Post Game Thoughts

tom in salem

tom in salem

Well-known member
Didn't cover.
Transition game was absent.
I love Amir Garrett.
Sampson's first game, gets a pass.
Branch will be the needed 3rd guard.
Obekpa made up for some poor half court defense.
Team should rebound better.
D'Angelo is a TWO GUARD, case rested.
Jones will get more minutes than Pointer.
Not sure if zone or man suits this team best yet, only one game.
Wow, how we miss Harkless.
Phil Greene MOTM.
 
Didn't cover.
Transition game was absent.
I love Amir Garrett.
Sampson's first game, gets a pass.
Branch will be the needed 3rd guard.
Obekpa made up for some poor half court defense.
Team should rebound better.
D'Angelo is a TWO GUARD, case rested.
Jones will get more minutes than Pointer.
Not sure if zone or man suits this team best yet, only one game.
Wow, how we miss Harkless.
Phil Greene MOTM.
Click to expand...

Obekpa gets the game ball
 
We showed a lot of heart with the 2nd half comeback against a more experienced team. Positives: Harrison, Greene, Obekpa, Garrett and Jones. Negatives: rebounding and defense. I'm not worried about Sampson. He won't have those jitters in his 2nd game.
 
The production of our backcourt. It's early, but you gotta love that kinda production.

If we get either or both of Sanchez and Bourgault, then this team is gonna be very, dangerous.

Sampson didn't play well offensively, but he did some things well (5 boards and 2 blocks).

Jones is certainly a keeper.

Garrett continues to get better each time out.

Good job by the team to keep fighting and showing poise.

Obekpa is today's MVP, IMO.
 
It was a very well fought victory for a young team. Last year this game(even at home) would have been a Loss. Here are my grades-

Phil Greene- A. 20 points, 7 boards, 6 dimes. Kid looked a world apart from last year with a good command of the offense and smooth J to boot.

Chris Obekpa- A. freshman had 7 points, 9 rebounds, and his block totals are debatable(let's say 8). His blocking is shockingly better than I even expected which is nuts because of how highly touted his skill was. Pleasantly surprised by his scoring. Should NOT be inbounding the ball down the stretch. Shouldn't be in offensively in those situations, but did make a "no!....YES jumper" with under 1 min.

DLO Harrison- A-. say what you want, this kid can light it up. If he channels his attitude in the right way he will be in the NBA draft next year.

Amir Garrett- A- .15 points and 11 boards on 66.6% from the field? I'll take that all day any day. Great game for Amir who is a fan favorite.

Christian Jones- B+. Glue, Glue, Glue.

Dom Pointer- C-. it upsets me that he talked a big game yesterday but couldn't get over 1 on ball screen. I understand it was a match up zone but he wasn't effective defensively at all. Poor dribbling and overall looked lost on offense. He will improve.

JaKarr Sampson- D+.was completely overwhelmed. All the while he had a smile on his face. I kind of like that positive attitude. He was a bit out of control and forcing the issue once things got away from him. Biggest problem I had with his performance is he would jump 8 feet from the hoop for offensive put backs in the 1st half which led to many fast break points for them.

An A for Lavin. Great to see him back. Just as great to see some adjustments he made at halftime propel our young team to the W
 
Didn't cover.
Transition game was absent.
I love Amir Garrett.
Sampson's first game, gets a pass.
Branch will be the needed 3rd guard.
Obekpa made up for some poor half court defense.
Team should rebound better.
D'Angelo is a TWO GUARD, case rested.
Jones will get more minutes than Pointer.
Not sure if zone or man suits this team best yet, only one game.
Wow, how we miss Harkless.
Phil Greene MOTM.
Click to expand...

If Branch is real deal I would start him and Harrison. Greene could play Vinny Johnson/ Jamal Crawford role. Only one game but if Branch is a real point your best 5 is CO,Garrett and the three guards. You could play that lineup for long stretches.
 
Keep this short and sweet. Great comeback and heart we get blown out of this game last year.

Obekpa is a game changer. Not only can he guard the hoop down low, he actually looked pretty good getting in lanes on the perimeter, really rare for a guy over 7 feet.

Jones will be great in the future, and right now, he is a perfect glue guy. Don't need him to do any more than good d, rebounds, and energy. Also passes very well.

