Cats Win! oh it's only an exhibition vs Quincy

[DaCat]

Audige led the Cats in scoring with 15 and four other Cats scored double figures in the 69-49 win. Roper was out. Boo was 2-14 from the field. Ugh. Verhoeven scored 11 and blocked 4 shots.


The writeup here from NuSports.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

With Roper out, only six guys played more than 10 minutes.
Audige played 36 minutes. Buie played 33. Thats a lot for an exhibition game.

Barnhizer and Nicholson made an impact. Luke Hunger only played 4 minutes - thats a big disappointment.

Nicholson played 10 minutes, scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 rebounds on each end of the floor. Blocked 2 shots.
Barnhizer seems to have improved his play and his shooting, as I had been hoping / expecting.

But for much of the game we seemed out of synch. Its one game against an overmatched team. Presumably we will move forward.

 

[Catreporter]

Hope Ty Berry gets untracked. He was 0-for until a layup near the end of the game. We need his 3 point shooting because Boo is going to get lots of attention and so is Audige. Barnhizer took advantage of that. We'll live or die by the three this year.

 

[NUCat320]

Berry is not the sharpshooter we expected. He’s NU’s smiliest player since Shurna, and it makes me happy to see how happy competing makes him.


If Hunger and Nicholson can’t get minutes over TVH, we’re in trouble.

I prefer the murmurings that Beran’s become Duncan Robinson and Nicholson is the new Esch.

 

[lunker35]

How was the crowd? It’s my first time in 20 years without season tickets.

 

[Sec.112]

Let's hope Berry's three fouls against a bad team were just an off night for a changed player. However, the Berry classic - a missed three, followed by a dumb foul - is not a good sign.

 

[PurpleFaze]

How was the crowd? It’s my first time in 20 years without season tickets.

What’s the threshold for a crowd? I‘m guessing the attendance was in the 500 range including the pep band

 

[PurpleFaze]

With Roper out, only six guys played more than 10 minutes.
Audige played 36 minutes. Buie played 33. Thats a lot for an exhibition game.

Barnhizer and Nicholson made an impact. Luke Hunger only played 4 minutes - thats a big disappointment.

Nicholson played 10 minutes, scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 rebounds on each end of the floor. Blocked 2 shots.
Barnhizer seems to have improved his play and his shooting, as I had been hoping / expecting.

But for much of the game we seemed out of synch. Its one game against an overmatched team. Presumably we will move forward.

Nicholson’s playing time will likely still be self limiting- he had 2 fouls in 10 mins last night. Hopefully he learns how to avoid fouling in certain situations as the season progresses because without his size the Cat’s lineup is fairly small/soft

 

[ballerog711]

I'm worried about Berry. Body language was terrible after missing first three shots which lead to fouls and bad defensive positioning.

 

[NJCat]

I hope Collins is working on a zone defense. Once Verhoeven gets in foul trouble and Nicholson picks up a few cheap fouls NU is in big trouble. Hunger won't see the court in B1G play.

 

[CatJones]

What’s the threshold for a crowd? I‘m guessing the attendance was in the 500 range including the pep band

The teams, coaches, band, cheerleaders, ushers, vendors, ticket takers, etc. easily outnumbered the crowd

 

[Catskick87]

Should not be worried about Berry’s shooting. Shot 39 percent from threes last year, and I am sure he will be about the same. Anyone can have an off night. It’s just basketball.

 

[elgatoloco]

The Cats don't have the talent to just show up and blow teams out from the opening tip, and for an exhibition I'd be surprised if they prepared at all beyond a simple scouting report that the players probably ignored.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

If Hunger and Nicholson can’t get minutes over TVH, we’re in trouble.

I was really surprised Hunger played so little. My impression, based on comments of others, was that he was ready to make an impact.

Nicholson got his 2nd foul when he came over very aggressively to double a guy that Audige was guarding.
It drew commentary from Tre Demps on the broadcast - "thats the kind of thing you do when you havent played"

 

[Hungry Jack]

All the Nicholbomb haters will be mowing my lawn next spring.

 

[NJCat]

The Cats don't have the talent to just show up and blow teams out from the opening tip, and for an exhibition I'd be surprised if they prepared at all beyond a simple scouting report that the players probably ignored.

