SFA / LeTourneau (19-20 Season Tip-off!)

21,198 Views | 143 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by SFAJack_76
sfa17
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Lol Meyers said kensmil close to a triple double with turnovers
RedRiverLa
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ok, not going to make too much of this at all tonight - a lot of positive compared to last year at this time. My two takeaways - got to be better at FT line and Kensmill needs to develop stronger hands - he's got almost 1/2 of our turnovers against a D3 team.. We haven't had a good big body since CJ - hoping he can be it.
Lumberjack Battalion
Lumberjacks make great US Army Special Ops Officers - AxeEm!
MasterAxe
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We're gonna win, but I'm not impressed at all.

And before you bombard me with the canned excuses of "new guys" "need time" "learn system," just realize that LETU is a non-scholarship d3 team. And we are (allegedly) a good mid major.

Sorry, but we looked pretty raggedy with the same issues that have plagued us recently.
nacluth
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This second half has basically been a bunch of D1 rookies trying to run plays against street ballers. Yeah it's not pretty but it's game experience. I'm impressed with our young crew. Plenty of things to clean up, but overall I'm happy.

NC Central will be a much better judge if we can hold our own.
MasterAxe
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nacluth said:

This second half has basically been a bunch of D1 rookies trying to run plays against street ballers. Yeah it's not pretty but it's game experience. I'm impressed with our young crew. Plenty of things to clean up, but overall I'm happy.

NC Central will be a much better judge if we can hold our own.


We won, always take a win. But, LETU feels better about themselves after one game than we do.

We just looked, blah.
sfa17
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We look better than we did last year. Time will tell. Promising start. A lot to work on.
RedRiverLa
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Since I can remember, there's never been an SFA game 1 where anyone was 'impressed' - even during the halcyon days of Walkup and Parker. Tonights a 'meh', we can all agree I think.
Lumberjack Battalion
Lumberjacks make great US Army Special Ops Officers - AxeEm!
MasterAxe
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RedRiverLa said:

Since I can remember, there's never been an SFA game 1 where anyone was 'impressed' - even during the halcyon days of Walkup and Parker. Tonights a 'meh', we can all agree I think.


The question will ultimately be, "how long do we play at the meh level?" I assume we get better, but who knows. Thought we'd really drop the hammer tonight and we just kinda...didn't.
RedRiverLa
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MasterAxe said:

nacluth said:

This second half has basically been a bunch of D1 rookies trying to run plays against street ballers. Yeah it's not pretty but it's game experience. I'm impressed with our young crew. Plenty of things to clean up, but overall I'm happy.

NC Central will be a much better judge if we can hold our own.


We won, always take a win. But, LETU feels better about themselves after one game than we do.

We just looked, blah.
I think David West feels better about himself - not sure about the entire LETU team
Lumberjack Battalion
Lumberjacks make great US Army Special Ops Officers - AxeEm!
SFA Jack Fanatic
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What was the technical on Hart for??
RedRiverLa
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MasterAxe said:

RedRiverLa said:

Since I can remember, there's never been an SFA game 1 where anyone was 'impressed' - even during the halcyon days of Walkup and Parker. Tonights a 'meh', we can all agree I think.


The question will ultimately be, "how long do we play at the meh level?" I assume we get better, but who knows. Thought we'd really drop the hammer tonight and we just kinda...didn't.
Yep, agree. Don't think I felt a hammer coming tonight, though - I guess last year I was 'ugh' now it's progressed to a 'meh' - looking forward to seeing where we are with NCC
Lumberjack Battalion
Lumberjacks make great US Army Special Ops Officers - AxeEm!
nacluth
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I see 10 guys that can play. Hopefully Oddyst is around somewhere to make it 11. Kalcheries and Ware have done decent at the point. Kensmil is at least a presence inside (hopefully he can hold onto the ball with some work). Johnson is just going to be a huge contributor. Hart and Daniels can play.

Biggest disappointment for me on the eye test is Comeaux and Bain. Wanted more from our returners. John is still fouling and Nate is still here and there. I was hoping for more consistency. Still just game one that's meant for others.

