Stetson game comments

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BevoMDCXVIII

100+ Posts
AJ Abrams is not looking like our next great point guard. He is lighting up the score board which is great but we need to find a point guard and badly.

Also Varez Ward reallty needs to work on free throws.

Rebounding should be our strength but with under 6 minutes to go in an exhibition game a +2 margin isn't a good sign.

Not good omens so far.

Gary Johnson, Damion James and Connor Atchley look like they are picking up where last year ended...a good thing.
 
must say... if we can work big dex more into the game, we're going to be pretty good. how do you defend this guy?
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I didn't see the game but Balbay will be our PG at some point. Looks like we fouled a lot in the first half and turned the ball over.

We shot lights out though...except from the FT line. Weird when we shoot better from 2 and 3 then the free throw line. I can't wait to see the next game. Did GJ look more polished offensively?
 
I missed the first 10 minutes or so, but here are my thoughts on the rest of the game.

- Dex was looking good.
- Alexis needs to bring his elbows in more on the rebounds. Seems like he gets too many high elbow calls and it's probably due partly to his long wing span.
- Connor looked confident stroking the threes
- Varez made a couple of nice passes
- Free Throws apparently aren't free

Overall, good first game. Lot of people played and I'm sure Rick will find things to improve on for each player based on tonight's game.

Main point of note - how much Dex played. He seemed winded, but still okay at the end of a lot of minutes. This bodes well.
 
Free throws......aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!

A.J. still has that sweet shot. PG, he only had 1 assist but I'm not sure if anyone can supplant him. His defense looked better.

Damien James is going to excel to the point he'll be gone after this year.
 
I think Mason may be the answer at point. It's not AJ. And yes, Dexy played great. Rick said in his postgame interview that if he can keep laying defense the way he did tonight, his role on this team will continue to expand.
 
I liked what I saw, even with the bad free throw shooting and some bad ball handling in the first half.

Only three (?) second-half TOs and improved shooting.

Defense was there all night.

They won by 30. Hard to complain about that.
 
didn't get to watch...can anyone give an insight into who handled the PG duties? maybe percentage of trips/time handling?
 
My comments:
1. AJ can shoot the ball.
2. Atchley can shoot the 3.
3. Nobody can keep Dex from getting position when he wants it. He should play until he fouls out every game.
4. Mason is a nice player when you can get him to attack the basket.
5. Damian didn't have his best game, but he is still a match up nightmare.
6. Gary, athletic but really needs to develop at the #3 to make room for the big guys.
7. Ward, ...uh... not a very good start.
8. Chapman, Hill, and Wangmene can all provide a few minutes.

Nothing like shooting 54% and beating a team like 68-38 and feeling like we could have played better.
 
I actually liked what I saw from Ward. He had trouble finishing today... and can't shoot free throws apparently, but he made some nice moves to get to the basket. I'll chalk it up to first game jitters. He'll be contributing sooner rather than later.

Offense didn't execute well in the first half. They played much better in the second half. Part of this is due to the strange rotations we were running. Clearly Barnes was just experimenting this game. Hell, Connor barely played. Hill still has a long ways to go. If Dex can keep out of foul trouble, he looks to be a force this year. He literally threw his guy to the side to get position right under the basket. For some reason it took us 20 seconds to give him the ball, and it took 2 tries for him to dunk the ball, but I think our offense is going to start to look for Dex more and more often.
 
Wonderful defensive effort.

Damion and Mason did not improve on offense in the off season as much as has been reported (but it is just the first game). Dex's drop step move is really rapid, very impressive. He is still too heavy to run or jump explosively. He got a rebound per 3 minutes played, which was bested only by Gary's rebound per 2.5 minutes played.

The team did not look real smooth offensively. It will be interesting to see what happens at point guard. Seems like Mason might be a better fit than Abrams.
 
