Did a nice job today. I think the back-up center job should be his to lose. He has 6 blocks this year in 5 or 6 games. Hunger has 1 block and 1 steal this year. That’s hard to do. You almost have to be trying to avoid the ball.
Fitzmorris
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He looked very rough in the first half. Reese abused him on a couple plays. However he reset and gave great minutes in second half. A few excellent defensive possessions in succession. Way to step up. Go Cats
He is very likeable and unlike hunger doesn’t waste valuable possessions with bad shots.
He looked naive in some instances. But not more than the amount of and 1's Hunger allows.
He played withing himself, he did not waste shots.
Last night was the rare game we could have used all 3 of them. And we only had 2.
He played withing himself, he did not waste shots.
Last night was the rare game we could have used all 3 of them. And we only had 2.
Definitely improving in the second half. Gets caught high way too much and isn’t quick enough to prevent lay ups. It looked like a lay up line in the first half when he flashed high. On offense, he makes Hunger look like Bill Walton. Most enthusiast guy we’ve had in forever and seems to be a favorite of his teammates. Let’s hope he continues to get better as those two monsters on Michigan are forces.
He's more athletic than I expected. Not a high flyer by any stretch, but he has more juice in those shoes than I thought he did. On the offensive end, he does a pretty nice job of keeping balls alive with tipping missed shots out in hopes that a teammate can grab it, but brings pretty much nothing else on that end of the floor. On defense, he bites on shot fakes way too hard and gets stuck in the air a lot, but he brings a lot of energy and works really hard. He brings a type of energy that has value.
He's not a guy that should be getting a lot of minutes, but has shown he can be a guy that deserves some minutes. That's important in a league with a lot of big teams that will draw fouls from Nicholson and Hunger (two guys who seem to get in foul trouble often). Having another big man option is important. He's also someone you can toss in on nights when maybe Nicholson is off or not bringing any energy, which seems to happen from time to time.
Overall, for the role he plays, I've been pretty happy with what he has shown the last two games. A pretty limited player, but understands what his role is and embraces it.
He's not a guy that should be getting a lot of minutes, but has shown he can be a guy that deserves some minutes. That's important in a league with a lot of big teams that will draw fouls from Nicholson and Hunger (two guys who seem to get in foul trouble often). Having another big man option is important. He's also someone you can toss in on nights when maybe Nicholson is off or not bringing any energy, which seems to happen from time to time.
Overall, for the role he plays, I've been pretty happy with what he has shown the last two games. A pretty limited player, but understands what his role is and embraces it.
Big Matt looked like he lost his dog when Nick’s buzzer beater went in.
I didn't mind the Blake Barkley minutes either. Throwing him in showed the appropriate amount of desperation during an absolute must-win.
Barkley got some deserved applause when he came in and slowed things down after Fitzmorris was playing matador defense against Reese. Very glad that Fitzmorris picked it up in the 2nd half and got a number of blocked shots. In a 5-minute sequence from 14:50 to 9:51 in the second half, he got:
Offensive rebound leading to a Martinelli 3 to tie the game at 46 and kick off the 13-0 run
The slightest of touches on a Gillespie jump shot to alter it
A block on a Queen jumper
Offensive rebound leading to a Barnhizer 3 to cap the 13-0 run
A block on a Rice layup
Sub out to rapturous applause
Luke has really struggled offensively this year. Unless that changes, I don’t think he should get many minutes. I don’t know if we have the luxury at this point of allowing him to play through his struggles until he regains some confidence. He offers no rim protection. None.
That was a fantastic sequence. Hopefully it means the game is slowing down a bit for him.
Blake Barkley looked like the cave man in Quest for Fire out there.
Without stepping on PWB's toes:
1st half
Fitzmorris was -4 in his first segment, with Reese going 0-1 and scoring 2 points,
+4 in his second segment, with Reese going 2-3 and scoring 4 points.
Barkley was +2 in his 2 minutes with Reese going 0-1 and scoring 2 points.
2nd half
Fitzmorris was -2 with Reese going 1-1 for 2 points
Then from the start of the 13-0 run until he was subbed out, Fitz was +10 with Reese going 0-1 for 0 points.
His last segment, he was -3 with Reese taking no shots.
1st half
Fitzmorris was -4 in his first segment, with Reese going 0-1 and scoring 2 points,
+4 in his second segment, with Reese going 2-3 and scoring 4 points.
Barkley was +2 in his 2 minutes with Reese going 0-1 and scoring 2 points.
2nd half
Fitzmorris was -2 with Reese going 1-1 for 2 points
Then from the start of the 13-0 run until he was subbed out, Fitz was +10 with Reese going 0-1 for 0 points.
His last segment, he was -3 with Reese taking no shots.
Fitzmorris needs more experience? He has the most on the team.
I don’t get this perception that Fitz is a rim protector. I actually think this is a shortcoming. He’s tall enough to get a few blocks usually by chasing a smaller player that went right around him. We know our guards can’t stop penetration of quicker PG. Fitz doesn’t get in position fast enough to use his size. This is where Big Matt excels. Fitz best attribute is keeping balls alive with the back tap on missed shots.
I think what Fitzmorris might bring as an intangible is that his role is essentially just like Nicholson's.
So his teammates know what he's supposed to do - and he can watch tape of Nicholson and compare it to his own play.
With Hunger its a different style - and it seems to me that Lowery prefers that big guy in the paint.
There are times when we play better with Hunger out there - usually against smaller, mobile centers.
Fitzmorris is easier to dislodge than Nicholson, thats for sure.
I was surprised to see Reese pull Nicholson close and say something in his ear in the handshake line. Seemed like an acknowledgment of respect.
He is probably told to take those shots, If he hits one all of a sudden the D has to account for it and that opens up a lot of other things, Unfortunately he has not really hit them enough to make it a threat
His form looks like he can shoot. Unfortunately the results aren’t there. Dude has hit a grand total of one 3 pointer this season and is a 17% shooter from deep on his career. It’s time to move away from that shot unless he’s just draining them in practice.
He looked great shooting against Lehigh, but so did everyone else. He’s hit nothing since.
I was surprised to see Reese pull Nicholson close and say something in his ear in the handshake line. Seemed like an acknowledgment of respect.
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The postgame exchange was interesting. I saw one of the NU players look a specific MD player, asked another MD guy where he was, and took off toward the MD locker room (I assume to wish that opponent well). Must be a lot of respect between the teams.
[/QUOTE]
The postgame exchange was interesting. I saw one of the NU players look a specific MD player, asked another MD guy where he was, and took off toward the MD locker room (I assume to wish that opponent well). Must be a lot of respect between the teams.
The postgame exchange was interesting. I saw one of the NU players look a specific MD player, asked another MD guy where he was, and took off toward the MD locker room (I assume to wish that opponent well). Must be a lot of respect between the teams.
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Yeah I saw Martinelli run down there twice - but then it looked like he was signing autographs!
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