So much to clean up. We're not beating Duke this weekend or this year probably, but I do like the make up of this team. Tall, fast, and big. If we can become a team, we'll be all right. Still undefeated.
PurpleOut
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Staff
Officiating is just awful. This game should have been over 10 minutes ago.
SFA Jack Fanatic
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Sometimes when you're playing a team that plays street ball you tend to do it too. I think that's what we've seen.
PurpleOut
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Staff
Pretty happy with the performance, I'll give a longer review later or in the morning.
CertifiedAxeman98
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Keller and Mason should be recruiting him before he leaves Nac.
SFA Jack Fanatic
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What I learned tonight (just my opinions)...

1) Kensmil has bricks for hands, but he will be a force inside IF he can hold on to the ball, 2) Jacks are not good at free throws, 3) Jacks have much more depth than they've had in at least three years, 4) Two of the Jacks freshmen (Hart and Solomon) are going to be real strengths this year. Both will be starters at some point this season (perhaps not at the same time), 5) Jacks will be a very good rebounding team; 6) Ware was a disappointment. I expected some outside scoring from him and didn't get any. He seemed reluctant to shoot. and he missed free throws (I believe he averaged nearly 90% in JUCO), 7) Kachelries deserves an occasional start at the point, but it's Comeaux for now, 8) Johnson will be a steady, dependable 6th man.8) The SFA ESPN video team is not good.
CertifiedAxeman98
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Comeaux and Bain were starters last year by default with all the injuries and departures. I believe that they will probably play less as the season goes on with other picking up their minutes. Keller likes to play fast (could not do it last year) and I expect he will be spreading out the playing time like tonight and giving the hot hand more time.
sfa17
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TheScore app says attendance was 2,588. 25 turnovers. Definitely have to stay under 20. I think David will end up starting over John. The two freshmen looked solid. We need to super glue kensmil's hand to the ball.
RedRiverLa
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With our win tonight, we're on pace to finish 36-0.
Lumberjack Battalion
Lumberjacks make great US Army Special Ops Officers - AxeEm!
wahlwesle
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I expected to see McDaniel play more, especially since we only had 12 in uniform. Anybody know when Demiere will be healthy?
No-look
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Decent first game. Seen some good things. The Red Sea parted a couple times with our defense. Is it Brown that's still injured? Couldn't tell if he was still in a boot.
No-look
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Freshmen looked good. How many charges did Gavin take? He's a force. Enjoyed watching every player play. Looks like good depth and got some kids that can score. Rusty at times but first games are Usually like that. Wish McDaniels would have played More.
Rev007
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I'll take Gavin, bad hands and all, over what we had last year. He hustled, played good defense, took three charges, and had tremendous inside position. He is not someone who will be pushed around in the paint. Let's hope the butter fingers is a one off. At least some of his turnovers can be corrected with coaching. He was bringing the ball down too low which enabled the opposing guards to make multiple steals. In comparison, Calvin Solomon routinely held his low post touches higher.

It's one game, but I'm still excited at the potential.
TallTexan
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PurpleOut said:

Officiating is just awful. This game should have been over 10 minutes ago.


That tech on Hart was so so dumb. He was getting back on D while celebrating a great dunk & they penalized him for it.
RichieVan
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After a nights rest, here is my take on the game:
Compare LETU to the SWAG game last year. Captain Obvious says we're much better.
This team is full of athleticism and they are definitely deep. But they are not disciplined.
Jacks were extremely careless with the basketball and their half court sets were extremely inconsistent.
Free throw shooting needs to be much better. The shot selection for the Jacks, even in the inconsistent half court sets, were not bad at all. Kensmil needs to stop putting the ball on the deck in traffic. Overall, Daniels was better at the 5.
If the Jacks take care of the ball and shoot FTs better, they win by 40. They also ran into a player that had the night of his career.
Last year at this time, we knew the season was going to be a long one, because we knew we couldn't rectify our problems. This year, we're a little disappointed in a 19 point win in a game we totally controlled. Better offensive flow and ball security will dictate how far we go. We have the athletes to compete.
sfajack05
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First game of the season and a convincing win - I'll take it. I know it's a DIII team but last year the team struggled with Texas Wesleyan and Southwest Assemblies of God. To me they already look like they are at a better place than the team last year. The team definitely has some things to work on but to me the body language, movement, etc already looks better than last year.

I agree with everyone that Saturday will be a good test to see where we are this early in the season.

