lol. fun TIC read. good motivator. glad it motivated mamadi.
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Alright wasnāt able to watch the game live due to other commitments but caught the 11pm replay and of course I have a lot to say.
This was my favorite game Iāve seen Kihei play. Heās had better stats in some others but the aggression he showed especially in the second half was awesome. He was able to do something Iāve wanted to see all year and thatās attack the lane and force contact. It led to 7 free throw attempts and 7 points. When he can attack the paint and get to the line it changes the entire face of the offense.
Speaking of getting to the line 20-23 from the charity stripe. Thatās phenomenal. Iād love to know the last time the Hoos attempted 23 free throws and to cap it off with a solid performance at the line was the difference maker in the game.
Another solid outing from behind the arc as well 5-12 for 41% thatās massive. This was the first game all year where the Hoos looked similar to previous version of themselves.
I have to give a shout out to Jay Huff as well, loved his defense and I totally noticed what @KingIndig0 pointed out in the tweet he shared. He still gets caught up from time to time on those hard hedges but overall his foot work has gotten so much better and his ability to force FSU to pick up their dribble well behind the arc was massive in the final minutes.
The turnovers need to get better. Itās difficult to win games when you throw it away 10 times in a half.
Would love to see Braxton get downhill more. Not sure if itās fatigue or fear for the hand but he is at his best as a slasher and again putting pressure on other teams to foul him. He went 5-7 from the line not bad for a 55% shooter on the season.
Loved Mamadiās big shots from deep hope he doesnāt fall in love with it. He mixed it well with some tough rebounds and a few nifty moves in the middle, thatās his bread-n-butter.
Woldetensae is my vote for most improved player. After the Purdue game I didnāt think he belonged in a Virginia uni, and now he is embracing all aspects of the program. 4 turnovers was too many last night, but his threat of shooting from deep has added a new dimension to the offense. Two big ones last night and that threat led to two drive and kicks that set up Mamadi.
Finally loved that the Hoos closed out a game on a 8-0. Thatās what the program has done in the past that made them so dominate. When you play the style the Hoos play youāre going to be in close games and it all comes down to closing. Last night the slammed the door shut.
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One other thing to be proud of. Last time FSU lost a game was on December 4th at Indiana. And their only other loss before that was their opening game at Pitt. So we took down a quality opponent for sure!
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Great follow ups from the crew.
Game like this can do wonders for the mind. Needed a been in situation and pulled it out in the end scenario. The next time in game like this the guys will have this experience knowing what works and what they can do.
Also in this recent stretch we have all said what has been disappointing/ tough to watch or whatever. The truth is all of the games less maybe won were winnable.
Once heard a smart man tell us ājoy comes in the morningā.
Also I didnt watch the game so reading through all of yalls stuff is huge. thank you
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Braxton was an excellent FT shooter last year. His cast was obviously causing problems and he is trying to get his stroke back now that it is off.
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I thought i remember him being better last year. He seems to leave a lot of shots short. Iām a terrible shooting coach but I wonder if fatigue plays into that as well in addition to the cast
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To speak to the free throws, I saw this on Twitter last night for what itās worth: https://twitter.com/DNeckel19/status/1222344598753890304?s=20
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use more legs
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Yup thatās why I question if fatigue is playing a role.
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I think thatās a great point: this team is not deep, and guys like Kihei have to play nearly 40 minutes per game. Braxton had to play before he was really healthy. This is a well-timed break.
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I do agree that free throws definitely need to be improved
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Those boys didnāt settle last night. They continually took it to the rackā¦love that mentality for this team.
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Itās gotta be like that for 40 minutes every game if we want to win
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