Likes
Tyrese Rice: Another clutch performance. Earlier in the season when he was flailing around a bit I wondered if he really had the goods. He may have some rough nights ahead, but last night he showed that when he is on, he is really on. The shooting is one thing. But a sign that he is really coming along is the improved passing, finding the open men in the flex and most unbelievably for a guy his size -- backdooring on the baseline. Huge game.
Sean Marshall: I’ve been killing him lately so I have to give him credit for his big first half. Last night is how he should play most games: work the boards, drift out for the occasional three and run like hell to get back on defense. He is not a gunner and maybe he has it out of his system. He can contribute effectively without trying to shoot all the time or handle the ball.
The defense on Hansbrough:You might wonder how can I like a performance when a guy 26 on us? Because I thought he could have scored more. I liked giving him different looks. I also liked McLain getting long minutes fronting him. Akida might not have the bulk, but he moves well and was working hard against Hansbrough. Williams and Oates were a little more overmatched in one on one situations but the did provide variety.
Dislikes
The officiating: Read my logs and you’ll see I rarely whine about the refs, but I thought last night was a horrible game. Yes the total fouls were close. I thought there was a difference in how they were called. Hansbrough got ever call close to the basket and was able to turn a few of them into 3-point plays. BC was drawing fouls in non-shooting situations on the perimeter. And Smith was getting mugged. I just think you cannot protect one star and then leave the whistle in your pocket for another.
Dudley’s foul shooting: A new theme. I have no idea what is going on. I don’t think we can count on him from the line anymore. (Notice how Hinnant took the technical against Miami.)
Overall I like where this team is heading. I’ve called for a consistent rotation, but the variety that hurt us early seemed to help us against Miami and UNC. Hopefully we will take care of Tech this weekend.
Hoping to remove any bad karma from our first matchup, I used the Chik–fil-A coupon on the back of my Tech ticket stub for my lunch today.
Posts
2 comments:
Yeah, the referees were terrible... they gave Hansbrough every freaking call, then clearly overturned a foul on him (would have been his 4th) to "reassign" it to a UNC scrub. I've seen worse, and when it comes to ACC officiating, there are only a few I trust to not be influenced by the home crowd: Bryan Kersey, Duke Edsall, and Karl Hess. I'm not saying that the other guys are bums, but I wouldn't bet my savings on any road victories without one of those three guys present.
A couple other likes stood out for me.
-Hinnant -- both the way he looked to shoot at times and the way he and Rice played together were tremendous last night.
-Rice -- has cearly become more disciplined and is shooting more in the flow of the game rather than just chucking it up
-Smitty -- He's starting to work the inside outside pass mixing up taking it to the hoop and kicking it out. This was huge and I think this really improves our offense.
Other dislikes
-Keeping Rice on the bench for the first 10 minutes of the second half. The offense actually played very effectively, but this kid needs to be on the floor more
-No Haynes. We're gonna need this kids defense on the perimeter in the future. Where was he?
Wish I could have your even temperedness when it comes to Marshal, I really have a hard time seeing what he brings to the table especialy with the missed wide open lay up and airballed jumpers. What does he give us that haynes wouldn't?
Overall I agree with you on this performance. I might even go so far as to say this ws the best offensive game I've seen this team play in 2+ years and their attitude has come along way from the NC State game.
Lets just hope they take care of business this weekend.
Post a Comment