Thrilled.

[Alan Smithee_rivals156293]

Not just with the result, but with the energy and effort from everybody, for the whole game. I kept waiting for Bradley to go on a run, as is normal in most games, but we never let up.

What didn't go well? Maybe free-throw shooting was just ok?

Everything else was laudable. Good patience, aggressiveness, unselfish play, ball movement, shooting, defensive effort, rebounding, excellent 2-man play between Spencer and Young.

Bottle this, guys, and it'll do you good all season long. We'll play better teams than Bradley soon, but they're not bad; you just made them look that way. Well done!

 

[GatoLouco]

What did not go well:
-Nance not involved enough
-Zone defense was much better. The 2-3 is naturally easier for the players to align with opponents. But needs a lot of work. Players still far from understanding what they are supposed to do. We’ll need it in B1G play as it’s likely we’ll get in foul trouble

Loads went well, already plenty mentioned:
-Man to man is very competent. Our length bothered them. Will be tougher with more physical B1G teams. If we stay out of trouble, if Jones develops faster, we can be very good on defense again
-Young guys continue to show talent. Beran might develop faster than I thought
-Collins made better decisions. Adapted and learned from previous games

Still to be determined if we can attack a zone. Like Norfolk State, Bradley did not challenge us with a zone.

 

[Medill90]

I tell you what I liked, the love Collins showed AJ when he came out of the game. I was worried about that. But the exchange made it clear that Collins is counting on him.

 

[DaCat]

I tell you what I liked, the love Collins showed AJ when he came out of the game. I was worried about that. But the exchange made it clear that Collins is counting on him.

It's a long season and we will definitely need AJ as injuries like Gaines tweaking his ankle are going to happen. Hopefully nothing too serious for Gaines.

 

[NU Houston]

I've watched the 'Cats twice this season - tonight and the Providence game - and they look great! Who else have they played so far?

 

[Alan Smithee_rivals156293]

What did not go well:
-Nance not involved enough
-Zone defense was much better. The 2-3 is naturally easier for the players to align with opponents. But needs a lot of work. Players still far from understanding what they are supposed to do. We’ll need it in B1G play as it’s likely we’ll get in foul trouble

Loads went well, already plenty mentioned:
-Man to man is very competent. Our length bothered them. Will be tougher with more physical B1G teams. If we stay out of trouble, if Jones develops faster, we can be very good on defense again
-Young guys continue to show talent. Beran might develop faster than I thought
-Collins made better decisions. Adapted and learned from previous games

Still to be determined if we can attack a zone. Like Norfolk State, Bradley did not challenge us with a zone.

As for Nance's involvement, he was a factor in the 1st half. He only scored 7 and took too many threes, but he got 7 boards, 3 blocks and didn't turn the ball over. That's a good night's work when others were picking up a lot of the scoring burden.

 

[Titanium999]

Not just with the result, but with the energy and effort from everybody, for the whole game. I kept waiting for Bradley to go on a run, as is normal in most games, but we never let up.

What didn't go well? Maybe free-throw shooting was just ok?

Everything else was laudable. Good patience, aggressiveness, unselfish play, ball movement, shooting, defensive effort, rebounding, excellent 2-man play between Spencer and Young.

Bottle this, guys, and it'll do you good all season long. We'll play better teams than Bradley soon, but they're not bad; you just made them look that way. Well done!

Bradley had just beaten Radford too!

 

[ricko6543211]

As for Nance's involvement, he was a factor in the 1st half. He only scored 7 and took too many threes, but he got 7 boards, 3 blocks and didn't turn the ball over. That's a good night's work when others were picking up a lot of the scoring burden.

Yeah I would say J Jones was actually who I thought had the worst game. Nance didn’t make outside shots but he was involved and played a good all around game outside of the points column. And this is on a day when the Spencer Young duo was unconscious so we didn’t need him to score. I was totally fine with Nance focusing on D + rebounds and trying to score only opportunistically. That’s how a team works.

PS re Jared - lots more games to come, flush it and get the next one.

 

[its_the_sauce]

Anyone see that Merrimack won last Friday night 110-16?

 

[NJCat]

I've watched the 'Cats twice this season - tonight and the Providence game - and they look great! Who else have they played so far?

Do you plan to tune in for Wednesday's game?

 

[Titanium999]

What did not go well:
-Nance not involved enough
-Zone defense was much better. The 2-3 is naturally easier for the players to align with opponents. But needs a lot of work. Players still far from understanding what they are supposed to do. We’ll need it in B1G play as it’s likely we’ll get in foul trouble

Loads went well, already plenty mentioned:
-Man to man is very competent. Our length bothered them. Will be tougher with more physical B1G teams. If we stay out of trouble, if Jones develops faster, we can be very good on defense again
-Young guys continue to show talent. Beran might develop faster than I thought
-Collins made better decisions. Adapted and learned from previous games

Still to be determined if we can attack a zone. Like Norfolk State, Bradley did not challenge us with a zone.

Agreed!

 

[GatoLouco]

As for Nance's involvement, he was a factor in the 1st half. He only scored 7 and took too many threes, but he got 7 boards, 3 blocks and didn't turn the ball over. That's a good night's work when others were picking up a lot of the scoring burden.

Yeah I would say J Jones was actually who I thought had the worst game. Nance didn’t make outside shots but he was involved and played a good all around game outside of the points column. And this is on a day when the Spencer Young duo was unconscious so we didn’t need him to score. I was totally fine with Nance focusing on D + rebounds and trying to score only opportunistically. That’s how a team works.

PS re Jared - lots more games to come, flush it and get the next one.

You are both right about Nance still contributing at a high level. He was a big part of the “length” that ao clearly bothered Bradley.

But if he is not more consistently involved offensively, we are likely to be less competitive in B1G play. And he’s likely to develop less than if he is involved. The problem yesterday was not about affecting the team performance in this particular game. It was about the future, for the team and his development.

I said it last week, he had a great game against NS, but it was heavily influenced by a phenomenal 5-8 minute stretch. Outside the stretch I wished he was getting more touches.

This is all something for the coaching staff to work on. Because the team has a lot to gain from Nance being “the man” in the future.

 

[hdhntr1]

I've watched the 'Cats twice this season - tonight and the Providence game - and they look great! Who else have they played so far?

A couple teams that they did not look so great against. This will be an up and down season, but more entertaining than many thought. Nance has shown huge improvement, Young always seems to be in the right spot and Spencer is going to be solid. Kopp has improved and Gaines will be Gaines with more of an outside shot. It will be fun to watch the young guys develop

 

[NU Houston]

Do you plan to tune in for Wednesday's game?

Yes!