While it was U G L Y, it just felt as though the team found out how to play together in the KSU win. There was some offensive flow, and by the end of the game they seemed to have a bit of confidence in themselves as a team. They just seemed to weather the game out to get the FSU win, there was more of a feel that they won the NW game.
Having made the championship game, they came out playing a lot more assertive and took the action to NW defensively and in a more overall attacking way than they have to this point this year you saw more of the steal and converts, they were clearly the most athletic team overall, more diving on the floor after balls. Rafferty and his partner said HCJC told them that they needed to be the ones creating the chaos and being the tougher team, and this was the first game that seemed to the case.
NW hit enough threes, and also were 14-16 from the FT line to stay in the game. I was thinking the whole game, gee, if the Panthers had only hit on 2-3 of their threes the game really would not be close, and sure enough when the lid came off the basket from three at the end the margin was what he probably should have been all game.
Honest assessment is that NW and KSU are probably not going to be world beaters this season, so everyone seems to have this all in proper perspective. But, either way for a program that fell off the cliff a half decade ago, it was darn nice to win SOMETHING. And, this is going to be a big boost for the team's confidence the rest of the season. Great to go to a "neutral" court and beat two teams from major conferences and get a trophy of some kind.
Most wins are not masterpieces, and you have win ugly or just simply find a way to win. That is what these kids are going to have do over the course of this four month grind.
Having made the championship game, they came out playing a lot more assertive and took the action to NW defensively and in a more overall attacking way than they have to this point this year you saw more of the steal and converts, they were clearly the most athletic team overall, more diving on the floor after balls. Rafferty and his partner said HCJC told them that they needed to be the ones creating the chaos and being the tougher team, and this was the first game that seemed to the case.
NW hit enough threes, and also were 14-16 from the FT line to stay in the game. I was thinking the whole game, gee, if the Panthers had only hit on 2-3 of their threes the game really would not be close, and sure enough when the lid came off the basket from three at the end the margin was what he probably should have been all game.
Honest assessment is that NW and KSU are probably not going to be world beaters this season, so everyone seems to have this all in proper perspective. But, either way for a program that fell off the cliff a half decade ago, it was darn nice to win SOMETHING. And, this is going to be a big boost for the team's confidence the rest of the season. Great to go to a "neutral" court and beat two teams from major conferences and get a trophy of some kind.
Most wins are not masterpieces, and you have win ugly or just simply find a way to win. That is what these kids are going to have do over the course of this four month grind.
