We're missing Aaron big time tonight. Kevon playing the point is not good.

Sorry I'm not there - election night conflict. I think I was probably worth another 20 points. Will be there Thursday.

RedRiverLa said:

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Sorry I'm not there - election night conflict. I think I was probably worth another 20 points. Will be there Thursday.

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Between that and Keller wearing a stylish blazer, it's obvious we left nearly 40 potential points on the court tonight.

Pilotgirl said:

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Ok...it's official...Fitz is my new favorite player. Must be something about that #4. I only get him for a year but that's ok!

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However, I'm still gonna miss a TJ/Fitz duo. Only in my basketball dreams...

Was wondering where Duece was...Kinda surprised Rance got in before him

Jovan with the dagger to close it out.

We could be a really deep rotation even without tj, Augustine and John

So not having access to the game tonight and not planning to over analyze- how should I feel.

I'm feeling very encouraged after that. This is a level of athleticism that hasn't been seen in Nac in a very long time. Youth and chemistry were issues here tonight. This team is gonna be GOOOOOD when it counts...

Much better 2nd half, a lot of work to do developing chemistry, getting the young guys more reps and time.
PG going to be a problem til Augustin returns...Shannon doing okay but it does take him out of his usual self.
Fitz, Nicholas and Mitch looking good tonight

I thought Bain contributed well tonight, too.

cboothe09 said:

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Bain finally played like the guy we have been waiting for since he was signed. A healthy Bain is as good as advertised

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Back injuries will do that to ya! Glad he is doing much better!

Boy oh boy, when this team starts playing some defense and our offense gets more advanced its going to be fun. We have some incredible athleticism on the this team. Our forward depth would be crazy with TJ!

When we get Augustin back we'll be REALLY good

I've always wondered what it would be like to have a lot of height on our team. Tonight, I kept looking out thinking we have some crazy tall lineups. There were vast portions of the game where there was Bogues at 6' 2" and everyone else above 6' 6"! Now all that height struggled some, but in the second half their potential looked pretty good.

All in all, an okay start I thought. First half was really sloppy. A bunch of unruly lineups with almost everyone getting touches except Hughes and Cole. The second was much crisper defensively...at least for about 14 minutes of it. Hughes and Cole got a little playing time. (Side note: first game I have ever seen in my remembrance where every player dressed out saw action that was not in mop up time. Granted Jock's 2 minutes midway in the second were kind of like that, but it wasn't truly mop up duty.)

Overall: A lot of potential with a whole lot of work to do. We made their three point shooters look like absolute studs. Mitchell and Fitz are going to be huge for us. Glad Nicholas is in, but he's got to mature in his position. We need production out of our guards - Walker and Hughes. Tonight there wasn't any. Kevin and Bogues put in monster minutes. They can not average 35+ minutes a night. We need a relief valve. Jovan wasn't bad.

1.5 stars out of 5...but, this could be a strong team.

Best defensive stretch was when we held them scoreless in the second half from 18:02 to 12:08 while scoring 13 ourselves. Mitchell was the spark to this, but the team was playing solid for those minutes. We put another almost 4 minute scoring stop later in the half.

Bogies with 21 point and 6 assists, Mitch with 7 point and 6 rebounds,fitz 14 point 5 rebounds

No-look said:

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Really miss John and Aaron getting up in people's grill on defense.. guard play is the issue right now.

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I totally agree about guard play. As a result of not having a true point guard, we were missing the defensive "disruption" that this team prided itself on last season, and we were missing a true floor general to feed the ball to our scorers, Kevon and Shannon. Kevon, in particular, is only half of the player he can be if he has to moonlight as a point guard.

Call me crazy, but I'd give the Game Ball to Mitch. That dude can sky! I think he could dunk the ball on an 11-foot basket. When he develops some bulk on that slender frame of his, he's going to be a force in seasons to come! And another thing I noticed about him -- he was active. He never stopped moving without the ball. Looked like he is in excellent shape. The coaches obviously have faith in him and see that same potential in him by playing him as much as they did tonight.

As Nacluth said, the height on this team is a sight to behold. At a couple of points tonight, multiple substitutions were made and there was no drop off in height. We went from a tall lineup to a different tall lineup. That is bound to present matchup problems for other teams this year.

I wish that Duece (Jock) could have seen more minutes. I saw him play in high school, and he's the real deal. He's a pure shooter. Just guessing, but maybe his ball handling and/or his defensive play is not what the coaches want from him just yet.

While there were some negatives exposed tonight (guard play in particular), in my opinion it was a good start, especially considering that the other team was playing their fourth game and we were playing our first. Now, we have one more game on Thursday to knock off some more rust, address a few things, and get better before jetting off to a real test in Miami next week.

RedRiverLa said:

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TallTexan said:

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Jovan with the dagger to close it out.

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Well that's a phrase I never thought I'd hear.

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But always wished I'd be able to say.

RedRiverLa said:

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Well, Texas Wesleyan did win the National Championship in 1966, so there's that.

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I believe that was Texas Western (now UTEP) in 1966.

Was not able to attend...the reported crowd showed to be just over 3k. Is that accurate? Was TJ in attendance? Saw John and Aaron on the bench.

jboy93 said:

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Was not able to attend...the reported crowd showed to be just over 3k. Is that accurate? Was TJ in attendance? Saw John and Aaron on the bench.

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Hard to tell from my vantage point (west side across from the benches), but the east side was pretty skimpy. I'd say that 3K is a stretch. They may be counting all season ticket holders, even those not there? Personally, I didn't see TJ.

I'm sure Election Night influenced a bit, too.