My wife, little girl and I went to Disney for a couple of days and I was able to go to the first two. I also went to Atlantis a couple of years ago. Holiday tourneys are a blast for several reasons. The arenas are smaller, there's usually not many people there, you can have GREAT seats(see action up close)and you can see 3(in my case two each time) games. No crowds to fight. The fact that it's early in the season there's excitement over new players... Anyway I highly recommend it if you ever have the chance.
Anyway here are my thoughts after 4 games:
The team is better than I thought, slightly. I'm impressed we gutted out the win over Clemson. You can tell many of the guys are new and inexperienced the way they over celebrated some of their baskets, which is ok. But still you can tell. Guys like James and Odomes. I love our team but it was gutwrenching watching us lose to UNI. We physically and athletically dominated them for most of the game, then fell apart. The turnovers were utterly ridiculous. I sure hope our guards and wings improve handling the ball and have better court awareness. Love our depth and athleticism. Need to grow some balls in certain situations and more toughness. Here's my synopsis of each guy so far..
Woodard- Improved jump shot from 3 and mid range. Wish he'd handle pressure a little better sometimes.
Odomes- Obviously needs improved shot but loved his UNI game. Has decent handles for his size, but still sometimes careless with the ball. Good rebounder, and can score. Good defense. After the first game I was wondering if McGusty should replace him but I like his physical presence in there. Wish he'd go to his right at least some. Needs confidence.
James- CJ is a big, physical guard who has great confidence. You can tell he wants to be good. Great 3ball so far but needs to finish layups. Great hops. Great rebounding guard.
Doolittle- I think Doolittle has the potential to be the best overall player on the team. He was so steady in there on defense. Why they didn't put him back on Carlson of UNI in the second half is beyond me. Doo shut him down in the first half. Doolittle not only has a physically strong presence but great hops and lateral quickness for his size. And he seems to understand where to be. His shot is silky smooth and very underrated. He has 3 range. He needs to be much more of an offensive focal point in my opinion.
Lattin- Khadeem now has a midrange game which really helped against Clemson. Needs to improve in traffic down low. Love his athleticism of course.
Freeman- At first I wasn't sold on Matt as I thought he'd be a one trick pony(outside shooting). And he is very good at that. Like Ada said in another thread he isn't the most athletic but he's athletic enough. I was really impressed by his court awareness, passing, defensive communication. Things I never would have pegged him for. Sometimes when backups come in there's a huge dropoff but I think he'll be a real player. I am really impressed with Freeman. He has good confidence too.
McGusty- After the first two games of the tourney that I saw I was wondering when/if he'd assert himself. Well the Clemson game was great and hopefully a coming out party for him. Once his body catches up watch out. Love his outside stroke but also his body control and finishing ability. Not enough of a sample to comment on defense/rebounding.
Strong- Didn't do too much in the games that i saw but looked good against Clemson. Good handles and 3 point shot. Before the Tulane game the guys were putting on a dunking exhibition and I was surprised at Strong's ups. He is pretty athletic. I thing he compares favorably to Walker because of his handles and overall athleticism. 3balls will help too.
Shepherd- Seems like he'll be good. I'll say this... That cat can JUMP. I had no idea how he could elevate. Crazy in those same pregame warmups.
McNeace- Had some buckets in the Tulane game and rebounded well. Hoping for continued improvement and physicality. Like his emerging game.
Like I said we should have beaten UNI but nobody would step up, and that is what is going to have to happen for this team to get where everyone wants. I can see them jumping on some Big 12 teams on the road and getting us all excited, only to blow the lead. A few guys need to show some balls and want the ball in crunch time. Not just stand around and watch Woodard.. Have some confidence. And Lon needs to draw something up besides Woodard or Strong dribbling around in circles while the 4 other guys stand there and watch. They are awfully young so hopefully that will come in time. Anyway, fun tournament, already a fun start to the season!
Anyway here are my thoughts after 4 games:
The team is better than I thought, slightly. I'm impressed we gutted out the win over Clemson. You can tell many of the guys are new and inexperienced the way they over celebrated some of their baskets, which is ok. But still you can tell. Guys like James and Odomes. I love our team but it was gutwrenching watching us lose to UNI. We physically and athletically dominated them for most of the game, then fell apart. The turnovers were utterly ridiculous. I sure hope our guards and wings improve handling the ball and have better court awareness. Love our depth and athleticism. Need to grow some balls in certain situations and more toughness. Here's my synopsis of each guy so far..
Woodard- Improved jump shot from 3 and mid range. Wish he'd handle pressure a little better sometimes.
Odomes- Obviously needs improved shot but loved his UNI game. Has decent handles for his size, but still sometimes careless with the ball. Good rebounder, and can score. Good defense. After the first game I was wondering if McGusty should replace him but I like his physical presence in there. Wish he'd go to his right at least some. Needs confidence.
James- CJ is a big, physical guard who has great confidence. You can tell he wants to be good. Great 3ball so far but needs to finish layups. Great hops. Great rebounding guard.
Doolittle- I think Doolittle has the potential to be the best overall player on the team. He was so steady in there on defense. Why they didn't put him back on Carlson of UNI in the second half is beyond me. Doo shut him down in the first half. Doolittle not only has a physically strong presence but great hops and lateral quickness for his size. And he seems to understand where to be. His shot is silky smooth and very underrated. He has 3 range. He needs to be much more of an offensive focal point in my opinion.
Lattin- Khadeem now has a midrange game which really helped against Clemson. Needs to improve in traffic down low. Love his athleticism of course.
Freeman- At first I wasn't sold on Matt as I thought he'd be a one trick pony(outside shooting). And he is very good at that. Like Ada said in another thread he isn't the most athletic but he's athletic enough. I was really impressed by his court awareness, passing, defensive communication. Things I never would have pegged him for. Sometimes when backups come in there's a huge dropoff but I think he'll be a real player. I am really impressed with Freeman. He has good confidence too.
McGusty- After the first two games of the tourney that I saw I was wondering when/if he'd assert himself. Well the Clemson game was great and hopefully a coming out party for him. Once his body catches up watch out. Love his outside stroke but also his body control and finishing ability. Not enough of a sample to comment on defense/rebounding.
Strong- Didn't do too much in the games that i saw but looked good against Clemson. Good handles and 3 point shot. Before the Tulane game the guys were putting on a dunking exhibition and I was surprised at Strong's ups. He is pretty athletic. I thing he compares favorably to Walker because of his handles and overall athleticism. 3balls will help too.
Shepherd- Seems like he'll be good. I'll say this... That cat can JUMP. I had no idea how he could elevate. Crazy in those same pregame warmups.
McNeace- Had some buckets in the Tulane game and rebounded well. Hoping for continued improvement and physicality. Like his emerging game.
Like I said we should have beaten UNI but nobody would step up, and that is what is going to have to happen for this team to get where everyone wants. I can see them jumping on some Big 12 teams on the road and getting us all excited, only to blow the lead. A few guys need to show some balls and want the ball in crunch time. Not just stand around and watch Woodard.. Have some confidence. And Lon needs to draw something up besides Woodard or Strong dribbling around in circles while the 4 other guys stand there and watch. They are awfully young so hopefully that will come in time. Anyway, fun tournament, already a fun start to the season!
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