I was at the game and, despite the low attendance (maybe 300-400) and bizarre choice to schedule a 1PM Monday opener, it was a fun way to kick off the MBB season provide a palate cleanser from Saturday.
Some observations:
Maples Celebrities in attendance
(in no particular order):
- Joe Lacob
- Tony Joseph
- Bernard Muir
- Anurag
The student turnout was beyond pathetic. Maybe 40-50 students. That said, most probably have class Monday and also, with a roster full of transfers, perhaps not as much allegiance to certain players in the student body.
As for the game, and new faces:
Maxime looked solid. I would've liked to see him play inside a bit more as he floated out and shot some corner threes but he's a known quantity and will be on the court a ton this season (33 minutes today which is a lot for a center!)
Sellers looked awesome, great length and defensive presence, quick hands, good shooting and some serious bounce and ability to dunk/finish. Stud.
Blakes is a dog on defense. It is so refreshing to watch the other team struggle to bring the ball up the court as we hound the primary ball handler. He will be important this season. He isn't a great ball handler himself and appears to have no left, but he's fast and aggressive and will be hard to keep off of the court.
<sobering note: neither Sellers nor Blakes could get off of the bench for USC or Duke and are major pieces to this roster. Our talent level is low for the ACC>
Gealer got hot and his ability to knock down open threes will be important this season. I do think that Gealer/Blakes are susceptible to ball pressure and disruptive defenders. We are a bit lacking in perimeter ball handlers who can make guys pay for pressure.
Cammann was surprisingly solid and will be a good roster piece this season. I would be surprised if he continues to start over Okpara but expect them to have equal minutes and serve as a PF platoon while spelling Raynaud when needed. Okpara looks the part and plays physical.
Agarwal looks pretty good. He missed all of his 3s but they looked good coming off of a confident stroke. He is long and his defense and perimeter play were both passable. I was happy to see it after his surprise redshirt season.
Batson Jr looked solid in his 10 minutes racking up 3 steals. He's impressive for a frosh.
Saran was good at UCI so it was surprising to see him buried on the bench. He has a couple more years to develop.
Toure looked fine. Don't expect to see him much this season but he should be able to develop nicely while serving as our 4th big. Thompson isn't good and will never be a rotation piece.
Overall, the defensive pressure and intensity was awesome and led to lots of easy buckets. The team hit their FTs and protected the ball.
The team looked better than expected and should be competitive in most games this year. Don't get your hopes up too much, as the overall talent level isn't terribly high, but it looks like Smith and his staff know what they're doing and likely will have a better team than last season's (with much less raw talent).
Arrow up!
Some observations:
Maples Celebrities in attendance
(in no particular order):
- Joe Lacob
- Tony Joseph
- Bernard Muir
- Anurag
The student turnout was beyond pathetic. Maybe 40-50 students. That said, most probably have class Monday and also, with a roster full of transfers, perhaps not as much allegiance to certain players in the student body.
As for the game, and new faces:
Maxime looked solid. I would've liked to see him play inside a bit more as he floated out and shot some corner threes but he's a known quantity and will be on the court a ton this season (33 minutes today which is a lot for a center!)
Sellers looked awesome, great length and defensive presence, quick hands, good shooting and some serious bounce and ability to dunk/finish. Stud.
Blakes is a dog on defense. It is so refreshing to watch the other team struggle to bring the ball up the court as we hound the primary ball handler. He will be important this season. He isn't a great ball handler himself and appears to have no left, but he's fast and aggressive and will be hard to keep off of the court.
<sobering note: neither Sellers nor Blakes could get off of the bench for USC or Duke and are major pieces to this roster. Our talent level is low for the ACC>
Gealer got hot and his ability to knock down open threes will be important this season. I do think that Gealer/Blakes are susceptible to ball pressure and disruptive defenders. We are a bit lacking in perimeter ball handlers who can make guys pay for pressure.
Cammann was surprisingly solid and will be a good roster piece this season. I would be surprised if he continues to start over Okpara but expect them to have equal minutes and serve as a PF platoon while spelling Raynaud when needed. Okpara looks the part and plays physical.
Agarwal looks pretty good. He missed all of his 3s but they looked good coming off of a confident stroke. He is long and his defense and perimeter play were both passable. I was happy to see it after his surprise redshirt season.
Batson Jr looked solid in his 10 minutes racking up 3 steals. He's impressive for a frosh.
Saran was good at UCI so it was surprising to see him buried on the bench. He has a couple more years to develop.
Toure looked fine. Don't expect to see him much this season but he should be able to develop nicely while serving as our 4th big. Thompson isn't good and will never be a rotation piece.
Overall, the defensive pressure and intensity was awesome and led to lots of easy buckets. The team hit their FTs and protected the ball.
The team looked better than expected and should be competitive in most games this year. Don't get your hopes up too much, as the overall talent level isn't terribly high, but it looks like Smith and his staff know what they're doing and likely will have a better team than last season's (with much less raw talent).
Arrow up!
