I've said from the beginning that what I am mainly looking for this year is player development and showing that the locker room issues are quashed. We didn't nearly play our best offensive game. We struggled shooting the ball and sucked at the line. And we still blew out an inferior opponent and scored 80 points.
There have been a lot of years where we struggled on offense, did not have the energy on defense, and squeaked out wins against teams like this.
Wes is becoming the player / leader we all hope he would be.
Barry Brown had some nerves at the beginning. But once he settled in during the second half, I think we saw what he can be.
Budke learned there is a big difference between kids who play for FHSU and kids who play for a D1 team, even a low-major like MDES. I still think there is a roll for him to spell minutes here and there, but the gap is going to get even bigger as we move into tougher games.
Thought DJ looked really good. Slimmer, moved very well. Showed his hands and coordination have improved.
Edwards is taking things to the rim. He was way to passive last year and it's good to see him more confident / attacking this year.
As a team, I was very impressed defensively. Our rotations were good. We moved well off the ball as well as had good ball pressure. We rebounded well.
On offense, we struggled shooting, but I think that was more first game nerves than anything. We'll see. But what I liked best was we didn't just settle for missing jump shots. We attacked the rim first and looked for jumpers second. That led to a ton of FT's (which we need to make) and foul trouble for MDES. I think we were in the bonus with 13-14 minutes left in the first half. So while we didn't shoot it well, I liked our mindset and recognition of what was working and to go to it.
Unless DJ comes around, we don't have someone who can score with their back to the basket. Hurt is just not athletic enough and Wade hasn't really tried to post anyone yet.
If we don't attack and get bogged down in half court sets, we will struggle mightily unless we shoot it better. This team on the offensive end will need to do all the little things right in the half court such as hard cuts, good screens, spacing, etc. We have some decent athleticism and need to use it.
Overall, I like the fact we didn't play nearly our best game and still won by 30. That's a good sign. Effort and chemistry look to be much better. Now on to the next one and hopefully it will continue. Columbia is a good team.
There have been a lot of years where we struggled on offense, did not have the energy on defense, and squeaked out wins against teams like this.
Wes is becoming the player / leader we all hope he would be.
Barry Brown had some nerves at the beginning. But once he settled in during the second half, I think we saw what he can be.
Budke learned there is a big difference between kids who play for FHSU and kids who play for a D1 team, even a low-major like MDES. I still think there is a roll for him to spell minutes here and there, but the gap is going to get even bigger as we move into tougher games.
Thought DJ looked really good. Slimmer, moved very well. Showed his hands and coordination have improved.
Edwards is taking things to the rim. He was way to passive last year and it's good to see him more confident / attacking this year.
As a team, I was very impressed defensively. Our rotations were good. We moved well off the ball as well as had good ball pressure. We rebounded well.
On offense, we struggled shooting, but I think that was more first game nerves than anything. We'll see. But what I liked best was we didn't just settle for missing jump shots. We attacked the rim first and looked for jumpers second. That led to a ton of FT's (which we need to make) and foul trouble for MDES. I think we were in the bonus with 13-14 minutes left in the first half. So while we didn't shoot it well, I liked our mindset and recognition of what was working and to go to it.
Unless DJ comes around, we don't have someone who can score with their back to the basket. Hurt is just not athletic enough and Wade hasn't really tried to post anyone yet.
If we don't attack and get bogged down in half court sets, we will struggle mightily unless we shoot it better. This team on the offensive end will need to do all the little things right in the half court such as hard cuts, good screens, spacing, etc. We have some decent athleticism and need to use it.
Overall, I like the fact we didn't play nearly our best game and still won by 30. That's a good sign. Effort and chemistry look to be much better. Now on to the next one and hopefully it will continue. Columbia is a good team.
