Let's get this out of the way...we shot terribly, and will likely need to be better against better teams, both to force them out defensively, and to get more points on the board (it may take 80 points to win games against many good teams, if games are called tight (unlike last night). BUT...
And we already look a LOT better than that, no matter what the record ends up being.
- Corlbe Ervin played his best game as a Cat last night. Really good on both ends, and finished a couple drives STRONG.
- Dean Wade was ACTIVE on the defensive glass for the first time in his career. In one night, he more than doubled his DR total from the previous three games
- Iwundu was stymied a bit offensively, but was aggressive and active on both ends--exactly the kind of bounce-back and approach we need from him every night. What we got from Wes last night is all we need. Wes is probably the best passer on the team, and he had some REALLY nice dishes last night. I really like the lineup--which Bruce has put out there a few times, now, of: Brown/Edwards/Iwundu/Wade/Hurt.
- Stephen Hurt is still underrated here as a rebounder, and while he is not a great defender (or good, probably), he is BETTER. Some here argued that he was unathletic--bullshit. He doesn't have great feet, but he moves okay for a 6-10 guy. He's not, say, Les Craft, or even Luis Colon. And that perimeter stroke is just sweet. He is going to make some guys pay.
- DJ hitting that little 14-footer...sweet. Really nice touch. Dude had 4 offensive rebounds in 12 minutes. That's "want to." The five starters combined for 5 in 142. So...good on DJ...others, not as much.
- Stokes got us going early, with four early points--that little shot off the glass was sweet. He struggled a bit after that--but was active. Not his best game, and he still isn't creating offense the way we need a PG to, nor is his perimeter shot falling the way we need it to from a combo guard. But he played 30 minutes...and was good defensively. He is NOT hurting us, and his ball handling is well ahead of anything we had from our points last year.
- TEAM defense is just way further along than I could have hoped. We have no rim protector, and we aren't great in the low post, but everyone else is a plus defender. Dean Wade is has been significantly better, defensively, than anyone could have reasonably expected. His added strength is really paying off here, and he's such a competitor. I know we haven't been tested yet by a team with skilled, elite athletes...but this team has a really good foundation.
- Dean Wade is just a baller. Dude has great basketball instincts and smarts to go along with his very high skill-level. I thought I had gotten ahead of myself by arguing, since his commitment, that he would be the best player in the class, and best we signed in years (before he was given a fourth star), and frankly, the two exhibition games, and even the first game (plus a bit into the second) had me thinking I expected too much too soon (and said so)...and since that time, he has...gone off. LOVE it.
- Barry Brown is a bit up and down statistically, but not (apparently) mentally. He looks the same, same body language, all the time. LOVE that. He strikes me as a TEAM guy. And he will have some BIG moments for this team. Before it is done, we will remember him very, very fondly.
And we already look a LOT better than that, no matter what the record ends up being.
