Fullbacksympathy

Good point on Hammond. I see nothing but a good player there. I think he's a legitimate prospect, and that he'll pan out well. Bold prediction: he'll lead the BIG in blocked shots one season. I mean, I'm seeing a SUPER high shot-blocking IQ.

Anyone notice Walt playing bigger lately? The last two games, he's still proving a deadly threat from outside, but I'm seeing him finish near the bucket more, and it's glorious. Even when he went to the rim and fell down on the dribble last night, it was a good aggressive play. A little more composure (comes with practice) and he has an easy finish there. It's really nice having Moses and Leslee back in the lineup though because Walt is a VERY good 4 who can play the 5 when he has to. I think we fielded a lineup that was 6'9"-6'10"-6'7"-6'7"-6'2" at one point. It makes a huge difference defensively when your 6'7" guards can switch and help on the perimeter. One healthy big makes us go from a small team to a big team with virtually the same lineup.

Molinari is starting to look like a hell of a hire. I think we kind of knew he would be, but that defensive effort was one of the best I've seen in any era. I think I remember them getting to the lane maybe once or twice all game on penetration. Amazing help and alert rotations all game. There was literally no one who played poorly defensively.

70-65 streak.

Give Tarin the damned ball and let him be a point guard. So sick of TP bringing it up. I hold my breath every time. LESLEE!

Thank God Pitchford is at the 4. First time all year. So nice to see him and Moses on the floor at the same time. A real front court!

I think great ball handling is what makes someone a true point guard. Watson is definitely that guy.

Great get. Great ball skills for his height, and looks like he can shoot it. Our recruiting class for next year (White, Morrow, Watson, Jacobson, McVeigh) is looking really, really solid. I'm not as adamant as some about needing a super big dude on the roster. I think we're forgetting that both Morrow and Jacobson are true power forwards (Jacobson can shoot it too). That leaves White, Watson, and McVeigh filling out our outside shooting needs. Looks to me like there really wasn't any room for Agau, and rightfully so. I wouldn't take him over Jacobson, and Morrow would eat his lunch and his minutes immediately. Again, great get. I think this kid will be a very solid contributor. I expect Hammond to make a huge jump his sophomore year. I've seen enough from his limited minutes to know he is most definitely a D1 prospect. He has a very high on-ball shot blocking IQ, and he's plenty athletic. He just needs some meat on the bones. We'll roll out a complete team next year.

68-61 back on track

72-66

I have no problem with taking time for a good shot in a half court set. You always have the option to stop the break. I just think we have a lot of matchups that are tough to deal with in transition and Walt makes one hell of a three point trailer. TP and Shavon can draw a ton of fouls in the open court, and speed is a strength of Benny and Tai we can utilize. We should always be trying to run against teams we can out-athlete. It feels like TM is referring to contested shots early in the clock from TP when the opposing d is set, but that's just what I'm picturing. That said, Indiana's small ball might be better battled with slow ball in this one.

70-67 NU

66-63 yay

We gotta start running. We are more athletic than most teams we play. You can always run your offense after you push it up the court if it's not there. These guys are born to run.

Dean, what was wrong with TP's shot? It was a one possession game and he was wide open off the pick after just having made one from the same distance.

I appreciate Walt's last three games. The guy is night and day better right now. Great d there even though the switch should've never happened. I'd like to see Hammond at the 5 and Walt at the 4. Both of those guys at least desire to rebound. I can't believe that LMU just totally out powers Hammond and Fuller.

I think this "Like the three, love the rim" stuff needs to be changed to "Love the open shot." Open shots start to fall eventually. Contested forced crap usually doesn't. Our players aren't used to shooting open shots in rhythm.

The first shot from Shavon in the second half was a wide open three he barely missed. That was the best shot I've seen all game. Coaches can't make the shots for players, but they should be able to coach them open. A bright note from Hawaii: welcome back Walt.

66-63 yay

Morrow himself said he's going to play the 4, and he's going to play the hell out of it. I'm super impressed. That kid is an absolute game changer. We signed Dennis Rodman without all the flamboyancy. Very, very similar games. I agree that he starts day 1. Extremely high IQ kid. Tough, mean, and as active as any high school kid I've seen in a long time.

Cinci was a bad matchup for Fuller and, to a lesser extent, Hammond. Tai played well. I was thrilled to see it. I think if they're both playing well, Tai is the obvious choice. We need about five more games of Tai being an effective role player before anyone can get used to it. I still think Hammond has enough game to help us regardless of Walt's minutes.

68-65 yay

I think both Fuller and Hammond have some game speed adjustments. You don't get those adjustments until you play. I didn't realize until last night how bulky Fuller is. He'll be fine. Part of getting beat on the baseline is bad coaching. He also knocked a ball loose in his first defensive possession which led to a steal. I'll take the occasional defensive breakdown over Tai's momentum killing plays all day right now. Hammond actually recovered when he got beat on the baseline and ended up with a nice, clean block that was called a foul. He also had perfect baseline help defense earlier in the game which caused a turnover. I like the kid's game. He's mean. He's been coached well. He wants to rebound. I think he can score, too, if he gets some more time. Friggin play him.

Kurkowski. I'm dead serious. We need someone in there who is mentally a 5.

Move Walt to the 4 and rotate with Rivers. Give Fuller Tai's minutes. Let Hammond and Moses split the 5. Let Benny, Tarin, Petteway, Shields all split the 1-3 based on who is playing well. Run. Do this, we start winning.