Hoops observations

[curseddawgs]

Some thoughts I had about tonights game. Feel free to add any.

1. Shakeel Moore and Cam Matthews are dawgs on defense. Active hands everywhere from those two. The team as a whole was great but those two stood out.

2. Matthews had 14 boards and some big dunks. He is the guy that can take this team to the next level if he can consistently bring that effort as the first guy off the bench.

3. Garrison Brooks was a man amongst boys. UNA had no answer for him. We've waited for his debut since 2016 and it lived up to the billing.

4. We need Tolu back. Javian Davis gives great effort on both ends of the floor but we cannot rely on him to be the second big in the rotation. Also, if Brooks can hit some outside jumpers, our front court will be very hard to stop.

5. Cam Carter was great tonight. Did not miss a shot and played smart, mature basketball. He looks like a star in the making and it will be interesting to see if we can run the offense effectively with him at the 1.

6. Iverson was quiet tonight but still was able to create whatever shot he wanted. He truly is a special talent and we will go as far as he takes us.

7. DJ Jeffries and Derek Fountain had underwhelming stat lines but I thought both had some positive contributions. I think Jeffries will for sure be a double figure scorer most nights.

8. Free throws need to be worked on but I would be way more concerned about them if Davis and Brooks didn't take the majority of them tonight. If Iverson, Moore, Fountain, and Carter were missing then I would be worried.

9. It will be interesting to see what Howland does rotation wise with Rocket Watts back. Cam Carter made a pretty good case tonight for a lot of playing time. I could see Fountain being the odd man if Rocket is everything he's supposed to be.

10. Overall very balanced win. Defense was great. Turnovers were a little troubling and that led to the game being closer than it should've been but compared to opening night last year vs Clemson this team is night and day better.

11. Finally, great showing from the student section. Overall the crowd was solid for a Wednesday in November. This team is going to be a lot of fun. Let's get to the Hump and make it hell for opposing teams.

 

[57stratdawg]

I thought it was a really nice start to the season. We went through a rough patch offensively late in the 1H. We only scored 5 points in the last +/- 7 minutes. Just something to keep an eye on.

 

[wsjmsu75]

Why are Watts and Tolu out? Injuries?

 

[curseddawgs]

Injuries. Heard post game Rocket should be back next Wednesday

 

[She Mate Me]

Why are Watts and Tolu out? Injuries?

Both had surgery a few months back. Howland expects them both back in November.

 

[She Mate Me]

Interesting read. I will say you saw more positives than I did.

They finished well, but with under 7 minutes to go we had a 10 point lead on our homecourt against a team that probably isn't among the Top 300 in the country.

The jury is out for me on all the transfers except Brooks, who is clearly the real deal.

This team has tremendous potential, but tonight's effort would likely result in a loss against most of the SEC.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

I need a few more games. I saw glimpses. It was game one and I saw those jitters or at least I hope the droughts were because we have a history of that.

I do not like Molinar at PG. It limits him and he and Matthews showed flashes of being those guys that pick everyone else up. Carter was a nice surprise and showed moments. We definitely do not have our starters and subs set but I expected that with so many new faces. I did like the swagger they got down the stretch.

The one thing that really made me interested in this squad was the way they hustled on defense. That really jumped out at me,

 

[Cooterpoot]

Looks like a Howland team. Talent to go to the tourney but still has scoring droughts. That was a bad team we played, so let's see when the competition picks up

 

[Seinfeld]

Good write up. In all honesty, the only thing that was a little disappointing to me was that after coming out like defensive gangbusters for the first 8-10 minutes, that energy pretty much disappeared for the rest of the game. I get that we can’t go for 40 minutes like that, but I hope they soon realize how suffocating they can be with that kind of energy and effort.

Probably the biggest positive for me is that we clearly have a lot of guys that can play, and that was even without Tolu and Rocket. With this many new faces, it’s to be expected that there will be growing pains while Howland figures the rotation out, but the good news to me is that he’s got a ton of options

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

If this team had a pure point guard and pure shooter they would be very tough…

 

[Seinfeld]

I hate that we lost Deivon. He obviously had some control issues as a freshman at times, but he had some tools that you can’t teach also

 

[mstateglfr]

I am interested to see who starts once we have a full roster.

