Game thread American University
- Thread starter LansingCat
- Start date
Our defensive intensity was impressive. We are already better on D than in most games last year. The offense is ... a work in progress. Maybe a few pick and rolls or a horns set wouldn’t be the worst thing. But a solid, workmanlike win.
Let's be honest, the offense is a mess. Vic was a man tonight. Lot of passes around the 3 point arc but no penetration or driving by anyone else. Cats rally miss Lathon.
We will be a sweet 16 team. Just wait till Ash is healthy in January. We are going to make a run
Or we could do the thing where we wait until we have played more than two games to decide the fate of the season.
37 missed shots on 58 attempts....18 percent from three
A lot of the threes were in and out...so not real worried about that....guys that have playing years.....Taylor, Turner, Law....will shoot their averages....Falzon will come back and shoot his average. I think Kopp and Greer will make shots from distance.
More concerning were the myriad of attempts from inside the arc and all the misses....bad shots.....shots taken off of poor foot position.
Law is outstanding. Pardon, even though he had a poor shooting night, dominates. Turner has been really solid in many facets, really nice player. And then the two frosh look the best to me. Both look like they should start or be first off the bench.
A little worried that Collins tightens up the minutes. Nobody but Law was hitting....play Nance some more minutes.
Taylor will be back. New system, new players, new court. He'll be back up next game.
A lot of the threes were in and out...so not real worried about that....guys that have playing years.....Taylor, Turner, Law....will shoot their averages....Falzon will come back and shoot his average. I think Kopp and Greer will make shots from distance.
More concerning were the myriad of attempts from inside the arc and all the misses....bad shots.....shots taken off of poor foot position.
Law is outstanding. Pardon, even though he had a poor shooting night, dominates. Turner has been really solid in many facets, really nice player. And then the two frosh look the best to me. Both look like they should start or be first off the bench.
A little worried that Collins tightens up the minutes. Nobody but Law was hitting....play Nance some more minutes.
Taylor will be back. New system, new players, new court. He'll be back up next game.
There’s a lot of good potential elements: Law’s all-around game, Pardon’s post moves and midrange jumpers, the shooting from Taylor and Turner. Just no coherence yet. Collins in the WGN postgame said he was still trying to figure things out himself.
Yep that's what these early season games are for. But the B1G season starts early this year so better figure it out sooner rather than later.
They will be fine. This squad will be less reliant on the 3 than last year. And the defense should be better too. Even Taylor looks ok on D.
My biggest worry is they only have 10 live bodies right now. Falzon, Ash, Hall, Malnati...one more guy down and they will have to recruit some guys from Blomquist.
Would like to have seen Nance get a few more minutes so he can start developing an identity within the squad... were gonna need him big time down the stretch especially when our top guys are missing shots like tonight. Although Law kept pressing and eventually got his shots to start falling.
Better teams will exploit our misses and go on big runs against us even if we are playing disciplined defense. I think Nance will be our X factor as the season progresses.
Better teams will exploit our misses and go on big runs against us even if we are playing disciplined defense. I think Nance will be our X factor as the season progresses.
I'd like to our centers take a step or two away from the basket....out of the paint.....receive a pass, turn, face up and if not defended shoot
Receiving the contact low, leveraging and bring the shot over the opposite shoulder is great....I'd just like to see us mix it up and show a different threat
Benson shot very well from 10ft last year (and the year before). Dererk can knock it down as well.
Receiving the contact low, leveraging and bring the shot over the opposite shoulder is great....I'd just like to see us mix it up and show a different threat
Benson shot very well from 10ft last year (and the year before). Dererk can knock it down as well.
Play Nance more?
Seems like he curled up like a turtle after one mistake. We need guys who are assertive who can also shoot. Nance isnt assertive. Turner is the exact opposite of assertiveness but he should be.
Looks to me like the strategy to stopping this NU offense is play tight man and prevent the outside shot. No one other than Vic is a risk to drive the ball, and all the Cats seem to want to do is jack up 3's. Lots of passing around the perimeter but nothing inside. It's a mess right now. And the inability to get buckets inside will haunt them in B1G play.
It's not Collins' fault, but he really misses Lathon. Last time I'll bring it up.
How can you miss something you never had? Weird thing to say.
Lathon update: 3 turnovers, 0 assists in 37 minutes in blowout loss to New Mexico State.
Who’s Lathon? Never suited up for us, and now looks like a turnover machine at the mid-major level. Time to move on.
Greer looked good last night.
Greer looked very solid. Was very impressed with his playmaking and defense. Solid.
the moment in the last minute or so when American pressed....Greer dribbled through it and then passed to Law who was open to pass up court if he wasn't fouled
The dribbling through it part....Greer is the only guy on the roster who can do that....maybe Tino
That's not enough to get you on the court. He was a settling influence with the ball. Determined to see the offense run. Judicious with his shots.
Get him 25 minutes a game every game before conference gets going.
Game two, still working the kinks out and seeing how the machine runs. They will either sort the offense out, or will lose a lot of big ten games as bigger, more talented teams focus on shutting Law down and getting Pardon in quick foul trouble, leaving the team helpless.
I was thinking the same thing........much too soon to write off Kopp and Nance though.
Greer just needs to knock down his shots — he has a nice stroke — and settle down a little, but overall I thought he played well.
He also needs to develop a teardrop floater in the lane.
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