Copeland looked like the player we thought he'd be.
Gill looked like the player we thought he'd be last year.
Roby continuing to show his upside.
We dictated the pace of the game today and played to our strengths more. Hence we played better. Still turn it over a bit too much and have some leaky defense at times, but we showed our potential today.
Downside was some of our personnel decisions. This isn't meant to be derogatory, but I think it is clear that playing faster and moving makes this team better than trying to play a halfcourt game. Thus...there are a few guys that just dont fit. IMO, again, not meant to be derogatory, the Tanner Borchardt experiment is over. Great story. Good on him for his effort...but he's just limited. Yes...he only played 2-3 minutes in the first half, but those were 2-3 minutes that we could've expanded the lead with and used our main guys. Same with McVeigh. He just doesn't offer anything when he's not making his shots...and it's a total crapshoot when he does. Jordy is my 9th guy. He plays when there is foul trouble and situationally against big big 10 lineups.
Focus on the top group of 8 players. Play to their athleticsm. Play your best players together and for extended minutes, which is always something we've seemed to avoid in the past in some fashion. Especially since you have more than just a top 5 now. Stop giving guys token minutes when its not necessary. Get that top group of 8 as cohesive as we can.
Now it gets fun. Absolutely brutal 3-4 week stretch here. Need to go 3-1 in the next 4, at the worst, with our early December schedule as nasty as it is.