[quote="MCNPA" post=405035][quote="ghostzapper" post=405032]MCNPA Wrote: USC is long and tall but I didn’t think they were particularly fast in the open court. Certainly a lot bigger than we are but our speed is a lot different than USC. Again, it won’t be an easy game, but BYU got TONS of good looks from all over.
USC has incredible inside talent in the Mobley Brothers.
Isaiah Mobley is 6' 10" and was a five star recruit and a McDonald's All American. He was the 16th rated prospect in the entire country in 2019. He most probably will be playing in the NBA someday in the future and was a higher rated recruit than anyone to come to St. John's since we brought in Ron (Metta World Peace) Artest during the end of the last century.
Little brother Evan Mobley is 7' 0" and was the number three rated recruit in the entire country in 2020. He is projected to be a high lottery pick in the upcoming 2021 NBA draft. BYU will likely not face a more formidable pair of big men than the Mobley Brothers this season.
Here is a draft profile of Evan Mobley projecting him to go #3 in the 2021 NBA draft:
#3. C, Evan Mobley
Ht./Wt.: 7-0, 210
This season: Freshman, USC
Mobley is an elite shot-blocker who moves extremely well for a player his size. He is solid in the pick-and-pop option and a little bit of an anomaly due to his size and the way he can handle the ball. He has a 7-foot-5 wingspan and averaged 18.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game at Rancho Christian High School.
I believe Posh and our pressing team athleticism and speed will create some real problems for BYU but these are not the same type of problems that the elite size, length and athleticism of USC's frontline presented. Hopefully we will turn them over quite a bit and score off our defense and in transition. Our inside players Moore, Roberts and Toro are pretty serviceable but are hardly elite level talents on the level of the Mobley Brothers.
During our first three games we have struggled somewhat on the defensive interior and preventing three point shots. Through three games we have allowed 26 made threes and our opponents are making them at a very good 36%. I suspect tomorrow's game will not be the type of blowout that today's game was. The Matchup with USC was a bad one for BYU. Hopefully we will present problems related to our own unique skill set and come out with a nice win.[/quote]
I can tell you didn’t see the game. You can talk about the stats but BYU was not met by some crazy formidable defense as much as your stats seem to indicate. Go watch the game. BYU had open shot after open shot, inside and outside. USC had only 4 blocks and 3 steals and their defense wasn’t as impressive as your paper report. This bigs grabbed a bunch of boards for sure but it was more of a function of BYU’s play. I’m sure usc has a nice roster but that’s not the primary driver in BYU’s loss. FWIW, the average overall 3-point percentage in NCAA is 34.4%, so their 36% is also about average. SJU is shooting 35.3...;-)[/quote]
You seem to think games are the same one game to the next and it is just not so. It is about matchups and how teams perform that game. Which 3 point shooter is Cole; the 5 for 6 one against St Peters or the 1 for 10 since? The answer again is both. You know, any given day, that’s why they play the games, etc. The idea that we are a “lock” against virtually any decent D1 school is ludicrous. We are three games in to a season with a new, largely inexperienced team with a credible but somewhat fragile 3-0 record.
Another question, what would be the feeling toward Alexander be had he either been called for a double dribble prior to Cole’s 3 against St Peters or the loose ball hadn’t rolled to Williams, followed by the last 2 minute meltdown of both he and Williams against BC?
That he was an extremely talented but at this point a largely one speed, inexperienced point guard that had played very, very well but had some things to learn, mostly things that only going through game experiences like that could teach? Which is exactly what he is.
IMO, we shouldn’t be getting too high or low at this point because we have “proven” nothing except we are on an upward trajectory as a program. How steep that trajectory is remains to be seen
But knowing the pedigree of the BYU program I would be surprised if they don’t play very well tonight. Hopefully, we will too. But our propensity for giving up open 3’s makes this a potentially very bad matchup; we shall see.
