Haven't seen much in regards to how the game actually went. I didn't get a chance to see the game online or in person and just wanted to know if there were any insights into the game that the box score or the Strib recap might not have touched. How much full court pressing was there? Were Rodney's points in garbage time or did he actually do some legit scoring? How was Al looking?
I'll try to answer some of your questions:
The guys struggled shooting the ball early in the game. Ball movement was good on offense and there were plenty of open looks. Guys just weren't knocking them down. In the second half, the guys really picked it up on offense and started hitting shots. As a team, the Gophers went something like 2-14 from three-point range in the first half. But the team hit seven three's in the second half and went something like 7-11 from long range after halftime.
The Gophers pressed a fair amount on defense, but it generally wasn't the killer trap that we saw at different times last year. Mostly just forced Tennessee Tech to take some time moving the ball up court. Our half court defense was, as usual, really good. Guys were blocking shots and getting lots of strips and steals. If I had to categorize it, I would say we were just too big, fast and athletic on defense for Tennessee Tech to deal with.
On offense, Lawrence Westbrook really settled in after about the 10 minute mark of the first half. He looked pretty comfortable and by the end of the game, was really stroking it with confidence. Rodney Williams had a great debut. He hit a three early in the game and had a couple of nice finishes on the break. Also had three big-time dunks, but that's nothing new for Rodney. He looks like a player for sure. He obviously needs to continue to improve, but the talent is certainly there.
Devoe Joseph struggled a little bit last night. He had some open looks that he didn't finish and it seemed at times he may have been forcing things a little bit. Nolen did what he usually does, meaning he didn't score much but he had a bunch of assists. Damian was his usual steady self on both ends and Paul Carter had a couple of really good plays as well. Ralph had a pretty decent game as well. One thing we really need to work on is free throw shooting. We didn't shoot well from the line at all, but I think that was due to guys not focusing. We were pretty good from the line last year and I'd be surprised if that doesn't come around as we go along.
All and all, it wasn't bad for a season opener. It will be interesting to see how we come out against Stephen F. Austin on Monday.