Does Tolu sit and we go 4 small 1 big?
Does Watts sit and come in as an explosive 6th man?
Does Matthews sit and come in as an undersized big with the 2nd team?
Does Jeffries sit because he is super talented but seems pretty passive/ineffective(its just 1 game, i know)?

 

[OliveBranchDAWG]

The amount of MBB negativity after one game (a 75-49 win) is unreal lol

 

[curseddawgs]

Can Carter looks like he could grow into that role

 

[PartTimeGenius]

I'd love to see JD be successful, but crikey, he's a liability from the line. If he were getting and-1's that would be one thing, but the guy never finishes and then proceeds to bricks his 2 FT. O

Overall this team looks like it can be successful. The only major negative that I could really point out is the patented Howland-era lack of effort/aggressiveness for extended stretches. If everyone played like Cam Matthews all game, this could really be a tough crew.

 

[olblue]

If this team had a pure point guard and pure shooter they would be very tough…

Thank you Captain Obvious.

 

[curseddawgs]

The stretches your talking about had more to do with bad offensive possessions and turnovers leading to UNA being able to run in transition and not giving us a chance to set our half court defense

 

[curseddawgs]

From everything I’ve gathered. The starting 5 will be
Molinar
Rocket
Jeffries
Brooks
Tolu. The expectation is that Garrison is a stretch 4 and can consistently hid mid range shots and the occasional 3

 

[curseddawgs]

It’s game 1. I agree we “struggled” more than we should’ve but did what we were supposed to and won by 26. We have very good opportunities to iron out some kinks before heading to play Louisville in the Bahamas thanksgiving night

 

[PartTimeGenius]

Tolu will not sit if healthy. Once Watts returns to full speed, he'll replace Shakeel. I see Matthews/Jeffries doing some alternating throughout the season based on production.

Watts
Molinar
Matthews
Tolu
Garrison

Shakeel
Carter
Jeffries
Fountain
JD

TBD
Garcia
Murphy
Applewhite

 

[stateu1]

We covered the spread. I'd say that is good.

 

[Seinfeld]

Once Tolu is back in the rotation, I really just don’t see many minutes for Davis to be honest. I like the kid, but no matter where he looks around him with Brooks, DJ, Matthews, or Tolu… there’s just a lot more talent and upside

 

[Seinfeld]

I was very presently surprised with Carter last night

 

[Bill Shankly]

When we were giving good effort we looked better than I have seen us look in a long time. When the effort slacked off we reverted to the form of the last few years. The 1st and last 10 minutes we looked great. The middle 20 not so much. If they can maintain that high effort level for more minutes this team has a shot at making a real run.

 

[trob115]

Coaches like how Carter handles the ball. I think the hope is he develops throughout the season and plays meaningful minutes at the 1.

Once everyone is healthy I think you'll see this :

Molinar--Carter
Rocket--Moore
Jeffries-- Fountain/Matthews
Brooks--Matthews/Fountain
Tolu--Brooks-- Davis


We definitely have potential to make some noise this year and make a long tournament run. We can't go 7 minute stretches with no points and hopefully we get that sorted out.

 

[tcdog70]

I hate that we lost Deivon. He obviously had some control issues as a freshman at times, but he had some tools that you can’t teach also

THE carter kid will be better.. he looked great

 

[GloryDawg]

You think some of the negatives are due to first game?

 

[mstateglfr]

I'd love to see JD be successful, but crikey, he's a liability from the line. If he were getting and-1's that would be one thing, but the guy never finishes and then proceeds to bricks his 2 FT.

Yes, plus Matthews isnt exactly known as an assassin at the line either. Its maybe more frustrating with Matthews because he could be on the court in close games for defense, but then is a total liability at the line if fouled to stop the clock.

At one point last night, I was watching Davis mishandle another entry pass(wasnt the best entry) and thought 'what make him better than a solid D2 post player?' and couldnt really come up with much of anything. That was before he had the really smart heads up wrap-around pass to Fountain in the paint, but still.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

I listened to the radio broadcast and Richard Williams kept pointing out where Davis' recurring issues are--Poor FT shooter and does not handle the ball well in traffic (brings the ball down every time rather than keeping it up).

I must say, even though I'm not the biggest fan of listening to RW, you can tell that he spends time watching practices and doing his own research on each player.

