1.) This team got two neutral site wins that will both be helpful come March. Purdue was #4 in the BPI when we played them, so if they have a good year, that's a great win. 2.) Kyle Alexander had a very solid tournament. He is so much better from last year in every facet. 3.) Guard play is better but still needs to improve. Turnovers and stupid decisions killed our chances of beating 'Nova. 4.) This should be a fun season. I've seen nothing from this team that makes me rethink my preseason prediction of 20 wins and an at large bid. 5.) Grant Williams continues to impress. He's got to finish better off of post moves, but he's a hell of a player. 6.) I like the mindset of this team. Tough and hard nosed ball is a good recipe when the conference schedule starts.
My take: 1. Take better care of the ball in the second half against Nova and their brining home the trophy. 2. If Bone can get better at finishing around the basket, this team will be a tough win for anyone this season. Point guard play is huge, especially come tournament time. 3. Daniel and Turner both, going back to point #1, have to take better care of the ball and not force it on the offensive end. Both can be decent contributors, but they have to understand shot selection and pick their spots to drive and either shoot or kick. They both forced it way too much against Nova and even yesterday. 4. This team has more depth last year, and as long as they share the ball well, like we saw at times in this tournament, they're gonna be just fine. 5. Scofield and Williams are bruisers inside and our best options to score down there. I hate to say it, but we should never feed the ball to Alexander on the block. He can be a garbage man, get offensive rebounds, play good defense, but he is not someone you're just gonna throw the ball to and tell him to go score. It's just not his game at this point. Fulkerson needs to come on quickly, looks like he's still not 100%, hopefully he gets stronger as the year goes on. Walker will only improve as time goes on, just green right now. 6. Bowden is out best pure shooter from the outside. Turner has improved some, but still needs to improve shot selection. 7. In summary, this can be a good team. They aren't loaded with All-Americans, but they play hard, they play defense pretty well for the most part and rebound the basketball fairly well, especially offensive rebounds. They certainly have a good chance to really show the doubters (those that predicted them to finish 13th in conference) what they're made of . It'll interesting to see how they match up with UNC in a few weeks. I love playing some strong non-conference games before entering conference play, to gauge where the team is. We had some good ones this week as well. Here's to a good season. It should be fun to watch.
Alexander absolutely stunk after the Purdue game. His reversion to the mean is a problem for our consistency. We’ll be decent with a little dose of PG brain improvement. We’re better than 13th, but a tough league from which to make the dance IMO.
If he makes the NIT he will get an extension and a raise. He was and still is considered a home run hire and a steal when we picked him up from Texas by many.
Barnes is doing a fine job. No one considers him a homerun or a steal that I know. You're just a fool.
Okay fool. Head over to volnation or turn on any Knoxville Sports radio. Jiminy Hyams is definitely one.
Oh, I see where your coming from. For future reference, everyone means all people, not stupid people.
no I did not. But 4 blocks and 7 offensive rebounds too. Those 2 stats alone are probably a 14-16 pt turnaround. Couldn't have played that poorly?
His points often come off offensive rebounds or from a drive and dish. Not from posting up and scoring on people. I take what he's giving all day, but no reason to act like he's a monster with the ball in his hands either and he's your go to guy under the basket. Like I mentioned, he's a garbage man. If he gives you 6-8 rebounds a game, 8-10 points, and plays good defense he is contributing well. And not necessarily saying your making him out to be an all American or anything, just further making the point that everyone's role is different.
monster never came close to being mentioned. Double double vs purdue and that line vs nc state is solid. Nothing wrong with being in the right spot to clean up offensive rebounds either. Other games, like nova, won't be a good matchup and he still needs to get stronger hands. We are guard heavy and don't need a big man to get to down low that becomes a black hole, with this particular squad.
He did. NC state had no post play and when they tightened it down late, he struggled with a couple of goofy looking missed layups. He’s never an option on the post with his back to the basket, or cutting when Williams gets the ball. His offensive inability lets the double, with a center, rotate to Williams with no repercussions. Good coaches will eventually all but eliminate Williams.
He missed some easy ones, no doubt. He's not a back to the basket threat, but he's a good offensive rebounder. Tennessee did a great job of cross court skipping for open shots when they doubled Williams. I'm not saying he's Hakeem Olajuawon, but he's a hell of a lot better than last year.
