...what team can match up with Duke? Keels has a bit of Zion in his veins.
Keels(DUKE) is a mismatch every game...
- Thread starter jamsession3
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He and Banchero are probably 2 of the top 5 freshman in the country. If AJ comes on and we shoot better we could be like 2015. But we have to shoot better. Moore looked ready to have a huge game before he cramped up and Theo is just the tough experienced guy we need. Mark will be back, but he could be matchup dependent.
AJ will get there. He gave us huge minutes tonight. It was unexpected and needed.
No wonder Steward flew out the door lol. God I'm so relieved we won. I was having 98 flashbacks.
The '98 elite eight does not exist in this dojo.
I really like the toughness Keels, Theo and AJ give us. Moore too. I'm over the moon right now. One 3 will not beat the Zags, but we can work on that. (1 for 13 from 3; yikes) And AJ has a ton of upside. Even now he's miles ahead of Baker.
I think Baker gives us some big minutes before it's all over with. He had some nice moments tonight. Especially that rebound off of his missed three that led to two free throws. He's more confident. We just have some studs in front of him.
I tried to tell Duke fans last year who didn’t want to rely on freshmen again this season. These freshmen are grown men—literally and figuratively. Our freshmen last year were boys and that’s no disrespect to them, but most games are won by the stronger team and tonight that played out.
You were right, Q. This a team of men. Kentucky is a damn good team too. I thought this was a helluva college basketball game.
Last year we would have lost this game. I was impressed with our toughness. Kentucky is okay; maybe a round of 32 team. Sweet 16 maybe.
Have to respectively disagree, Chris. Their defense, guard play, shooting, and overall toughness really makes them a tough out come tournament time. I think they're a favorite to win the SEC too. Which is a tougher conference in basketball now. I hate Kentucky with a passion. This is a really good team.
One thing is for sure. Gonzaga will be better. We shoot better we have a shot at taking them down.
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the zags have Texas and UCLA to worry about before they take on our Blue Devils.
Good news from tonight is that Banchero, Keels and Moore came as advertised if not better. Theo was much better than advertised. Williams and Roach were both letdowns on the offensive end although Roach played solid defense. Mark played very average outside of a couple blocked shots but Theo was much better at guarding the post and being involved offensively. AJ provided some much needed help that I didn’t think we would see because he would still be out from injury. And yes, we need to be able to hit 3 pointers or this will be a less talented version of the Zion/RJ team.
Finally, Keels, Banchero and Moore are all built so strong but the problem with being that muscular is cramps. Need to figure out how to avoid that issue moving forward because we could very well lose a game or two if they have cramps in really close and hard fought games.
but it’s not only that, I dont care what anyone says, when covid protocol hits like it did last year and you depend on freshman, you cannot get them prepared how you need them to be an sweet sixteen team…. Much less a NCAAT team
No doubt and Covid certainly was a factor, but in our losses last season, you could see our freshmen didn’t look like Keels, Paolo, AJ, Zion, RJ, Cam, Wendell, Marvin, Tatum, Okafor, Winslow, Parker or Rivers.
Covid affected every team last season no doubt, but it really affected young teams who players looked and played like they were still seniors in high school being relied heavily upon. If we have THESE freshmen last year, we get into the NCAA Tournament easily.
Agreed 100% here. You forgot my boy Tyus on that list! Lol
i think Big Marks offense is predicated on others getting him opportunities and getting putbacks....guys were clicking tonight and shots were fallen...and theo was somewhat of a better match to Oscar, man that dude was a vacuum tonight and just seemed to be in the right spot everytime...GREAT WIN!!!!1
Just how I felt. The physicality this team brings is impressive. Keels. Theo. Banchero. Moore (who looks in so much better shape this year). They all bring a strong physical game and seem to want to play defense.
3 pt shooting will be the key. Have to find some shooters. We really didn’t have many catch and shoot 3s in rhythm. Not even sure who the best shooters from range are. But they need to try to work on those. Although they have a lot of talent getting to the bucket.
Keels is going to be in the foil like a lot. So too Paolo.
Keels and Paolo appear to be the most college ready freshmen we've had since RJ and Zion.
I'm not overly impressed with how Duke handled the pick and roll. That's the offense we're going to see over and over. How many dunks did their center have off of picks and rolls?
The 3 wasn't there for us and we didn't force it, which was great.
Roach did about how I hoped he would do. He's not an All-American but if he keeps the random drives down he'll be more than adequate.
Love John as I did when he was at Marquette and hopefully he will toughen up Mark as the season progresses.
Surprised to see Blakes so early in the game. Coach K really likes him.
I'm just not sure Joey is going to be a main player except against zones. Griffin showed positive signs on defense and the boards that we're going to need.
I think Kentucky is a really good team but hard to tell.
It was a really good start to the season with lots of room to improve.
I'm not overly impressed with how Duke handled the pick and roll. That's the offense we're going to see over and over. How many dunks did their center have off of picks and rolls?
The 3 wasn't there for us and we didn't force it, which was great.
Roach did about how I hoped he would do. He's not an All-American but if he keeps the random drives down he'll be more than adequate.
Love John as I did when he was at Marquette and hopefully he will toughen up Mark as the season progresses.
Surprised to see Blakes so early in the game. Coach K really likes him.
I'm just not sure Joey is going to be a main player except against zones. Griffin showed positive signs on defense and the boards that we're going to need.
I think Kentucky is a really good team but hard to tell.
