Excited to see the team so much that I actually watched the exhibition game on BTN+ last night (replay). A few thoughts:
Going to be a fun season. Love the starting lineup. Think our length will hide some of our defensive issues against great teams. We will struggle against very quick PGs and true post threats (e.g., Purdue).
- Rebraca is really improved. Looks like potential All-B1G level player (think third team not first). Completely different player in better shape and with tenacity.
- Sandfort is amazing, we know this. I'm worried about this defense (lateral quickness).
- Kris is Kris, looks great. 3 ball wasn't falling as well as he would have wanted. But everything looked great. Probably made some shots that he couldn't make against elite level teams, but whatever he saw the mismatch and took it.
- Freshmen. Bowen looks good, but will need a season to adjust to the physicality and develop some better dribble drive moves (think adjustments). He got stuck against a smaller team a few times on dribble drives and looked lost. One time he did adjust and found Rebraca for an easy assist. His jumper looks clean, but needs games reps / confidence to flourish. Josh Dix looked really good. Even looked athletic. I like TK's comparison to Adam Haluska. I think that's pretty spot on, with Dix maybe being a better shooter long-term.
- Mulvey. Just doesn't fit athletically or skill wise. Seems like a great kid. Definitely has more talent than Garza. But Garza had the elite work ethic, so talent was irrelevant.
- Josh O looked pretty okay. He can give us 7-12 minutes a game. He played terrible defense a few times and just left his man to double or go to the ball. However, offensively he had soft touch and knew his limitations (not shooting jumpers). He will help us on the boards. We will need him against Purdue.
- Connor looks like our 6th man / floor general. Excited about this final year.
- Patrick looked a little rusty or nervous. Just wasn't fluid like he normally is / will be. He's definitely our "worst" starter at the moment. But it was more than just his shot not falling, he needs to take more high percentage shots (three balls were wide open, they were fine, but off-balance jumpers / floaters need to be curtailed).
- Fun to watch Kingsbury hit a few threes. Very smooth stroke. If he can defend at all, he could see some small minutes as a three point threat (like Ash in weird situations).
- Almost forgot Perkins. Absolute stud. He's special (more mentality than overall skill level). Jump shot looks improved / confidence still high. Fun player and just a hooper.
- Probably forgetting some guys, but that's what sticks out.
Going to be a fun season. Love the starting lineup. Think our length will hide some of our defensive issues against great teams. We will struggle against very quick PGs and true post threats (e.g., Purdue).
