Matthews is a beast. Hard to see him returning if he continues to play this way. No I’m the other hand has been a little disappointing so far. Not bad, just not much improved.
These are the games that freshman like Livers need to get plenty of run to make mistakes and learn from them. I am glad Poole got some run also. We are going to need Livers in my opinion in a big way.
I will say it again Brooks has a calmness to his game that you want from your guards. He may need to tighten up his handle but I like what I have seen. He also puts himself in position for open shots.
Ibi to me just does not have good basketball instincts, passes are weak and defense is subpar.
Thinking back to last year. If Matthews was able to play we may have been able win it all. If he continues to show as he has he will be gone.
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Thanks Lopez, I think this is an outstanding post. As to your first paragraph, I agree wholeheartedly. I think Coach B does, too. He definitely coached Isaiah the hardest at the open practice, and even stopped practice to coach him individually. We are going to need someone like Isaiah as the season moves forward, and Coach B. knows it. I also agree with your second paragraph. Eli just seems to have “it.” No, he isn’t perfect, and as a freshman he has his flaws, but I believe Coach B also sees great potential in Eli’s ability to run the team and make shots. By the way, I though Z played well in limited minutes last night. He’s such an outstanding young man who does some things really well. I just wish he could shoot it a little better. I’m pretty sure he does, too, but I also know he’s all about winning. Great kid! Your third paragraph is, again in my opinion, a very fair assessment of Ibi. He certainly has athleticism, but the jury is out as to whether he can be successful at this level, as least as soon as we would need him to be. And, I believe Coach B is giving both him and Jaaron plenty of opportunity to show they are able to be successful at this level. Obviously, I wish them both really well! Finally, your fourth paragraph. I don’t know if having Charles last year would have enabled us to “win it all” but I’m pretty sure we would have beaten Oregon, and then, who knows…? Thanks again for an outstanding post. This old guy appreciates it!
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That team was playing it’s 3rd game in 3 days, GRIII missed the 2nd half to injury and Stauskas was playing through an injury as well and was completely ineffective because of it. That Charlotte was also just objectively on fire at the time considering they beat two other P5 teams to make the finals.
Not a great comparison.
Right now, the week in Maui feels more like Atlantis to me. Tough opening loss, bounce back against a very bad team, now a really important game for 5th.
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We should not have lost to LSU.
Although these teams got to play LSU without Sampson.
But the Marquette team I just saw is a better team than we are right now.