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Was at the game, and here is a quick (or thought it would be quick before I started writing) analysis:
The Good:
- Terry Larrier: The guy is a future pro. Long, athletic, fast, and good shooting form. I really liked that it didn't seem he was forcing his game but played within the flow of the game. He will be really fun to watch all season long, especially out in transition. Huge plus that he can really help on the boards.
- Kentan Facey: Loved what he brings to the team. Will be extremely important for the success of this year's team. Brings an interior presence, grabs boards (especially on offensive side) and was extremely efficient today (didn't miss a shot today including free throws). By far our best big man.
- Vance Jackson: At this point everyone knows about his shooting performance today but what was equally as impressive was that he didn't force shots. He came in w/ a reputation as a shooter and I was expecting him to chuck some shots to back that reputation up, but almost all his shots were based off of very good shot selection. He didn't slow down the offense by holding on to the ball, but was constantly looking for the next pass. Even his interior shot showed great IQ, yes he was initially open but instead of rushing the shot like most freshman, he gathered himself up backed down a smaller man and played up the ball on a and-one spin move. If he can consistently take good shots within the flow of the game at a good rate, then it takes this team to another level.
- Jalen Adams: The guy can just get buckets, also better leadership during the beginning of the game compared to last year, but more about how this changed during second half in "The Bad" section of my write up.
Alterique: Good on ball D, very quick laterally. If the team eventually nails down the full court press he will have a lot of steals by years end. Can turn any rebound into quick transition buckets, has good floor vision. More on him latter.
Enoch: Not much to rave about but that baby left hook was a thing of beauty. How much he develops will be key to how far we will go. If he can grow as a player as the year progresses this year will be special.
The Bad:
- Amida Brimah: I love the guy's heart and energy, but I just do not know why that never carries over to rebounding. Without looking at stats I saw him get four boards but all four were rebounds that pretty much fell to him or when no UNH player was there to challenge him for it. Very disappointing with his ability to get strong boards. He is 7ft tall and he's put on muscle, I was hoping that after 4 years he would show a strong desire to after any ball that came off the rim. Also his interior D was just not there today. If he is not getting boards like he should against a small team like UNH, and he is not receiving lobs from Hamilton anymore I just have a hard time seeing him play more minutes than Enoch at the 5 spot.
- Alterique Gilbert: Simply his shot selection and the fact he shot a little too much. Would like to see him focus on driving to the rim and getting to the line or driving and dishing tot he open man. He has ability to break down any defender, he ends up limiting himself by pulling up for difficult mid range shots. yes he can pretty much any shot he wants but I hope over the course of the year he develops better decision making when it comes to when he should shoot. Still very excited for what he brings to the table overall.
- Vital: Seemed to force a couple of shots and on a couple of occasions just drove to the hoop and threw up layups that were based more on hope than probability.
- Jalen Adams: On one occasion he came out of the game on a substitution right after upchurch burned him again. Jalen was clearly frustrated which is understandable but I really did not like that his teammates all rose up to give him a high five (happens when anyone is subbing out and sitting on the bench), and instead of going down the line to give his teammates high fives he just quickly sat down and just ignored his teammates. he did this a couple of times last year too. This is in comparison to Terry who went all the way down and gave all his teammates and other members of the conn staff down to the very last one a high five. The point of this is not analyze his ability to acknowledge and give out high fives but it is indicative that Jalen still has maturing to do and he needs to realize that the coaching staff and his teammates view him as a leader on the team, he therefore has greater responsibility to make sure that even while he is upset he is not bringing down the energy of the team or that he is coming off as a diva. Hopefully he improves over the course of the year with this. Need his leadership as much as we need his natural talents.
Other Notes:
- Fun: Overall this team will be very much fun to watch as they develop and grow. They have all the pieces in the backcourt and forward positions to be very good and play an exciting brand of basketball. I encourage everyone who can to go to next Saturdays' exhibition game, for 10$ its well worth it.
- Upchurch: Was just ridiculous, ridiculous good (but refs did give him a lot of favorable calls).
- Rodney: I do not know why Rodney plays like a finesse player. His strength is not pull up jump shots; his bread and butter should be using his powerful body to attack the rim dribbling with his right hand. He can generate a lot of offense that way, and once he establishes his driving-in ability then he will have more room to occasionally to set his feet and shoot the 3 (has a bit a slow release).
- Editing: I apologize for not proof reading in a advance. used all my energy to type this, didn't think it would take this long.
