Watched the entire thing.
Quick reactions.
Guessing on the actual # of minutes. More of what it felt like.
Lesser "impact" tonight.
Underwood’s kid got 7-10 minutes. Handled the ball some. No mistakes.
Samson O. maybe 5 minutes. A little wild, tonight.
Jones played maybe 7-10, but really didn't touch the ball much on offense. Team didn't look for him, which forced him to try and do a little too much when he touched it. Probably my largest first-game disappointment. I trust he is going to be a player.
Samba got, maybe, 7-10. Still a little "fish out of water". Tentative. Doesn't feel 7 ft. tall just yet. Doesn't feel 6'9".
More impact in similar time.
Griffin 10+ and in that limited time, had a fair amount of impact. Drilled his only 3. Had an unassisted steal followed by a great pass and bucket for the assist, early, and another nice assist on a break, late. Played point on Press D. Looked comfortable on the floor out of the gates.) . One of the most pleasant surprises.
Kipper played 'fine', overall. Rebounded well. Blended, mostly. Non-factor, simply because he went roughly 1-10 from the field. Mid range tweeneers and around the rim, was just off. Discarding this game, personally.
AJ - played "fine" in the first half. Hit a 3. Blended. Played much bigger and better in the 2nd half and was a calming presence down the stretch. Expect him on the floor, a lot. Plus
Georgi - What can you say. Hit 2 3's. Softer touch from 22' than from 3' tonight. It's tough because, as a team, we literally do not look inside. It's a PROBLEM. And one that will either get addressed, or we will lose games we should win. He is a leader. Is serious... seriously serious, once the game begins. Personally, I love the kid, and he will be a 4 year player, if he continues to improve.
Damonte playing a great overall first half, in limited time. Tremendous defensively, rebounding... didn't take many shots, but continues to be effective and disruptive on the defensive end. He will play a lot.
Ayo likely played the most of anyone. Definitely still getting his legs, but the staff seems committed to letting him do so (obviously). He had a few plays, early... finished a few layups. Also seemed to be a bit "sped up" at times, causing some mistakes. Part of it is... a great passer, needs great receivers, and right now, the only receivers in this offense, are also on the perimeter, which is NOT where a great passer shines. Great passers need transition... but they also need an inside option. I beg that that shows up in one of these players, soon. Not there yet... hit a garbage 3 down the stretch, which I was happy to see. He'll be a defensive force, regardless.
And that takes us to the player of the night.
Feliz - This kid played smart, controlled, aggressive, competent basketball, for the entirety of his time on the floor.
He has body control around the rim... (where every one of his 20 pts came). He finished very well, for being the smallest guy on the floor... but he plays big. Maybe he has long arms... I don't know, but he is a player, and can play in the B1G, if tonight is any indication.
All in all... LOTS of rotating players, which impacts flow offensively and defensively.
We are still out of position a LOT on defense. Very aggressive, but if we give this many wide open 3's in league play, again... we will lose games we shouldn't.
We are not (yet) a team where guys are just always in the right place, which we haven't been for a few years, and if we could be, it makes up for a lot of things... but all in all, with all of the new faces... a good night of basketball.
Sorry for the long post. I just know most people don't have BTN Plus.