Last night felt like the next step for this program under Beilein - we've had a lot of success, but we've always had clunkers on the road, while playing well at home and on neutral courts. It's a nice blend of guys returning and new instant impact guys inserted.
Last night's win was not just a big win, it was an incredible win - defending champs, biggest home game of the season for Nova and we are breaking in 3 new starters.
We should get to the UNC game at 6-0 and likely in the top 10 - KenPom has us as a 1 point win - not ready to feel confident in a win there, but feeling better about it being a close game with home court being the edge for us - if we can knock UNC off, we're talking top 5 into B10 play.
As many have said, defense travels - it's the easy carry-on bag. There's some concerns about shooting, but we shot terribly in 5 games in our run last tourney and went 4-1 (losing to Nova) - think this team will be a top 30 offense, but way more balanced - we have a lot of guys who can go get buckets - some thoughts on players:
Teske rarely has an impressive stat line, but he has such a big impact out there on both ends - Liver is the perfect compliment right now for him - Livers is the better slasher and shooter, but also allows switching from 5 spots on defense - eventually Johns could grab some of these minutes, but for now Livers is a nice compliment - Davis will get playing time, but he's not an ideal fit on either end - can't see him getting extended minutes, probably a foul trouble only guy or a 2-3 minute shift in the 1st half
Iggy is impressive - seems like a guy who could drop into an NBA game tonight and he would get you 12-5-3 and not look out of place on defense - he's built like a pro and comes with a lot of confidence - he's older than Jordan Poole - if he gets locked in on the 3 ball, he could be a POY candidate
Matthews is in a better role this year - get to where you excel with the ball, let others create and make yourself available - he's at his best when he's the GLUE GUY - rebounds, easy baskets - let others make you better - don't know the percentages, but he seems to shoot better at FT line away from home - a lot of pressure with a completely silent crowd - I would prefer a ton of noise to no sound and random people screaming before you shoot
Poole hasn't done much and that will change - he's adjusting from being a gunner as a freshman to a key all-around player - needs that happy medium where he's still aggressive, but looking to make others around him better - I could see him handling the ball a bit more as the season goes on - maybe with Brooks at the 1 sitting behind 3 point line
Simpson is so impressive on defense - you get too close and he's going to steal the ball - going to be a headache for everyone - crazy that he is only a junior - impressive getting to the basket - let's keep our fingers crossed on the shooting - a few percentages better than last year and that's all we need. Brooks has been impressive as the backup 1/2 - looks confident shooting
It's interesting that Castleton and Nunez aren't redshirting unless they are going to fake injuries before they hit the limit on games - it's possible Beilein is at the point where he's getting top rated kids each year and saving a 5th year doesn't have the same value - playing in year one could make years 2 to 4 better and he may be talented enough to head to the league anyway.
Would like Johns to grab the Davis minutes and maybe a few of Livers. Nunez and Dejulius will get enough looks where if they are knocking down 3's could challenge for minutes.
Last night's win was not just a big win, it was an incredible win - defending champs, biggest home game of the season for Nova and we are breaking in 3 new starters.
We should get to the UNC game at 6-0 and likely in the top 10 - KenPom has us as a 1 point win - not ready to feel confident in a win there, but feeling better about it being a close game with home court being the edge for us - if we can knock UNC off, we're talking top 5 into B10 play.
As many have said, defense travels - it's the easy carry-on bag. There's some concerns about shooting, but we shot terribly in 5 games in our run last tourney and went 4-1 (losing to Nova) - think this team will be a top 30 offense, but way more balanced - we have a lot of guys who can go get buckets - some thoughts on players:
Teske rarely has an impressive stat line, but he has such a big impact out there on both ends - Liver is the perfect compliment right now for him - Livers is the better slasher and shooter, but also allows switching from 5 spots on defense - eventually Johns could grab some of these minutes, but for now Livers is a nice compliment - Davis will get playing time, but he's not an ideal fit on either end - can't see him getting extended minutes, probably a foul trouble only guy or a 2-3 minute shift in the 1st half
Iggy is impressive - seems like a guy who could drop into an NBA game tonight and he would get you 12-5-3 and not look out of place on defense - he's built like a pro and comes with a lot of confidence - he's older than Jordan Poole - if he gets locked in on the 3 ball, he could be a POY candidate
Matthews is in a better role this year - get to where you excel with the ball, let others create and make yourself available - he's at his best when he's the GLUE GUY - rebounds, easy baskets - let others make you better - don't know the percentages, but he seems to shoot better at FT line away from home - a lot of pressure with a completely silent crowd - I would prefer a ton of noise to no sound and random people screaming before you shoot
Poole hasn't done much and that will change - he's adjusting from being a gunner as a freshman to a key all-around player - needs that happy medium where he's still aggressive, but looking to make others around him better - I could see him handling the ball a bit more as the season goes on - maybe with Brooks at the 1 sitting behind 3 point line
Simpson is so impressive on defense - you get too close and he's going to steal the ball - going to be a headache for everyone - crazy that he is only a junior - impressive getting to the basket - let's keep our fingers crossed on the shooting - a few percentages better than last year and that's all we need. Brooks has been impressive as the backup 1/2 - looks confident shooting
It's interesting that Castleton and Nunez aren't redshirting unless they are going to fake injuries before they hit the limit on games - it's possible Beilein is at the point where he's getting top rated kids each year and saving a 5th year doesn't have the same value - playing in year one could make years 2 to 4 better and he may be talented enough to head to the league anyway.
Would like Johns to grab the Davis minutes and maybe a few of Livers. Nunez and Dejulius will get enough looks where if they are knocking down 3's could challenge for minutes.
