Early observations

Drove in from the Poconos to check out the new guys and pick up season tics. Watched the other on TV. What a difference a zone makes. Shots were there but they either wouldn't or couldn't hit them, hence 1-12 from three. On the other hand when you do that and give up 13 to the opponent you usually lose. For the second straight game our defensive format made short shooter guards look like all Americans. Until late in the game we just didn't get enough ball pressure and allowed St Mary's to run their stuff way too long.despite a lot of exhausting movement. I saw a lot of tired and sweaty kids out there and only some special "D" by Pointer prevented a loss. Like last year we didn't identify three pt. threats and it reminded me of last year's St Mary's game. Although I think we'll do better vs. bigger teams this problem seems to be inherent in the scheme. I wish we would have tried some man but that ship has apparently sailed. Of course we'll get better but so will the competition. I do think that St. Mary's was a decently coached squad though and this type of game was very valuable for preparation purposes. Regarding individuals my take was as follows:
God's Gift - By far the nicest surprise of the year. He appears way better than JB and Evans at this stage. He's tireless, strong and stable. Great pickup.
Lindsey - Had a pretty lousy first half but did hustle throughout A good athlete but has yet to show the offense his rep was built on. I think he'll come along with time but shooting isn't his strong point.
Harrison - Was rushing his shots and showed typical freshman lack of confidence. That surprised me given what I saw of him in HS so I hope it's just a phase.
Greene - Never seemed to get into the flow but looked athletic. I was waiting for him to fire away from deep but it didn't happen. Coaching or lack of confidence? Got to wait and see.
Harkless - A beautiful ballplayer with an enormous upside. Limited by our roster shortcomings but the down low exposure will do him good. No problem here.
Pointer - A BE ready player with a great motor. Will be everybody's fave as the season goes on. Is pleasantly bigger than expected and fearless. Another great pickup.
Stith - Stith is Stith. Useful under the circumstances but not much more than that. Should just drive and dish and play what defense he can.
Overall I have to agree with the "long year" guys but this bunch will be so ready next year it will be worth it. Now if the shots start falling..............................!  
 
Not sure why folks think it was a good crowd. It seemed like only the students showed up and without them CA would have been a morgue. These exhibition games should be FREE for all students and staff!!
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Agree about the crowd. It was less than the 1st game. However yesterday was a Holy Day so school was not in session. Still a pretty good student turnout. It was less of the other fans. 
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Thank God there are 3000 students living in dorms! There would have been less than 500 folks at the game! You just cannot charge any student for an exhibition game. To me it is immoral!!
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Personally I would tack on an activity fee 100-150 bucks to their tuition which many schools do and like you said then offer free admission for students.
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And students will also want their moneys worth and attend games.
 
Here is my take on this team and game, but again, it is 2 exhibition games for 6 players who have never really played on this level or together so it really means nothing.

I think our rebounding/lack of size will really hurt us (I can't wait for Amir hopefully, so we can get a little longer). Our inability right now to close down in the zone will also really hurt us against teams that can shoot.

One thing that really stuck out, is our inability to shoot 3s/hit free throws gave me nightmares of the last decade. Harkless did a great job at the line, Pointer came on strong, and Harrison was fine. But it is stressful watching them shoot free throws and in the BE you need to convert at the line.

I really like Phil Greene and I think he is going to be a very good player when it is all said and done. He seems to really know what hes doing out there and be in control. I also think Harrison is very similar to Hardy, and will eventually be fine. I love his attitude, while he needs to tone it down, I would rather have a kid who is determined and wants it.

Don't really know what else to say, other than I am excited to see the team in their first game. Arizona lost to a D2 team and Duke struggled vs another D2 foe last week. It means nothing, but William and Mary out of the CAA will be a very good test to see where these guys are at.


Arizona squeeked out a victory over Humboldt State last night, 60 to 51. The game was nip and tuck up until four minutes remained in the game.

We are 
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Arizona squeeked out a victory over Humboldt State last night, 60 to 51. The game was close up until four minutes remained in the game.
 
Hope you are OK bobre but saying GG or anybody is ahead of Evans has me very worried about you. :pinch:  
 
Thie team ios playing very much like last years team at this, pointb in the season . They are working hard to get used tto the defense that Lavin and co. want them to carry out, last year we had problems early defending the 3 ( Fordham ) and Bonaventure but eventually they made it work . I thought at some time last night they mioght have tried some man defense but they stayed zone the whole game . When they had to thry stepped up the intensity and it clicked . I was impressed by their maturity they did not force the issue and it seemed that there.were few tuurnovers . Free throws ?????????????  
 
