Try not to read too much into the CCSU game.

[Palatine]

This game versus an opponent that will probably the shortest group we will face all year was a glorified practice. Hurley said it should have been a secret scrimmage. The take aways from this 40 minutes don't mean much.

That doesn't mean I won't make a couple of observations. Sanogo moves well for a guy his size. Dre is much bigger than I thought, looks closer to 6-8, 6-9. Cole has a nice looking shot. Polley looks 100%, rusty but healthy. That's about it for me.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Cole and Bouk looked like Khalid and Rip

 

[coachn]

Cole was the big story. Surprised by his shooting.Quick on defense. We're going to turn people over.
Shot blocking will be better with Akok. Martin will make a difference.
What are the LA VA odds on us and NC.?

 

[Waquoit]

I thought there was plenty we can take away from the game. Cole and Sanogo can play. Bouk is still great...

 

[shizzle787]

Whaley is not good enough. But Sanogo and Javonte Ferguson looked good. Bouknight looked good, Cole was solid, Polley looked a lot stronger and smoother, and Andre Jackson looks like he's going to be a freak.

 

[Fatroony5]

Cole was the big story. Surprised by his shooting.Quick on defense. We're going to turn people over.
Shot blocking will be better with Akok. Martin will make a difference.
What are the LA VA odds on us and NC.?

Last I checked it was 50/1. Gonzaga was listed at the top 9/1, then Iowa and Nova at 10/1. I watch a ton of Iowa games, they’re really good, an elite offensive team, but they can’t play defense. They’re primed for a sweet 16 or even round of 32 upset.

My favorite value is Virgina 18/1, Texas Tech 18/1, and FSU 28/1. Not saying any of these teams will win it, but good value there. FSU feels primed to break through with Hamilton and get to a final four one of these years.

 

[Austin316]

Polley looks 100%, rusty but healthy.

I think he played well. I was confused in some cases he was bringing up the ball. Maybe his role is expanding?

I see him as one of our leaders this year.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Whaley is not good enough. But Sanogo and Javonte Ferguson looked good. Bouknight looked good, Cole was solid, Polley looked a lot stronger and smoother, and Andre Jackson looks like he's going to be a freak.

Guess we were watching different games... Whaley looked good, like what we need him to be this year. Javonte Brown Ferguson didn’t really get enough minutes to say, and when he has a 7 inch height advantage, not much to say here. AJ looked somewhat timid, no spectacular plays or anything, though first game as a freshman who assumedly missed a good amount of practices with injuries is not surprising at all.

Again, hard to take anything away from this gimme game, but at the same time, we definitely didn’t show any glaring weaknesses and won by what we were supposed to.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

I think he played well. I was confused in some cases he was bringing up the ball. Maybe his role is expanding?

I see him as one of our leaders this year.

It was nice also to see him rebounding on the defensive end. A guy that tall should be getting after the boards

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

Listening to the post game, sounds like Hurley is really concerned about missing two weeks of practice, and seems to hint at possibility of not playing some games next week in order to get practice time in for the Big East

 

[shizzle787]

Listening to the post game, sounds like Hurley is really concerned about missing two weeks of practice, and seems to hint at possibility of not playing some games next week in order to get practice time in for the Big East

There's no better practice than playing games.

 

[aburks41]

Whaley is not good enough. But Sanogo and Javonte Ferguson looked good. Bouknight looked good, Cole was solid, Polley looked a lot stronger and smoother, and Andre Jackson looks like he's going to be a freak.

Whaley had 12pts and 7 boards in only 17 minutes. How is that not good enough? Also, Javonte played for like 2 minutes and had a dunk over a guy 9 inches shorter than him - hard to say he looked good just from that...

 

[Marat]

There's no better practice than playing games.

Exactly.

I think that Hurley was concerned that losing could cost them .....

 

[shizzle787]

Whaley had 12pts and 7 boards in only 17 minutes. How is that not good enough? Also, Javonte played for like 2 minutes and had a dunk over a guy 9 inches shorter than him - hard to say he looked good just from that...

He's athletic not technically gifted offensively. That will be exposed in the Big East. Sanogo is gifted offensively.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

There's no better practice than playing games.

Not when the team barely practiced at all. A team who misses 14 of their first 19 practices is going to struggle, even if they're the 92 Dream Team.

 

[CL82]

There's no better practice than playing games.

Said every AAU coach ever...

 

[Giddyup5]

He's athletic not technically gifted offensively. That will be exposed in the Big East. Sanogo is gifted offensively.

Good thing Hurley realizes theres more to winning basketball then being "gifted offensively."

Oh and small sample size!

 

[CL82]

Javonte played for like 2 minutes and had a dunk over a guy 9 inches shorter than him - hard to say he looked good just from that...

But easy to say he was better than expected. He's still very young and raw, but he moved well and didn't look lost.

 

[TheChamps990411]

But easy to say he was better than expected. He's still very young and raw, but he moved well and didn't look lost.

he looked a bit awkward moving. He definitely needs a year of strength training to get more coordinated physically.

 

[businesslawyer]

Don't get the praise for Javonte Brown Ferguson. What I saw was a young 'un who couldn't catch the ball and played entirely upright -- never bent his knees or his body -- the whole time he was in. That told me he's still in an early development stage.

He is exactly the high upside project we anticipated. He is not taking minutes from Whaley, Carlton and Sanogo this year. Hopefully by next year he will be an above average back up, and in two years he'll be ready to make an impact.