Didn't watch a play, but looking at the stats from the box score....
1. No Thorpe, Bowser or Roberson....were the O'Dowd kids injured?
2. FWIW, this team is a legit 10-deep...can Fox use that to his advantage, and play lock down D for 40 minutes, as this team lacks playmakers on O & is gonna have to ugly these games up to win.
3. FTs are going to be huge for this team...much like football, the margin for error is going to be slim...can they limit TOs, & MAKE free throws....Joel Brown picked up right where he left off, going 1-4 from the stripe. Tough when your starting PG shouldn't be on the floor in crunch time bc he can't hit a free throw. 12-18 won't get it done if they're going to beat a Stanford, an Oregon State, a Wazzu, an ASU...
4. Can Grant be a consistent go-to guy, and somewhat fill the shoes of Bradley...tonight was a good start - if he can pump in an efficient 15 ppg, w/o needing 20 shots to do it, that will really help....
5. The jury is still out on whether Jared Hyder is a P12 player - last year, he did not look like one, so it will be interesting to see if the game slows down a little for him. Tonight's line was not encouraging - 1 shot, 1 assist & 2 turnovers in 20 minutes of basketball...what the hell are you doing out there for 20 minutes to have that stat line? Are you like Popke, the backup QB in Necessary Roughness, running around aimlessly in the pocket?
6. Can Kuany Kuany make an difference...elite length, and athleticism...but is he still too raw to make an impact.
7. Foreman, Celestine and Shepherd...interesting little crew of shooters right there...can they be consistent producers on O. Shepherd signed with Oklahoma & played as a FR & SO, and then was double-digit scorer at UNCCharlotte...he should be able to hang in the P12, and be a real X factor.
Intriguing team - if Fox can coach them up, we'll see...maybe they can win 13-15 games....
"Tonight's line was not encouraging - 1 shot, 1 assist & 2 turnovers in 20 minutes of basketball...what the hell are you doing out there for 20 minutes to have that stat line? "
That's an awful lot like my stat lines the 5 games I started on varsity.
So far so good from our Bears. D seems adequate. 3 ball falling. Some Kelly inside. Our only hope at a middling season is for this team to play really tight ball. I know nothing about our two freshman playing this half, 24 and 23. Both forwards listed at 6'7". Do they have game?
NBA body - 6'7", 225...solid. If the kid has a nose for the basketball, he should be able to make an impact as a FR, especially on D... with his athleticism, he could be one of their better defenders. But does he have any game on O...that's the question.
Anyanwu was a surprising get by Fox - he was thought to be USC-bound...word is he's fundamentally sound, tho he had a quiet night based on the stat sheet.
Neither was a huge impact, but neither looked out of place. Good energy on defense, moved on offense. Alajiki was trying out his threes, though that’s not his strength. Both were fun to watch. Kuany was nailing lots of corner threes at halftime but missed the one he took in the second half. He’s been working on it, clearly
Kuany with the start...it would seem the complexion of the season changes a little if he has figured things out a bit & can give impactful minutes, given combination of size, length & skill set....
WBB tipped off their exhibition portion of the season last week with a nice win over Westmont. Attached is a clip of some of our Bears representing in Oak T:
They were down much of the first half (and into the third quarter?) to an NAIA which was slightly concerning, but then poured it on for an appropriate margin of victory over a physically inferior team. Yeah, NAIA national champs, but still NAIA.
Didn't watch a play, but looking at the stats from the box score....
1. No Thorpe, Bowser or Roberson....were the O'Dowd kids injured?
2. FWIW, this team is a legit 10-deep...can Fox use that to his advantage, and play lock down D for 40 minutes, as this team lacks playmakers on O & is gonna have to ugly these games up to win.
3. FTs are going to be huge for this team...much like football, the margin for error is going to be slim...can they limit TOs, & MAKE free throws....Joel Brown picked up right where he left off, going 1-4 from the stripe. Tough when your starting PG shouldn't be on the floor in crunch time bc he can't hit a free throw. 12-18 won't get it done if they're going to beat a Stanford, an Oregon State, a Wazzu, an ASU...
4. Can Grant be a consistent go-to guy, and somewhat fill the shoes of Bradley...tonight was a good start - if he can pump in an efficient 15 ppg, w/o needing 20 shots to do it, that will really help....
5. The jury is still out on whether Jared Hyder is a P12 player - last year, he did not look like one, so it will be interesting to see if the game slows down a little for him. Tonight's line was not encouraging - 1 shot, 1 assist & 2 turnovers in 20 minutes of basketball...what the hell are you doing out there for 20 minutes to have that stat line? Are you like Popke, the backup QB in Necessary Roughness, running around aimlessly in the pocket?
6. Can Kuany Kuany make an difference...elite length, and athleticism...but is he still too raw to make an impact.
7. Foreman, Celestine and Shepherd...interesting little crew of shooters right there...can they be consistent producers on O. Shepherd signed with Oklahoma & played as a FR & SO, and then was double-digit scorer at UNCCharlotte...he should be able to hang in the P12, and be a real X factor.
Intriguing team - if Fox can coach them up, we'll see...maybe they can win 13-15 games....
"Tonight's line was not encouraging - 1 shot, 1 assist & 2 turnovers in 20 minutes of basketball...what the hell are you doing out there for 20 minutes to have that stat line? "
That's an awful lot like my stat lines the 5 games I started on varsity.
not much to be gleaned from this game. first half was the G show, second half a wee bit sloppy. a proper exhibition game.
How did Alajiki look, GEAT?
He looked good and I must say for a freshmen he is a big dude. Frankly I think Wilcox should get him to play some TE on Saturdays.
My thoughts exactly - the kid has an NBA/NFL TE body...it's just does he have innate basketball skills....
So far so good from our Bears. D seems adequate. 3 ball falling. Some Kelly inside. Our only hope at a middling season is for this team to play really tight ball. I know nothing about our two freshman playing this half, 24 and 23. Both forwards listed at 6'7". Do they have game?
Intrigued by Alajiki...our most athletic player since Jaylen
His Bio says nothing about him. Anyanwu is listed as a 4 star and I hadn't heard about him either. What do you know about Alajiki?
NBA body - 6'7", 225...solid. If the kid has a nose for the basketball, he should be able to make an impact as a FR, especially on D... with his athleticism, he could be one of their better defenders. But does he have any game on O...that's the question.
Anyanwu was a surprising get by Fox - he was thought to be USC-bound...word is he's fundamentally sound, tho he had a quiet night based on the stat sheet.
Neither was a huge impact, but neither looked out of place. Good energy on defense, moved on offense. Alajiki was trying out his threes, though that’s not his strength. Both were fun to watch. Kuany was nailing lots of corner threes at halftime but missed the one he took in the second half. He’s been working on it, clearly
Kuany with the start...it would seem the complexion of the season changes a little if he has figured things out a bit & can give impactful minutes, given combination of size, length & skill set....
WBB tipped off their exhibition portion of the season last week with a nice win over Westmont. Attached is a clip of some of our Bears representing in Oak T:
https://youtu.be/augL8QhFBHw
They were down much of the first half (and into the third quarter?) to an NAIA which was slightly concerning, but then poured it on for an appropriate margin of victory over a physically inferior team. Yeah, NAIA national champs, but still NAIA.
Exhibition against CSU-LA and season opener against UCSD. Really testing our abilities the next two games.
These are not gimmes
Let's pick up wins when they are handed to us!