I know I've been on the get Keller out of town train but I've calmed down since March and excited to see what the team does.

jboy93
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Didn't get to see or listen to the game...had kid obligations. With that said a win over a whatever level they are is a good start. I know we have better athletes from top to bottom this year. They seem to all be willing to listen and play as a team so that puts us miles ahead over last year. I think Cam and Hart are going to be the standouts from the new guys, (I am a little biased toward Cam since he came from TJC)!
Can't wait till I can see them in person on the 16th (thanks Jack Fanatic for the tickets). GO JACKS!!!
PurpleOut
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Staff
Long analysis post coming.

Overall, I was happy with what I saw last night. Almost impossible to get a real grasp after a single game, can't assume any of the play will consistently be the same (other than Kevon).

Statistically, we won every category other than FTs, three pointers, and fast break points. Playing an over matched team like LeTourneau, you can almost always expect them to take more three pointers. It's a risk that can keep you in a game, and luckily they had the kid draining shots from 28 feet and half court. West is a very experienced scorer (Senior that averaged 24 PPG last season), but with all do respect he's not going to knock those down like that every game and got the benefit of some whistles that got him to the FT line 18 times.

As mentioned several times by Rob, Keller himself said that it's going to take a few games to really figure out the lineup and see who plays best with whom. I thought the starting 5 was fine, and safe. But I don't think we'll see Bain start in the future.

It was obviously a mismatch down low, so we didn't need to really do much when it comes to set plays or ball movement. I think you'll continue to see the offense improve (especially as mentioned when we get a lineup and better rotations set). Points in the paint was 46-12 in favor of SFA, and we grabbed 23 offensive boards. Obviously 25 turnovers is not good, but I found myself not too worried afterwards. All were pretty correctable mistakes that will come with more games. It will be beat into us, but playing 12 players who are almost all new, will take some time on the court.

- Kevon: Thought he played ok, we know what we can get from him each night. 18 & 8 on 50% shooting on just an "ok" night. Still needs to work on a few defensive aspects. The opening back door and one later were on him.
- Comeaux: Not his best night and was limited due to fouls. But we mostly know what we get from John as well. He'll be our best on ball defender so his fouls will always be a risk. He still managed 3 assists and 3 steals in just 16 minutes. I think he deserves to be the starter, he's finally healthy and in good shape.
- Kensmil: We all saw the turnovers, Keller even joked post-game about his "triple-double." It was just one game so it may not be an issue. But was definitely happy with his play overall, I think he'll be a solid double-double guy each night. He killed them on the offensive boards (8). He will definitely be in the running for Newcomer of the Year.
- Roti: Just didn't see much unfortunately. Not a great shooting night, and seemed a little hesitant. A lot of first game jitters all around, so I'll chalk it up to that for now. I think there's a reason Keller had him starting game 1.
- Bain: Let's remember he hasn't practiced a ton due to injury, so he may not be 100% fit. Big fan of Nathan and his energy, which I think will be an excellent piece off the bench. Great to have him as a Senior leader.

- Cameron Johnson: Was my player of the game. Could work himself in the the starting lineup, but I think he'd be an excellent choice as 6th man. Big guard that can really do it all, a lot of energy and very tough.
- Hart: Deserves as much praise as anyone. Have been more than excited to see him play, seems like a really good kid. And we can see he can be a very special player. Showed his athleticism, and showed some skill and touch. He was 0-3 from 3, but the fact that he took the shots shows me the staff believes in his ability to make them. And if he does....look out. He'll have some growing pains, as every freshman does, but he's a huge get for us.
- Daniels: Impressive game as well, think he will deserve additional minutes. We've got two solid big men now, and Daniels brings a little more height to the floor.
- Solomon - Had a really good first half, and a so-so second half. Like Hart, I think his potential is through the roof, but saw some of his freshman tendencies. Seems like he has an overall game similar to Bain, but could develop into a REALLY good player.
- Kachelries: Good ball handling, pretty decent game overall. Appears to be one of our primary 3-point options. Don't think he'll be a starter, but definitely seems like a solid contributor.
- Kharee: Only got 1 minute, so hard to say much. Would like to see him get some more minutes, but not sure we we will put him in there against better opponents.
- Zivney: Was surprised to see him so quickly in the second, but glad he got a few minutes. Doubt we'll see him much other than mop up duty.
- Oddyst: Out injured, but appears won't be out much longer.
- Demiere Brown: Still injured as well, not sure of his return.

I think in a few weeks we'll have a better idea of who will log the most minutes, but I didn't see anything last night from the main 10 players that said they deserve LESS minutes (all played 10+ minutes). So I think the staff has a tough job figuring out the lineups.