The Good:
- Terry Larrier: The guy is a future pro. Long, athletic, fast, and good shooting form. I really liked that it didn't seem he was forcing his game but played within the flow of the game. He will be really fun to watch all season long, especially out in transition. Huge plus that he can really help on the boards.
- Kentan Facey: Loved what he brings to the team. Will be extremely important for the success of this year's team. Brings an interior presence, grabs boards (especially on offensive side) and was extremely efficient today (didn't miss a shot today including free throws). By far our best big man.
- Vance Jackson: At this point everyone knows about his shooting performance today but what was equally as impressive was that he didn't force shots. He came in w/ a reputation as a shooter and I was expecting him to chuck some shots to back that reputation up, but almost all his shots were based off of very good shot selection. He didn't slow down the offense by holding on to the ball, but was constantly looking for the next pass. Even his interior shot showed great IQ, yes he was initially open but instead of rushing the shot like most freshman, he gathered himself up backed down a smaller man and played up the ball on a and-one spin move. If he can consistently take good shots within the flow of the game at a good rate, then it takes this team to another level.
- Jalen Adams: The guy can just get buckets, also better leadership during the beginning of the game compared to last year, but more about how this changed during second half in "The Bad" section of my write up.
Alterique: Good on ball D, very quick laterally. If the team eventually nails down the full court press he will have a lot of steals by years end. Can turn any rebound into quick transition buckets, has good floor vision. More on him latter.
Enoch: Not much to rave about but that baby left hook was a thing of beauty. How much he develops will be key to how far we will go. If he can grow as a player as the year progresses this year will be special.
The Bad:
- Amida Brimah: I love the guy's heart and energy, but I just do not know why that never carries over to rebounding. Without looking at stats I saw him get four boards but all four were rebounds that pretty much fell to him or when no UNH player was there to challenge him for it. Very disappointing with his ability to get strong boards. He is 7ft tall and he's put on muscle, I was hoping that after 4 years he would show a strong desire to after any ball that came off the rim. Also his interior D was just not there today. If he is not getting boards like he should against a small team like UNH, and he is not receiving lobs from Hamilton anymore I just have a hard time seeing him play more minutes than Enoch at the 5 spot.
- Alterique Gilbert: Simply his shot selection and the fact he shot a little too much. Would like to see him focus on driving to the rim and getting to the line or driving and dishing tot he open man. He has ability to break down any defender, he ends up limiting himself by pulling up for difficult mid range shots. yes he can pretty much any shot he wants but I hope over the course of the year he develops better decision making when it comes to when he should shoot. Still very excited for what he brings to the table overall.
- Vital: Seemed to force a couple of shots and on a couple of occasions just drove to the hoop and threw up layups that were based more on hope than probability.
- Jalen Adams: On one occasion he came out of the game on a substitution right after upchurch burned him again. Jalen was clearly frustrated which is understandable but I really did not like that his teammates all rose up to give him a high five (happens when anyone is subbing out and sitting on the bench), and instead of going down the line to give his teammates high fives he just quickly sat down and just ignored his teammates. he did this a couple of times last year too. This is in comparison to Terry who went all the way down and gave all his teammates and other members of the conn staff down to the very last one a high five. The point of this is not analyze his ability to acknowledge and give out high fives but it is indicative that Jalen still has maturing to do and he needs to realize that the coaching staff and his teammates view him as a leader on the team, he therefore has greater responsibility to make sure that even while he is upset he is not bringing down the energy of the team or that he is coming off as a diva. Hopefully he improves over the course of the year with this. Need his leadership as much as we need his natural talents.
Other Notes:
- Fun: Overall this team will be very much fun to watch as they develop and grow. They have all the pieces in the backcourt and forward positions to be very good and play an exciting brand of basketball. I encourage everyone who can to go to next Saturdays' exhibition game, for 10$ its well worth it.
- Upchurch: Was just ridiculous, ridiculous good (but refs did give him a lot of favorable calls).
- Rodney: I do not know why Rodney plays like a finesse player. His strength is not pull up jump shots; his bread and butter should be using his powerful body to attack the rim dribbling with his right hand. He can generate a lot of offense that way, and once he establishes his driving-in ability then he will have more room to occasionally to set his feet and shoot the 3 (has a bit a slow release).
- Editing: I apologize for not proof reading in a advance. used all my energy to type this, didn't think it would take this long.