1. PG will be taken over by a very athletic Dogus Balbay on Tuesday.
2. A.J. started where he left off last year.
3. Damion looks comfortable at the move to the 3.
4. Dex looks improved on offense but we must get him the ball in the low post.
5. Mace still looks a little hesitant to go to the basket. He must be aggressive and go and finish.
6. Varez Ward impressed me overall. Yes he struggled from the line, but keep in mind it was his first game in front of more than a few hundred people.
7. Conner from 3 point land was comforting.
8. GJ had a few nice boards.

Overall a nice start for the Horns. Struggled from the line but other than that can't really complain too much. Look forward to see Dogus play on Tuesday.

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GoHornsGo:

Let's assume that you are correct and Balbay takes over PG.

Does that mean the horns go to a 3 guard lineup? I can't see Barnes starting Balbay over either Mason or Abrams. I guess that Barnes is going to try to play Damion at small forward as much as possible (since that is the position he will be playing in the NBA next year).

What do you think?
 
Varez Ward was written up to be a 80% ft shooter during his recruitment to Cincinnati. I couldn't tell if his mechanics were messed up because the TexasSports.TV stream looked like stop action animation played back at 2/3 speed.

I'm hoping it was just first game hiccups.
 
Of all the players on the team, for me, Mason is the most interesting because I can't quite figure him out. He can do a little bit of everything well but he doesn't seem to do anything outstanding. He has those nights where he's on the verge of a triple double and then *poof*...nothing for a couple games.
 
Why is everyone complaining about AJ' s display as a PG. Ya, I admit, he played MUCH more of a SG role than a PG role, but isn't Dogus Balbay our starting PG? Maybe I'm wrong, but I could've SWORN that his skill level would have put him starting PG w/ Ward competing. Last I recall, he's been suspended for the first three games due to playing in Turkey, however, so that is reason enough that we didn't see him on the court today.

Again, someone correct me if I'm wrong..
 
Well, if you insist...... You're Wrong !!!
It's only 1 game, so he'll be back Tuesday.

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HOOK 'EM,
Texdoc
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As for Varez's FT troubles, he seemed to have nice form, nothing funky or "wrong" about it, just probably had nerves. He had nice one handed tip-in rebound dunk very late in the game.

AJ has no conscience. He ended at 21 after 2 FT's but was on 19 pts. early in the 2nd half. You could tell that sometimes he just wanted to run up and chuck it up there because he was the only one scoring with any consistency. He actually did a good job not doin that though and running the offense. No drop off from AJ. He and Damion are All-Big XII and dare i say, All-American candidates. If heavy favorite Griffin doesn't do enough, or OU doesn't win enough, I would have to think that Aj or DJ as Conference POY (if it were to happen) would have to be a 1st team AA.

Damion- Wasn't extremely aggresive on offense, thus the "so-so" (for Damion anyways) performance. he only shot one or 2 threes, missed both, but his mid-range game is sick. Mid-range in the NBA and college is 2 different things. Whereas 18 feet is "mid-range" in the NBA, it's damn near a three in college, even moreso last year. Damion has NBA mid-range accuracy like a mofo. I made a comment that AJ's 3's and Damion's mid-range shots looked more effortless than lay-ups, like they could do them in a coma.

Gary has a nice college mid-range game, his 10-13 footers look kind of awkward but seem to touch nothing but net more often than not. He'll need to get better away from the basket to be a real factor this year. he seems to always want to post up and make post moves and drive from not far out, or if not then just the mid-range J right when he gets the ball. It works okay against weaker opponents, but he doesn't seem to have the mentality of someone with a wing player's body like him.


J-Mase- I have a good feeling that this guy will be huge for us later in the year and in big games. Someone posted earlier that he has great games and then disappears but more often than not those great games come in the biggest games, especially when you factor in his dirty work, his rebounding, his clutch shots, his defense on the ball, his tenacity. He is a gamer and the kind of guy you MUST have to win a championship. I don't usually throw around the term "glue-guy", but he does all the little things that make a huge difference. Is it just me or does it feel like he's been here for 8 years? His D will continue to be more than solid, and his best games will be our most important games when we need leaders to step up.

