** There’s nothing wrong with a little lineup tinkering!
** In his last four games before today, Fede has managed just 14 points, and Zach has offered just 12. Today, the pair combined for 20 coming in as understudies.
** So maybe this way is better for both. More importantly, maybe it’s a better move for our Panthers.
** Early on, it may not have looked that way. With just 6 minutes to go, the Panthers clung to just a 3 point lead. And to that point, starters Will and GDG, nor their bench counterparts, or actually anyone not named Blake, was making much of an impact on the offensive end.
** Of course, the Panthers’ got things going after that. And they outscored their far inferior foe 61-32 in the final 26 minutes of the game.
** 12 of those final 61 points were scored by Zach Austin. Actually, all 12 came in the second half when he was probably the best Panther player. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, this is kind of performance the Panthers need from Zach if they are looking to chart a path to the NCAA Tournament.
** The second half performance from Zach included a soaring one handed slam on the fast break. On the replay, you could see Blake mouth the words “Damm!”
** Zach played well enough, in fact, to earn himself an interview on the post game show, where he proclaimed quite sincerely that he doesn’t care if he starts, and that he just wants to win.
** In the same interview, he was asked what it’s like guarding Blake in practice. With a pause, I recall his one word description to be “terrible.”
** Jaland Lowe’s performance today could have also earned him an interview on the post game show. For the first game this season, he outperformed his freshman backcourt mate. What can be said about this game is that Jaland ran the show much more effectively than Bub, who just seemed a little “off” all day on the offensive end.
** It’s hard to know exactly what coming off the bench did for Fede. It wasn’t exactly a breakout half for him in the second 20 minutes either like it was for Zach. But his second half minutes were his best we have seen from the Fin is several games.
** I also liked watching Fede sink his final two foul shots, because it’s going to be a problem for our Panthers if he continues to shoot 40% from the foul line like he was coming into today.
** Fede and GDG combined for 15 points and 13 rebounds, which is certainly the kind of production needed from the five spot, regardless of who starts. The question will be if they can offer close to these kinds of numbers against an opponent with any kind of talented bigs. The Bulldogs most certainly did not.
** Otherwise, it’s likely noteworthy to suggest that Blake Hinson played his most “efficient” offensive minutes of the year. We’ve used many adjectives to describe Blake’s wonderful play this year, but efficient is rarely part a part of the vocabulary.
** It’s also noteworthy that with his 3-4 performance from three today, Blake’s 3pt Field Goal percentage has inched up to 47.9%. That’s ridiculous.
** Finally, Capel’s use of the 1-2-2 (or 3-2 if you will) in the later stages of the game shows that he’s at least wondering if this should be a regular part of his arsenal. It’s certainly an interesting option with 6-11 Jorge’s long arms guarding the perimeter at the top of the key.
** This 36 point win was against a foe ranked 343 according to Pomeroy, while our Panther’s ranking has inched up to 42. On Wednesday, our foe will be almost 200 spots better. This should make for a much better tune up going into the Holiday break.
** Hopefully, the impact of our lineup tinkering will allow for a stronger start and continued improvement from just about everyone.
** In his last four games before today, Fede has managed just 14 points, and Zach has offered just 12. Today, the pair combined for 20 coming in as understudies.
** So maybe this way is better for both. More importantly, maybe it’s a better move for our Panthers.
** Early on, it may not have looked that way. With just 6 minutes to go, the Panthers clung to just a 3 point lead. And to that point, starters Will and GDG, nor their bench counterparts, or actually anyone not named Blake, was making much of an impact on the offensive end.
** Of course, the Panthers’ got things going after that. And they outscored their far inferior foe 61-32 in the final 26 minutes of the game.
** 12 of those final 61 points were scored by Zach Austin. Actually, all 12 came in the second half when he was probably the best Panther player. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, this is kind of performance the Panthers need from Zach if they are looking to chart a path to the NCAA Tournament.
** The second half performance from Zach included a soaring one handed slam on the fast break. On the replay, you could see Blake mouth the words “Damm!”
** Zach played well enough, in fact, to earn himself an interview on the post game show, where he proclaimed quite sincerely that he doesn’t care if he starts, and that he just wants to win.
** In the same interview, he was asked what it’s like guarding Blake in practice. With a pause, I recall his one word description to be “terrible.”
** Jaland Lowe’s performance today could have also earned him an interview on the post game show. For the first game this season, he outperformed his freshman backcourt mate. What can be said about this game is that Jaland ran the show much more effectively than Bub, who just seemed a little “off” all day on the offensive end.
** It’s hard to know exactly what coming off the bench did for Fede. It wasn’t exactly a breakout half for him in the second 20 minutes either like it was for Zach. But his second half minutes were his best we have seen from the Fin is several games.
** I also liked watching Fede sink his final two foul shots, because it’s going to be a problem for our Panthers if he continues to shoot 40% from the foul line like he was coming into today.
** Fede and GDG combined for 15 points and 13 rebounds, which is certainly the kind of production needed from the five spot, regardless of who starts. The question will be if they can offer close to these kinds of numbers against an opponent with any kind of talented bigs. The Bulldogs most certainly did not.
** Otherwise, it’s likely noteworthy to suggest that Blake Hinson played his most “efficient” offensive minutes of the year. We’ve used many adjectives to describe Blake’s wonderful play this year, but efficient is rarely part a part of the vocabulary.
** It’s also noteworthy that with his 3-4 performance from three today, Blake’s 3pt Field Goal percentage has inched up to 47.9%. That’s ridiculous.
** Finally, Capel’s use of the 1-2-2 (or 3-2 if you will) in the later stages of the game shows that he’s at least wondering if this should be a regular part of his arsenal. It’s certainly an interesting option with 6-11 Jorge’s long arms guarding the perimeter at the top of the key.
** This 36 point win was against a foe ranked 343 according to Pomeroy, while our Panther’s ranking has inched up to 42. On Wednesday, our foe will be almost 200 spots better. This should make for a much better tune up going into the Holiday break.
** Hopefully, the impact of our lineup tinkering will allow for a stronger start and continued improvement from just about everyone.
