1. First and foremost it was just great to be back in the arena, watching a game that counts, with other fans. Speaking to a few other friends and fans a lot of people were just grateful to be in attendance.
2. It starts with Julian. 20 points, effortless. There is something different about his game that I've seen and mentioned from the Baruch exhibition and it was on display last night also. He is gliding. It looks like it's coming very easy to him, there's no laboring in moving and scoring basically at will. He's finding the open lanes on cuts, his two transition 3's in the 2nd half were pure, it's just a joy to watch. In 20 minutes he went 8-14 from the floor, 2-5 from long range. It was a ho hum night in the office.
3. Posh looked confident shooting the 3. It's going to be a big factor this season as many have echoed. He plays hard even in a game vs. Mississippi Valley State. It was interesting to see him play off the ball for a stretch with Pinzon in. And more so the starting lineup featuring Stef, Montez and Posh in what you can argue is a "small ball" lineup. Posh when 6-7 from the field, 4-5 from 3, dished out 7 assists, had 3 steals only turned the ball over 3 times and added a block for good measure. That's a delicious game no matter who you play in only 20 minutes of action.
4. Joel Soriano and Tareq Coburn could very well be the reasons this team is being talked about in mid March. Yes Soriano is big, yes we haven't had a center like him in arguably 30 years, but it can't be overstated enough how much he changes the dynamic of EVERYTHING on the floor on EACH play. The rebounds, the second chances, the way he will draw fouls, the fact that he can actually hit free throws. It adds an element that this team has simply not had, lacked, and fans have been BEGGING for...for years. Now with boy genius Coburn...this kid is a PLAYER. 5-8 from the floor, 3-5 from downtown...more so he plays strong defense took two hard charges in the second half. He's long, he's athletic as all hell and is confident. He's a massive addition and I wouldn't be surprised to see him start eventually.
5. While Aaron Wheeler didn't have a huge game, he did a lot of little things well. 6 boards, 4 assists and 6 points. He runs the floor well and spaces it out. I think his minutes will go up eventually and he'll be a little more assertive on offense. O'mar Stanley is a guy that I bet you'll hear announcers say "any coach would want a guy like him on their team." He's a hustler, can hit the mid range jumper and just does everything that's needed. He's like a big version of Nick Rutherford and Marcellus Earlington fused together. I think Stanley is going to be a big difference maker off the bench during Big East play.
6. Montez and Stef are nice pieces to have. They seemingly fit well with this group and when needed as a second unit with Posh and Julian on the bench which happened yesterday, there's no drop off because they can score and run the floor and offense. Size and experienced, they both feel like guys who can be security blankets for Coach Anderson. Last year there were times when we were screaming at the rotations and lineup combos.
7. I noticed yesterday that the inter-changeable 10-11 guys Mike used were seamless. There wasn't a lull or lack of ball movement or anything like that. Again, competition aside these are the things we have to look for and I'm sure the staff is evaluating in a 58 point blow out. We got 53 points from our bench which is pretty unheard of from prior SJU teams.
8. Esahia Nyiwe was impressive in his time on the court. He can handle the ball, he was cutting and passing well and had a really nice falling away floater. He looks like a contributor and at his size that's just another piece to have in the back pocket. I was "disappointed" (not really it's his first ever game) in Rafael Pinzon in the sense that it seemed like he looked apprehensive with the ball in his hands and looked to be a little bit like a deer in headlights. I'm sure that'll change with time, his size is apparent and he's another ball handler on the floor which really gives us 3 which is nice to have.
9. As a team we shot 69% from the field, 52% (!!!!) from 3 point land, and went 16-20 from the line...that's just great efficient ball against anyone you play, and it's obviously a formula for success.
10. Can't ask for much more than what we got yesterday. Turnovers were the biggest issue, definitely don't like having 20, but a lot were off of tipped passes going out of bounds and it didn't feel like we ever shot ourselves in the foot. A tougher test will be presented on Saturday afternoon but St. Peter's doesn't have much depth and I expect a strong showing. Soriano and Wheeler and Stanley will have a tougher test with Ndefo but it'll be a better litmus test.
Good Win, Good Start, Lots to like. Lets get win #2.