I think Saturday could be a tough game. This will be the season opener for NC Central, but they are picked to win the MEAC. While not a great conference like us, they are a solid team and have been to 3 straight NCAA tournaments and have some experienced players. It won't be an easy win for sure. See everyone there!

nacluth
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Great stuff Matt!
LUMBERJACK2005
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Not coaching this year, so have some extra time on my hands (as you guys can see):

The Broadcast -
Audio was awful the entire game. Video quality was it's usual early 2000's quality. Not once was there ever a score shown and nary a replay, either. Sucks we can't get better, but at least we can watch the games.

Knee-Jerk Reactions based off of one game, clearly enough to form an opinion
(LT's opening half court set play was really nice, definitely added that one to my notebook)

We are going to be pretty good this year.
Are Walker and Brown injured?

Ware doesn't have a pure shooter's stroke, he is going to be one of those streaky guys who can go off when he gets hot and look like he shouldn't be shooting when he's not. He got beat on two backdoor cuts, getting caught watching the ball in help.

Gavin K looked like a man among boys. Defensively, he is really solid. I believe he took 4 charges. He got his hands on so many balls last night, unfortunately he didn't hang on to most of them. Poor guy couldn't catch a cold. He really carves out space in the post and does a great job of sealing his defender in the hi/lo action.

I love Solomon, think he's going to be a stud. Over the last few years, we have seen how far behind defensively freshman can be. Didn't look to be the case last night for him, night and day difference between a well-coached HS player and a not so well-coached player (ahem, Yates HS). He got a little overzealous looking for hi/lo action at times, but he is going to special.

Could almost say Ditto for Hart. Can't wait to see this kid grow over the season. SO ATHLETIC and fearless on offense. He got a steal in the first half and made a nice pass to Johnson for his first dunk, a play you don't see young kids make often. Noticed him watching the ball on the help-side a few times, but again, typical stuff defensively for freshman who haven't played a lot of man to man.


Johnson is really smooth and really explosive. Going to be a good defender.

Comeaux is still the same player. Going to give you maximum effort at breakneck speed. Can really finish in transition, but IMO, gets himself too deep and off-balance in transition too often, when nothing materializes. Makes me nervous when he has the ball.

Daniels looked pretty lost defensively and not overly aggressive on the defensive glass. Looked to have nice touch offensively.

Kachelries is nice. can really handle the ball and immediately gets butt to the sideline in transition looking for the outlet or to fill the lane in transition. He always has his head up and made several nice passes. Has nice shooting form, really excited about the prospects of having a PG who can score. Not sure we've had a guard like him since Deshaunt Walker! Defensively, he struggled defending the ball, especially on drives.

Harris looked good shooting the ball last night and his dunk was nasty. I wish he'd get out and run the court more instead of looking to bring the ball up, feel like he is more dangerous attacking the rim in transition than setting up the break.

Bain looked like the same player he has been for four years. Sat most of the second half.

Overall, things that usually look bad early on, did. Way too many turnovers. Transition defense wasn't great, but these things are to be expected. LT isn't a powerhouse, but they were really well coached and hit some crazy threes. I was super impressed with the team. Really interested to hear any thoughts from you guys who are in the know, on how much we can expect from Brown. If he can play, they are going be salty. Kudos to the staff this year on the recruiting job they did. Can't wait for game two!!!












CertifiedAxeman98
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Thanks for the update. I was not able to watch or listen to the game.
TallTexan
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It looked like Brown had a boot on from my seat.
LUMBERJACK2005
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MasterAxe said:

I watched Duke, on three different possessions, force a low post entry pass from the top of the key, only for it to get intercepted, and I was so excited to see that even they do that.

For a minute last year I thought that play was unique to us.
LMAO!!!!!!!
TallTexan
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Matt & 2005 have covered it pretty well.

I really liked is that this team is so much faster & athletic than most SFA teams I've seen, especially last years.

Saw Keller imploring the PGs to run the offense & setup plays last night, which was nice. Pure ISO ball last year wasn't great.

Love Hart's enthusiasm. Haven't seen someone who seemed to enjoy themselves on the court this much since Walkup graduated.

Canete on the sidelines is an interesting development. Good for him.



Also, we weren't getting any replays in the gym either. I'd advise people to reach out to Ivey so that this problem gets fixed quick.
 
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