couldn't watch the bball opener last night until the wee hours. I'm sure lots of commentary went down, and thankful as always for thoughts previously expressed...
Forgive if already beaten to death, but I had to release a few thoughts about the season opener...
1. Hunter is a beast. He got off to a strong start last year, but kinda wore down IMO. Who knows? The season might wear on him again, but he seems much stronger and more confident about what to do this year. I was waiting all night for him to jack a shot from outside, but it wasn't in the flow. Love the new attitude too...looked like he got a second helping of piss'n'vinegar over the summer to unleash on the other bigs of the B1G...
2. Eli...well..is Eli. We have a largely young team, and when Buffalo pressed the lead back to 5 he just calmly grabbed the ball and 30 seconds later it was back to 10 with a runner in the lane and a drive-dish over-the-shoulder RIDICULOUS pass for an open 3 by...Houstan? Ah yes, Caleb...talk about him in a minute. But Eli is the voice of reason...the glue when Devante was in foul trouble...what an advantage to have him back. Kinda like Austin last year but more...
3. Yes, Caleb...the smoothest player on the floor, until he got a couple light fouls and had to sit. This guy has it all - can drive, can dish, can stroke. Dust off the Maiz'nblue Canadian flags...I fear we won't be waving them long before he explodes in a lottery pick. I hope we get 2 out of him...
4. Like many, I was very interested in watching the new kids on the block. Devante Smith was good as advertised, strong to the hole, and a pleasantly surprising vision on the floor (in limited time; he got a couple cheapie fouls and had to sit as well). Kobe and Frankie will be brought along slowly (assuming Zeb is back soon) and that's ok - we have time...
5. Biggest surprise of the newbies for me was Moussa Diabate. All the talk was he was an athlete with great rim-guarding skills but was a work in progress on offense. Boy, what I saw was smooth, sleek, and strong, with a nice stroke. 7 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks, 3 assists (!!!) in 16 minutes is a helluva debut...yeah, we're not playing in the B1G right now, but that was fun to watch...probably the best way for him to get started against a run 'n gun offense...gotta work on those FT's though...
6. Brandon was solid, if not spectacular...hoping he breaks out...those who stay...he's gota make his shots too or the minutes will get eaten by TWill, Moussa, etc.
7. Biggest takeaway for me was the fr/so jump of Terrence Williams...last year for me it was "oh ****...oh ****...oh ****...o.....ok!" when he had the ball. This year it's more like "MY BALL...now what's the best way forward...?" He has a junkyard dog attitude who is learning to play within himself, take the good shot, pass to someone who has a better shot...Honestly never expected this maturity so soon. The way he just RIPPED the defensive boards late in the second half when they were dogging us with oReb was beauty to behold..."not on MY watch..."
8. This is going to be fun to watch...it looks like crazy fun to play for Juwan Howard... (but in all honesty, he tweaked the lineup juuuust enough for us to stall a bit and Buffalo was good enough to think they had a chance...not unlike we see from Harbaugh occasionally. I'm sure there were some on the board last night wondering why we didn't put pedal to the floor and score 120...)
9. Is there any better time for a UM fan? Basketball #6 is poised to go off already...crazy talent on the floor and on the bench...Hockey #2 plays PSU tonight, and that team should EXPECT to be in the Frozen 4...Football #6 also @psu Saturday with everything in front of them...
Forgive if already beaten to death, but I had to release a few thoughts about the season opener...
1. Hunter is a beast. He got off to a strong start last year, but kinda wore down IMO. Who knows? The season might wear on him again, but he seems much stronger and more confident about what to do this year. I was waiting all night for him to jack a shot from outside, but it wasn't in the flow. Love the new attitude too...looked like he got a second helping of piss'n'vinegar over the summer to unleash on the other bigs of the B1G...
2. Eli...well..is Eli. We have a largely young team, and when Buffalo pressed the lead back to 5 he just calmly grabbed the ball and 30 seconds later it was back to 10 with a runner in the lane and a drive-dish over-the-shoulder RIDICULOUS pass for an open 3 by...Houstan? Ah yes, Caleb...talk about him in a minute. But Eli is the voice of reason...the glue when Devante was in foul trouble...what an advantage to have him back. Kinda like Austin last year but more...
3. Yes, Caleb...the smoothest player on the floor, until he got a couple light fouls and had to sit. This guy has it all - can drive, can dish, can stroke. Dust off the Maiz'nblue Canadian flags...I fear we won't be waving them long before he explodes in a lottery pick. I hope we get 2 out of him...
4. Like many, I was very interested in watching the new kids on the block. Devante Smith was good as advertised, strong to the hole, and a pleasantly surprising vision on the floor (in limited time; he got a couple cheapie fouls and had to sit as well). Kobe and Frankie will be brought along slowly (assuming Zeb is back soon) and that's ok - we have time...
5. Biggest surprise of the newbies for me was Moussa Diabate. All the talk was he was an athlete with great rim-guarding skills but was a work in progress on offense. Boy, what I saw was smooth, sleek, and strong, with a nice stroke. 7 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks, 3 assists (!!!) in 16 minutes is a helluva debut...yeah, we're not playing in the B1G right now, but that was fun to watch...probably the best way for him to get started against a run 'n gun offense...gotta work on those FT's though...
6. Brandon was solid, if not spectacular...hoping he breaks out...those who stay...he's gota make his shots too or the minutes will get eaten by TWill, Moussa, etc.
7. Biggest takeaway for me was the fr/so jump of Terrence Williams...last year for me it was "oh ****...oh ****...oh ****...o.....ok!" when he had the ball. This year it's more like "MY BALL...now what's the best way forward...?" He has a junkyard dog attitude who is learning to play within himself, take the good shot, pass to someone who has a better shot...Honestly never expected this maturity so soon. The way he just RIPPED the defensive boards late in the second half when they were dogging us with oReb was beauty to behold..."not on MY watch..."
8. This is going to be fun to watch...it looks like crazy fun to play for Juwan Howard... (but in all honesty, he tweaked the lineup juuuust enough for us to stall a bit and Buffalo was good enough to think they had a chance...not unlike we see from Harbaugh occasionally. I'm sure there were some on the board last night wondering why we didn't put pedal to the floor and score 120...)
9. Is there any better time for a UM fan? Basketball #6 is poised to go off already...crazy talent on the floor and on the bench...Hockey #2 plays PSU tonight, and that team should EXPECT to be in the Frozen 4...Football #6 also @psu Saturday with everything in front of them...