Garrett is another one who will be very good in the future. To think hes only had 1/2 year d1 and took summer off for baseball. He is not flashy but he has really became a very consistent player. Heady with the ball, was finishing around the rim, just lets the game come to him and plays within himself.

Harrison/Greene: Once JB comes in they can play off the ball more bc both struggle with the handle in the open court, but both proved they can be knock down shooters/scorers. I really like the idea of them both in with Branch facilitating. Add in Amir and CO and you got a great lineup for offense/d, and you bring in Sampson and Jones for quality D and athleticism.

Overall, bright future, still many mistakes and we are still young. Come Feb will know what these kids are made of. It is nice to have 7/8 guys who can all play though.

I guess not too short. Onto the next one in Charleston!
 
Jones exudes confidence; what a steal. He's definitely a starter. Not afraid to make moves in the paint. Love this kid. Greene kept us in the game during first half. Changing to zone meant the difference in second half. Have to give Sampson chance, looked shaky. Porter still weak dribbling and shooting. And Obepka finally gives us a shot blocker; excellent first game.
 
Is it too soon to say Obepka is the best shotblocker we've ever had? Remember how awful Garrett was in his 1st few games last year. He's really developed into a solid player. Sampson seemed to get all messed up after he missed that dunk and was a complete nonfactor. Pointer just looked lost. Everyone else was solid. What happened to Balamou? We really need another Guard. Hopefully we can pile up some more Ws before Branch joins the team.
 
Obekpa is a game changer. Not only can he guard the hoop down low, he actually looked pretty good getting in lanes on the perimeter, really rare for a guy over 7 feet.
Click to expand...

He's 6'8". maybe 6'9" with lifts.
 
Didn't cover.
Transition game was absent.
I love Amir Garrett.
Sampson's first game, gets a pass.
Branch will be the needed 3rd guard.
Obekpa made up for some poor half court defense.
Team should rebound better.
D'Angelo is a TWO GUARD, case rested.
Jones will get more minutes than Pointer.
Not sure if zone or man suits this team best yet, only one game.
Wow, how we miss Harkless.
Phil Greene MOTM.
Click to expand...

Obekpa gets the game ball
Click to expand...


I agree Obekpa had a sick debut, but Harrison made all the plays down the stretch. Steals, points, assists-- he would get my game ball.
 
Love Jones, he is a player.

We finally have a Human Eraser!

Only downside to Phil was his D. When we went matchup Detroit did there work on his side. Gambled a few times when he didn't have to.

It didn't hurt us but Lavin can't have Obekpa take the ball out of bounds. Should have subbed in Pointer to put the ball in. Offense Defense, Detroit was going to foul anyway.

Dom's handle was a little loose.

Branch starts when he's eligible, Phil will workout well off the bench.

Nice Win!
 
Didn't cover.
Transition game was absent.
I love Amir Garrett.
Sampson's first game, gets a pass.
Branch will be the needed 3rd guard.
Obekpa made up for some poor half court defense.
Team should rebound better.
D'Angelo is a TWO GUARD, case rested.
Jones will get more minutes than Pointer.
Not sure if zone or man suits this team best yet, only one game.
Wow, how we miss Harkless.
Phil Greene MOTM.
Click to expand...

Obekpa gets the game ball
Click to expand...
CO is the kind of player we were not getting. His skills usually end up at Georgetown or Conn. Thats why I think Coach Steve should not get flack when something doesn't break our way. He has turned the program around.
 
maybe the two soft exhibitions didn't do us much good. it took a half to realize it wasn't concordia we were playing. brutal start. gutsy finish. i had to run out and missed it. no radio? what's up with that???
 
This was a great come from behind win against a quality Detroit team which will likely make the tourney again this year. Without repeating all of the superlatives posted by others regarding Obekpa, Jones, Greene, Dlo and Amir, I am concerned about Dom. Some thought he would be our most improved player this year. At this point, he's clearly not (Greene has my vote for that one thus far). On defense, Dom is good, but not the shut down defender I thought he was going to be, and on offense, his shot and handle are weak. Maybe, when Branch starts playing, Dom can play in the 3 spot and benefit from being fed the ball from a pure pg to use his athleticism to get easy buckets. We'll see. But I'm not sure where he fits in if/when Sanchez and Marco start playing.
 
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