This team rises and falls with Sam Lewis being a replacement level contributor.
I will also say that after last night I do kind of wish we had just an average, athletic power forward as the backup instead of a finesse player like Tillis.
1 Like
Not sure how anyone could watch Malloryās and Hallās defense and pick out a meaningful difference. Both were flat and missed switches.
On offense they were roughly the same, too, except for the 5:3 assist to turnover ratio from Hall (only other player with positive ratio was EG at 2:1).
4 Likes
Lewis probably looks better in practice because Hall and Chance look better because they play against our perimeter d and can drive/kick out better
6 Likes
Kind of the opposite problem from when our offense had to practice against Reece and RD
2 Likes
30 minutes abridged version
Edit: nvm itās the full first half
3 Likes
The replay is up on ESPN but the commercial breaks are locked in and unstoppable even though they donāt actually have commercials 
5 Likes
This season will be a good test for Odom. One I expect heāll pass just fine, but still. Heās assembled some real talent (notably Malik and the bigs) but now has to figure out how best to deploy it all. āCupcake Novemberā was a good idea.
2 Likes
I wonāt add any true nuggets of wisdom that havenāt already been discussed, but just a few thoughtsā¦
Really thought it was a good crowd for a āpreseasonā game. Lowers were pretty full and even some sprinkling of fans in the uppers along the sidelines. A little less buzz in the building than normal without the student section packed with students, or without the band, but still a good showing.
So happy for Gertrudeā¦heās back.
Weāll be able to put 3-4 shooters on the floor together at all timesā¦thatās big.
LOVE getting games in with Vandy & Villanova early in a true game atmosphere (not a closed practice). Have seen a few comments about Villanova not being that good, but Willard is a good coach, theyāre physical, and will probably be middle of the pack in the Big East. It was a good test for October with a brand new team who has only played together once before last night.
TDR wasnāt perfect last night, but by January I have a feeling weāll be debating if thereās a better trio in the ACC than him, Thomas & GrĆ¼nloh.
A lot to work on as youād expect, but Iād put this team on the B+/A- scale right now in terms of excitement for their potential going into the season.
11 Likes
Yeah, this was a good test. Two good tests in Vandy and Nova. Good but not overwhelming teams. Good physicality esp Nova
7 Likes
I think Hallās stock dropped a bit for me. His night of course would look slightly different if he could be that guy to drill a few open threes each game. His lateral quickness on defense though is a liability that will be exploited.
Excited for Eli. Heās disruptive. But heās just not there with the off ball defense - could get away with it with the packline and recover at times but had a tough time there last night.
Iām not yet as high on Chance. He had some abysmal turnovers (as he did last week) and a lot of passes were disrupted or put some players in non productive situations. I think heāll get there but Iām not as bull-ish that it will be a quick acclimation - little bit more of a hill to climb for the game to slow down where you can trust him in critical moments.
Sam Lewis was a body out there and nothing more. The role I fill in pickup.
Expectations for TDR fell to āHopefully heās a solid ACC starterā. Think GrĆ¼nloh can be special.
This team needs to figure out that the offense should run through Malik and GrĆ¼nloh. And develop the chemistry form there. Was a little too āEvery man upā (even though all capable to a degree).
5 Likes
Yeah, if you told me that āvarious fans were discussing the chance that one of those guys could leave mid-season for the NBA (and furthermore you yourself was one those people)ā, TDR wouldāve been like my 5th or 6th guess.
Hope itās just an adjustment or chemistry or not needing to bully ball dudes in exhibitions.
3 Likes
It reminds me of his play on his Spain team. Role player guy who the offense didnāt really run through. Definitely needs to adjust to bigger role
2 Likes
The lack of chemistry was definitely on display. Think the defense is what it is, some marginal improvement opportunity to maybe generate more TOs. I was fine with the rebounding.
One game on the eyes and one in the ears, I think the preseason predictions are fairly accurate - a bubble team with a higher ceiling if the offense can gel. But also potential we donāt figure it out quickly enough or consistently enough and are more a tough out in the ACCT but outside looking in for the tourney.
Will stick 8/9 seed or last Four In for now. I do think itās the most individual talent weāve seen in years though.
3 Likes
Maybe I am rose colored glasses here, but I watched the replay and find some of the insights a bit strange. Itās preseason.
I think it will take some time for the fan base to adjust to the shock of the change in system- where every possession isnāt squeezed as ālife or deathā to the point of not looking to score on offense. I love how multiple guys bring up the ball, there is a sense of always attacking - itās easier to clean up mistakes from that, than to teach passive guys how to be aggressive.
5 Likes
Agree. I think some of what weāre discussing on defensive improvements being needed is based on 15+ years of TB. No, weāre probably not going to consistently hold opponents under 60 moving forward, but weāll also score 70+ a lot more than weāve gotten used to. Itās a trade off.
2 Likes
The pressing also may take some time to click- but it will serve wonders later in the year. And it will be nice when a 8-10 pt deficit is not game over.
2 Likes
Slight disagree here- I kinda see what you mean, but I think this will be to our offensive strength. Need everyone to be a weapon for this to work well. And everyone canāt be a weapon if the coach does too much filtering.
2 Likes
Yep. Iām withholding any criticism of any individual player for that very reason. I donāt think theyāre a āteamā yet. Just a bunch of guys playing basketball. The āteamā part is a work in progress, and I think that that impacts all aspects of their game (individually & collectively). There is a lot of work to do. That said, itās just their second outing playing against someone other than themselves. Letās just wait to see where things stand at the end of November before drawing conclusions.
4 Likes
On TDR, he didnāt quite look like his highlights from Spain. Didnāt seem to have the same aggressiveness or pop to his movements. My excitement for TDR dropped a bit, but Iām still hopeful his age and experience will prove useful later on.
2 Likes