Martinelli comp

[Southport Cat]

Martinelli reminds me more and more of Doug McDermott in his Creighton days with each passing game. Just finds a way to put it on the rim with touch from every conceivable angle, backs his guy down from 20 feet, does all the little flourishes to draw referee attention. Mart’s perimeter shooting and post passing are way on the rise, too. McBuckets was allegedly not athletic enough to play at the next level and we have seen how that turned out. Just stunning improvement from Nick.

The refs let EIU play graba$$ with Nick all night and good on them for challenging the officials to make a decision on how it was going to go and then sticking with what worked when they swallowed the whistles. The more rotund defender for the Panthers knocked Nick down half a dozen times when he would catch it in the paint and we only got a few whistles. The lanky white guy for them was also putting hands on jersey all night. Teams won’t be able to pull that so easily when Brooks is back. Was nice to see Jalen capitalizing on the fear EIU had of Nick - was really smart by CC and co to have Mart set picks for Leach down the stretch and let Jalen make the right decisions. Get our 95% foul shooter to the line 15 times a night and we will beat plenty of BIG opponents.

This is a really, really good ‘Cats team again.

 

[catcrazy]

If we stay healthy I could see a top third of the big ten finish

 

[Southport Cat]

If we stay healthy I could see a top third of the big ten finish

Agree completely. I think we matched up well against Dayton had our best guy suited up. Another fun season in store.

 

[EagerFan]

This seems like a positive spin on us needing overtime to beat a team we should have crushed.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

If we stay healthy I could see a top third of the big ten finish

I think we forget the Boo almost single handedly took over about 5 games last year. That clutch gene is tough to replicate.

 

[catcrazy]

Every team will have games where they don't bring it. Once Barnhizer is back it will put less stress on Nick and he should get more opportunities. We will see if Leach can play like he did the other night against stiffer competition but the aspect I like about this team is that we are a deep team. Both freshmen appear to be in the mix and Justin Mullins and Luke Hunger appear to have stepped up their game

 

[mickbula]

How long will it take for bbarn to get into game shape? How has he been conditioning while hurt? Only lifting upper body stuff? Has he been swimming or what? I am concerned that he might not be his vintage self until January??

 

[Hungry Jack]

I hear he has been working out with that Chuck Norris cable thing. He probably is doing one arm, push-ups, and humping Christe Brinkley.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

I hear he has been working out with that Chuck Norris cable thing. He probably is doing one arm, push-ups, and humping Christe Brinkley.

 

[DaCat]

Collins said in the post game presser that EIU sold out to try to stop Nick all night. Our other players struggled to take advantage of open looks until Leach went Boo on them. Ty hasn’t returned to last year’s form yet, and Hunger hasn’t shown the improvement that Collins sees in practice. We’ll continue to improve and the return of Barney will be the biggest boost.

Also Mart has been logging a ton of minutes in the early going and perhaps needs to be paced a little better by Collins.

 

[mountaindrew]

I think we forget the Boo almost single handedly took over about 5 games last year. That clutch gene is tough to replicate.

Yup. I think we'll do well to go 500 in the league this year.

 

[TheC]

I hear he has been working out with that Chuck Norris cable thing. He probably is doing one arm, push-ups, and humping Christe Brinkley.

Maybe Christie Brinkley’s granddaughter. We’re old now Jack!

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Yup. I think we'll do well to go 500 in the league this year.

Its hard to say, honestly. If Barnhizer returns healthy and plays well, we should be in pretty good shape.

The 2nd biggest question for me is Leach. It would be completely reasonable to think that his performance against Dayton was affected by nerves (as well as the quickness of the Dayton guards).
His clutch shooting (and willingness to take big shots) against EIU and UIC painted a different picture, suggesting he won't be overmatched. Jury still out - and he's important.

Mullins and Ciaravino are performing at the upper end of expectations. For me, Windham is not, but its so early... We need him too.

An the other thing, of course, is that some of our Big Ten foes have won some big games. Purdue beat Alabama, Ohio State beat Texas, Wisconsin beat Arizona by 15, Michigan beat TCU by 12... Penn State beat Virginia Tech by 22. Plenty of good teams in the league, thanks to NIL and the transfer portal.

 

[hdhntr1]

Martinelli reminds me more and more of Doug McDermott in his Creighton days with each passing game. Just finds a way to put it on the rim with touch from every conceivable angle, backs his guy down from 20 feet, does all the little flourishes to draw referee attention. Mart’s perimeter shooting and post passing are way on the rise, too. McBuckets was allegedly not athletic enough to play at the next level and we have seen how that turned out. Just stunning improvement from Nick.

The refs let EIU play graba$$ with Nick all night and good on them for challenging the officials to make a decision on how it was going to go and then sticking with what worked when they swallowed the whistles. The more rotund defender for the Panthers knocked Nick down half a dozen times when he would catch it in the paint and we only got a few whistles. The lanky white guy for them was also putting hands on jersey all night. Teams won’t be able to pull that so easily when Brooks is back. Was nice to see Jalen capitalizing on the fear EIU had of Nick - was really smart by CC and co to have Mart set picks for Leach down the stretch and let Jalen make the right decisions. Get our 95% foul shooter to the line 15 times a night and we will beat plenty of BIG opponents.

This is a really, really good ‘Cats team again.

Not a really good team yet but hopefully getting there

 

[Hungry Jack]

Its hard to say, honestly. If Barnhizer returns healthy and plays well, we should be in pretty good shape.

The 2nd biggest question for me is Leach. It would be completely reasonable to think that his performance against Dayton was affected by nerves (as well as the quickness of the Dayton guards).
His clutch shooting (and willingness to take big shots) against EIU and UIC painted a different picture, suggesting he won't be overmatched. Jury still out - and he's important.

Mullins and Ciaravino are performing at the upper end of expectations. For me, Windham is not, but its so early... We need him too.

An the other thing, of course, is that some of our Big Ten foes have won some big games. Purdue beat Alabama, Ohio State beat Texas, Wisconsin beat Arizona by 15, Michigan beat TCU by 12... Penn State beat Virginia Tech by 22. Plenty of good teams in the league, thanks to NIL and the transfer portal.

The performance hasn't materialized, but the two attributes that have me excited about him are his athleticism and his apparent mindset. I am not sure how he got into foul trouble vs. EIU, but I think their guards were quicker than a lot of teams.