They actually did open a big lead in the first half, up 29-10, but substitutions killed the momentum.

 

[ballerog711]

Only thing with Nicholson is finishing around the basket was difficult. He has to fix that in the next month.

Defensively, he was in the right spot Mos of the team, did a great job on his hedge and switch.

I think they sent a message to Hungar to work on your defense in the next month and play harder. Interested to see how he responds.

 

[Catreporter]

Hunger's free throw shooting was ugly while Nicholson's looked improved. Bigs will get fouled and must be able to convert/

 

[Hungry Jack]

I think they sent a message to Hungar to work on your defense in the next month and play harder. Interested to see how he responds.

Until Luke Hungus fixes the cable, he gets no PT

 

[EagerFan]

Boo’s shooting problem hasn’t changed over the years. He loves taking that ‘dagger’ three from deep. That was most of his shots at the exhibition and it’s no surprise he missed … all but one of those, I think.

Barnhizer did a great job of getting set and stepping into his shot. He’s a dangerous shooter when left alone.

Matt demonstrated his ability to dunk without really leaving the ground and I’d like to see more of that. Give up the soft layups, man.

Many things stand out for me about this exhibition. The two main things are that coach basically had to play it like a regular game, leaving his starters get starters minutes - and we didn’t blow them out.

And pretty much everyone who wasn’t Chase or Boo galumphed around the court. This is a team that has little foot speed and will be challenged all season to both get open on offense and over on defense. I foresee a ton of dumb fouls from behind as a guy blows by our players.

I’ll add that Chase played quite well in terms of working within the team and making good shot choices. He even passed several times when he might have jacked some junk up a year ago. If that continues, it bodes well for the offense.

Also #10 was solid and clearly knew what he was doing, played well, and looked like the clear starter at center. If he can play the same way at a B1G tempo, he’s a great get for the year.

 

[NUCat320]

The Cats don't have the talent to just show up and blow teams out from the opening tip, and for an exhibition I'd be surprised if they prepared at all beyond a simple scouting report that the players probably ignored.

Quincy probably had a similar approach, right?

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Boo’s shooting problem hasn’t changed over the years. He loves taking that ‘dagger’ three from deep. That was most of his shots at the exhibition and it’s no surprise he missed … all but one of those, I think.

Barnhizer did a great job of getting set and stepping into his shot. He’s a dangerous shooter when left alone.

Matt demonstrated his ability to dunk without really leaving the ground and I’d like to see more of that. Give up the soft layups, man.

Many things stand out for me about this exhibition. The two main things are that coach basically had to play it like a regular game, leaving his starters get starters minutes - and we didn’t blow them out.

And pretty much everyone who wasn’t Chase or Boo galumphed around the court. This is a team that has little foot speed and will be challenged all season to both get open on offense and over on defense. I foresee a ton of dumb fouls from behind as a guy blows by our players.

I’ll add that Chase played quite well in terms of working within the team and making good shot choices. He even passed several times when he might have jacked some junk up a year ago. If that continues, it bodes well for the offense.

Also #10 was solid and clearly knew what he was doing, played well, and looked like the clear starter at center. If he can play the same way at a B1G tempo, he’s a great get for the year.

#10 Verhoeven put forward the type of effort that can be misleading. Playing against a bad team where he had a physcial advantage, he looked good doing fundamental things. On the other hand, he only got 3 rebounds (all offensive) in 28 minutes. Beran got 8 rebounds in 25 minutes. Nicholson got 6 in a mere 10 minutes.

There is nothing in Verhoeven's 4 full seasons of college basketball to suggest that he will be productive in the Big Ten. Last year at UTEP (Conference USA) he averaged 25 minutes per game, with 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 fouls. In Big Ten games only, Ryan Young played 17 minutes per game, with 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 fouls. Nothing against Verhoeven, but he'd have to make a significant step up to match Young. Nicholson, on the other hand has upside and should (please) improve by playing.

Audige's game looks good on paper, but he played 36 minutes. 7 assists is nice. 4 turnovers against Quincy is scary.

To me, Brooks Barnhizer is the player who stood out - in a good way. He might be our answer to the gaping hole at small forward. (although Collins refers to him as a big guard).

