Well, we definitely handled our business tonight. We played a young and tired team at home, and we destroyed them, like a veteran team should. It's really hard to get any sort of feel for how are team has responded since the UCLA loss because this was such an easy win. Here are the things I took away from this game though:
~Suton was nothing short of amazing in the first half. I read about his stats against Oakland last game, and it looks like he's followed those up nicely tonight. If he can become a consistent, low post threat, that makes us all the more dangerous. I especially liked his hustle tonight. He was running the fast break, crashing the boards, and stripping people. I really liked the shot he had that was blocked where he chased down his miss and threw it off an N.C. St. player. Great hustle from the big guy.
~ I love how Izzo chewed his team out with five minutes left in this game. You do not want complacency to sink in with this team at any point. It wasn't okay after five minutes against UCLA, and it's not okay with five minutes left against N.C. St. You go hard for 40 minutes, then you rest. That's why Izzo is the best. He knows this team is good, but he wants them to be great. Hey, me too.
~ It is awesome to watch Drew Neitzel when he is in his groove. Every shot he takes you know is going to fall. It makes me very happy.
~ The freshmen are still making bonehead plays, and that's going to happen all year. It seems with every big shot Allen makes, he takes one terrible one. With every fast break layup Lucas makes, he commits one unnecessary turnover. Summers is the same way (although I really liked his reverse and-one play). Take the good with the bad I suppose.
Good win. There are only two games upcoming that I worry about: at Bradley and Texas. Bradley could be a trap game, and Texas, well Texas is #8 in the country- enough said. The Texas game is at 6:30 on the 22nd...the day I drive back to Michigan.
So whose house we watching that one at?
~Mikey D
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4 comments:
You can't not be happy with that one. I am really glad that they turned it up a notch once they let the lead dip down to 20.
I'll volunteer my house for the game!
I did notice a few defensive breakdowns from Neitzel, although I still don't know if I'd call him weak defensively.
Anyone else notice how "Izzo kicked them out of the lockerrooms after Grand Valley" has become the new "Matt Trannon was a wide receiver on the football team!" in terms of side stories that are repeated in EVERY telecast?
Well nobody really played bad defensively in this one. Neitzel lost his man a couple times, but he was guarding a tired frosh, so it didn't hurt us. Watch Neitzel against Texas when he's up against Augustine or Abrams. I bet you'll see a few more...
I am noticing that lockerroom story! I like how Izzo downplays it completely, saying that every coach has done it at some point. By the way, I want to see pics of this new lockerroom...better than the NBA???
Oh, did anybody hear when Steve Lavin mentioned that Herzog was a "secret weapon"? What's that all about? He never really explained himself. All he said was that he was like Shawn Bradley. How is that good again?
Your house it is! Can't wait!!!
I vaugely remember the Steve Lavin quote. Herzog definitely has the "secret" part down, I'm not sure about the "weapon."
My favorite thing about this team is that Neitzel doesn't have to be Superman every game. Walton has taken on a leadership role as well, and having him work the point allows Neitzel to actually take a breather once in a while, and he can focus more on getting open and shooting when he is in the game.
I know Allen and Lucas (and Summers) make some dumb mistakes, but I'm really excited about them. If they can progress fast enough, we will be a very strong team come tournament time.
Party at Adam's house!
See, the one thing I am most worried about is that Neitzel isn't as much of a leader as last year. We have great depth... more than they've had since Hill was a senior. But I think they lack the one NBA caliber person who can take over a huge game and will the team to victory that other recent national champs have had. We had Cleaves' heart and determination, Syracuse has Melo's skill, UNC and Florida had 3-4 NBA caliber guys. Neitzel appeared to be on that path last year, but he doesn't anymore. He's good enough to get them a Big 10 Championship and maybe to a Final Four, but not the Championship.
By the way, I would be completely satisfied if they were able to get to that point, don't get me wrong.
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