San Francisco State
- Thread starter tom in salem
- Start date
Attended the game today...While I think we should have spanked SF State I won't get crazy about the lackluster play...Sheed seems like the real deal...thought Sampson was focused on outside shooting more than usual...disappointed to see Branch sit so much despite starting and being cited, by coach, as the most improved player...I know some noted some missed shots and defensive assignments but there is no way his play only warranted 8 minutes...Realize that coach may want to tinker but Branch needs to be part of the tinkering...and they absolutely need to start incorporating more penetration...SF State's zone was on us most of the game because we mostly passed the ball on the perimeter and didnt get them on their heels
Ray Morgan
Well-known member
Looking at the stat sheet, once again a mediocre opponent lights us up from 3, while we go our usual 30%. With all the quickness and length, and shot blockers behind, why is this team not extending on D and challenging more threes? Exhibition or not, if we don't go to the line 20 times more than SFS, this is one embarrassing loss. Not worried about Sampson. I remember he always plays awful the first game (exhibition) of the year, dating back to high school. The game doesn't count, so no reason to worry. Start paying attention for the Wisconsin game. Then it's time to worry.
Moose
Well-known member
They rarely penetrate in a half court set. In transition I always said Branch excelled. Same with Rysheed. 2nd half Rysheed penetrated with ease. Took the contact. Got shots up and/or got the line where he looked good to me. I loved Branch starting with Sheed and Dee but Jamal didn't penetrate. He sat on the top directing the ball around. With those three in you can have 2 threats to drive and kick out to a Dee or the other guard. That could be dangerous.
Anyone have old Nova tapes with all those guards these guys can watch?
Branch got yanked because he has the foot speed of a turtle with indigestion. He picked up his third foul because he held a player on the other team because he couldn't keep up with him. He has some sneaky agility that helps him when he gets into the lane, but no matter how you slice it he's just too damn slow.
I don't know what your issue is with Phil. He should clearly be the third guard after Jordan and Harrison and he should get far more time than Branch. He and Dom are both solid contributors.
There's not a lot to say about today's game since it mostly consisted of randomly running guys in and out. Zero time for Bourgault was no surprise, and the makeup of the frontcourt changes when Obekpa returns. Gift should join Bourgault on the bench when that happens. Unless Hooper can hit a shot in an actual game, as opposed to Youtube, he ought to be the third member of that club. Add Balamou and they have a bridge game.
Sanchez does some nice things but needs to adjust to the speed of the game at the D1 level. Sampson took the day off. Harrison, Dom and Phil were really the ones who showed up and played today. No idea why we started a 3-guard lineup. There was just no reason to play Branch with Jordan and Harrison both on the floor.
Can't take too much out of this game, though. Hopefully the staff was just letting some guys play who will get less time as the year goes on.
Sanchez needs to adjust to speed at the D1 level? He had 9 points, 10 rebs, 4 assists and 4 steals. He was awesome in the open court and can handle and dish like a guard. Scary thing is that he certainly can get better, but he had no problem with speed at this level. Agree with much of the rest though. Me looked shaky on both offense and defense today, but you can see that the pieces are there. We wont play this bad all year. Jakarr was awful, and I mean awful today. Rysheed and Sanchez are two bonafide starters which is good news for us. Both are dynamic players who will really help as we settle in. We just need to get better fast. Wisconsin game approaching.
Syracuse lost to D2 Lemoyne in 2009 and still went to the Sweet 16 that year. Exhibitions are exactly that. What we exhibited was that we need to get our offense and defense running smoother. I was encouraged by the talent that have though. I think we are going to have the pieces to get it done. I'm most concerned abut our defense coming together and quickly. Our offense will be fine over the course of the season. We had enough guys scoring, even though ur flow wasn't great. Our defense was the biggest issue by far. One more game to get it right.
ErickTheRed
Member
UNLV lost at home the other night to Dixie State. I'm sure staff will work on the kinks.
Watched replay of game. We were chasing a ton. Certainly had difficulty with the "hands-off" defensive changes. Can't say enough about how good Rysheed Jordan is. He plays very mature ball. Handles with both hands, drives extremely well and is always under control. Jordan needs to be the starting PG and it's not close. He did a great job setting teammates up and got even better as game wore on. Very dynamic player who is on,y scratching the surface.
In addition, D'Lo was fantastic and his chemistry with Jordan is great. Jordan set him up for good shots several times, and D'lo's shooting rhythm yesterday was the best I've ever seen it. He dropped his shots soo effortlessly and in rhythm. He looks much more relaxed and a different player out there. Jakarr had a terrible day. Dom played like Dom. A bit out of control at times, but frenetic in a good way too. He certainly provides a spark.
Overall, we looked rushed out there at both ends. I think a lot of it was first game jitters and mentally playing the game a bit too fast. Many of our missed shots, were due to players simply rushing shots, even if they had time and space. The only guys who weren't rushing shots were Jordan and D'Lo.
We certainly can use Obekpa up front, because I like Orlando much better as a hybrid forward. Orlando was great in the open court and has the ability to play like a SF in transition. He rushed things a bit too, but his stat line says he contributed plenty.
We need to work on our tempo and timing at both ends. I think a lot of our problems today were nerves and first game lack of focus. That's the way it appeared when I watched it again. In addition, SF State, despite being a D2 team, wasn't all that bad. They were smoother than us and made a lot of shots, even tough shots.
I hope we settle down a bit vs Humbolt and try to control tempo rather than it controlling us and forcing us to play reckless ball.
In addition, D'Lo was fantastic and his chemistry with Jordan is great. Jordan set him up for good shots several times, and D'lo's shooting rhythm yesterday was the best I've ever seen it. He dropped his shots soo effortlessly and in rhythm. He looks much more relaxed and a different player out there. Jakarr had a terrible day. Dom played like Dom. A bit out of control at times, but frenetic in a good way too. He certainly provides a spark.
Overall, we looked rushed out there at both ends. I think a lot of it was first game jitters and mentally playing the game a bit too fast. Many of our missed shots, were due to players simply rushing shots, even if they had time and space. The only guys who weren't rushing shots were Jordan and D'Lo.
We certainly can use Obekpa up front, because I like Orlando much better as a hybrid forward. Orlando was great in the open court and has the ability to play like a SF in transition. He rushed things a bit too, but his stat line says he contributed plenty.
We need to work on our tempo and timing at both ends. I think a lot of our problems today were nerves and first game lack of focus. That's the way it appeared when I watched it again. In addition, SF State, despite being a D2 team, wasn't all that bad. They were smoother than us and made a lot of shots, even tough shots.
I hope we settle down a bit vs Humbolt and try to control tempo rather than it controlling us and forcing us to play reckless ball.
The only problem I have with this is I thought that was the purpose of playing in Europe. This was not the first game for this team ... it was actually the 6th.
I'm not going to get all worked up over one close call with a D2 school. But the excuses and learning experience arguments need to stop. Most of these players are upperclassmen now. It's time to get out on the court, bring your best effort every single minute, and learn from the mistakes that you have made in earlier seasons.