Arizona vs Augustana

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

It's going to be a great matchup for sure. Lyons was an OK defender but NOTHING compared to what you'll see from McConnell.

It will only be a great match up if Marshalls knee is able to stay healthy. And if Gilling goes off for 10 3s .

 

[Arizona_Sting]

It will only be a great match up if Marshalls knee is able to stay healthy. And if Gilling goes off for 10 3s .

I meant the TJ-Jahii matchup. We're still beating you by 15+

 

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

I meant the TJ-Jahii matchup. We're still beating you by 15+

Like I said the Danish kid needs to go off for 10 3s .

 

[The Derski]

Kinda upset we didn't break the century mark on these scrubs but I guess ill take a 32 point win.

 

[The Derski]

We looked far from an elite team at certain points. This game will really help us going forward. Need to work on rebounding. After all the negative talk about our shooting I was pleased with how we chucked the rock. We shot 51% overall 35% from the arc and 76% from the FT line. Best thing is I think we can improve on all of those. MVP of the game is TJ McConnell hands down. Other players that were impressive were GABE YORK (my boy) and Nick Johnson.

 

[The Derski]

Apparently Gordon left the game early with a groin strain for precautionary reasons. Nothing serious.

 

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

Apparently Gordon left the game early with a groin strain for precautionary reasons. Nothing serious.

Jahii suffered a minor concussion at addidas nations. That stuff could come back. Its best for Aaron to be precautionary.

 

[The Derski]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GSfzxh4zos]No. 5 Men's Basketball Downs Augustana in Exhibition Action - YouTube[/ame]

 

[JahiiCarson_SqodGeneral]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2SeRqf3Iwg"]ASU Mens Basketball Starting Line-Up Intro. vs. Washington 2/23/13 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[johnson]

ASU is def an elite party school. I'm not sure why ASU students (the ones that aren't drunk when you ask them) get so offended by this? Kids go to college to learn but to also have a good time. They should take pride in being elite in providing these sorts of opportunities more than the average university.

 

[CatsTopPac]

We looked far from an elite team at certain points. This game will really help us going forward. Need to work on rebounding. After all the negative talk about our shooting I was pleased with how we chucked the rock. We shot 51% overall 35% from the arc and 76% from the FT line. Best thing is I think we can improve on all of those. MVP of the game is TJ McConnell hands down. Other players that were impressive were GABE YORK (my boy) and Nick Johnson.

We did, especially at the beginning. And it was mostly in the front court. That big from Augustana started with the ability to do essentially anything he wanted to. BA looked pretty good on defense from the start, but Zeus had to go out to cover some of those outside shots, and he was exposed early on. We started off with a lot of trouble coving on switches. We also struggled early to get in position to nab a lot of rebounds we missed. I think a lot of those problems, we shore up, and it showed as the game progressed. I think that right when AG started to rebound, he was taken out, and RHJ needs to get more involved in getting boards. Once the post and wings get more used to positioning themselves to defend (mostly away from the basket), switching, and then going up for rebounds, we will see the opponents points and possessions start to drastically dry up.

Our back court though was as good as I've seen in over a decade. TJ/JM combined for 6-9 fg, 2-4 3pt, 16 pts, 5 rebs, 10 assists, 0 turnovers, and 6 steals. The SGs (NJ, GY, and EP) combined for 12-20 fg, 4-11 3pt, 31 pts, 10 rebs, 4 assists, 1 turnover, and 2 steals. Holy shit!

The back court juniors carried us last night, which is exactly what you need, as the young wings and bigs continue to develop into their own. Once they start working together on defense, I think we begin to separate ourselves earlier in the game. You could see them progress on defense as the game continued. We started slow, but you could tell that by about 5 minutes into the 2nd half, we had officially figured them out, and just ran away at that point.

We have a closed-court exhibition against St Mary's next, (I think sometime this weekend, or early next week), and then games against Cal Poly and LBSU, before we really need to put it together against SDSU. We need to really work on starting strong (this seems to be a consistent theme with Miller's teams), and I think that the better we can the sooner we put teams away. I like our schedule. We space the tough games out to give us time to improve after each test. But really, if rebounding is our biggest issue after last night, then I'm stoked, because we certainly have the pieces to figure that out. It would be one thing if we struggled on the glass and didn't have the size and athleticism to improve. But we are chalked full of both, it's just about putting them in the right place.

As far as scoring more points: BA was the only one who played over 25 minutes (26). Put TJ, NJ, AG, BA, and Zeus in for 30-35 mpg, get RHJ in for 10-15, and GY in for 10, and I think we absolutely RUN on teams. I kind of thought that we wouldn't score over 90 last night, just because I figured Miller would stretch the PT to see how everyone would do. Once he tapers that down to a strong 8-man lineup, look out. Elliott Pitts (12 mpg), Jordin Mayes (20 mpg), will not happen as of game one. If you look at the fact that those two combined for 7 pts in 32 minutes, those minutes going to TJ and NJ will show on the scoreboard.

I was pleasantly surprised last night.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Also, Gabe York absolutely shined. Nothing against Mayes at all, but I'm pulling for York, he just looks like he has such an up-side, and he's only a sophomore. His defense is definitely improved, and he just did it all last night: 3 balls, floaters, getting lose balls, on-ball defense, etc.

I could see NJ working 5 minutes in a PG role, or running a 3-guard set, just to get York more mpg. Something, because NJ will get like 32 mpg at SG, and 8 mpg is not enough for York. He needs twice as many mpg as that. Look for Miler to figure out a way to get TJ and NJ like 32-35 mpg, and still work GY into around 13-15 mpg.

 

[The Derski]

Flash from the past
Wildcats Earn No. 1 Ranking in Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll - The University of Arizona Official Athletic Site

 

[CatsTopPac]

Flash from the past
Wildcats Earn No. 1 Ranking in Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll - The University of Arizona Official Athletic Site

They pretty much nailed it, #1, #2, #3, and #5 in that pole went to the Final Four that year, With #1 and #2 squaring off in the NC game. I went to Minneapolis that year to watch it. Should've had that one.

 

[The Derski]

They pretty much nailed it, #1, #2, #3, and #5 in that pole went to the Final Four that year, With #1 and #2 squaring off in the NC game. I went to Minneapolis that year to watch it. Should've had that one.

That's awesome you got to see it. I hope to make a final four game some day.