RE: MBB & WBB
I, once again, was unable to watch the game on Saturday so I'm going to scout the boxscore once again to give some thoughts but also ask a few questions.
For one, this game was quite promising. I did get to see 3 or 4 minutes of the game on my mobile device while out and about and, coupled with some of the comments...few as they were..., I have to come away optimistic that things are improving for the Huskie cagers.
For one, it's good to see Williams have two good games in a row. Putting up almost 30 against LIU could have been looked past as much ado about nothing, but to follow it up with basically the same point accumulation against UNI shows promise. I've lamented at times how Williams has looked out of sorts with his new Type-A teammates and they seem to have had a little difficulty getting on the same page or understanding how to utilize each other. But, he's shined the last two games and that should bode well for his confidence and flow into the next few games.
I wonder if Coit is always going to be streaky or if he's still finding his footing at the D1 level? Kid can shoot but he forces up some shots from time to time and having both Williams and Nutter at his side, he's going to have to learn that he doesn't have to score 30 points a game like he did in JUCO (but every once in a while is super cool too!).
I feel like Nutter is becoming the backbone of this team and being the 3rd highest scorer is probably a good spot for him to be in. He seems to calm things down and doesn't get intimidated by higher profile opponents. I see him as a budding locker room presence who is an extension of Burno. It could be be just making things up, but I'm struggling to find the leader for this group. I like Russell as a sparkplug/energy guy, but as for a leader, I think that guy is Nutter. He also kind of fits the profile of the dude who comes from a questionable past where he made some dumb mistakes as a younger person and uses that as a way to speak with wisdom. Again...I'm probably romanticizing that a bit too much.
So....
We got nothing in this game from the post. Durosinmi (0 points), Crump (4 points), Ibarguen (4 points), Amos (0 points). Durosinmi also only played 6 minutes. He only had 3 fouls so, unless they were early in the halves, I'm not sure what to make of it. Could be an injury issue which...is not good since we're so thin at that spot as is.
I do kinda like Ibarguen but he's a depth piece and shouldn't be playing 15 minutes a game. As for Crump, I really didn't get to see much of him but he played 22 minutes and barely made a dent in any kind of way into the boxscore. 1 shot, 0 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks...but he did foul out. I know he's playing out of position and I actually admire him doing something he's probably not accustomed to or excited about but he seems to be a team guy and if the team needs him inside...he's going to do his best. We all know he's not that great anyway so only taking the 1 shot is not necessarily a bad thing. He did go 4 for 4 from the free throw line!!!!
Who else....oh yeah.. Plintauskas. Check that linescore! In the few minutes I saw of live action, Plintauskas was a focal point. I've been high on his potential so far and seeing him step up and shoot like he did yesterday was nice to see. This kid is going to be annoying to other teams.
Anything I miss?
We shot 16 of 18 free throws which has to be a new high water mark over the past 10 years or so. We probably got lucky with the Crump FTs but maybe he's been instructed to work on them since he's probably going to be getting fouled more playing inside.
Ultimately, we shot well both overall and behind the arc, rebounded, shot FTs. Other than turnovers still being a bit of an issue, we're also forcing TOs from the other team so if we can cull ours a bit, we could see the turnover battle start to swing in our favor. And some of those TOs should start to diminish with the fellas getting more familiar with each other and settling into roles on the floor.
So, I ask again...what did I miss?
|