Interesting rotations in the 2nd half agaisnt the zone
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Jay is having a tough night. Trying too hard???
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I should have said something sooner. Heâs picked things up a bit.
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Tomas figuring some things out.
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Wonderful win for the Hoos!
lol Just reading this. Can imagine when it was posted. He finished strong. LRA Player of the Game? @Merch Kihei had a nice line, those turnovers though.
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Tomas Woldetensae is definitely starting to fit in better. He shot 3-4, had no turnovers, and made a few very nice passes. Great seeing Key out there tonightâŚWondering how long he has to go til the cast gets cut off?
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Agree Huff started off slow. But Iâll give credit where itâs due. He finished strong and sparked the 2nd half push. He gets mt LRA play of the game
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Tomas is starting to give them the luxury of not playing Casey 30 minutes when his shot isnât falling. There are some pieces making progress. Itâs just not all showing up in one game. Everyone is harping on 3-point shooting but theyâve quietly shot a respectable percentage the last two games, yet still havenât managed to top 1 point per possession. Lots of issues on that end to figure out. I like the adjustment of going to more blocker/mover or whatever theyâre calling it these days. Should see improvement just as these young guys get better at reading screens, making the right play.
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Another good sign was fewer turnovers. The ones Kihei made are out of character so, we might be improving even more than tonightâs game indicates.
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Yikes! Georgia Tech is getting smacked at home by Ball State. How long has Pastner been there now? Seatâs gotta be getting a little warm.
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Seats warm but with the sanctions whoâs going to be clamoring to come in there. Pastners biggest blessing may be the emergence of the football team. Or that could be a course
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Really impressed with Huffâs demeanor. Played as aggressive as ive ever seen him. Maybe the light bulb is finally coming on. We got a win but still making mental mistakes
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There is no way Kody Stattmann can get up there to finish that, Kihei. Wasted a beautiful block only to blow it in transition by throwing the ball way too high for Stattmann. You expected him to dunk that?
Oh, waitâŚ
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I liked that the staff were looking to run some new looks to open things up more. Wish the guards actually looked for the big ducking in on that one set I flagged above. Getting the ball the Jay at the high post, running some cutters off of him and letting him use that to attack the hoop was a nice little look late in the second half.
Turnovers overall were better, but Kihei made some tough plays forcing the ball places. A lot is being asked of him this year, but certainly his TO rate is a bit higher than hoped for. I thought he did well looking for opportunities to score; his floater game was very good today. My theory about why the team overall isnât quite as secure with the ball this year is that the lack of shooting leads to having to make riskier passes and drives, and being doubled on the inside, leading to turnovers.
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Watching the postgame pressers now and you gotta love Tony: after the team holds an opponent under .8 points per possession for the 9th game this year, his first answer starts with how they have to tighten up their defense. Classic!
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Going to do my usual final wrap up from the game.
Let me get this out the way first, the coach in me makes me an extremely harsh critic and dare I say a pessimists. I own that, but I donât do it because I have a vendetta against anyone in particular.
This game was the tale of two halves for Jay Huff. I spent the fist 25ish mins lamenting Huff and his play. While he hustled and got on the floor for loose balls (love that) he still struggled and looked hesitant on offense and defense (donât love). Then came about a 7 min stretch in the 2nd half and all that was erased. Loved the aggression he found and the sense of urgency he played with. His energy fueled the mini Cavalanch the boys went on. Hoping he can bottle up that energy and production and bring it from the start on Sunday.
Tomas has moved from my dog house to an intriguing player over the last two games. I believe he is 4-6 from deep and is showing more confidence in his play. I loved the two man game he and Diakite were playing. I believe he set up Diakite for 2 easy buckets and got him to the line another 2 times through nifty passes. His effort on the defensive end has also increased. He has active hands and has poked away a few passes and dribbles. With teams playing more zone against the Hoos his shot going in is going to be crucial.
Kihei was 80-90% great last night. I thought he made some great passes and his shooting kept the lead up in the first half. He had some careless passes that led to turnovers that hurt his overall player rating for me. Not sure if those were mental lapses or what. I wonder if having to be on the ball so much and being the guy for so long causes him to check out on occassion?
Glad to see Braxton on the court. The shot wasnât there, but he snagged a great offensive rebound and brought his trademark energy. In my mind he is the glue for this team.
What happened to McCoy?
Papi seemed a bit out of place against the smaller and more athletic front line. Huff struggled with them as well, but he had enough offensive savvy to overcome it.
I feel like I saw some more wrinkles in the offense last night which got some guys into better positions for easy looks. As I mentioned I really like Tomas and Mamadi two man game. Anything that gets them inside the arc and getting solid looks inside I am all about. They need more of that.
Bottom line is, it wasnât pretty but it was another win, and that is whatâs most important. Struggles will come and go, but as long as they win thatâs all that matters in the end.
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