Thijs also only scored 5 points. Really shows how multifaceted the offense is when two starts combine for eight points but the team scores 91.
2 Likes
This will be great PR for the program when he does it against real comp (so media is actually paying attention)
7 Likes
Weāve got six guys averaging in double figures right now for the season. De Ridder, Mallory, Lewis, Onyenso, White, and Thomas.
Also third in the country in blocked shots per game at 9.7, very early stats against bad competition but still impressive numbers.
8 Likes
He was trying to tap dance not to through Tang under the bus in the presser, but itās clear he loves being here like a freed hostage
13 Likes
Itās like when Justin McKoy was uncaged, except Ugo actually has talent and awareness of what position he should be playing.
13 Likes
Season-to-date plus-minus with on/off (on a per-minute played basis):
On
Hall +89 81:31 (+1.09 points/min)
GrĆ¼nloh +69 70:51 (+0.97/min)
De Ridder +69 79:01 (+0.87/min)
Onyenso +45 52:01 (+0.87/min)
White +41 48:47 (+0.84/min)
Lewis +46 56:20 (+0.82/min)
Mallory +53 66:57 (+0.79/min)
Team +91 120:00 (+0.76/min)
Thomas +44 68:57 (+0.64/min)
Gertrude +21 35:18 (+0.59:min)
Off
Hall +2 38:29 (+0.05 points/min)
GrĆ¼nloh +22 49:09 (+0.45/min)
De Ridder +22 40:59 (+0.54/min)
Onyenso +46 67:59 (+0.68/min)
White +50 71:13 (+0.70/min)
Lewis +45 63:40 (+0.71/min)
Mallory +38 53:03 (+0.72/min)
Gertrude +70 84:42 (+0.83/min)
Thomas +47 51:03 (+0.92/min)
3 Likes
I agree the bench is three solid players deep, but you have another two who can make a good impact in certain rolls- Eli on defense and Tillis when he gets back with stretch shooting.
4 Likes
The human condition makes it much easier to criticize than commend. I think we all do itā¦ but looking at the box score last night, it looks pretty good for the third game of the season.
The only negative stat I see is the 13 TOsā¦ and most of those were in that sloppy last 10 minutes when the game was already won.
I blame myself as well as I texted my buddy that we were going to hit 100 points and to book it with about 8:30 leftā¦ then we commited 16 of the 13 TOs immediately following my text. 
10 Likes
I felt a lot more cohesion from the team last night overall.
Isnāt Odom known for pretty substantial improvements in team performance throughout the season? If these are the raw materials and he can make things gel like he seems to (granted thatās usually second season for him, but I donāt see why it has to be) Iām liking where weāre at right now.
Super excited to see us against power conference competition though. Although after watching Kentucky-Louisville last night Iām not too excited to see the cards right now with our perimeter defense, Mikel Brown might drop 40 on this team.
11 Likes
Ugo was so active during his 18 minutes. He was everywhere. He ran the floor like a gazelle. 18 minutes may be his max ā he looked exhausted. But what an 18 minutes!
Regarding his three point shooting: on all of his shots, he had lots of space and time to shoot. If heās going to be left alone on the perimeter and his teammates touch paint with the ball before kicking to him, thatās a weapon. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ8Yg3HDtM2/.
3 Likes
I hope Arafan Diane is watching this as well as noticing that Odomās hasnāt been afraid to play Ugo and Johan together.
5 Likes
Iām not quite ready for top competition. A few more games to work the bugs out. Virginia looked strong last night, but Kentucky-Louisville was on another level. Defensively, Iād like to see Virginia defend better on the perimeter. And, on offense, Iād like to see them continue to exhaust defenses with the combination of their interior offense and three point shooting. Weāre seeing good signs but I think thereās still work to be done before Iād want to see them face a top 20 team.
And I agree with you on players like Mikel Brown or an elite wing with size who can shoot. Virginia has shown no signs that they can contain players like that yet.
3 Likes
Oh 100% agree. Im talking more about Northwestern, Butler, and Maryland. Certainly not ready for ACC yet.
I just donāt know how much more information weāre gleaning from these games beyond waiting for Tillis to heal up. Is there that much gelling going on with the lineup tinkering happening? I understand the tinkering is a value on its own but Iād kind of prefer to see our top 8 get significant time on the court together during meaningful minutes. (Although Eli is probably the only hope we have of stopping a player like Brown)
Iād feel okay against NW and Butler right now though and I want to see our players and coaches reactions (and rotations) in a game that wonāt be over a few minutes into the second half.
Chance and Ugo are playing a ton of minutes and so far look like they absolutely deserve them, but do they have the staffās trust when itās a 4 point game? Stuff like that is more important than 40 point wins vs. 30 and I kind of feel like Iāve seen what I need to out of this level of competition.
5 Likes
I love watching Ugo instead of Blake Buchanan. And Iām thrilled that we hung onto Chance after Tony retired. Otherwise still not sure what to think about us but those are two things that make me happy.
8 Likes
And also that Houstonās offense has looked like itās stuck in the mud.
5 Likes
#1 Offensive Rebounding rate in the country (up from 350th last year)
16 Likes
Getting a nice progression from cupcake (first 2) to better cupcake (last night) to so-so mid major (Marshall) to P5 but not NCAA tourney caliber (Greenbrier).
8 Likes
Wow! Our OR% in all three games was over 50%.
Our 3P rate (the percentage of FG attempts that are 3s) is an astounding 47.6, and more astoundingly thatās only 59th nationally. Army is at 63.8. South Carolina is at 59.1. Most of the top teams in this category are low- and mid-majors, but Duke is #33 at 50.8.
If weāre taking a lot of threes, making a lot of them, and rebounding a lot of the misses, our offense is going to be extremely efficient, albeit not super consistent from game to game.
3 Likes
Finally got to watch a game live last night instead of the condensed game.
Not a ton to add to whatās already been said. Almost all positive. Only real concern for me is Thomas. I know folks point out his stat line was solid - so thatās good - but actually watching him possession after possession I donāt think he looked comfortable out there. Apart from one three, felt like he was having to force things outside the flow of the offense. And his defense isā¦ not ideal yet.
Also thought Gertrude had a rough outing, but heās been out so long Iām not making any judgements. Heās trying to force it a little too offensively with some odd shot selection, but what bothered me more was him taking some strangely bad angles when defending a couple of times and letting guys by him. I still think heās one of our better perimeter defenders but felt like he got a little sloppy yesterday.
Also wondering if weāll ever execute the trap out of the press. Multiple times Hampton passed the ball to a guy near the corner and we had a second defender close who could have doubled up, but we didnāt. Would be a nice wrinkle to throw in sometimes but if we arenāt practicing it when up 30+, not sure weāre going to roll it out in a real game.
5 Likes
I think Odom said in a past postgame that they do have traps practiced but just havenāt called them yet. This was part of an answer about how their press isnāt designed to force turnovers, itās to give the opponent less clock to work with.
6 Likes