Just a few notes for discussion...
I really liked what I saw from Burton in this game. His defense is still below average, but he is not afraid to try to drive the ball into the lane and try to score. We need guys who will do that. In addition, he does a pretty good job of getting himself open in the high post and making accurate passes when he gets the ball there. Having a guy who knows how to play in the high post can go a long way to getting guys open looks down low or on the 3 point line. He is also shooting over 40% from 3 (I think this is the case. Didn't look it up).
Hammonds also had a strong game. Didn't make a lot of glaring mistakes. Fought for some rebounds. Hit some 3's. Was nearly perfect while shooting more than 10 FT.
Speaking of FT shooting...this team should win a couple of close games due to being able to shoot them well. There are some guys on this roster that can really shoot them, and very few rotation players that are liabilities at the line. Ford will be able to put 5 guys in, at the end of tight games, who can all be depended on to make them.
Didn't see much zone defense if any. I am surprised since it was such a key part of the victory against Minn. Maybe Ford doesn't want other teams to spend a lot of time preparing for us to use it and will only use it infrequently. Or, maybe he felt this was a bad team to go zone against. Or, maybe he felt the team needs as much work as possible on M 2 M defense.
Olivier looked better in this game. His defense is still a big problem, however. He definitely knows how to play on the offensive end. It will be interesting to see if he can be successful against taller/more athletic Big 12 interior defenders.
Newberry is obviously bothered by his mask. But, his rebounding was impressive. Haven't checked the box score, but won't be surprised if he led us in RB last night.
It was good to see some of Ibaka. That dude looks like Tarzan. Too soon to say whether or not he plays like Jane. Didn't look totally lost out there, and I saw enough positives to think that the potential is there for him to develop into a Big 12 level player.
Watching this team, it is becoming more and more clear to me that this roster is full of guys that are good enough to play in the Big 12, but currently there are no guys who are All Big 12 level. They are all about the same, and I expect we will see a lot of inconsistency throughout the rest of the season. Different guys will look impressive while other guys don't do much, or look over-matched in each game. It is going to be tough to get a clear picture of who belongs in the rotation and which guys deserve the most minutes throughout the season.
I really liked what I saw from Burton in this game. His defense is still below average, but he is not afraid to try to drive the ball into the lane and try to score. We need guys who will do that. In addition, he does a pretty good job of getting himself open in the high post and making accurate passes when he gets the ball there. Having a guy who knows how to play in the high post can go a long way to getting guys open looks down low or on the 3 point line. He is also shooting over 40% from 3 (I think this is the case. Didn't look it up).
Hammonds also had a strong game. Didn't make a lot of glaring mistakes. Fought for some rebounds. Hit some 3's. Was nearly perfect while shooting more than 10 FT.
Speaking of FT shooting...this team should win a couple of close games due to being able to shoot them well. There are some guys on this roster that can really shoot them, and very few rotation players that are liabilities at the line. Ford will be able to put 5 guys in, at the end of tight games, who can all be depended on to make them.
Didn't see much zone defense if any. I am surprised since it was such a key part of the victory against Minn. Maybe Ford doesn't want other teams to spend a lot of time preparing for us to use it and will only use it infrequently. Or, maybe he felt this was a bad team to go zone against. Or, maybe he felt the team needs as much work as possible on M 2 M defense.
Olivier looked better in this game. His defense is still a big problem, however. He definitely knows how to play on the offensive end. It will be interesting to see if he can be successful against taller/more athletic Big 12 interior defenders.
Newberry is obviously bothered by his mask. But, his rebounding was impressive. Haven't checked the box score, but won't be surprised if he led us in RB last night.
It was good to see some of Ibaka. That dude looks like Tarzan. Too soon to say whether or not he plays like Jane. Didn't look totally lost out there, and I saw enough positives to think that the potential is there for him to develop into a Big 12 level player.
Watching this team, it is becoming more and more clear to me that this roster is full of guys that are good enough to play in the Big 12, but currently there are no guys who are All Big 12 level. They are all about the same, and I expect we will see a lot of inconsistency throughout the rest of the season. Different guys will look impressive while other guys don't do much, or look over-matched in each game. It is going to be tough to get a clear picture of who belongs in the rotation and which guys deserve the most minutes throughout the season.