Thie team ios playing very much like last years team at this, pointb in the season . They are working hard to get used tto the defense that Lavin and co. want them to carry out, last year we had problems early defending the 3 ( Fordham ) and Bonaventure but eventually they made it work . I thought at some time last night they mioght have tried some man defense but they stayed zone the whole game . When they had to thry stepped up the intensity and it clicked . I was impressed by their maturity they did not force the issue and it seemed
that there.were few tuurnovers . Free throws ?????????????  
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I saw it the same way except last year we had some depth to work with. This defense requires a lot of movement and flashing out on shooters for a zone with insufficient rewards for the effort. Against St. Mary's there wasn't enough ball pressure to disrupt their offense and create turnovers until Pointer took it upon himself to tighten it up. With seven guys I think we need to take more risks to limit the time of possesions and create some runout offense. We keep chasing for 30 secs and we'll wear down as games go on. If we spot BE teams a dozen threes we'll be blown out on a regular basis. St. Mary's wasn't all that talented but they worked the ball pretty well. Every one of our guys was dripping in sweat after what should have been an easier game. We need to switch defenses if only to break up the opponent's rhythm. St Mary's looked way too cool out there for my taste.
The free throw shooting was a joke and even the players were laughing about it. They won't be if it continues. I don't know who started the ball spinning routine at the line but it serves no purpose and I've never seen a good free throw shooter doing it. To me it just shows discomfort rather than pleasure over a gratis opportunity to score. We would have won by a ton with a decent percentage there. I was also surprised by the decent treatment we got in a Higgins game. I'm usually yelling at him early on. Maybe that's an indication of a little more respect than we got under Norm.
 
Sorry to take so long to put in my 2cents - had a couple bad days of chemo reaction.

Luckily, like Tom, I also get ESPN3 - and the game is on archive there :)

General impression - the team seemed to be "under wraps" - don't KNOW that it's the case, but Lavin teams in the past have sacriced "showtime" exhibition wins to work on specific things - in other words, Exhibitions are PRACTICE. Again, just me, but a lot of things the guys were able to do against Post were there, but we seemed to exchew taking adavantage, instead attacking or defending in ways we DIDN'T vs. Post. If we wanted to show off, get an easy win, I think we could have gone Man for the whole game and taken these kids apart. Instead, we stayed i multiple zones, almost literally playing into what strentghs STM has - solid perimeter shooting, GREAT intelligence throughout the lineup (take a look a their sites roster/bios - almost every kid is an academic honor student). IT really looked to me like the staff sat on our kids and forced them to work on the areas they're going to need to improve. And then with 5 minutes left, Dunlap turned them loose - "okay Dom, go get the ball".

Player observations (with a grain of salt, and will change from game to game!)

Moe - Really impressed with the maturity he shows for a frosh - I mean maturity in his game. Great skill AND control - have no doubt he'll be the go-to guy in crunch time. Much bigger than I anticipated = he's creeping up on David Greenwood size. Seems to play smart, Solid on the boards, Shows great scoring ability midrange in. Look forward to seeing that 3 pt stroke I've read that he possesses. Watching him I hear one of coach Wooden's mantra's - "be quick, but don't hurry" - I see that executed in Moe's play.

Gift - Hoping Moe really IS almost 6'9 now, because Gift is definatley an inch or more shorter. But WIDE as truck. Hey, I'd settle for some Truck Robinson ability. Or maybe Shaq of the Mac?. Very much a man among boys so far. His running, motor and HANDS have already been discussed ad nauseum, but...wow. Can't wait to see him vs. Arizonas WAY overrated frontcourt!. An aside. Good thing SJU is a non-football school. That kid would have been raided by the football coaches first day he stepped on campus.

Malik - Earlier in the thread "malik is still malik". Agree. After two exhibition games, it's obvious his and Greene's rolls need to be reversed. Green is bigger, stronger, better shooter, better defender, and has a higher BBall IQ. 1 play really stood out watching malik. There was a double team of the ball at the top of the key (he and Nuri defending. The ball got tipped way to Malik. Nuri broke downcourt, and (I think) Moe broke from he other sideline. Malik had the ball, hesitated, took 3 dribbles before deciding to pass the ball up court. We got the basket, but it was close as the defenders had time to close. That was a freshman error - especially for a pg, you've got to see the opportunity and strike - But Malik is a freaking Junior now. Watched Malik closely after that - while not as obvious, there were several situations where you realize there is a hesitation in his decision making. He's a decent backup guard. But we have better options for starter minutes.