 

[FeralFelidae]

#10 Verhoeven put forward the type of effort that can be misleading. Playing against a bad team where he had a physcial advantage, he looked good doing fundamental things. On the other hand, he only got 3 rebounds (all offensive) in 28 minutes. Beran got 8 rebounds in 25 minutes. Nicholson got 6 in a mere 10 minutes.

There is nothing in Verhoeven's 4 full seasons of college basketball to suggest that he will be productive in the Big Ten. Last year at UTEP (Conference USA) he averaged 25 minutes per game, with 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 fouls. In Big Ten games only, Ryan Young played 17 minutes per game, with 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 fouls. Nothing against Verhoeven, but he'd have to make a significant step up to match Young. Nicholson, on the other hand has upside and should (please) improve by playing.

Verhoeven is a physical presence who plays solid defense. Ryan Young is definitely the better scorer, although Verhoeven will contribute some points. I'm a big Ryan Young fan and I wish that Collins had used Young as a starter with starter's minutes. But as a UTEP fan, I watched Verhoeven at UTEP and I think he'll be a positive contributor. He's not the same type of player as Young but he brings toughness.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Verhoeven is a physical presence who plays solid defense. Ryan Young is definitely the better scorer, although Verhoeven will contribute some points. I'm a big Ryan Young fan and I wish that Collins had used Young as a starter with starter's minutes. But as a UTEP fan, I watched Verhoeven at UTEP and I think he'll be a positive contributor. He's not the same type of player as Young but he brings toughness.

Curious to get your impressions on the level of play in Conference USA versus the Big Ten - especially in the post.

My feeling is that, even if he is fundamentally solid and physically tough, we will be somewhat helpless under the basket if Verhoeven and Beran are trying to defend postups and keep opponents from getting to the offensive boards.

Additionally, if Verhoeven averaged 3 fouls in 25 minutes in C-USA, he'll be closer to 4 fouls in 20 minutes in the Big Ten, at least thats my concern.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Curious to get your impressions on the level of play in Conference USA versus the Big Ten - especially in the post.

My feeling is that, even if he is fundamentally solid and physically tough, we will be somewhat helpless under the basket if Verhoeven and Beran are trying to defend postups and keep opponents from getting to the offensive boards.

Additionally, if Verhoeven averaged 3 fouls in 25 minutes in C-USA, he'll be closer to 4 fouls in 20 minutes in the Big Ten, at least thats my concern.

Conference USA, in my opinion, has been underrated in recent years, especially the top 4 teams in the conference each season. Their automatic bid in recent years, although given a low seed (~13) in the NCAA Tournament, has frequently won their first-round game in the tournament. And these often were NOT the regular season champions. See UNT 2021, Marshall 2018, MTSU 2017, MTSU 2016, and UAB 2015 for seasons when the CUSA rep advanced past the first round. Note that MTSU 2017 was the only team that was also the conference champion.

So, I believe that the competition among the top four teams in CUSA is quite high and they have represented themselves well in the NCAA Tournament. The conference suffers in the computer rankings because the bottom 6 teams are typically atrocious and it drags down all the other teams in the computer rankings.

They are a 1-bid conference where any of the top 4 teams is usually capable of making some noise. The talent differential between the Big 10 and CUSA isn't as drastic as you would find in football, at least in the top half of the conference.

 

[mountaindrew]

Nicholson got his 2nd foul when he came over very aggressively to double a guy that Audige was guarding.
It drew commentary from Tre Demps on the broadcast - "thats the kind of thing you do when you havent played"

EXACTLY. To any normal basketball fan/observer, its beyond obvious that Nicholson has to actually PLAY in order to learn to play smarter. In a scrimmage against Romper Room College, why in the world wouldn't you play MN for 25 minutes, no matter what??

Oh, but The Great Chris Collins knows better than all of us. Why in the world would you want to play a 6'10 or 7'0 guy who can cause the other team to have just a little more difficulty scoring inside than they already do against our parkay lineup, and, oh yeah, we might actually get a few of those things called "rebounds" too.

How stupid. WHY would we want to get rebounds, or prevent the other team from getting to the hole with ease, when we can instead have yet another 6'5 guy stand 25 feet from the basket, and throw up yet another brick the moment the ball rotates to him?? We're so dumb. Thank goodness we have a brilliant basketball mind like The Great Chris Collins leading our team.

Ten whole minutes, in a scrimmage against Romper Room. I'll bet CCC couldn't wait for Matt to get his second foul, so he could yank his ass.

