When I last posted a diatribe, it was about a month ago, and my oh my, how things have changed.
This team is really starting to come together, and what was an offense that consisted of total chaos has now settled into smooth, ball movement, high ball screen offense with opportunities to showcase the athletic ability of some of our players through dribble drive penetration.
What I really like about the offense is that it enables some creativity within the overall scheme. They've cut down on their turnovers, but we still need work to value possessions more. Their outside shooting is coming around. Last night, they shot 37.5% from "3", I'll take that all year. They are sharing the ball more. In all areas they needed improvement, they've done so.
On defense, this team is tenacious. I will trade the open "3" looks for the turnovers the defense creates. Missouri averaged 14 turns a game and we forced 21. They were only minus 2 on rebounds against a much taller, physical team. Very encouraging.
I don't want to engage in hyperbole, but if this team brings this kind of effort through an 18 game Southland season, there is no reason to believe 18-0 should be the expectation, although there could always be a hiccup. My full expectation, when we're playing in the NCAA tournament, is for the announcers to say "this team is 83-7 in its last 90 conference games."
Axe 'em!