Honestly just glad to get the win. 3 games in 7 days against non cupcakes (yes I know how bad FSU has been but they still arent a cupcake in my view). Sitting at 8-0 likely to be top 5 heading into the Houston game. We have to take stock of things at the moment. So far 7-0 against what turns out to be a 9 game NC schedule. We should crush Albany so 8-1 at worst. This sets us up nicely for conference play.
I do think the last two games are highly tied into a gimpy/absent Reece. If Reece played last night I bet we win by 10-20 and control the game. Of course never know.
Decrease in 3P shooting is certainly noticeable. But Franklin is still 4-9 last two games which is still good. BVP 1-8, McKneely 2-9, Clark 3-8.
So those 4 are 10-34 29%. Take out BVP 9-26 35%.
I think the big thing is getting Reece back 100% healthy or as close as he can be. If he is 70-80% I almost think we bench him against Houston and just take the L. It wont hurt us. Hopefully he would be 100% in 2 weeks @ Miami, if not maybe we hold him out for that and Albany and shoot for 12/31 and have him 100% for the heart of the season. Losses to Houston and @ Miami will not hurt us.
I think we likely settle into a 37-38% type 3P shooting team which will be good enough to help us compete for the ACC title and likely be top 15 at worst most of the season.
Glad to see the defense improving and I think that will continue.
Last night reminded me of the 2019-20 team. Many night Kihei just took over with Mamadi helping. Kind of felt like that last night with Gardner. It shows how important Beekman is to the team.
Hot take alert - Murray played better than McKneely and should have played more than 3:09âŚ
Would have been cool to see some - Clark Murray, Dunn, Gardner, Sheds minutes.
Yeah, I thought he was a lot quicker than IMK last night. Still think IMK is much more important for the future of this team, but Taine could have helped us more last night.
I think we can add BVP to the âwalking woundedâ list. TV showed him wearing some kind of lower back brace/device (black wrap that kind of looked like a fanny pack) during huddles the past few games. Could very easily explain why his 3 point ball has been off recently and why heâs looking to pump and drive rather than shoot. I wouldnât be surprised at all to see him come out firing and hitting against Houston. Thank you exam break!!
At the risk of starting another injury conversation âout of thin air,â I noticed that too. Still donât know what Cory was talking about early in the game with respect to Kihei being dinged up, or not 100 percent, but I suspect it was just a bug or something. The only thing that Tony referenced after the game was him being tired from playing 39 minutes.
I agree with the takes that we need to be more aggressive hunting and taking some of those open looks from 3 earlier in the clock to get guys in rhythm and build confidence.
Officiating was sub par last night - mostly good stuff by Dunn ⌠but that 2nd play was a clear foul on the shooterâs wrist and really a call any JV official should be making.
I have two of those devices for this old man back issues
It has a pulsating sensation and it is heated
Works wonders, probably keeps his back from sinching up like a bitch during the game.
40% of it is Sheds wanting to get position. 40% of it is Sheds being able to physically hold his position. And 20% is UVA feeding him when/where he can do something with it. I donât see Sheds working that hard to get position ⌠not like Gardner or even BVP when they want the ball.
When the JMU dude slams the ball on the floor on the last play of this montage⌠why didnât he get Tâed up? Didnât Caffaro get Tâed up doing that in the past?
I am the resident Sheds defender, so I will take up my station - but when was the last time our offense was good at feeding the post? Huff also didnât get many touches on the block. Itâs been a struggle for a while. Part of it is definitely the big men, but part is the system and the guards.
Was crazy how clogged up things felt yesterday. There wasnât nearly as much movement as there normally is and we were struggling to get into the paint at all. I wasnât sure what offense we were even running in the second half. But I also am no tactician and have no idea if it was great defensive adjustments by JMU or we were just running our stuff sluggishly/poorly.
I noticed that too. Still donât know what Cory was talking about early in the game with respect to Kihei being dinged up, or not 100 percent, but I suspect it was just a bug or something. The only thing that Tony referenced after the game was him being tired from playing 39 minutes.