1. The defense was swarming - The way they worked over those Bradley screens was textbook. The help man picked up the ball while the weak side guy swung over to guard the lane. But the picked man didn't relax. He fought like crazy over the screen which allowed the help to quickly rotate back before they could get burned. That takes effort and focus, which the Cats did for 40 minutes. I have to say, that was probably the best defense I've seen NU play since Sanjay Lumpkin shut down Wake Forest a few years ago.
2. A point guard with composure and confidence - Boy have we missed one of those. While it helped that every goofy shot Spencer was throwing up went in, the bigger deal to me was the way he handled the ball with assertiveness. That Bradley guard was quick and he was in Pat's grill all game long, but it didn't really faze him. He brought the ball up just fine against full court man-to-man pressure and often times beat his man into the paint. There will be BIG teams with better interior defense for sure, but not many that will get into Pat's face like that Bradley guard did.
3. Kopp finding his role - While I hope Miller continues to develop, for now, he is a spot up shooter. If we don't have to ask him to do much more than that, then he can thrive in that role. He has a nice, quick release and can make those shots when his feet are set. If we now have PGs that can dribble penetrate to get the D off balance, then that leaves Miller open on the wings for 3s.
4. Beran is growing in confidence - It sure looked like he played with a little swagger last night. He reminds me of Falzon in that he can hit the 3 while on the move, but he seems to add a little more quickness and ball handling that Falzon (at least post-injury) lacked. He desperately needs to put on some muscle this off season, but last night was encouraging.
5. Young could teach a course - He put on a clinic in the paint last night. His footwork down low is really impressive. He was scoring over and around much more athletic defenders because he was patient and used his footwork to create scoring angles. While I wish he had the athleticism to take those feeds from Spencer and just throw them down without hesitating, he seems to know his limitations and figures out other ways to convert. Whether that translates into BIG play remains to be seen.
Fun game against a decent, experienced Bradley team. The question is can the guys play with that kind of effort every night? Looking forward to Wednesday against Pitt. That is a winnable game if we play tough again.
2. A point guard with composure and confidence - Boy have we missed one of those. While it helped that every goofy shot Spencer was throwing up went in, the bigger deal to me was the way he handled the ball with assertiveness. That Bradley guard was quick and he was in Pat's grill all game long, but it didn't really faze him. He brought the ball up just fine against full court man-to-man pressure and often times beat his man into the paint. There will be BIG teams with better interior defense for sure, but not many that will get into Pat's face like that Bradley guard did.
3. Kopp finding his role - While I hope Miller continues to develop, for now, he is a spot up shooter. If we don't have to ask him to do much more than that, then he can thrive in that role. He has a nice, quick release and can make those shots when his feet are set. If we now have PGs that can dribble penetrate to get the D off balance, then that leaves Miller open on the wings for 3s.
4. Beran is growing in confidence - It sure looked like he played with a little swagger last night. He reminds me of Falzon in that he can hit the 3 while on the move, but he seems to add a little more quickness and ball handling that Falzon (at least post-injury) lacked. He desperately needs to put on some muscle this off season, but last night was encouraging.
5. Young could teach a course - He put on a clinic in the paint last night. His footwork down low is really impressive. He was scoring over and around much more athletic defenders because he was patient and used his footwork to create scoring angles. While I wish he had the athleticism to take those feeds from Spencer and just throw them down without hesitating, he seems to know his limitations and figures out other ways to convert. Whether that translates into BIG play remains to be seen.
Fun game against a decent, experienced Bradley team. The question is can the guys play with that kind of effort every night? Looking forward to Wednesday against Pitt. That is a winnable game if we play tough again.