It was a really good start to the season with lots of room to improve.
Keels will go in the late lottery, 20ish range if he plays like this. I do have 2 things that we have to watch for if we want to make a deep run. One is 3 point shooting, as teams are going to zone us if we shoot like that like in Zion's year. The other is Williams. We were supposed to have a big advantage there, and he got pushed around. Maybe a one off, but that was supposed to be a huge advantage and we made the Kentucky big man look like Rodman. Thrilled with the win; much better to work on these things after a win. Without Theo we lose last night. As I said last night Steward and Coleman leaving makes sense now, as Theo and Keels are studs. If Baker can't make shots Bates Jones may get a look.
It would have been great to have JGold on this team…
DJ would have come off the bench too. Still his offense and intensity would have been good but his D, well…
DJ would have come off the bench too. Still his offense and intensity would have been good but his D, well…
Theo is just what we need for those tough sweet 16 /elite eight type games.
Can’t completely overhaul Moore’s body and game during the COVID protocol period either. It’s not just Freshman that need that time to step there game up. Seems like Wendell is finally starting to put the pieces together to go from having an occasional outstanding game to being an outstanding player.
Keels and AJ have kind of switched places, with Keels looking like a top 10 guy. Not fair I know, as AJ has been injured. Look forward to seeing AJ improve.
We’ll be fine shooting, but that 3 point streak was certainly hanging in the balance
But Moore had a year under his belt before Covid. I think we expected Moore to take a huge leap from his freshman to sophomore year and he didn’t at the beginning of the season which made us rely MOORE on Hurt and the not so strong freshmen.
Gonzaga beat Dixie St. yesterday by 33. Not a powerhouse. Chet had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. 5 guys in double figures. The Iowa St. transfer had 15. Strawther the 6-7 soph. wing had 17 and 10. I've heard he looks to have made a big leap. Should be a fun game with them. Nembhard, Timme and Sallis with relatively quiet games.
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Baker is going to have to do more then just shoot to be able to score. Teams know he’s a situational player brought in to hit threes but I thought he showed some progress last night following his missed shot getting the rebound and going to the basket.
Even without the 3, we are still a lot more balanced than the Zion team and a better shooting team.
1 for 13 is better? 
I agree we will shoot better, but we seem to have this issue every year. Thankfully we drive the ball well and look good defensively. Those rims always seem to tighten up on us in big games. In the scrimmages they all looked like JJ Reddick. (I'm really happy with the win don't get me wrong.) We could be great this year. We are elite at driving the ball.
I agree we will shoot better, but we seem to have this issue every year. Thankfully we drive the ball well and look good defensively. Those rims always seem to tighten up on us in big games. In the scrimmages they all looked like JJ Reddick. (I'm really happy with the win don't get me wrong.) We could be great this year. We are elite at driving the ball.
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Overall shooting. Keels, Moore, and Paolo are very good midrange shooters. Zion and RJ killed it at the rim, but were not as good from just inside the arc to the foul line. Also think Keels, Moore, and Paolo will be better from the FT line than Zion and RJ.
UK also did a very good job defending the 3 last night. Those were contested 3s. Zion's team was bad at wide open 3s. And, they still would have been in the FF if MSU wasn't allowed to intentionally hold Zion throughout the game.
UK also did a very good job defending the 3 last night. Those were contested 3s. Zion's team was bad at wide open 3s. And, they still would have been in the FF if MSU wasn't allowed to intentionally hold Zion throughout the game.
You have to expend a lot of energy coming back from a deficit. Kentucky looked gassed at the end. Mark came back in near the end almost like a bench guy and gave us a spark.
I see 3 weaknesses:
1. 3 pt shooting (probably will translate to FT shooting)
2. No pure point guard/lack of assists
3. No senior leadership
Of these, lack of senior leadership has the best chance to derail us in March. There is no senior Quinn Cook or John Scheyer. Live by the three, die by the three. We probably won't shoot enough 3s to die by them---so maybe not a huge deal as long as we get back to our bread and butter. Likewise, our ability to break defenders down off the dribble and get shots close to the rim will offset our lack of assists.
This team will play elite defense, have elite rim protection, and elite playmaking. When was the last time we said that???
1. 3 pt shooting (probably will translate to FT shooting)
2. No pure point guard/lack of assists
3. No senior leadership
Of these, lack of senior leadership has the best chance to derail us in March. There is no senior Quinn Cook or John Scheyer. Live by the three, die by the three. We probably won't shoot enough 3s to die by them---so maybe not a huge deal as long as we get back to our bread and butter. Likewise, our ability to break defenders down off the dribble and get shots close to the rim will offset our lack of assists.
This team will play elite defense, have elite rim protection, and elite playmaking. When was the last time we said that???
We have veteran leaders in Theo and Wendell. Maybe even Bates Jones. His brother is considered to have very good leadership skills. You don't need to be a star to be a leader. Ask K about JRob
Some guys are natural leaders, regardless of age or seniority. I think we may have that in Paolo and Trevor.
Time will tell, but so far this team looks like it has great chemistry and, hopefully, the necessary leadership will be there.
Some guys are natural leaders, regardless of age or seniority. I think we may have that in Paolo and Trevor.
Time will tell, but so far this team looks like it has great chemistry and, hopefully, the necessary leadership will be there.
I worry about 3 point shooting more than leadership lol. And Theo provided leadership last night. He was our push back guy. As was Keels.
