Red-Blue, Preseason, and Non-Con Basketball

[johnson]

UCLA and ASU...wow. What a bunch of turds.

Not a great debut for Trier, but also a perfect game to have a dud.

 

[CatsTopPac]

UCLA and ASU...wow. What a bunch of turds.

Not a great debut for Trier, but also a perfect game to have a dud.

He did lay a turd. It's only one game but very surprising.

I'll say this though, Anderson is the fucking man. He's a double-double machine.

 

[The Derski]

Trier with a great bounce back game. You can really see his talent. Two great crossovers. 22 points 14-14 free throws, two shy of the UA record set by Bayless when he went 16-16.

 

[The Derski]

We are not going to shoot nearly as many free throws as last season so Triers ability to get to the line is huge.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Thats more like it Trier. Be a scorer. Good to see a rotation of go-tos in each game. I want everyone to get touches and more comfortable with each other.

I didn't get to watch it (I was at the library), but Jefferies kept me informed from halftime-on). Box score looks good though. 6 dimes by PJC and 7 by Pitts? That 14-14 sticks out, and I like Anderson with another 15. Zeus has a solid stat line too. It's Bradley, but it's good to see.

 

[gordontrue]

First half I wasn't feeling too good about things, but things looked much better in the 2nd half. I think some of that was just good looks from 3 not going down.

It was refreshing to see a freshman hitting his FT!

I'm not sure if we'll have a great feel of where this team is until the Wooden tourney. So far... I'm most encouraged by the overall balance and depth of the top 9 players.

 

[gordontrue]

Hoping Mich St can pull off a win over Kansas tonight.

 

[johnson]

Trier was awesome. Hope that's what we will see going forward!

 

[gordontrue]

Hoping Mich St can pull off a win over Kansas tonight.

Boom! Now we need to make sure both teams make it to the Wooden Final.... win or lose, playing Mich St will really help our non con schedule.

Valentine was incredible last night.

 

[johnson]

We should easily be 5-0 going into a brutal road game against Gonzaga and after that there are a few more challenging non-con games (UNLV, Mizzou, Fresno, Long Beach maybe). Hoping the Cats go 10-1.

 

[gordontrue]

We should easily be 5-0 going into a brutal road game against Gonzaga and after that there are a few more challenging non-con games (UNLV, Mizzou, Fresno, Long Beach maybe). Hoping the Cats go 10-1.

Don't forget about the Wooden Legacy tournament before the Gonzaga game. Potential for meetings with Providence and Michigan St.

Hopefully 7 - 0 going into the road game at Gonzaga

 

[johnson]

Yeah, forgot about that one! Kind of a big deal too lol

If we win the Wooden should be a Top 5 ranking.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Again, not the most stellar competition, and we'll find out more at the Wooden Legacy, but I like this team.

Allen is really pleasantly surprising me. His speed is unreal. He and PJC are averaging about 13 points and 9 assists per game sharing PG. I will be stoked if we can even get a 10 and 7 average per game. We're solid at the 1, even without Simon. York is doing a phenomenal job at the two spot. His shot and confidence are through the roof. Trier settled in nicely to the role we want for him. He does a great job attacking the rim, drawing fouls, and making FTs. Anderson is an absolute stud; double-double machine. Zeus and Dusan are averaging 15 and 15 in their 40 minutes at C. That's also solid output. Tolly is also doing well backing up Anderson and Trier.

We are doing really well with deep rotation. Pitts and Comanche are great plugins as well. If we can continue developing cohesion and trust through team basketball, that chemistry could make us as good as any under Miller. Everyone is doing almost exactly what they are supposed to, with room to improve until March.

 

[The Derski]

Hate to say it but I doubt Zeus plays a single minute in the NBA. His hands are not very good and his ability to finish anything other than a point blank power slam is questionable at best.

 

[The Derski]

I'd give Ristic a better shot at the league.

 

[The Derski]

I love trier. He's a pure scorer and we haven't had one of those in Tucson in ages.

 

[gordontrue]

I'd give Ristic a better shot at the league.

Last night during the game I had the sad thought that Ristic - even with his sometimes hurried, frantic shots - seems to be shaping into a better offensive player than Zeus.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Last night during the game I had the sad thought that Ristic - even with his sometimes hurried, frantic shots - seems to be shaping into a better offensive player than Zeus.

Ristic is definitely a better offensive player than Zeus. But Ristic's defense is still horrible enough that it doesn't justify the switch. Miller is going to sacrifice the difference in offense to make sure bigs don't shove the ball down our throats in the post. Anderson is our post scorer. Hopefully Ristic can continue to develop on both sides of the ball and team up with Markkanen next year.

 

[Monte Carlo Wildcat]

Ristic is definitely a better offensive player than Zeus. But Ristic's defense is still horrible enough that it doesn't justify the switch. Miller is going to sacrifice the difference in offense to make sure bigs don't shove the ball down our throats in the post. Anderson is our post scorer. Hopefully Ristic can continue to develop on both sides of the ball and team up with Markkanen next year.

True. No way Miller starts ristic over Zeus. Zeus is "his senior" that he recruited. Also, coach LOVES Zeus' defense and his ability to alter shots but good lord his offense sucks ass. I don't understand why he insists on putting the ball on the floor and backing up defenders. He AWLAYS loses the ball. His best play is actually a face up 5-10 footer. He's got a great shot! he'll play in the NBA simply b/c of his size and frame.

 

[johnson]

Hopefully it's just some rust, but Zeus has looked disappointing so far. He seemed to improve each year and I thought he might put it all together for his Senior year, but not so sure...