12/16: GT vs. Penn State at The Garden

[MtnWasp]

The way we finished the game took a lot of luster off that win for me. We faded pretty badly, I thought our players (except for Ndongo) were really gassed and no veteran stepped up to make a big shot to avoid OT.

But there was plenty of good during that game, the bad finish notwithstanding.

Stoudamire has talked about the mental toughness to play through fatigue. The best thing that I saw from GT that entire game was Ndongo playing through obvious fatigue and making big plays. That is the kind of competitive stamina that champions are made of. If he becomes more consistent, watch out!

Gapare had a game come together for him, where the skills were not out of sync and resulted in production. Will we see other games like that? If we can get Ndongo and Gapare to play consistently good ball, then we could have something.

Sturdivant had a good shooting night except at the end of the game. He was showing some B.J. Elder-esque moves out there last night.

Coleman looks, finally, to be having a good time out there. I think he has found a role that fits him, as a complimentary player. I still don't know why he is missing wide open threes. He would help the team so much to make those. The combo of Coleman and Reeves on the wing is a strength.

It is also time for Kelly to heat-up from the perimeter. He's hitting the boards, he is driving the ball. We need a better percentage from three.

I continue to be bullish on George. I love PGs who play with their heads-up all the time. He reminds me of a bigger Alvarado.

As for Abram, I think Stoudamire is going all in to either get the kid to think like a team basketball player or drive him out of the program trying to do it.

 

[alagold]

We won that game with REBOUNDING.Not only during the game but also at end.You get rebs by effort ,athleticism and then size.We now have that it seems.It also shows in the 3 pt def.
Now the shooting and ball-handling must improve. Not a good team but a dangerous one (ask dook) that will get better as they mature.

 

[forensicbuzz]

17 turnovers. Ndongo & Coleman combined for 0
of them. Nait George is really an unheralded HS senior. He is going to continue to make errors. CDS obviously found a hidden gem. Just needs a lot of polish that will come the more games he plays. He certainly plays with a confident attitude. This team is fun to watch even when they stumble during games

Everyone keeps saying he should be a senior. He shouldn't. He reclassified from '23 to '24 because he was going to come to the US for a prep year to get more exposure to colleges. When GT offered, he reclassified back to his original class. He's right where he should be.

 

[orientalnc]

The way we finished the game took a lot of luster off that win for me. We faded pretty badly, I thought our players (except for Ndongo) were really gassed and no veteran stepped up to make a big shot to avoid OT.

But there was plenty of good during that game, the bad finish notwithstanding.

Stoudamire has talked about the mental toughness to play through fatigue. The best thing that I saw from GT that entire game was Ndongo playing through obvious fatigue and making big plays. That is the kind of competitive stamina that champions are made of. If he becomes more consistent, watch out!

Gapare had a game come together for him, where the skills were not out of sync and resulted in production. Will we see other games like that? If we can get Ndongo and Gapare to play consistently good ball, then we could have something.

Sturdivant had a good shooting night except at the end of the game. He was showing some B.J. Elder-esque moves out there last night.

Coleman looks, finally, to be having a good time out there. I think he has found a role that fits him, as a complimentary player. I still don't know why he is missing wide open threes. He would help the team so much to make those. The combo of Coleman and Reeves on the wing is a strength.

It is also time for Kelly to heat-up from the perimeter. He's hitting the boards, he is driving the ball. We need a better percentage from three.

I continue to be bullish on George. I love PGs who play with their heads-up all the time. He reminds me of a bigger Alvarado.

As for Abram, I think Stoudamire is going all in to either get the kid to think like a team basketball player or drive him out of the program trying to do it.

This reply is not directed at you specifically, so I apologize if it seems that way.

Our veterans, including Reeves, were in the game late in regulation (from about the 3 minute mark on). Kyle made a 2-point shot to take back the lead. He also had two turnovers. Kelly had a turnover. Reeves was fouled and shot FTs. But, the reality is we are not significantly better than PSU. They also had a say in what happened in the final minutes of the game. Their defense was trying to keep Kelly from getting the ball in situations where he could beat them. They were also trying to make every pass a risky pass. That's smart basketball.

Bodies get tired playing 30+ minutes of basketball at this level. It's even harder when the game is even and competitive. But, tired is not the same as fatigued. Every player on the floor late in the game was tired. Our guys no moreso than the PSU players. Tired players are not better shooters. That was a tough game for both teams. It was a great game for GT fans because we won. The PSU fans think they were robbed.

As for Abram, his play is why he is not getting more minutes. Also, the play of his teammates. I believe he expected to come in and be the guy at PG. He probably saw Kyle as much less talented and not as athletic. The fact of his status on the bench is likely a genuine disappointment. He may be dealing with a hit to his pride to have a lightly recruited freshman playing 30 minutes at PG while he was demoted to the bench. Guys who feel they deserve more playing time have choices.

