I watched the game last night and the one against Wesleyan. The good news was I saw improvement. Worrisome is our interior defense without Giorgi on the floor. The first two possessions Evansville drew Giorgi from the lane and then drove it. Underwood must have told him to park his butt under the basket because he did a much better job after that.
When we went small, with Kipper at center, we would have been run off the floor if they had good guards. Kipper is not the answer. With Samba mysteriously sitting we have to hope that Adonis can give us quality minutes – and soon. Giorgi can’t do it on his own. Cockburn did you see this? There are a ton of minutes waiting for you, sir.
Feliz makes us better. He did have a couple of unforced errors, but I felt the offense ran better with him on the floor. He at least would make an entry pass. Don’t be surprised if he challenges Trent and Ayo for the top dog at point before the year is out.
Ayo may very well be a one and done if he gets comfortable and plays like he did late in the second half. Yes, he was up against inferior talent, but you can just see he is special. If I needed someone to drive the ball, he would be my pick ten out of ten times.
AJ was what you expect from a senior. He floated to the corner and hit uncontested threes all night. What I was really impressed with was that at one point they got in his face and he put the ball on the floor and drove around his defender. If he can do that the rest of the year, we will be happy.
Jones was a pleasant surprise. When he first got in the game, I thought it was Samba. He has freakishly long arms. Putting on the point of the press defense was a great idea. You could tell he was a freshman. By the second half of the year he should see his minutes go way up.
Kipper I expected much more from. He did score but he disappeared for long stretches.
Trent and DeMonte did well when on the floor.
I think we need about five more games against the weak sisters to bring this team together. Don’t be surprised if we drop a few early with the schedule we have ahead of us. By mid-season people are not going to want to play us.
