I'll be tuning into your exhibition against Tusculum. I live close to Tusculum and go to several of their games. I also know Coach Boone fairly well. He's an outstanding coach who will come prepared and make it relatively competitive just on coaching alone. Last year, they were beating Lipscomb with one minute remaining.
Obviously they are out-matched, but they will play hard. Tusculum does have some decent talent. Their starting PG is a transfer from Winthrop. I think his name is Kyle. They also have a decent big man (Jordan Lear) who can shoot. Your athleticism will wear them down, but I wouldn't be surprised if they keep it reasonably close at half, and then my guess the flood gates will open for you the 2nd half.

Thanks for the info Bucfaithful. It will be interesting to see how things turn out. I looked into how they are supposed to do this year. The info I found had them finishing 5th out of their respective 8 team conference. Either way should be interesting. I am excited about the game!

Looking forward to it!

I remember when Tusculum played KSU back in the Division II days. They were tough then, and I would assume would be a tough team now. Don't know if they still play the same "european" style offense where everyone shoots well, and they spread the floor, but I don't think it will be an easy win, and I think they will give us a good test of where our defense is at the start of the season. If our D takes care of business, then we should...if our guys don't come ready it could be a tough night.

I think everyone's anxious for the season to get underway. Having someone on our court is sure to pump them up. I think our guys show up.

I am watching it online. Stegall and Mattone haven't played yet...don't know what the deal is with that. Seems like we have similar problems to year's past in D1..tough time defending and scoring in the paint.

Yea it was tough with Stegall being out, we couldn't seem to get many rebounds, we started and finished the game strong, but I'd like to see some kind of presence in the paint before we play a real game.

KennesawBasketball Wrote:I am watching it online. Stegall and Mattone haven't played yet...don't know what the deal is with that. Seems like we have similar problems to year's past in D1..tough time defending and scoring in the paint.

Stegall was injured, ankle I believe. We played decent for our first game. Id give us a B- Rating. I was very impressed by Whipple, Keith, and Daugherty...They should all come up pretty big this year. Also Pollock and McConnell each played more than I expected. Ive stated it numerous times in the past but I'm very excited about McConnell. My biggest concern is still at PG, we'll see how things play out.

I liked what I saw out of McConnell and Pollock. Berry looked very similar to last year. Keith started off strong...the key to his game is going to be is having a consistent jump shot. He did a good job of knocking down the open jumper today, and if he can do that he will be a tough matchup. He is so strong that once he gets in the lane all you can do is foul him.

I didn't think that Nickerson or Whipple had a very good game to be honest. Our big men will be the key to the season. Daugherty looks like a great option off the bench to provide some instant offense, and he actually played pretty solid defense, which from what I have heard is a liability. That was really good to see.

For an exhibition game we showed some good signs, but also (which is expected) showed a lot of weaknesses. Atleast we didn't lose to the DII team we played like Michigan State ! :)

I liked what I saw from Whipple, but Nickerson had a very average day. What were your thoughts on Jacobs? I thought he played farily well for his first college game.

Jacobs is my kind of player. Plays defense, hustles, can finish strong, and hits freethrows. We'll be seeing lots of him this year.

Daugherty looks very good and should start, though he needs to work on one thing. Sometimes he tries to do 2 much on offense and makes really bad decisions. He tried to drive a couple times on the entire team..and it didnt work out well. But he still is very talented.

and another note..Wooten has improved his ball handling.

Owlzfan84 Wrote:Jacobs is my kind of player. Plays defense, hustles, can finish strong, and hits freethrows. We'll be seeing lots of him this year.

Daugherty looks very good and should start, though he needs to work on one thing. Sometimes he tries to do 2 much on offense and makes really bad decisions. He tried to drive a couple times on the entire team..and it didnt work out well. But he still is very talented.

and another note..Wooten has improved his ball handling.

Agree on everything you said. Daugherty really impressed me with his shot. Anyone think Daugherty may have had something to do with Morgan deciding to transfer? I thought Morgan would have had a TON of PT this year and was somewhat shocked when he left.. Now Im not so sure how much he would have played with Keith and Daugherty looking fairly impressive.

I dont think Daugherty should start, and dont think that he will start. He seems like a perfect guy to come off the bench this year, and then step into the starting lineup next year with the vacancy of Wooten. He is a shoot first type of player, and we already have Wooten on the wing who is shoot first. Don't need two of those in the starting lineup.