Sorry Matt Nicholson, you blew it. You had your chance last spring to leave and go to a real college basketball team that acknowledges that bigs actually have value, and would have given you real minutes and helped you at least have the CHANCE to develop into a solid P5 player. Anybody who thinks that's going to happen for The Great Chris Collins.... well, God bless you.

 

[NJCat]

I have to admit that I was surprised Matt didn't play more. But let's face it, Verhoeven is the starting Center and the only newcomer among the starters, so maybe Collins is trying to get him comfortable with the other players. Plus the fact that when Matt was in he was clearly not as effective as #10. He'll get playing time all season just because, as pointed out by another poster, Verhoeven is foul prone and NU has no other option.

 

[Catreporter]

Cats have two real games next week and needed to get the "starters" ready. There are no gimmes this year. Big Matt will get plenty of chances this season.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

EXACTLY. To any normal basketball fan/observer, its beyond obvious that Nicholson has to actually PLAY in order to learn to play smarter. In a scrimmage against Romper Room College, why in the world wouldn't you play MN for 25 minutes, no matter what??

Oh, but The Great Chris Collins knows better than all of us. Why in the world would you want to play a 6'10 or 7'0 guy who can cause the other team to have just a little more difficulty scoring inside than they already do against our parkay lineup, and, oh yeah, we might actually get a few of those things called "rebounds" too.

How stupid. WHY would we want to get rebounds, or prevent the other team from getting to the hole with ease, when we can instead have yet another 6'5 guy stand 25 feet from the basket, and throw up yet another brick the moment the ball rotates to him?? We're so dumb. Thank goodness we have a brilliant basketball mind like The Great Chris Collins leading our team.

Ten whole minutes, in a scrimmage against Romper Room. I'll bet CCC couldn't wait for Matt to get his second foul, so he could yank his ass.

Sorry Matt Nicholson, you blew it. You had your chance last spring to leave and go to a real college basketball team that acknowledges that bigs actually have value, and would have given you real minutes and helped you at least have the CHANCE to develop into a solid P5 player. Anybody who thinks that's going to happen for The Great Chris Collins.... well, God bless you.

I like sarcasm, but, while I agree with the points you are making, you are using a tone that will offend some people!

Regarding your points, though, Nicholson does need to play. Clearly. A lot. With Beran. Even Martinelli and Hunger need to play. Verhoeven has 4 full seasons of college basketball under his belt - he does not need to play most of the game against Quincy, or any of the other creampuffs, for that matter.

 

[ballerog711]

He needed to lay to adjust to the defense they were playing.

7 footers Don automatically play. He had trouble finishing around the basket. Plenty of drill he can do with a wall and basket to be better. I want him to succeed. He is a great person. But you knew all the big were leaving and the spot was his to lock up if he put the work in.

 

[GatoLouco]

EXACTLY. To any normal basketball fan/observer, its beyond obvious that Nicholson has to actually PLAY in order to learn to play smarter. In a scrimmage against Romper Room College, why in the world wouldn't you play MN for 25 minutes, no matter what??

Oh, but The Great Chris Collins knows better than all of us. Why in the world would you want to play a 6'10 or 7'0 guy who can cause the other team to have just a little more difficulty scoring inside than they already do against our parkay lineup, and, oh yeah, we might actually get a few of those things called "rebounds" too.

How stupid. WHY would we want to get rebounds, or prevent the other team from getting to the hole with ease, when we can instead have yet another 6'5 guy stand 25 feet from the basket, and throw up yet another brick the moment the ball rotates to him?? We're so dumb. Thank goodness we have a brilliant basketball mind like The Great Chris Collins leading our team.

Ten whole minutes, in a scrimmage against Romper Room. I'll bet CCC couldn't wait for Matt to get his second foul, so he could yank his ass.

Sorry Matt Nicholson, you blew it. You had your chance last spring to leave and go to a real college basketball team that acknowledges that bigs actually have value, and would have given you real minutes and helped you at least have the CHANCE to develop into a solid P5 player. Anybody who thinks that's going to happen for The Great Chris Collins.... well, God bless you.

