** In the hour or so before this season opening Panther Hoops contest, I thought about what there might be to say about the evening’s proceedings. Then, I came upon a wonderful conclusion. That is, “we are back!”
** I’ve taken plenty of well-deserved heat for my infamous premature proclamation back in January 2021. But in my defense, what “We Are Back” really only meant is that we mattered once again. At the time, this may have even been true, until the Panthers tanked in the weeks that followed that season.
** But after reading so many preseason predictions from prognosticators and fans unlike, including resident expert
@Matt Steinbrink, thinking we can find our way into the NCAA tournament this season does indeed make the "being back" point. All we really want is to believe we CAN be successful.
** And even if one such as myself has been cautious to suggest that a Dance Card is surely in the cards come March, I do realize that it’s been since the fall of 2016 that I went into a season thinking it was even possible. That is "back."
** Walking to my seats tonight peering upon a perfectly packed Zoo bouncing and sporting nifty blue and gold caps only added to this positivity.
** Then the game started.
** Just 11 seconds in, a young man named Bub threw a pretty reverse pass to an older man named Blake who began the Panther assault with one of his patented three point bombs.
** Three more consecutive Bub assists later, the rout was already on, and the triple double watch was underway. For this night for sure, by the aforementioned standard, the Panthers surely are back.
** So, about this “triple double,” mostly just for fun, I "must" say the following. Midway through the second half, this Bub gentleman took a seat for a blow with six assists to his name, and we could have sworn that when he returned to the court his tally had grown to seven.
** Assist number nine was also curious. Bub threw pass to Zack at the corner. Instead of letting the three fly, Zach up faked and drove the baseline for a layup. An assist? Tonight, damn right it was!
** Still, I’m not sure I’ve rooted for an assist so much when Bub later swung a pass to Blake whose three went out and in and out for what would have been assist #10. At the break after the shot, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Blake so angry knowing he didn’t come through for the moment.
** But kudos to Coach Capel for giving everyone everything they wanted and entering Bub one last time to make history. And following a Carrington pass when GDiaz’s three bounced on the front rim, bounced off the backboard, and then finally fell through, we all got to witness something special.
** Triple doubles aside, it’s hard not to think that Panthers are not only back, but here to stay with Number 7 on the court. I’m always one to resist hype, but it's hard not to recognize how effortless his stellar performance was this night.
** Accordingly, if you are one to believe that Bub could be the running for ACC Rookie of the Year, or a one and done candidate, or will even be the Panthers best player this year, it’s simply unwise to throw caution into such thoughts at the moment.
** It would also be unwise to try to throw caution into this overall performance by the Panthers, regardless of the inabilities of the opponent. In fact, what impressed me the most is that we scored 100 without shooting the ball exceptionally well. Sure, 56% is good, but it’s not sizzling. And it wasn’t as if our opponent was inept offensively. They took care of the ball well and ran some decent stuff. But we guarded their shots well enough that they just weren’t making them
** The reality seemed to be that we simply overwhelmed the Aggies the way an NCAA tournament type team should.
** We also showed firepower up and down the lineup, right down to Jorge who flashed every bit of skill that anyone might want to see from him.
** Everyone showed something actually. Most notable to me was Fede, who showed some work with the dribble to get his shot, and plenty of toughness inside.
** Ish was good, Will made Will plays, G made G plays, and Mike made another deep one at the end.
** Zach and Jaland contributed as well, but they might have been the only two Panthers who left me wanting a little more. I still want to see Zach hit the open three, and Jaland seems to be having a little difficulty knowing exactly how to assert himself. But that’s nitpicking.
** It’s nitpicking because this was nothing short of a glorious start of the Panther season, and an equally glorious start of a career for Mr. Carrington. Mostly it was tons of fun, and even more so, seemed like tons of fun for our Panther players.
** On the out way of the Pete, I was even fortunate enough to receive the gift of one of those nifty blue and gold caps from a kind and excited Zoo Member. My thanks to my Zoo friend, as it was literally and figuratively a perfect “capper” to as close to a perfect Panther season opener as I can remember in quite some time.