I liked what Jacobs brought to the table, but I think he is going to take some time. Still made a lot of defensive mistakes, which is to be expected from a freshman. He gave good effort though, and has a good feel for the game. He will definitely get playing time because we need frontcourt help.

Our PG situation is still very much up in the air. Don't know why Mattone didn't get in the game, must be hurt. Would have really liked to see him in the game.

Same here with Mattone. We still have another scrimmage maybe he can go then. After today it seems the lineup to open the season will be:

Berry
Keith
Wooten
Nickerson
Stegall

Then Daugherty and Whipple getting the most minutes off the bench.

Corn_3024 Wrote:Same here with Mattone. We still have another scrimmage maybe he can go then. After today it seems the lineup to open the season will be:

Berry
Keith
Wooten
Nickerson
Stegall

Then Daugherty and Whipple getting the most minutes off the bench.

I would agree with that above lineup, which is pretty much what I have been saying all along sans Pollock for Berry. Our PG situation is the only part I don't have figure out...everything else is pretty self explanatory.

PG: Don't know how these minutes will play out b/w Berry, Mattone, Pollock, McConnell
SG: Wooten / Daugherty
SF: Keith/Daugherty/JMac
PF: JMac/Whipple
C: Stegall/Jacobs

I really think that our best team to start has Pollock on the floor, but I am not sure if he can run the point. Would have liked to see him get a chance to run the show again Tusculum since the game didn't count. He causes havoc on the defensive side of the floor and can get into the lane on offense. Watch him next time we play and tell me you don't agree.

We will see what happens though.

Ill keep an eye on Pollock.. Hope Mattone can show something though..

I watched your scrimmage and as always, I'm always blown away by Wooten's explosiveness. He got a rebound on a free-throw shot over his man that was boxing him out! I don't think I've ever seen a guy get off his feet so quickly. Unreal.

Now all he has to do is work on his ballhanding and upper body strength he may have a shot at the league!

KennesawBasketball Wrote:

Corn_3024 Wrote:Same here with Mattone. We still have another scrimmage maybe he can go then. After today it seems the lineup to open the season will be:

Berry
Keith
Wooten
Nickerson
Stegall

Then Daugherty and Whipple getting the most minutes off the bench.

I would agree with that above lineup, which is pretty much what I have been saying all along sans Pollock for Berry. Our PG situation is the only part I don't have figure out...everything else is pretty self explanatory.

PG: Don't know how these minutes will play out b/w Berry, Mattone, Pollock, McConnell
SG: Wooten / Daugherty
SF: Keith/Daugherty/JMac
PF: JMac/Whipple
C: Stegall/Jacobs

I really think that our best team to start has Pollock on the floor, but I am not sure if he can run the point. Would have liked to see him get a chance to run the show again Tusculum since the game didn't count. He causes havoc on the defensive side of the floor and can get into the lane on offense. Watch him next time we play and tell me you don't agree.

We will see what happens though.

Hello guys ... I am new to the board. Please allow me to chime in.

I watched the exhibition yesterday and I have mixed emotions.

Keith looked strong early, but lost focus at the end.

Where are Berry's leadership skills?

Stegall missed a class and couldn't play.

Ryan looked a little selfish out there. Did anyone notice that the offense didn't run smoothly in the 2nd half? There was a lot of 1 on 1 and we took a lot of outside shots.

If we play like this at Auburn's home opener, the bus will be cancelled!

I look forward to Tuesday to get some questions answered. Keep in mind that it is only exhibition season.

Welcome Go, Fly, Win, Owls! nice to get another fan on board.

You should go to Asun talk and vote for which team you are a fan of. I posted something on the thread so it should be up there.

Ya i thought the game was pretty sloppy as well and I started to think about what the outcomes will be like vs Western K. and Auburn if we play like that. However, we have to keep it real and understand that Stegall did not play at all and when he comes back that will be huge. Also, we have to realize that our initial line up played pretty good ball while going on a 16-2 run to open the game. After that Ingle was just trying to get everyone play time and I believe we won't see a lot of those line ups in the real season lol.

"Keith looked strong early, but lost focus at the end. "

I agree. After the first half it just looked like he wanted to goof off and just have fun out there. He would make mistakes and just laugh or smile and did not look very serious.

I cant wait for the game on Tuesday. I hope Stegall is back in the game so we can get a real sense of how our team may look down the road.