Eh, if Brooks beats out Simpson I’ll eat a shoe. I think DeJulius and Brooks is where the competition will be.
5 Likes
Poole showed a lot more than he has in the past in regards to his handles and passing. Which in turn means having him on the floor with MAAR and Mathews seems more likely going forward.
6 Likes
Once he gets his confidence in his shot back I think he’ll make a strong case. Let’s not forget he already beat out Zavier once with no experience. It will be offense v defense at that point.
1 Like
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If Eli contends with Simpson next year I’ll be quite content with our PG’s.
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Bit of a pattern – slow start, some TOs, then a second half where it’s mostly in our favor and not really within a possession (or two), but we don’t really pull away.
Nice to see JB go with the Poole/MAAR backcourt for a stretch – it looked good too. Also went with Poole late in the game, fired a pass to Wagner for what should’ve been two, then took a charge. Missed a couple shots or could’ve been a really nice game. Still 8 points with 3/0 Ast/TO, 2 rebs, 1 block, 1 steal is solid.
2 Likes
I’m dreaming of a 30/30/30/30 minute split between Poole, Simpson, MAAR, Matthews at the 1-3 spots
“NO YOU WRECKED THE PROGRAM” (Tom Crean voice)
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Yes. They are less lucky this year.
Poole’s passing vision is going to look very good running the pick and roll next year.
12 Likes
I was hearing consistently in the weeks before the season that Z was the starter. I’m not sure exactly how Eli got into the starting lineup, but I don’t think it was a situation where one guy clearly beats out another for a spot. I was very surprised Z wasn’t starting when the season began. Didn’t square with what I’d been told.
Z was the starter when the season began.
Was he? I need to start sleeping better.
(that’s right, he moved Eli into the lineup when the offense wasn’t moving right)
By the way, here’s the win probability chart. Nobody here probably actually thinks otherwise, but I think a game that doesn’t go below 50% in the first half and 75% in the second half is pretty comfortable.
2 Likes
Wagner’s inability to consistently play to his potential is really frustrating to watch - it has to be frustrating for him too.
I thought Matthews played well - an all-around game and found a way to get several pretty easy looks. I’m not sure if he’s ever going to be a major offensive initiator - he seems like a guy who can post double digits by cleaning up slop consistently.
Liked Teske’s game too.
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I think Coach was really frustrated with Teske failing to take the ball up strong on a possession in the first half. He got blocked and Coach immediately got Moe back up. Teske then scored before Moe could get in the game, but it’s an issue Teske has to work on. Coach B’s reaction tells me it’s a point of emphasis with his young big man.
Livers seems to have plateaued as a starter. He hasn’t done much in the six games he’s started. He was great for that 3 game stretch before he started vs. MSU but maybe he was just hot and playing over his head. Those games appear to be the outlier when you look at his season as a whole. Not that he’s been bad recently but he’s just not making that much of an impact. Amazing that he’s only attempted 3 FT’s all season. They all came in one game vs. Alabama A&M.
I think we will see more of that Rahk/Poole backcourt the rest of the season. You just can’t rely on Simmons or Brooks to play when Simpson is out. Brooks hasn’t scored a point since the Detroit game 6 weeks ago.
Pretty clear we are a much better 2nd half team. We get off to such slow starts almost every game. Fortunately, we have been able to hold teams down enough so that when we do get it going in the 2nd half, the game is well within reach.