Even Lenine, who so often professes his love for his former coach, said, at a point, that Matt Nicholson needs reps. That no amount of practice can replace that.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

EXACTLY. To any normal basketball fan/observer, its beyond obvious that Nicholson has to actually PLAY in order to learn to play smarter. In a scrimmage against Romper Room College, why in the world wouldn't you play MN for 25 minutes, no matter what??

Oh, but The Great Chris Collins knows better than all of us. Why in the world would you want to play a 6'10 or 7'0 guy who can cause the other team to have just a little more difficulty scoring inside than they already do against our parkay lineup, and, oh yeah, we might actually get a few of those things called "rebounds" too.

How stupid. WHY would we want to get rebounds, or prevent the other team from getting to the hole with ease, when we can instead have yet another 6'5 guy stand 25 feet from the basket, and throw up yet another brick the moment the ball rotates to him?? We're so dumb. Thank goodness we have a brilliant basketball mind like The Great Chris Collins leading our team.

Ten whole minutes, in a scrimmage against Romper Room. I'll bet CCC couldn't wait for Matt to get his second foul, so he could yank his ass.

Sorry Matt Nicholson, you blew it. You had your chance last spring to leave and go to a real college basketball team that acknowledges that bigs actually have value, and would have given you real minutes and helped you at least have the CHANCE to develop into a solid P5 player. Anybody who thinks that's going to happen for The Great Chris Collins.... well, God bless you.

The Big Matt legend continues to grow! Sure hope he is all that many on this board think he can be.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

The Big Matt legend continues to grow! Sure hope he is all that many on this board think he can be.

Actually, if you read mountaindrew's comment again, he never really says anything positive about Nicholson. He's just venting on Collins for not giving the guy a chance, getting him playing time.
As ballerog711 and others have pointed out, Nicholson has things to work on that require game experience.

We'll see what happens tonight.

 

[EagerFan]

#10 Verhoeven put forward the type of effort that can be misleading. Playing against a bad team where he had a physcial advantage, he looked good doing fundamental things. On the other hand, he only got 3 rebounds (all offensive) in 28 minutes. Beran got 8 rebounds in 25 minutes. Nicholson got 6 in a mere 10 minutes.

There is nothing in Verhoeven's 4 full seasons of college basketball to suggest that he will be productive in the Big Ten. Last year at UTEP (Conference USA) he averaged 25 minutes per game, with 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 fouls. In Big Ten games only, Ryan Young played 17 minutes per game, with 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 fouls. Nothing against Verhoeven, but he'd have to make a significant step up to match Young. Nicholson, on the other hand has upside and should (please) improve by playing.

Audige's game looks good on paper, but he played 36 minutes. 7 assists is nice. 4 turnovers against Quincy is scary.

To me, Brooks Barnhizer is the player who stood out - in a good way. He might be our answer to the gaping hole at small forward. (although Collins refers to him as a big guard).

I think having an experienced player with good fundamental skills is a good thing. Hopefully he can impart some of that on his fellow players. There is always the concern that he will be another Ryan Taylor and I think it's a reasonable concern. On my first viewing he looks like a net asset.

Brooks showed, again first viewing, good shooting skills and if he can keep that up opposing defenses will need to guard him, but that doesn't seem like a challenge. He's slow footed and hops/bounces about, shouldn't be tough to neutralize.

Matt would have had more time on the court if he were a better player imho. It didn't help that Quincy went small and speedy, closed the first half gap by scoring and shutting us down, and probably scared the heck out of Collins.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Actually, if you read mountaindrew's comment again, he never really says anything positive about Nicholson. He's just venting on Collins for not giving the guy a chance, getting him playing time.
As ballerog711 and others have pointed out, Nicholson has things to work on that require game experience.

We'll see what happens tonight.

I hope Big Matt gets 25 minutes tonight. Let’s see how much he can be expected to help against formidable squads

 

[combes]

Ryan Young starting for Duke tonight.

 

[GatoLouco]

Played 7 and 1/2 minutes before being substituted.

 

[ballerog711]

Yep, just got beat because he did not close out, got beat on a high low pass and put in floor for help. Tremendous defense player

 

[NJCat]

Ends up with 12 points and 7 boards. Outscored 5* Filopowski.

 

[GatoLouco]

Scheyer might see him as a necessary veteran presence on the court. To help so many youngsters play more under control.

It did not even cross my mind he’d start. But I know very little about this Duke team.