(11-09-2019 12:58 AM)ProfScott Wrote:  Surprise, surprise. The Lopes actually showed up today. I was impressed. This game gives me hope for this season. Better ball movement, better spacing, more drives to the basket and better utilization of the 3-pointer. They also played fairly good defense even with the Illini having a major height advantage. The fact that the Lopes were only down 5 points with a few minutes left says the team may have some heart after all. Especially given the fact that ...
(1) Lever barely played (he played well when he was in there though)
(2) Carlos Johnson had an off night
(3) We only dressed 10 players and only 6 of those were true rotation players.
(4) We couldn't make a free throw (shot around 50%)
(5) We got out rebounded by 20 boards
Yet with all that we hung tough with the 42 ranked team in KenPom.

On the plus side:
(1) Jovan and Isiah were outstanding
(2) JJ and Lorenzo showed moments of brilliance
(3) Bangai can play some defense (just don't let him touch the ball on offense)

Good points above regarding the factors that contributed to the outcome. Absolutely we felt Lever’s absence. Carlos’ rough night didn’t help either; I could see his frustration. Blacksher is going to be a beast this season, and JJ put in quality time as well.

I respectfully disagree with regard to Bangai, however. I was a post player so perhaps I’m biased, but he just looked completely out of sorts. He panicked on a simple handoff, and seemed to be all thumbs when he had the ball. He sortve reminds me of that big kid from Senegal we had a few years back; never quite found his groove, and ended up leaving after a thumb injury. All he had was size; the skill set never quite developed. I didn’t see the defense as all that great either, but guarding Cockhold is going to be overwhelming for even some seasoned post players.

Guarding a fella that big is all about positioning. You have to use quickness and your wits to put him in a position to go over your back. He will eventually get frustrated and try to move you with too much force and get called for it. Obviously easier said than done, but I’ve been undersized against some of the tallest guys I’d ever seen in state playoffs back in the day. It’s all I could do.