Not sure I can remember ever seeing a game like that. Let alone one that ended in a win. the 2:21 and 1-16 from three are just incredible. I figured they were in good shape at the half because the numbers would come back towards the norm. That never happened, and yet they still somehow found a way.
The terrible night at the line for Kansas State was offset with the three point performance. They were shooting 29% from three heading into the game. A lot of the looks were wide open, but they still made them at a higher rate than we have seen.
Xavier was really bad again. He is starting to make some of the lay ups that we saw all season last year that weren't being converted until now. He deserves a ton of credit for making that tough shot, and then drawing the charge. Despite everything, he stepped up and won the game with two plays on both ends of the floor. But the decision making has to be better. I figured he would come out pressing in the second half, and he did. To me, I consider fouls part of decision making. Some are unavoidable or smart decisions given the time and situation, but I am a firm believer that is part of the decision making. Especially for a guard. You will get one here and there on a tough break or bad call. But Xavier and Trey find themselves in foul trouble WAY too often. It represents the immaturity and room for growth. The 0-8 assist to turnover line for Xavier is just incredible. I think the problem is that he is looking to score too much and when the easy shot isn't there, he is attempting passes outside of the flow of the offense.
The flow of the offense leads me to wonder what they are attempting to do at times. We saw some great action in the second half of the Robert Morris game with Trey. They ran a bit of isolation and let him attack off the dribble with Ryan spotted up to keep spacing. I guess one of the issues is that they aren't making shots right now. Maybe that is part of it, but I would still like to see that. There doesn't seem to be much spacing and the ball movement is slow.
I thought Eric Hamilton was really good again. I have never seen a player of his size play smaller or lower to the ground. It works though because he is so quick. Almost everything he attempts is moving horizontally and fading to a side. It appears difficult to defend because of the different release points. The offense will come and go but you can see that he is attacking the glass. Ever since Capel spoke to him about rebounding, it has been night and day. He needs to play more, and I think his role is more set now. I would like to see the center spot being split, or more Eric at the four when Terrell is playing well.
Justin is such a unique player. He has incredible feel and poise for his age. Nothing rattles him at all. The turnover out front was bad, but he just keeps playing and never gets sped up. Some of the things he does are just special. He has a knack for being able to release it quickly before larger defenders have a chance. Once he develops the outside shot, he is going to be a handful. He may already be the best rebounder on this team. Not sure I could be more pleasantly surprised with him. It is a long season, but I have been trying to think of a player he reminds me of. Having a hard time coming up with one. He reminds me of Devin Ebanks a little bit, the highly recruited forward out of New York that ended up playing for Huggins. Once he starts making outside shots and improves his handle, he has a chance to be an all ACC player in his future.
Karim isn't quite ready, but he is skilled enough to get by for now. His size also allows for some mistakes to be overlooked. The fact that he hasn't been taken advantage of yet is a positive. That time will come in this league, but he should get much better as the season goes along.
Ryan is fearless, there is no doubt about it. He does not lack confidence. I thought he handled the ball better than I anticipated in the first half. He plays hard but sometimes he gets too excited. There was one play where he literally crossed Xavier on defense in the matchup zone and took over the player with the ball. It caught Xavier off guard and basically forced him to leave the man and try to recover on a shooter. He had no chance and it was one of several defensive breakdowns. What he brings to the team is very important, so they need to get that shot falling again, and to settle him down.
Thought the officiating was terrible. It was amazing that they somehow missed that offensive goaltending. The player was literally hanging on the rim, which caused the ball to pop up. It led to three points, and then they let play go on and only went to review after the next possession. Just bizarre. So many replay reviews with no better outcome. They missed several possession calls, and a couple of travels.
All in all, it was a good win when you consider the stats. It is much easier to take after a win. The concern is how they can keep doing this. Will the shooting get better, or will each game turn into a struggle in the 60's? Unfortunately, I don't think it is a good shooting team. Ryan should get back in rhythm and I think he is still a shooter. The two strokes that we see in the back court concern me. Not sure if they can get the outside shooting from anywhere else. That could be fine if the decision making improves. If Xavier and Trey can play under control and limit turnovers, this team can still win games without the outside shooting. They don't have the traditional post play to get easy buckets and to take pressure off. But they have the athleticism and ability to get to the rim from the back court. If they move the ball better and make defenses work more, it will become easier.
