A Few Pepperdine Thoughts

[SmellyCat]

I believe Ty has hit 10 of 26 threes so far this year. It doesn't feel like it because the misses come in bunches, but he's pretty close to that 40% we want. Where he is really dying offensively are the "long twos" he takes (3 of 16 there).

Meanwhile KJ, for all he does I like, is sitting at 2 of 19 from three...

10-26 is 38.5%, which isn't bad. All Berry needs is one good game where he goes 3-for-4 or something and his percentage is excellent again. If he gets up to 41%, 42%, etc., we'll want him taking more shots per game, not less like so many are saying now.

Windham was so exciting against Lehigh but hasn't done much since then. He'll come around - I'm not worried - but he doesn't look like the godsend who could be our first stud freshman in a while. He looks like a work in progress like all the rest. At least he's playing though and not glued to the bench like Barkley. Given Barkley didn't play against Pepperdine but Gus did, I'm thinking he's taking the road to a a redshirt (and potential transfer) too.

 

[Max_Power]

On a general note, Collins took the air out of the ball and started subbing the end of the bench with something like three minutes left in the game while Pepperdine kept their starters on the floor.

He actively chose not to run up the score and embarrass the visitors and ran a three minute practice at the end. So even tho the Cats played poorly, the 18 point difference doesn't really reflect the disparity between the teams that played last night.

But it did create a bad beat for anyone who had NU -18.5. Which is reason number 1,000,623 why gambling on college sports is idiotic.

 

[catcrazy]

Barkley can't redshirt because he already has. I suspect there may be two additional open scholarships for 2025

 

[CatJones]

Barkley can't redshirt because he already has. I suspect there may be two additional open scholarships for 2025

Barkley hasn't dressed for the last couple of games. I presume due to injury.

 

[SmellyCat]

I feel like I should've remembered by now, but you can't redshirt even if you play a few minutes in the first game of the season and never again? What if there is an injury?

I'm guessing that regardless, Barkley probably isn't in Collins' plans for next year.

 

[EagerFan]

10-26 is 38.5%, which isn't bad. All Berry needs is one good game where he goes 3-for-4 or something and his percentage is excellent again. If he gets up to 41%, 42%, etc., we'll want him taking more shots per game, not less like so many are saying now.

Windham was so exciting against Lehigh but hasn't done much since then. He'll come around - I'm not worried - but he doesn't look like the godsend who could be our first stud freshman in a while. He looks like a work in progress like all the rest. At least he's playing though and not glued to the bench like Barkley. Given Barkley didn't play against Pepperdine but Gus did, I'm thinking he's taking the road to a a redshirt (and potential transfer) too.

I want Ty (and Luke) to stop taking those 15-20' twos, unless a shot clock violation is imminent I guess. That would go a long way towards helping everyone's numbers.

For this season at least, I'll be thrilled in Windham can be a past first guard who has a very low turnover percentage. If he can score, that feels like a bonus to me. He should be on the floor with four other scorers, so learning to facilitate while protecting the crap out of the ball is what I want from him. He can become a scoring beast next year when we'll seriously need that from him.

I'd honestly like to see a little more of Gus, but we may have to wait until next year for that. He did look good defending against Luke, Matt, and Keenan in practice. I suspect he's just a little too slow on the switches for Collins' taste.

 

[NJCat]

Given Barkley didn't play against Pepperdine but Gus did, I'm thinking he's taking the road to a a redshirt (and potential transfer) too.

He had his redshirt year last season. He got 7 minutes against Lehigh and actually scored a bucket, but was listed as Out the last 2 games on the weekly availability report.

https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltca750cef518bc6e4/blt773720cbe6efd1eb/MBB%20Availability%20Report%20-%20Week%203.pdf

 

[CatJones]

I'd honestly like to see a little more of Gus, but we may have to wait until next year for that. He did look good defending against Luke, Matt, and Keenan in practice. I suspect he's just a little too slow on the switches for Collins' taste.

I'd like to see more of Keenan. He's experienced, pretty nimble, ok touch around the basket, decent with free throws and is a more than willing screener.

 

[EagerFan]

I'd like to see more of Keenan. He's experienced, pretty nimble, ok touch around the basket, decent with free throws and is a more than willing screener.

That's pretty much a guarantee once we get into conference and Matt and Luke are consistently in foul trouble.

 

[IGNORE2]

Barkley hasn't dressed for the last couple of games. I presume due to injury.

Has Clayton dressed?

 

[CatManTrue]

This strikes me as a team that, for now, is playing to the level of its competition. I am really curious to see how things go from here. 68 points at home against a bad Pepperdine team is unimpressive, but we have enough parts to have a respectable offfense.

Leach is not going to create a lot off the dribble. But I love him as a shooter. His stroke is very natural and he seems to have some moxie.

I am hopeful we can run offensive sets through BB and Nick, with Berry and Leach working off screens and occasional cuts.

Nick is a very intense competitor. He is crazy driven. He is playing smart too.

Ty will be a different player in a few weeks. He came back sooner than expected. I don’t think he trusts his knee yet.

Mullins is our best defender. He had a big role in shutting down Todorivic. I think that if our offense evolves, he will find some traction as a slasher/cutter.

Great to see CCC empty the bench. Fitzmorris is a whirling dervish of arms and legs. It’s entertaining if not effective.

The most comedic point of the game was when that big center from Mali, who probably speaks 19 languages, scored on a long fast break outlet after a missed shot.

Ran into Wilbon and Revsine after the game. Wilbon is optimistic about this team.

EDIT: on the final possession last night, we had KJ, Ciarivino, FitzMorris, Smith and Hurlburt on the floor. I felt like I was watching Little Hungry’s middle school team. After 15 or 20 seconds of a Chinese fire drill, Ciarivino saw the shot clock winding down, and did a nice dribble drive penetration into the paint, where he kicked it out to KJ in the corner for a wide open three. Unfortunately, KJ’s shot rimmed out. But for me, KJ and Ciarivno working together to create a good opportunity was a glimpse of the future.