 

[fishwater99]

Tolu will not sit if healthy. Once Watts returns to full speed, he'll replace Shakeel. I see Matthews/Jeffries doing some alternating throughout the season based on production.

Watts
Molinar
Matthews
Tolu
Garrison

Shakeel
Carter
Jeffries
Fountain
JD

TBD
Garcia
Murphy
Applewhite

Jeffries will start

 

[047Dog]

I listened to the radio broadcast and Richard Williams kept pointing out where Davis' recurring issues are--Poor FT shooter and does not handle the ball well in traffic (brings the ball down every time rather than keeping it up).

I must say, even though I'm not the biggest fan of listening to RW, you can tell that he spends time watching practices and doing his own research on each player.

I thought Richard was at Mississippi Southern now?

 

[She Mate Me]

It’s game 1. I agree we “struggled” more than we should’ve but did what we were supposed to and won by 26. We have very good opportunities to iron out some kinks before heading to play Louisville in the Bahamas thanksgiving night

I saw plenty of things to like from a talent standpoint. The first game thing doesn't mean much to me because it's also the first game for the other team. We do have a ton of new faces so certainly they should gel.

I'm optimistic about this team, but I know from watching Vic's best teams that great teams beat teams like North Alabama to death for 40 minutes. We played them basically dead even over the last 26 minutes of the game, and it took a run at the end to do that.

I'm rooting hard for them, but I hope more of them start playing with Cam Matthews level of consistent effort soon.

 

[GTDawg]

Outside of Davis, the rest of the team was 13-of-18 at the line. That's hopeful because his minutes will go down when Tolu comes back.

 

[Slow Natives]

Jeffries might start before Matthews but I’d rather Matthews get the most minutes. His hustle and athleticism is fun to watch and gets the whole team going. I didn’t see anything from Jeffries that makes him a contributor like Matthews.

 

[olblue.sixpack]

Jeffries might start before Matthews but I’d rather Matthews get the most minutes. His hustle and athleticism is fun to watch and gets the whole team going. I didn’t see anything from Jeffries that makes him a contributor like Matthews.

If that happens, Corey Jeffries will have DJ packed and headed back to Olive Branch by the time the post game show is over.

 

[Lettucexxxx]

From everything I’ve gathered. The starting 5 will be
Molinar
Rocket
Jeffries
Brooks
Tolu. The expectation is that Garrison is a stretch 4 and can consistently hid mid range shots and the occasional 3

Are we certain Rocket Watts starts when he is cleared to play? I personally don’t think so…he’s recovering from several injuries….and wasn’t a starter during his last half season before transferring….right? He may end up there…I just think he may need a few games

 

[She Mate Me]

If that happens, Corey Jeffries will have DJ packed and headed back to Olive Branch by the time the post game show is over.

I want him to be a stud, but fact is he was the 4th leading scorer on a good team that didn't make the NCAA tourney last year. He needs to focus on effort and production if he wants playing time. His stars from high school mean nothing now.

 

[Rezpup]

I saw plenty of things to like from a talent standpoint. The first game thing doesn't mean much to me because it's also the first game for the other team. We do have a ton of new faces so certainly they should gel.

I'm optimistic about this team, but I know from watching Vic's best teams that great teams beat teams like North Alabama to death for 40 minutes. We played them basically dead even over the last 26 minutes of the game, and it took a run at the end to do that.

I'm rooting hard for them, but I hope more of them start playing with Cam Matthews level of consistent effort soon.

I saw our team as playing with more intensity than any since the Lawrence Roberts teams, so much so that I think we got a little winded.
I also feel like North Alabama is a hell of a lot more talented than what this thread has given them credit for…so I’m more optimistic about hoops this year since I don’t know when plus we have depth.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Thank you Captain Obvious.

Evidently this hasn’t been obvious to Howland since he’s been at MSU.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

When we were giving good effort we looked better than I have seen us look in a long time. When the effort slacked off we reverted to the form of the last few years. The 1st and last 10 minutes we looked great. The middle 20 not so much. If they can maintain that high effort level for more minutes this team has a shot at making a real run.

Exactly. But it is a helluva lot more defensive effort in Game 1 than I've seen in a LONG time from our MBB.