Northwestern, like Kansas State, is a very difficult team to read at this point. Two terrible losses, and two equally surprising wins. It is not a very good team and they are young. I expect another low scoring game that Pitt should be able to win provided the insane statistics come back towards the pack a little.
The terrible night at the line for Kansas State was offset with the three point performance. They were shooting 29% from three heading into the game. A lot of the looks were wide open, but they still made them at a higher rate than we have seen.
Xavier was really bad again. He is starting to make some of the lay ups that we saw all season last year that weren't being converted until now. He deserves a ton of credit for making that tough shot, and then drawing the charge. Despite everything, he stepped up and won the game with two plays on both ends of the floor. But the decision making has to be better. I figured he would come out pressing in the second half, and he did. To me, I consider fouls part of decision making. Some are unavoidable or smart decisions given the time and situation, but I am a firm believer that is part of the decision making. Especially for a guard. You will get one here and there on a tough break or bad call. But Xavier and Trey find themselves in foul trouble WAY too often. It represents the immaturity and room for growth. The 0-8 assist to turnover line for Xavier is just incredible. I think the problem is that he is looking to score too much and when the easy shot isn't there, he is attempting passes outside of the flow of the offense.
The flow of the offense leads me to wonder what they are attempting to do at times. We saw some great action in the second half of the Robert Morris game with Trey. They ran a bit of isolation and let him attack off the dribble with Ryan spotted up to keep spacing. I guess one of the issues is that they aren't making shots right now. Maybe that is part of it, but I would still like to see that. There doesn't seem to be much spacing and the ball movement is slow.
I thought Eric Hamilton was really good again. I have never seen a player of his size play smaller or lower to the ground. It works though because he is so quick. Almost everything he attempts is moving horizontally and fading to a side. It appears difficult to defend because of the different release points. The offense will come and go but you can see that he is attacking the glass. Ever since Capel spoke to him about rebounding, it has been night and day. He needs to play more, and I think his role is more set now. I would like to see the center spot being split, or more Eric at the four when Terrell is playing well.
Justin is such a unique player. He has incredible feel and poise for his age. Nothing rattles him at all. The turnover out front was bad, but he just keeps playing and never gets sped up. Some of the things he does are just special. He has a knack for being able to release it quickly before larger defenders have a chance. Once he develops the outside shot, he is going to be a handful. He may already be the best rebounder on this team. Not sure I could be more pleasantly surprised with him. It is a long season, but I have been trying to think of a player he reminds me of. Having a hard time coming up with one. He reminds me of Devin Ebanks a little bit, the highly recruited forward out of New York that ended up playing for Huggins. Once he starts making outside shots and improves his handle, he has a chance to be an all ACC player in his future.
Karim isn't quite ready, but he is skilled enough to get by for now. His size also allows for some mistakes to be overlooked. The fact that he hasn't been taken advantage of yet is a positive. That time will come in this league, but he should get much better as the season goes along.
Ryan is fearless, there is no doubt about it. He does not lack confidence. I thought he handled the ball better than I anticipated in the first half. He plays hard but sometimes he gets too excited. There was one play where he literally crossed Xavier on defense in the matchup zone and took over the player with the ball. It caught Xavier off guard and basically forced him to leave the man and try to recover on a shooter. He had no chance and it was one of several defensive breakdowns. What he brings to the team is very important, so they need to get that shot falling again, and to settle him down.
Thought the officiating was terrible. It was amazing that they somehow missed that offensive goaltending. The player was literally hanging on the rim, which caused the ball to pop up. It led to three points, and then they let play go on and only went to review after the next possession. Just bizarre. So many replay reviews with no better outcome. They missed several possession calls, and a couple of travels.
All in all, it was a good win when you consider the stats. It is much easier to take after a win. The concern is how they can keep doing this. Will the shooting get better, or will each game turn into a struggle in the 60's? Unfortunately, I don't think it is a good shooting team. Ryan should get back in rhythm and I think he is still a shooter. The two strokes that we see in the back court concern me. Not sure if they can get the outside shooting from anywhere else. That could be fine if the decision making improves. If Xavier and Trey can play under control and limit turnovers, this team can still win games without the outside shooting. They don't have the traditional post play to get easy buckets and to take pressure off. But they have the athleticism and ability to get to the rim from the back court. If they move the ball better and make defenses work more, it will become easier.
Northwestern, like Kansas State, is a very difficult team to read at this point. Two terrible losses, and two equally surprising wins. It is not a very good team and they are young. I expect another low scoring game that Pitt should be able to win provided the insane statistics come back towards the pack a little.
