So, with the team overcoming the brief december slump and playing a sustained stretch of good basketball, it's fun to talk hoops again. here's a little mind of pono overview.

present. gotta give it up to staff and players. there's great togetherness, positivity and accountability during this run. that means everyone. from the star players to the 7th man to the end of the bench to the managers and walk on practice players the assistants and the head guy have to be engaged and getting better. basketball is a team game. great players can greatly improve teams but teams that have no great players but good ones that play great team ball are just as much fun. that is also the toledo way. long time fans of rockets basketball want to see movement on offense of the ball and the players. they want to see team defense that is locked in and gets in your face at home.

now, i'm not saying this team is all that. the defense has merely improved from good lawd to sometimes pretty good. the rebounding is better in part to the fact the MAC is down inside. the league has good guards and swingmen but few real game changers or effective bangers inside. this rocket team is vulnerable inside. because we play 1 true big who comes off the bench. he's multi-talented and capable of great 24 minute games like kent, but still a big guy who needs a blow. our other "big" is is listed at 6-9 but he's more of a bouncy 6-7 old school forward who can make some midrange shots, make the easy ones and set picks. we don't play a 1978 game so adway is sort of a 5 who can move around but doesn't have much run for him to take advantage of best skills (setting him up for short jumpers and setting backdoor picks to give him room for alloy-oops). since he plays more of a 5 he gets matched up on heavier guys and draws fouls from quick whistle refs cuz he has to muscle with bigger guys and extend his arms. but it is what it is. he is often in foul trouble and plays out of position often. there is no other big guy. we need adway giving us 15 solid minutes. which he is but might be better with less fouls. and knapke 25 good minutes. which he does 2 out of 3 games. fortunately, our 3rd guard in the offense is a 23 year old 6-7 guy with the beard of 43 year old and good rebounding instincts. fletcher has learned that being the man means to attack when you are feeling it and make plays around the rim and boards and for others when your shot isn't there. when your best player is a peaking senior it's a good sign. we also got a 6-6 bench guy in jackson who is thin but quick and and can make plays around the rim. navigato is big enough and smart enough to guard people in a good matchup. get's exposed sometimes by quality big or fast players. again, the mac is average now so he can win match ups when he's locked in. he's also taking fewer tough shots and handling the ball flawlessly so even when he misses he isn't hurting the team. and when he's on we are tough to beat. sanford seems to have found his grown man persona. i swear he looked shook in the headlights at kansas. missed some opportunities at syracuse. played scared with the dribble under pressure for a stretch and then... decided to grow up and play ball. give the kid a lot of credit. he has been rock solid for 4 weeks. again, if he is on we are hard to beat. the freshman has been all you could ask of a freshman at the point. he's pretty fearless. i'd like him to learn how to crisply pass the ball, but for now he is good. if he continues to be more confident getting up on people on d. we become a better team.

upcoming. we still have 2 games with eastern. who is the one team in the league that will put some athletic big guys with some game on the court. they are up and down and murphy is a mediocre coach with an eye for talent. but they are a team that on a good night will expose some of our weaknesses. ball st has our new nemesis in persons. we don't defend good offensive point guards very well. meanwhile, they can pretty much match our size with guys that can also mostly shoot. miami has a decent young team. bg has gotten pretty good. kent will probably have a major say in what happens in cleveland. and we know they aren't scared of us. it won't be an easy run. but the chance to win the west and set up a mac final with buffalo (or someone else) looks like a realistic goal. should we mac the tourney (or squeeze into the NIT) it will take the right matchup to spring an upset. we have weaknesses if you can expose them. but in a good matchup or with some luck we have a shot at a special season.

the future of the team is taking shape. fletcher will move on. take his degree. and play professional basketball somewhere. who will better prepared for the next stage of his life than had he stayed at colorado, just like stevie taylor and jd weatherspoon. and rian pearson. coach k has been a magician with transfers. the 2018 class is deceptive. it looks like just 1 guy. a fairly unknown forward from illinois now a part time player at an all star basketball academy. but it could be pretty good. tj smith comes off as a confident humble kid interested in school as well as basketball. he was listed at 6-8 190 pounds but he looks pretty close to the advertised height and solid 210. said to have a good shot with range he can get out on the floor too

https://twitter.com/W2WSportsBlog/status...0336063488
it basically includes logan hill. with a year of team practice, conditioning, and maturity under his belt. he's an exciting player around the basket. unless he has lower body injuries. he won't be a dud. it also includes littleson. he is under the radar a bit. had a lousy freshman year in a lousy situation at duquense. but he was an a10 recruit and great high school player who has some flair to his game. will be interesting what he is with a good year of practice in a functional program. i imagine he'll be sanford's understudy next year and have a chance to replace his combo guard shooter role in 2019. the fact that UT just made an offer to a well known ohio 2018 kid also says something. teams often do continue to recruit at this point in case a player doesn't come through (Smith is an unsigned commit) or transfers. i imagine gordon will transfer. his game and size would serve him well in D2 or NAIA. he could be an impact guy at that level and he's been a good practice player here, but players in his position rarely stay at this point of their career. i assume roberts stays, even though he's stuck behind jackson at pg. he seems happy here and coming into his own a bit. another player a couple inches shorter than his advertised height. roberts is also the son of an influential coach and will have a roster spot next year waiting for him. rose has been the odd guy out. he's been pretty good when given minutes but is the the first guy out the rotation now that w jackson is playing and everyone is healthy. i hope he stays as he has shown he can be a playmaker on both ends of the court. looks like the fastest guy on the team. and likes to go to the rim. my guess is 1 player leaves and we sign a hs big that has some potential or look for another transfer. team will miss fletcher next year but will be deep and experienced. there will be a lot of exciting veteran players-knapke, littleson, both jacksons, hill, smith, rose?, roberts? on that 2019 team eager to take bigger roles.