- First off, why didnt Damon Wilson play? Injury? Hopefully the OSNA stuff that is lingering with Diallo isnt effecting him now.
- Why didnt Artis start? Smith started at the 2 and Jones at the 3. Clearly, Artis is better than Jones. Disciplinary or perhaps Jamie wants to try Artis off the bench as a spark. The other thing with that is if that's true, it could also be strategical since Artis would most likely be checking a backup when he comes in as the other team subs.
- I like going to these exhibition games because the starters and rotation you see is pretty much what Jamie goes with most of the year. So, besides Artis coming in as 6th man, Luther was next off the bench and is very clearly, the backup 5. Then Cam Johnson came in for Smith I think. Jeter and Milligan came in next for Young and Robinson. Not sure how Wilson would have fit in if the played.
- ANO is a presence in the middle. He rebounds, takes up space, and alters shots. He's a legit ACC center. Luther looks much improved but he's so undersized. I don't like Young at the 5 but I wonder if Young should be getting some of those backup 5 minutes especially if Jeter earns more run.
- Maia doesn't look good. I'll just be honest. He looks out of shape and overweight. He's not going to be in the rotation at all, at least not in the beginning. Even if he gets into shape, I don't think he's better than Luther.
- Young didn't play well but it was just one of those nights. He had such a small player on him since he was playing the 4, it seemed like he could score at will. He would back him down, do a post move and miss. Those shots will fall in the future. Not worried.
- Artis looked fine at the 3. I don't think he played any minutes at the 4. I don't think Young played any minutes at the 5.
- Jones didn't look good. Neither did Smith. Jamie is really high on Smith but he doesn't look comfortable yet. If you're looking for a comparison, he reminds me a bit of Micah Mason or Coron Williams of RMU/Wake. Doesn't have much handle, isn't really quick, but it supposed to be a high level shooter. He struggled with this shot last night but you can tell he's got a good stroke. I think he'll do some things for us but he just needs to get more comfortable at this level.
- Robinson looked more aggressive. He shot a 3 off of 1 pass which I'm sure he's never done. Artis got a rebound, dribbled up the floor and set up a regular offensive set, passed it to JRob and he shot it, I was shocked. I'm not expecting a much different JRob but I do think he'll be slightly more aggressive.
- Milligan is going to be the next Message Board Hero. He's got an exciting style and can score but probably doesn't play D at Jamie's level and may find it tough to get minutes. I can already hear the post-game callers, "Why isn't Milligan playing?"
- Pitt is playing faster. They are shooting quicker and not making so many perimeter passes. I don't remember one possession going under 5 for the shot clock. The 30 second clock seems to have sped them up.
- On that note, Pitt played a 3/4 court 1-2-2 on a few occasions. They only got 1 steal out of it but it didn't seem like it was meant to put pressure on the D and generate TO's. It seemed like they are going to use it to slow the other team down and take time off the shot clock so instead of starting the offense at 25 once they cross half court, they might start it with 21-22 seconds and have a few less seconds to get a good shot. These coaches aren't stupid. For those that thought the shorter clock will increase offense, well, its just going to help defenses that much. They have to defend for 5 less seconds and I think more teams are going to go to these type of slow-you-down presses. Jim Larranaga at ACC Media Day said his team is going to do that.
- Why didnt Artis start? Smith started at the 2 and Jones at the 3. Clearly, Artis is better than Jones. Disciplinary or perhaps Jamie wants to try Artis off the bench as a spark. The other thing with that is if that's true, it could also be strategical since Artis would most likely be checking a backup when he comes in as the other team subs.
- I like going to these exhibition games because the starters and rotation you see is pretty much what Jamie goes with most of the year. So, besides Artis coming in as 6th man, Luther was next off the bench and is very clearly, the backup 5. Then Cam Johnson came in for Smith I think. Jeter and Milligan came in next for Young and Robinson. Not sure how Wilson would have fit in if the played.
- ANO is a presence in the middle. He rebounds, takes up space, and alters shots. He's a legit ACC center. Luther looks much improved but he's so undersized. I don't like Young at the 5 but I wonder if Young should be getting some of those backup 5 minutes especially if Jeter earns more run.
- Maia doesn't look good. I'll just be honest. He looks out of shape and overweight. He's not going to be in the rotation at all, at least not in the beginning. Even if he gets into shape, I don't think he's better than Luther.
- Young didn't play well but it was just one of those nights. He had such a small player on him since he was playing the 4, it seemed like he could score at will. He would back him down, do a post move and miss. Those shots will fall in the future. Not worried.
- Artis looked fine at the 3. I don't think he played any minutes at the 4. I don't think Young played any minutes at the 5.
- Jones didn't look good. Neither did Smith. Jamie is really high on Smith but he doesn't look comfortable yet. If you're looking for a comparison, he reminds me a bit of Micah Mason or Coron Williams of RMU/Wake. Doesn't have much handle, isn't really quick, but it supposed to be a high level shooter. He struggled with this shot last night but you can tell he's got a good stroke. I think he'll do some things for us but he just needs to get more comfortable at this level.
- Robinson looked more aggressive. He shot a 3 off of 1 pass which I'm sure he's never done. Artis got a rebound, dribbled up the floor and set up a regular offensive set, passed it to JRob and he shot it, I was shocked. I'm not expecting a much different JRob but I do think he'll be slightly more aggressive.
- Milligan is going to be the next Message Board Hero. He's got an exciting style and can score but probably doesn't play D at Jamie's level and may find it tough to get minutes. I can already hear the post-game callers, "Why isn't Milligan playing?"
- Pitt is playing faster. They are shooting quicker and not making so many perimeter passes. I don't remember one possession going under 5 for the shot clock. The 30 second clock seems to have sped them up.
- On that note, Pitt played a 3/4 court 1-2-2 on a few occasions. They only got 1 steal out of it but it didn't seem like it was meant to put pressure on the D and generate TO's. It seemed like they are going to use it to slow the other team down and take time off the shot clock so instead of starting the offense at 25 once they cross half court, they might start it with 21-22 seconds and have a few less seconds to get a good shot. These coaches aren't stupid. For those that thought the shorter clock will increase offense, well, its just going to help defenses that much. They have to defend for 5 less seconds and I think more teams are going to go to these type of slow-you-down presses. Jim Larranaga at ACC Media Day said his team is going to do that.
