Thoughts on the game vs NK.......

[Jimmy]

My first overall impression is "not overly impressed nor concerned" !

Positives stem from our guy's being in better shape, to a better team atmosphere. Guy's played a little harder tonight than they did last year.

Negatives - Uptempo ? What uptempo ? I think we did play more aggressive but it was mainly in the half court offense. We are not an uptempo team if this is the offense we are running all year. As long as we exucute this offense, it will not be a negative.

Players :

TD = In better shape and is ready to carry the load for us in the paint. He wants the ball and has to be fouled or else. He's still foul prone though.

Ivan Harris = forget about him ever playing in the paint. it's just not him. he tried to remember to go in there a few times but is often out on the perimeter. Looks good though. He played above average defense.

JJ Sullinger = In better shape, playing more aggresive, thats it. Still hanging in the air, still missing freethrows. His defense has improve as far as blocking shots. His perimeter defense was okay. I would much rather see Billings or Foster start here.

Foster = Other than Dials, he's our best player. PERIOD ! Smart, mature, great defender, very nice shooter, unselfish, consistant, and whatever else good you can think to say about him. Has overtaken Billings by being more of a pure shooter. Other than that , he and Billings are a lot alike. Foster gets the edge and deserves it.

Stockman = Playing harder, thinking more, and ofcourse, "taking shots" ! Lets watch him for a while.

Butler = Smooth ! Runs the offense very smooth, defends well on the perimeter, rewards guy's for good defense, and will make you pay if you step off of him. He needs to be a little more aggresive but that will come in time. Love ya and I'm praying for BFC, but I see Butler starting here before long.

MM= No comment

Sylk = Didn't do much. Looks about the same.

Matt T. = Very athletic, getting stronger, and will contribute sooner rather than later. Moves well without the ball. He seems like he was well coached when he got here. I like him!

Jackson-Wilson = Strictly a roll player and seems fine with it. He is sold on mixing it up in the paint. Every team needs these type of guy's. We have a team guy who can do the dirty work right here. Should add more to our team every season.

Billings = Broken ! He didn't smile (which he is known for) didn't show his famous team spirit,He was last to the huddle and last in the locker room, played great perimeter defense but wouldn't shoot the ball, has been beat out by Foster and isn't taking it well. Billings is much improved and eager to show it but he will lose even more chances if he doesn't keep his head up. He and Foster are our best perimeter defenders by far, there is room for him but right now he is 3rd option at the sg behing Foster and Stockman, and 2nd or 3rd option at the sf spot. He needs to show faithfulness here because he could possibly have 1 year left after Foster is gone. Stick it out Billings !

In a post game interview, Matta stated that he thinks he will keep Stockman at the 2 and only use him at the point if we were in a pinch. So it is a Butler/BFC battle for the pg duties. Matta didn't sound happy with JJ's freethrow shooting but likes his athleticism so he will start.

After watching the game I see Matta starting the season off like this:

TD
IH
JJ
TS
BFC (not for long)

I have no idea what happens from there other than Big minutes or a starting job for Foster, while Butler takes the starting pg job soon. Very soon !




BE EASY !!

[Oh8ch]

Jimmy - looks like we were typing at the same time. Fortunately we saw pretty much the same game. Only difference of opinion was on the up-tempo Offense. For one who has watched Obie rotate it around the arc for the past several years I was very pleased to see a team that was much more aggressive attacking the basket in the half court. We aren't getting up and down the court on the break just yet, but that will come.

In any case, nice post. What did you do to get all the red chicklets?

[Jimmy]

I am "antosu" !

All I have to do is show my face and I get red chicklets. Long story !

[osugrad21]

Nice summaries fellas...

What difference did you see in Matta's philosophy or is it too early to compare?

[Jimmy]

The system seemed very similar to me except for the added aggression. The fouls didn't allow an uptempo game but we didn't push it either.

[Oh8ch]

Hey Ant - didn't know that was you. I know the story. A lot of unfortunate bad blood over the whole QB mess.

There were a lot of fouls - three players from NKU went out I believe - and also a ton of of subs. Made it very difficult to get any flow going. The big difference I saw - assuming it was Matta's design - was the willingness to attack the basket in the half-court. Stockman's quick trigger looks right at home in this Offense. But everybody among the starters was a scorer tonight and they all took their heaves when they had the chance. With that approach you are going to get so many more opportunities.

Then again, maybe they were just out of control.

[osugrad21]

Liberal on substitutions or is he letting the guys play through his system?

[Buckmark1]

Thanks for the summary. Its a good start to the season.

[Bucktastic]

We'll be hearing from Foster a Lot this season. He looked very good last night. Love the hustle from this guy....

[DaytonBuck]

If Matta's style at Xavier is indication of what he's gonna do here, we won't run. He switched from the up tempo under Skip Prosser to a half court controlled offense during his tenure there.

[RugbyBuck]

J&O - Thanks for the recaps. I'm kind of glad they didn't come out of the gate uptempo. It's all too easy to get sloppy running that way, especially against a lower tier team. If they're aggressive and playing defense, we can pick up the pace later.

[Oh8ch]

Liberal on substitutions or is he letting the guys play through his system?

11 players saw action in the first half. IMO he was just getting a look at everyone.