-Gotta give all credit to Princeton. They played a helluva game. There have been very few teams that were able to shut down Missouri on offense this season. They were one of them. Mizzou had their rallies but Princeton was always able to answer. They also shot the lights out in the second half and got a ton of offensive rebounds. Mizzou just couldn't get enough going to overcome it.
-What a game out of Mohamed Diarra. I had mentioned he might've been an option to guard Tosan when I watched film. I said it again at halftime. And then, he played a very solid second half of basketball. Those two blocks gave the team a spark that it needed. He made a difference on the boards (at least early on). It did seem like he got a little panicky (as did the rest of the team) once Princeton started to pull away again. But that's a really positive note for him to end the season on. I think he's got a ton of potential going into next year.
-Tough game to go out for Hodge, Gholston and Gomillion for this to be the last game of their college careers. None of them had their best game - Tre obviously didn't get to play. But those guys were so much fun all season. I know it meant a to of them to be able to win that first game.
-Looking ahead, I think the team will have most of its roster intact. There's a lot of fourth-year seniors with another year of eligibility left - I don't really see why any of them would want to play somewhere else. You never really know. But that continuity will be beneficial next season.
-Another thing to keep in mind: As far as on-the-court assessments go, Dennis Gates hit on every single newcomer that he brought in this season. You really can't point to a single on the roster and say "He didn't help us win this year." Gates already had a really good reputation as a talent evaluator when he got hired here and he proved why with this season's roster. We'll see what he can do building off the momentum of this year.
-The biggest offseason question mark is obviously what Kobe Brown ends up doing. I won't be surprised if he at least enters the NBA Draft and goes through the combine. But if he doesn't like where he's projected to go and gets an NIL offer he likes, I could also see him coming back next year.
-We'll have more stuff from today's game, and on the season. This year's been super fun. Thanks for rockin with us this season.
-What a game out of Mohamed Diarra. I had mentioned he might've been an option to guard Tosan when I watched film. I said it again at halftime. And then, he played a very solid second half of basketball. Those two blocks gave the team a spark that it needed. He made a difference on the boards (at least early on). It did seem like he got a little panicky (as did the rest of the team) once Princeton started to pull away again. But that's a really positive note for him to end the season on. I think he's got a ton of potential going into next year.
-Tough game to go out for Hodge, Gholston and Gomillion for this to be the last game of their college careers. None of them had their best game - Tre obviously didn't get to play. But those guys were so much fun all season. I know it meant a to of them to be able to win that first game.
-Looking ahead, I think the team will have most of its roster intact. There's a lot of fourth-year seniors with another year of eligibility left - I don't really see why any of them would want to play somewhere else. You never really know. But that continuity will be beneficial next season.
-Another thing to keep in mind: As far as on-the-court assessments go, Dennis Gates hit on every single newcomer that he brought in this season. You really can't point to a single on the roster and say "He didn't help us win this year." Gates already had a really good reputation as a talent evaluator when he got hired here and he proved why with this season's roster. We'll see what he can do building off the momentum of this year.
-The biggest offseason question mark is obviously what Kobe Brown ends up doing. I won't be surprised if he at least enters the NBA Draft and goes through the combine. But if he doesn't like where he's projected to go and gets an NIL offer he likes, I could also see him coming back next year.
-We'll have more stuff from today's game, and on the season. This year's been super fun. Thanks for rockin with us this season.
