was ok considering what they were up against. Heldt battled and played 30 plus minutes without fouling out against a far superior opponent that didn’t eat him alive. That in itself is big step forward. Now rebounding, we’ll that’s another story.
3. The freshmen defensive skill set. This group, especially Elliott, gives them some serious length on defense, shutting down driving lanes, passing lanes and challenging shots the way Rowsey and Howard just can’t. When they’re on the court there’s at least the possibility of a steal and run-out on the perimeter.
3. The Coaching staff adjusted nicely after early decisions to front the post led to easy baskets from Morris and Nerger. The question isn’t always wether or not to double the post; it’s when and from where. They did a really good job of mitigating Morris by switching up where the double was coming from and pinning him from clear passing outlets. Not perfect, but way, way better than the Purdue game.
The referring was maddening of course but isn’t that college basketball? They add a handful of D1 teams every year which means they need to find 20 or so more D1 quality referees every year from a pool that’s already depleted. It won’t get better so don’t expect it to. All we can do is start the long over due petition calling for 6 personal fouls.
