My Take:
Any win is better than a loss. Given that, this was a pretty good win. We were down by 10 in the first half, but we didn't panic. We have a very deep team of interchangeable players.
Positives:
Please don't think I arrived out here in LA last night and immediately purchased and smoked some crack, but when I look at the potential of Nana, I think about The Dream, both from Nigeria, both very raw, but athletic and hard working. I predict Nana will lead the team in blocked shots the next four years. It will take a while to develop an offensive game. Once this guy gains some confidence and realizes he can play with the big boys, the sky is the limit.
Heckard - I'm seeing glimpses of a player that is awesome in the open court. He plays really fast.
David - I started not to add David in the positives section because of some really poor passes that were turnovers leading to easy layups, but David is head and shoulders above where he was last year, especially in playing with confidence and not putting his head down and pouting when things go bad. His conditioning is remarkable, and that tells us he put it the work for his senior season.
Gavin and Charlie: Gavin was tremendous with his patented spin moves in the lane. His footwork looks even better than last year. Charlie had some nice buckets including a nifty layup with his left hand.
Cameron - Had a subpar first game, but he hit a couple of nice threes in this one. We definitely need our three point shooting as it complements Gavin's inside game.
Negatives:
Roti - Had a less than stellar game, but I'm not worried about him. That's just basketball, ups and downs.
Nigel - I think he is trying too hard to impress. Let's give him a chance to settle down and start doing the things he is capable of doing.
Summary:
Jacks win!!! We have a deep team, and Coach Keller is still working on rotations which he always does at this point in the season. Still waiting on Mr. Posey to heal. We are going to be difficult to beat.