I came so close to turning off the game early for the first time in this Millennia. I am really glad I didn’t. This season is wasted but even so this is why you watch sports. You get to see something new even when it seems impossible.
The first half of this game was just a continuation of the second half of WVU. The defense was terrible. If the vast majority of a team’s focus is on defense that can’t happen. With about 12 minutes left in the game a switch flipped and they decided to play.
A large part of this was the decision to go back to just gluing Javon to Edwards. Again this is why Javon is so frustrating. He was a major reason why this ended up in the W column. Edwards got in the 20’s really fast but did not score much if at all down the stretch. Pinson also showed good hands and feet. That plus the refs decided to stop calling fouls just because they thought someone might have been touched.
There were a bunch of times when this game could have been Mizzou’d. I feel like you guys know what I mean without defining it. There are two reviews that go the opposite way. The second one was definitely the correct call. The first one I think was the right call but if the standard is you have to be absolutely certain to overturn it I am not sure how you could. I had it paused on my big 4K tv and could not see space between the ball and the GA players hand while the shot clock light was on. Again I think he probably had let go of it but by the rule shouldn’t have been overturned. On top of the replays going the other way. GA’s last real possession with a chance to take the game back two defenders run into each other and give one of the best players in the country what looked like free pass to the basket. Things aren’t always what the seem. Meet Reed.
This was the best game in his time here and he probably won’t top it. I mean it would be great if he did but I don’t see it happening. Even if he did nothing else that block would have been worth it. But he did so much more. Mainly he caught the ball cleanly under the basket. There have been so many times this year that a guard drives, draws the double team, passes and hits Reed in the hands. Up until tonight the ball bounces off his hands and goes out of bounce or best case let’s the defender get over to contest the shot. Not tonight. He caught it cleanly and finished strong. Made his foul shots to so hacking him wasn’t really an option. Great to see a kid put 4 years into the program and have it pay off, even if it is just one night he was a star.
As exciting as this was the NIT is the best we can hope for and even that will be difficult although we do have some quality wins that a lot of NIT won’t have so maybe. With the real prize being out of reach it becomes about next year. No one wants to hear it. But I see some real hope here. It would be nice to have a top rated class coming in, but I think we will some some big jumps in progress after this year. I am not saying either of these guys will become Denmon but people remember year 3 and year 4 of Marcus. In year 1 and 2 he showed promise but did not dominate or ever take over a game. Pinson has taken over multiple games. Watson has taken over games, but usually against sub-par competition. But point being is I think Pinson, Pickett, and Watson all make significant jumps next year. I think everyone can see the promise Jackson and Brown have. Jackson shows it every time he touches the ball. I wish Zo would let him play through his freshman mistakes a little more but he will get it and has NBA potential. Long way to go to get there. Brown is like a TE with his strength and he is only a freshman. I think the guys mentioned plus Dru and Mark Smith are enough to push this to a tournament team. Get someone like Christopher and it could be special.
I thought this team would be better than it is but I expected some bad losses this year because of the youth. Really this team is just a few points away from this season looking totally different. Xavier, OU, TN, and aTm are all games where is one minute of game time went the other way they are wins and then you are talking about a 14-6 team that is solidly in the tournament. Point being that even though this is a shitty season it really is not as bad as the record looks. Combine that with a very reasonable thought that there could be significant growth of players on the roster I am hopeful for the future.
The first half of this game was just a continuation of the second half of WVU. The defense was terrible. If the vast majority of a team’s focus is on defense that can’t happen. With about 12 minutes left in the game a switch flipped and they decided to play.
A large part of this was the decision to go back to just gluing Javon to Edwards. Again this is why Javon is so frustrating. He was a major reason why this ended up in the W column. Edwards got in the 20’s really fast but did not score much if at all down the stretch. Pinson also showed good hands and feet. That plus the refs decided to stop calling fouls just because they thought someone might have been touched.
There were a bunch of times when this game could have been Mizzou’d. I feel like you guys know what I mean without defining it. There are two reviews that go the opposite way. The second one was definitely the correct call. The first one I think was the right call but if the standard is you have to be absolutely certain to overturn it I am not sure how you could. I had it paused on my big 4K tv and could not see space between the ball and the GA players hand while the shot clock light was on. Again I think he probably had let go of it but by the rule shouldn’t have been overturned. On top of the replays going the other way. GA’s last real possession with a chance to take the game back two defenders run into each other and give one of the best players in the country what looked like free pass to the basket. Things aren’t always what the seem. Meet Reed.
This was the best game in his time here and he probably won’t top it. I mean it would be great if he did but I don’t see it happening. Even if he did nothing else that block would have been worth it. But he did so much more. Mainly he caught the ball cleanly under the basket. There have been so many times this year that a guard drives, draws the double team, passes and hits Reed in the hands. Up until tonight the ball bounces off his hands and goes out of bounce or best case let’s the defender get over to contest the shot. Not tonight. He caught it cleanly and finished strong. Made his foul shots to so hacking him wasn’t really an option. Great to see a kid put 4 years into the program and have it pay off, even if it is just one night he was a star.
As exciting as this was the NIT is the best we can hope for and even that will be difficult although we do have some quality wins that a lot of NIT won’t have so maybe. With the real prize being out of reach it becomes about next year. No one wants to hear it. But I see some real hope here. It would be nice to have a top rated class coming in, but I think we will some some big jumps in progress after this year. I am not saying either of these guys will become Denmon but people remember year 3 and year 4 of Marcus. In year 1 and 2 he showed promise but did not dominate or ever take over a game. Pinson has taken over multiple games. Watson has taken over games, but usually against sub-par competition. But point being is I think Pinson, Pickett, and Watson all make significant jumps next year. I think everyone can see the promise Jackson and Brown have. Jackson shows it every time he touches the ball. I wish Zo would let him play through his freshman mistakes a little more but he will get it and has NBA potential. Long way to go to get there. Brown is like a TE with his strength and he is only a freshman. I think the guys mentioned plus Dru and Mark Smith are enough to push this to a tournament team. Get someone like Christopher and it could be special.
I thought this team would be better than it is but I expected some bad losses this year because of the youth. Really this team is just a few points away from this season looking totally different. Xavier, OU, TN, and aTm are all games where is one minute of game time went the other way they are wins and then you are talking about a 14-6 team that is solidly in the tournament. Point being that even though this is a shitty season it really is not as bad as the record looks. Combine that with a very reasonable thought that there could be significant growth of players on the roster I am hopeful for the future.
