(11-15-2014 09:41 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 12:53 AM)That Guy 2012 Wrote:  Well this wouldn't be the Parliament without some wild overreaction, so here we go...

I'm really not seeing the same positives as most of you. All I saw was a team nearly identical to the past two years, but in many aspects, a little worse. That doesn't mean there aren't things we do well, but everything I think that we did well, we've done well already.

The interior defense remains solid, especially for being undersized. We made a lot of very good plays down low, especially early. But my biggest defensive complaint from Ben's squads remain- far to many open shots allowed late in the shot clock. I also thought that our half-court defense was appreciably less-effective after the full press. Enough to offset the few good outcomes of the press.

Offensively, the sets looked a bit wasteful. We didn't appear to even try to establish an inside presence in half-court sets until it was too late. This was especially frustrating after seeing Andrew clear himself a lot of space. They had size inside, but even if he immediately passes out of it, I think that helps the shooters. We did work (and I do mean work, harder than should be necessary) to get a lot of open looks, but that only matters if we can hit them. I hope that isn't the game plan too often going forward without someone hitting at a clip like Ramljak. Even when we rained it in from 3 last year to put the fear of God into A&M, UH, and UTEP, we did it with surgical inside out plays against zone defenses much better than OSU's.

On the whole, it felt like we were playing playground ball- frenetic ball pressure on defense and jacking up every available three on offense. I'm sure that there is a method to the madness, but it all looks purposeless, like running for the sake of running. That leads to the most alarming thing for me- the tank was empty with 10 to go. What I'd really like to see going forward is two things: a small slowdown on offense, and a lesser reliance on the press (use it liberally, but not after every basket).

Can't fault the effort- I do think that we worked harder than them. But I've said that a lot over the past two years. Either way, these guys will get win #1 sooner rather than later, and I look forward to it.

To conclude with two specific things I'd like to highlight- Dan matched his career high in points, and as a team we hit 93% from the line (14/15). Good work, guys!

Are you sure you're talking about our team the past several years? The defensive intensity and switch offs were MUCH better than previous Rice teams under Braun....and the ball movement on offense was similarly much improved. Yes, we were ice cold from outside offensively, but at least we were finding the open man and taking the open shot. Clearly, given our outside shooting woes, we're going to be a better team against man-to-man defenses, but I'm confident that as the year progresses, Coach Rhoades will find a way to work the ball in against the zone....and getting Denzel Davis back will certainly help in that regard.

Defensively, they killed us inside every time Andrew Drone sat on the bench. Pollard needs to become more of a presence inside, and learn to switch off better....but given he's a Freshman and this was his first game, that will come in time. And, again, the presence of Davis will help. As for OSU's open looks from the 3-point line as the play clock wound down, I think that's more a credit to OSU's patience on offense and passing (which were excellent, IMO) than any negatives on our defensive effort or scheming. The difference was that they made 40+% of their 3s and we made less than 25%. We had just as many wide open 3s, if not more.

The one big problem with relying on the outside 3-pointers, especially when in the half-court offense (as opposed to fast break) is that when missed they inevitably result in long rebounds and fast breaks the other way, which negates our pressure back court defense.

Overall, very solid effort IMO, and positive signs of what's to come. Remember also, this was a road game, and a distant one at that. OSU may be in a rebuilding year, but they are very obviously well coached, as their passing and defensive work were outstanding.

My impressions....I agree with the negatives expressed by ThatGuy, but I also agree with the positives mentioned by Walt.

But to me, the negatives outshone the positives. I think that will probably change over time, and I certainly hope so.

Hard to tell of the improvement b/c not sure if Oregon St. is a good/improved team or not. They have been in the cellar of Pac-12 for awhile (9th last year) and have a new coach as well.

Assuming that Oregon St. plays .500 basketball in their conference, then what I saw was a better product than last year. Had to be awkward for Braun to be calling the game on TV.

What I saw was more intensity/urgency, good ball movement, looked more athletic, a very small team (knew that already but really evident when watching it), and a team that could not do anything inside so had to jack up outside shots. Seems like a team that will play better against smaller teams and you have to believe that the shooting %'s should improve which gives you better results. Not ready to see any post season action but for first time in a few years..some optimism and hope in the program.

curious if Braun offered any insights on our players? Did he point to any tangible or intangible strengths on individual players?

Was happy to see Coach Rhoades' first game on the Pac-12 stream.

Was very inspired when I watched the SEAL training videos of the team posted earlier this year. Swelled with Rice pride and a tear in my eye for how those young men were working hard together to change the culture of Rice Basketball.

Also could not help noticing the coaching staff, and even Dr, Karlgaard himself participated, which made me wonder what it would be like if the football coaching staff, including the head coach, did the same in the offseasons?

Although Rice lost this first game to Oregon State on a long road trip in to a P5 conference member, I was very encouraged with the tempo of the game, the style of coaching, and the willingness of Coach Rhoades to go all out as long as he could with what he had. Oregon State did not seem like a cellar-dweller to me watching that game, so will be interesting to follow their season this year to glean the true measure of this game between our schools.

Free throw shooting was markedly improved over last year, hope that is a continued trend (granted, small one game sample, but still, got the feeling after watching the practice videos that Rhoades tries to optimize what he can in practices and use his time productively, reminded me of Scott Thompson practices, only Rhoades strikes me as a level even above Thompson, which is exciting for the future). Turnovers seemed at an acceptable level, given the situation. Team was often outmatched in size and bulk, but showed plenty of heart and especially hustle. Inside game was lacking, but hopefully will improve over the year, and in the future when Rhodes gets more horses.

I am presently confident Coach Rhoades can recruit the horses, and especially that he knows how to develop and coach them, bit in practices and in games, once he has them on campus. I am also very impressed when looking at our team picture, that these look like a very nice group of young men.

Time will tell, but I have been encouraged with most of what I have seen from Coach Rhoades. He appears to have the attitude of a winner who won't settle for less, kinda like Coach Graham in baseball.

Like Meatloaf said, 2 outta three ain't bad: (MBB, Baseball)

I thought we looked worse than last season. Rhodes needs time to get his recruits in.