Nuri - Need to see a bigger data sample on his shooting. Horrendous at the line, but the form ISN'T that bad, so I'm willing to wait. First year is difficult. Beleive it or not, Jason Kapono - one of the best shooters EVER - a 90% FT shooter his last 3 years for Lavin, was barely 60% from the line his first year at UCLA. Phisically, Nuri acctually reminds me VERY much of another former Overbrrook High guard - Andre McCarter. Wirey, Strong and both Quick and Fast. And since Andre has 2 NCAA title rings, and reached the NBA (ok cup of coffe, but he made it!), that ain't a bad thing.

Sir Dom - My favorite on the team. I really think the sky is the limit for this kid. Turns out he's much bigger than I originally thought, but still have no doubt he can defend the 1 thru the 4 (depnding on the 4). I think he has bigger, stronger Michael Cooper potential. Fast, strong, quick and fearless is a NICE combination!

Phil Greene - I think he needs to start of Malik in a 3 guard rotation. As noted above, Bigger, stronger, quicker, faaster, batter shooter and better decision maker. Maliks only advantage is experience - but I don't think it outweighs those other traits. Again using my UCLA references, Green reminds me a little of Mike Holton as a frosh - and Mike QB'ed the Bruins to an NCAA title game back in 1980 - as part of an all frosh backcourt (teamed with Rod Foster). Mike lost his job as a soph, and played 3 years as a reserver PG behind a "super recruit pg" named Ralph Jackson, but he was still good enuf to eke out a 6 year NBA career, get hired as a D-1 assistant by come clown named Lavin, and go on to be a D1 head coach (he's now a broadcaster for the Trailblazers)....Like Greene, Holton wasn't the big name out of high school, and a guy you still might recruit over at his position, but I think he's a 4 year guy who's going to provide incredible value in the coming years.

D'Angelo - Still too early to tell. Everything LOOKS good - good size, good quickness, good hustle, seems able to get his shot. Seems to make good decisions with the ball. Pretty good rebounder for a 2guard. But he's a shooter, and the shot isn't falling yet. And he seems to need the most work on his D. But the tools are definately there to BECOME a solid defender. And his history says he CAN shoot, so I'm going to assume he WILL shoot as he gets settled in....
 
 Good post CR. A great coach will use an exhibition game to learn and develop skills. A win is a secondary goal.
 
What I like about what I've seen of GG's game so far is that when he's around the basket and gets the ball, he doesn't do the unnecessary bouncing of the ball before he goes up for the shot. Shows he either has an instinctive understanding of the game or he's been well coached (possibly both), but it's certainly welcomed. 
 
What I like about what I've seen of GG's game so far, is that when he's around the basket and gets the ball, he doesn't do the unnecessary bouncing of the ball before he goes up for the shot. Shows he either has an instinctive understanding of the game or he's been well coached (possibly both), but it's certainly welcomed.
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like the input from all
 
CR, love the Dom Pointer/Michael Cooper comparison.  (Hope you're feeling better and that your treatment is going well.)
 
 THAT'S THE TEAMS PROBLEM RIGHT NOW ,THEY DON'T PLAY DEFENSE. COME ON 70 PTS TO DIV III TEAM.
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How many times do you need to be ASKED to quit posting in all caps?

Its been explained to you that it is not only bad internet etiquette but that its rude to the rest of the posters on this site. Despite that, here we are again.

Going forward, future posts in all caps are going to be deleted.

If that doesn't work and you continue to spam the site with them, then you are looking at a suspension/loss of posting privileges.
 
 THAT'S THE TEAMS PROBLEM RIGHT NOW ,THEY DON'T PLAY DEFENSE. COME ON 70 PTS TO DIV III TEAM.
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How many times do you need to be ASKED to quit posting in all caps?

Its been explained to you that it is not only bad internet etiquette but that its rude to the rest of the posters on this site. Despite that, here we are again.

Going forward, future posts in all caps are going to be deleted.

If that doesn't work and you continue to spam the site with them, then you are looking at a suspension/loss of posting privileges.
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