-To quickly address the Vanover absence: They knew it was coming. It's not going to matter much in a game like this. I'll have more about how it might affect the Memphis game later.
-I don't know that you could've scripted a better start for Missouri. Aside for a single conceded 3-pointer, they forced misses on every possession, saw Sean East can a pair of triples, saw Nick Honor and Noah Carter get their touches inside and made APB burn a timeout within the first three minutes. It'd be really tough to do better than that.
-Speaking of East, if he can become a real shooter, I think he might have one of the highest ceilings of anybody on this roster. Among the few holes in his game, that was the biggest. Opponents could sag off him because of it. If they're forced to respect him, he's quick enough to blow by them off the dribble - that backdoor cut was a result of that. Something worth keeping an eye on.
-There was a possession coming out of a timeout around the 14-minute mark where Gates had a lineup of Honor-Robinson-Bates-Brown-Shaw. And they missed both of their first two shots, and the ball came off the rim long. Aidan wasn't in a great position to get either of them, but he chased after them hard and came up with both. That's the type of effort Gates has said he needs to see from him. Shaw also came down the next possession to dunk it on a Nick Honor feed - always my favorite play.
-One of the really rough spots for last year's squad was figuring out how to score in the halfcourt when the pace of the game got slowed down. That hasn't been an issue tonight. At the under-12 timeout, Mizzou was 6-6 from 2-point range (Noah Carter has been a bully on the block). They were 3-8 from outside, with none of the shots feeling forced. They were also 4-4 from the free throw line. Backdoor cuts slashed APB to ribbons. Obviously it's not a high-quality opponent but so far it looks really good.
-Zeus has been awesome. Four assists from your starting center - those are Jokic numbers. He sees the floor incredibly well. He is, however, struggling a bit on defense turning away drivers. I think that kind of goes back to what I've been saying about Vanover - ball-handlers aren't nearly as intimidated by a 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-6 guy protecting the paint. The perimeter defenders either got back up a bit, giving shooters room, or get up on the opponent, which puts them at risk of being caught flat-footed. It's a tough situation. Zeus also looked really tired at times, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Again, I think he'll be in a perfect role with a full rotation, but with a shorter bench tonight, he seems a little overextended.
-Caleb Grill seems to have inherited D'Moi Hodge's "No Conscience" shooting trait. You gotta hope he can knock them down like D'Moi.
-Bates looked sharp in those last few minutes, helping carry the offense while Zeus and Sean had to sit with foul trouble. He just decided "I'm going to take over now and there's nothing APB can do about it." He brought the same intensity on the defensive end, too. I could see him filling into that Dree Gholston role. I could also see him being the go-to guy if he plays like that every time he's on the court. TBD.
-Even with a kind of sloppy eight minutes or so, Mizzou is still right where they're supposed to be. Most important thing will be to keep their foot on the gas in the second half - the people want to see Mabor Majak!
-I don't know that you could've scripted a better start for Missouri. Aside for a single conceded 3-pointer, they forced misses on every possession, saw Sean East can a pair of triples, saw Nick Honor and Noah Carter get their touches inside and made APB burn a timeout within the first three minutes. It'd be really tough to do better than that.
-Speaking of East, if he can become a real shooter, I think he might have one of the highest ceilings of anybody on this roster. Among the few holes in his game, that was the biggest. Opponents could sag off him because of it. If they're forced to respect him, he's quick enough to blow by them off the dribble - that backdoor cut was a result of that. Something worth keeping an eye on.
-There was a possession coming out of a timeout around the 14-minute mark where Gates had a lineup of Honor-Robinson-Bates-Brown-Shaw. And they missed both of their first two shots, and the ball came off the rim long. Aidan wasn't in a great position to get either of them, but he chased after them hard and came up with both. That's the type of effort Gates has said he needs to see from him. Shaw also came down the next possession to dunk it on a Nick Honor feed - always my favorite play.
-One of the really rough spots for last year's squad was figuring out how to score in the halfcourt when the pace of the game got slowed down. That hasn't been an issue tonight. At the under-12 timeout, Mizzou was 6-6 from 2-point range (Noah Carter has been a bully on the block). They were 3-8 from outside, with none of the shots feeling forced. They were also 4-4 from the free throw line. Backdoor cuts slashed APB to ribbons. Obviously it's not a high-quality opponent but so far it looks really good.
-Zeus has been awesome. Four assists from your starting center - those are Jokic numbers. He sees the floor incredibly well. He is, however, struggling a bit on defense turning away drivers. I think that kind of goes back to what I've been saying about Vanover - ball-handlers aren't nearly as intimidated by a 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-6 guy protecting the paint. The perimeter defenders either got back up a bit, giving shooters room, or get up on the opponent, which puts them at risk of being caught flat-footed. It's a tough situation. Zeus also looked really tired at times, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Again, I think he'll be in a perfect role with a full rotation, but with a shorter bench tonight, he seems a little overextended.
-Caleb Grill seems to have inherited D'Moi Hodge's "No Conscience" shooting trait. You gotta hope he can knock them down like D'Moi.
-Bates looked sharp in those last few minutes, helping carry the offense while Zeus and Sean had to sit with foul trouble. He just decided "I'm going to take over now and there's nothing APB can do about it." He brought the same intensity on the defensive end, too. I could see him filling into that Dree Gholston role. I could also see him being the go-to guy if he plays like that every time he's on the court. TBD.
-Even with a kind of sloppy eight minutes or so, Mizzou is still right where they're supposed to be. Most important thing will be to keep their foot on the gas in the second half - the people want to see Mabor Majak!
