Montana thoughts

I am surprised by the angles the beat writers and Bob Ryan took on Sunday. BC looked great in the second half of the Montana game, but I don’t think this was the overwhelming display of superiority that the real writers did. BC looked very uninspired for the first half and was guilty again of playing down to the competition. But allow me to return to the survive and advance mantra…BC can rest up and get ready for a much tougher opponent. Here are my thoughts on the game.

Likes:

Sean Williams defense. Williams still let’s rebounds slip through his fingers and is a nonfactor in the set Flex. Defense is a different story. He looked great blocking and disrupting shots. And there’s more to it than that. I often see Sean directing traffic and flashing out and slowing the screens. I don’t know if his “directions” are obvious or even listened to, but they signal a growing maturity that he and BC need. Back to the game…he took it over defensively. I didn’t feel BC was in control until he started shutting down the Griz in the second half.

The foul shooting. The constant Achilles Heel was not an issue in either game this weekend. Odds would suggest it will cool off this next round but I’ll take 31 for 38 over the two games.

Rebounding. After getting outrebounded against Pacific, the team came out and dominated the boards against Montana. Many were cheap gimmes on our own missed shots, but the team shut down the Montana offense in the second half by not allowing many second chances.

Dislikes:

Dudley and Smith’s shot selection. Ignore the kudos both received for a minute. They both carried the team in this weekend, but I saw a lot of forced shots on Saturday. Just look at the percentages. This offense is dependent on good shots, not forcing it over double and triple teams. They can get away with it against a smaller, weaker team like Montana. It won’t be as easy going forward. They both just need a subtle reminder to remember the cutters and kick outs.

Sean Marshall’s shooting. I wish we would use him closer to the basket. He has gone from a inconsistent shooter to a liability. The only bright spot is that he tends to break these awful stretches with good games. Look for something (anything) Friday.

First half defense. I’ll attribute it to tired legs after a long stretch of games, the altitude and the travel. No one played with much intensity and allowed some awful backdoor cuts.

These guys should be proud of their accomplishments. You saw glimpses of what makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the country. You also saw reminders of why they lost to teams like Georgia Tech and Virginia. Now let’s see them regroup and bring it this Friday.