I am excited about the team so far, just not the end result. But, we haven't yet gotten to see the full Tribe team on the floor. To get where they want to go, they will have to defend. I think Knight, Pierce, Harvey, Audige and Owens can defend. Blair, Scott and Loewe should be decent defenders as well. I think you have somewhat of a trade off with Milon, Rowley and Williams. If they are hitting their shots, making free throws, not turning the ball over, and helping on the boards, then they are a plus on the floor. But, it might not be feasible to have all 3 on the floor together for long. There is also experience and leadership gains potentially with Milon and Rowley. With 5 freshmen, there is a learning curve for both our style and the lineups on the floor. But, I'd bet the ones that play better defense play more as the year goes on. I think we are going to find this year and next that the Tribe can get more defensive stops and rebounds and be a prolific scoring team(just not at the 17-18 level). Will be curious to see if we use more of the 1-3-1 zone or any press during the nonconference remaining schedule. Might be tough right now with all of the minutes the freshmen are playing.
Winning the league will be very difficult. Riller, JWF, Pusica, and Cacok are going to be difficult for anyone in the CAA to stop. But, when you look at our players now, there is hope. Clearly, I was a Kool Aid drinker on the team and its nonconference record. I have to believe these November experiences are going to help the team overall down the road in February and March. Remember, the Tribe finishes the regular season with a tough 5 of 7 road games to finish the regular season. By then, we will need all the defense and depth we can find.