Fullbacksympathy

Tai is my POTG so far. I don't want to jinx him, but he's put an absolute defensive clinic on Melo so far. Maryland isn't as overwhelmingly talented as everyone says. Melo and Diamond are lottery picks, but it's not 5 dominant players. They don't like bloody games. They got beat up by MSU.

I can't really speak on Ed until he's at the 4. A lot of his fouls/position problems/lack of points is due to the fact that he's not supposed to be guarding the 5 or be boxed out by a 5. Look what he does when a 5 isn't boxing him out: You just can't do that to centers at Ed's size. Ed still reminds me of Rodman. DR was serviceable as a defender against centers, but he was an absolute nightmare against 4s on the glass. He didn't have any of the offensive skills you mentioned, and he was a true game changer because of his disruption. The other thing playing the 4 would do is allow Ed to roam and help defensively. None of his skillset is used in that area when a 5 just sits on him every possesion.

Benny is a serviceable 3 point shooter. We are just used to him not being one. He's made some really big 3s this year. I agree, Norm, and a .345 percentage makes him a legitimate threat. He's just not a weapon like White. Tai, however, is a weapon from 3 (which is even weirder) at plus .400. Any guard at the D1 level has to shoot a decent percentage when open or expect not to get D1 minutes.

78-70 bad guys

21pts, 4a, 4r, 2stl per game as a junior to go along with 1st team All Big 12 and a 1st round pick. No.

We played really hard and competed the whole game. With a legitimate center, I think we're quite a bit better than Purdue, which is encouraging. I was glad to see Jake get some minutes. I wasn't sure why he was pulled and sat the rest of the game. It seemed like he competed. I really, really like Mike, but he's about as 4 as a 4 can be, defensively. We needed more length out there against legit centers. Overall, I remain impressed with the effort this season and the talent we have here to develop. The lack of a true 5 was stark this game, as we all knew it would be. Hopefully we can snag one soon.

Strick was a 3-time All Conference 1st Team Defender and had over a decade in the NBA. I'm baffled why he isn't a shoe-in for this thing. He was the best backcourt defender we've ever had here.

I think it would be a bad sign if no good programs wanted Jordy. To me that says Miles has a standard he's trying to meet with his recruits. I have no problem with that. The big we get should match the quality of the 1-4 depth we're going to have. Get it in there and fight like you've been doing since day one, TM!

This is a pretty special athlete. He'd be a great get. He can really create.

75-68 bad guys... too much size.

I said the same thing. They have some pretty similar philosophies in personnel and defense. I think we need to press all three point shooting teams and try to turn the game sloppy. It really worked tonight. That's gotta be in the formula for beating those teams.

They scored 33 points on 22 threes. We scored 18 points on 21 threes. They scored 20 points on 23 free throws. We scored 6 points on 9 free throws. They had 32 rebounds to our 24. ----- Proof that we should press: we won the turnover battle 14-10. I'm pretty encouraged by that. I hope this game earns Morrow some more minutes. Jacobson got killed on the boards.

I really feel like we got beat straight up. They were on fire and made play after play. Effort was good on our part. Literally nothing went our way and we shot very poorly. I'm encouraged by the press though. I think we need to do that against the teams that live/die by the 3 (and always seem to beat us). We were pretty dominant for stretches there. Hopefully we'll learn a lot from this one.

Terrible foul by white there. Damn it.

Can't remember the last time shavon missed 3 straight ft.

TAI! Just keep playing hard fellas.. we got a chance to break through.

Really impressed with Michigan's half court offense. I like our pressure D as well. I think we have to press against teams that live and die by the 3. It's a good formula moving forward at least.

Great D by Benny on several possessions there to claw back into it.

2 presses. 2 turnovers. PRESS AGAIN?!

Absolutely GREAT job weathering that absolute onslaught opening. Watson goes clutch again at the end of the half. Ed friggin Morrow, ladies and gents. Really great energy so far despite being down 3. I like our chances here. A lot of those misses are going to drop in the second half.

I was gonna say @ Indiana stuck out to me as well. That game was clutch and had big stakes for both teams.

I wouldn't pick Jack. That Australian academy really coached him well. He had good ball skills, defense, and toughness before he got here. He's going to get stronger and more explosive, and he'll be a great one regardless, but if you can already shoot, pass, have good footwork, and are crafty around the basket, then you already have a lot of the tools you need. I think he'll average low double-digits and be a Shields-type of stat stuffer (rebounds, assists) before he's out of here. I wouldn't pick Glenn. He's already very good. He'll just contribute more and more. If he focuses on becoming a lock down defender down the road, I might take this back, but I don't see much that needs to be improved offensively. The kid is a stud. He'll average just under 20 a game at some point, and he'll get some double doubles because he's that efficient of a passer. It's going to be his team in the future, and that's exciting. Michael is another one that's been extremely well coached before he got here. He has good footwork and fundamentals already. Athletically, I think he's the one with the most challenges ahead of him. I don't see a ton of upside there, but I see an 8pt, 8rb average down the road as he builds strength on an already good frame. He even looks like the next Chubbick/Reid. Great get. This leaves me to my choice, Ed. I've been high on him since he committed, and I'm not wavering there. If he ever gets to play the 4, he's going to dominate some games. As his coaching and practice reps catch up to his length and raw athleticism, he's going to figure out how to use his gifts under control. I thought the Illinois game was indicative of what we're going to see regularly down the road. There's just too much athleticism, toughness, and will for this kid to not break through. It's only a matter of time. The cool thing with Ed is, I don't know if he'll ever be a stat stuffer, but he'll be a game changer if he can learn to stay on the damned court. The dark horse would be Evelyn. I think this kid's future is bright as a 6'3" true point guard. He has great handles and passing instincts, and he has the body to be a pesky defender. I think he'll develop into a legitimate 3-point threat as well. I'm pretty excited about his future from what I've seen. If we didn't have Glenn, I think he'd be getting minutes, and I think he'll play a lot next year off the bench.

Amazing! Blatt was truly awful.. hopefully TL can get them some rings.

I'd call Pike the best ever. 1st round pick, 13-year NBA career as a .400 3pt shooter.

Agreed on Watson. Not only is he a threat at all times offensively, but he doesn't make freshman mistakes. The kid is just a really good player. I credit the coaching staff for getting his defense up to par. It's no longer a liability. Really, if you look at the minutes distribution during this win streak, it's pretty ideal. The best players are playing and the other freshmen are being trusted in minimal roles. We are also pushing the tempo whenever we can, which is a stark contrast to the beginning of the year. The x-factor though: Tai. So happy that he's found an offensive game. He's a great testament to hard work.