Sexy Dexi- He couldn't breathe w/o being called for a foul tonight. If he stays out of foul trouble he will end up in the NBA. If Big Baby can do it, so can Dex. In the post game Rick Barnes was pretty ademant that Dex has a really good shot that we just haven't seen it yet. He said similar things about Kenton Paulino, Connor, and most notably Daniel Gibson, so I hope to see that from Dex one day. You just cannot out rebound him when he has position. Potential to be another one of Rick Barnes/Todd Wright's transformation projects that becomes more than he would have at any other school.

Connor- sat out much of first half with minor injury but returned in midseason form. Offense started clicking with Connor on the court. Perfect night from deep. Exactly what i wanted to see. I'm expecting big things.


I honestly don't think that Doj (that's just how I spell his names cuz that's how it's pronounced) will be a starter for much of the season. GJ isn't ready to start yet, and we need Mason on the floor to begin the game. GJ didn't even start, freakin Chapman did. Mason has to be on the court for 34 or more minutes a game, and a lineup with AJ, Doj, and Mason would be too small for some teams. However, the lineup of Mason, James, GJ, Connor, and Dex is a long athletic lineup, and one of many lineups we saw tonight. A few people on this thread have not given enough credit to Dex. because of phantom fouls he didn't play much but he will be a force, and both my dad and I noted that he seemed more agile and much more willing to hustle his *** off down the court a la LaMarcus, and trust me, when he does that, our guards try to get him the ball and reward him. He's like a kid in a candy store when he runs down court and is one on one with his back to the basket. His eyes get as big as saucers he looks like a dog who's about to be fed when he's begging for the ball so that he can dominate whatever poor soul is assigned to guard him. He needs to not put the ball on the floor when he gets it, it's counterproductive, but other than that i expect pretty big things.

All in all, hey UCLA bafrely beat Miami of Ohio at Pauley pavilion in game one, once the 2nd half of Big XII play and post season play comes around if we are healthy we can do big things. That is all for now.
 
There are some really picky things being said in this thread.

While I had a few complaints....Every year there are complaints and worries after the first couple games against competition like Stetson. In fact I remember being quite worried after last years start...and then we went on and beat UCLA in Los Angeles.

The only person I am really concerned about is Dex. Has he just maxed out? We all thought when he lost weight and got stronger he would be a force because even at 350 he seemed athletic....It just doesnt seem to be there though and Rick seems to agree based on playing time (not talking about the fouls.)

That's Right....Good comment on Damien and Gary's mid-range game. During the game I was thinking how awesome Damien has become at taking a couple dribbles and taking the jumper. You don't even see pros do that. If he can consistently do that he is going to be a monster. And if Gary continues to hit the 10-15 foot jumper we are going to create a lot of room inside for penetration.

Anyway...Thank for the season is here!!!

What is up with BCG?!?!!?
 
No...I did not go the game because I'm not in the area. Instead I sat in front of my computer watching a tiny grainy video on my screen on a Friday night as opposed to going out and having fun with friends.

I swear...When people don't agree with your opinion you automatically become one of the most antagonistic people on this website.
 
Okay, well you made an obviously uninformed post, saying things that made no sense to someone who actually saw the game. Sorry bro, but I get pissed when I hear UT fans saying stuff that makes no sense. I had UT fan say to me after the FAU game that "if we play like that against Arkansas we'll get killed."
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Your post made it sound as if you have given up on Dexter and that in your opinion Rick agrees, obviously, because of the lack of PT.
That's just the way I am. I get hot quick, and don't take this the wrong way, I'm not necesarily talking about you, this is first post of yours I ever remember seeing, but people who just talk out of their *** piss me off to no end. Everyone has pet peeves. That's mine. Or one of them.
And, if I feel like someone has an opinion but has zero idea what they are talking about then I will call them out. That's just the way it is.



And GhG, you were all alone on that thread, nobody agreed with what you were saying. Your post made zero sense, read the above for an explination.
 
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