Stritch is obviously a good team and is well coached. Beating up on them 46-19 in the first half is a creditable outcome.
The team looks like it knows what it's doing out there. They were some missed dunks, layups, bunnies and free throws away from a more impressive final score. They definitely needed to get out on shooters better in the second half. Part of that was the ineffective interior defense by King and the other forwards, which forced them to double team. They defended the perimeter extremely well in the first half.
-Austin continues to look like a senior on a mission.
-Mo continues to look better and better, approaching his freshman game. But he needs to finish and/or make free throws. I thought he rebounded well.
-EE rebounded well, too, but as a whole I think the team is going to have to block out better and generally do the little things better in order to rebound against better teams.
-King is light on his feet and has the scoring knack. If he can get playing time with better defense and rebounding, he'll score some points this year. Defensively he did a good job of moving his feet and getting in people's way, but he needs to be a more physical presence and stick his nose in there for rebounds.
-Same old %&$# Oto. There seems to be something in his mental makeup that, when the bullets are flying and the other team is wearing a different colored jersey, he can't make shots, even layups and dunks. I don't think he can be trusted with a lot of playing time. You only get so many offensive possessions and you can't waste them on dud shots. Coaches like him because he does some of the little things right and puts himself in decent position, but... At any rate, if he's going to be on the floor at all, they need him to be tough and rebound a few.
-There are things that Malik does that I love. He has sticky hands, so he gets to rebounds and loose balls and secures them. He will be a streaky shooter; he definitely has confidence. He will be a doomsday weapon that will obliterate some team when he gets hot. He has range.
-Deandre was not finishing last night like he did in the scrimmage, but as he gains confidence at this level he'll be a nice player.
-As I watch this team play, it's clear how well Nate Mason's skill set will fit in next year.
Overall I feel the Gophs played well enough that it's good (confidence) and poorly enough that it's good (humility, things to work on). There is obviously much to work on, but there are some nice pieces here, and I'm confident Richard will have this squad continuously improving the whole year, like he did last year at FIU. Similar to his group last year, who got blown out early by Louisville, I don't know if we are going to have our act sufficiently together to give Syracuse much of a game, but I like this team's chances to knock off some good teams in the conference schedule.