I think we all want our better shooters to begin hitting shots with more frequency. But our desire for that is no more than theirs.

 

[Root4GT]

A 2nd watching brought out these points:

When we needed to defend late in OT, CDS went with no PG: Coleman, Gapare, Ndongo, Kelly, and Reeves. When we needed to score, George replaced Gapare. That "defending" lineup also finished the regulation.
I am interested in CDS' reasons for starting Dowuona. He is not getting a bunch of minutes. He started the 2nd half, played about three minues and warmed his seat for the rest of the game.
It looks like Abram is now Kelly's backup. They spent no time on the court together yesterday. Except for some brief spells in the 2nd half, one or the other played every minute.
George and Sturdivant played together some yesterday, but CDS' plan to have two PGs on the floor yesterday was not really a factor.
We ought to be getting more FTs than we are. Neither of our PGs went to the line yesterday. Not once.
Deebo didn't show much in the stats, but he played a really nice game yesterday. Same wiith Claude, who kept Wahab off the boards with his strength. He is also such a different player that Ndongo. I like the contraast. Deebo was playing almost mistake free basketball.
This may have been Ndongo's best game. There was one stretch where he owned the lane with his athleticism and quickness.

On the defensive lineup when Clay hit the short jumper to give enn State a 1 point lead near the end of OT he was being guarded by Coleman. That was a very bad matchup as Clay is lizard quick and easily penetrated to get to just inside the foul line for an uncontested 10 foot shot. I am not sure we had anyone with the quickness to guard Clay on the court then.

 

[Root4GT]

The way we finished the game took a lot of luster off that win for me. We faded pretty badly, I thought our players (except for Ndongo) were really gassed and no veteran stepped up to make a big shot to avoid OT.

But there was plenty of good during that game, the bad finish notwithstanding.

Stoudamire has talked about the mental toughness to play through fatigue. The best thing that I saw from GT that entire game was Ndongo playing through obvious fatigue and making big plays. That is the kind of competitive stamina that champions are made of. If he becomes more consistent, watch out!

Gapare had a game come together for him, where the skills were not out of sync and resulted in production. Will we see other games like that? If we can get Ndongo and Gapare to play consistently good ball, then we could have something.

Sturdivant had a good shooting night except at the end of the game. He was showing some B.J. Elder-esque moves out there last night.

Coleman looks, finally, to be having a good time out there. I think he has found a role that fits him, as a complimentary player. I still don't know why he is missing wide open threes. He would help the team so much to make those. The combo of Coleman and Reeves on the wing is a strength.

It is also time for Kelly to heat-up from the perimeter. He's hitting the boards, he is driving the ball. We need a better percentage from three.

I continue to be bullish on George. I love PGs who play with their heads-up all the time. He reminds me of a bigger Alvarado.

As for Abram, I think Stoudamire is going all in to either get the kid to think like a team basketball player or drive him out of the program trying to do it.

You can see the team lacks confidence in a couple of areas. Handling pressure full court, as CDS said in his post game presser you have to attack when yo brake the press and we did not attack. Reeves struggled inbounding the ball. He acted like he couldn't move off the spot after a bade basket. I suspect that will improve as the season move along. Penn State's guards were quicker than our guards which caused several turnovers.

Gapare and Ndongo showed that they both have very high upsides. It's not likely at this point we see that on a nightly basis but they are both very inexperienced players so I am very encouraged by their play.

The 2 PG set with George and Sturdivant was a disaster. The team basically all stood around and looked clueless. I understand why CDS wanted Kyle in the game but he did not help at all with the pressure late in the game. Coleman was very good vs the pressure. He is big enough to be a good target for passes and he is very solid with the ball, virtually never turns it over.

I loved the last play for a shot in OT. Great pass from George to Ndongo and even better pass to a wide open Reeves for a 3. I suspect he hits that shot is it comes about again. As Ndongo matures he also could have finishes at the rim as I believe he had Puff Johnson guarding him. He can easily overpower guys like Puff.

Really good win for the guys. Kelly will find his stroke.

 

[Jacketman99]

Kyle had a poor ball handling game. He had 5 turnovers in only 14 minutes. That cannot happen from your 5th year senior pg. The team struggled against the press but it I really hard to simulate that in practice. Add in the fact that 2 of the 5 players on the floor were true freshmen. George will learn to not run to the corner to receive an inbounds. Glad to see his shot start falling yesterday. He is exactly what this team needed. Yesterday showed why CDS was so high on Gapare in his preseason comments. He has a high ceiling. Really excited about his development.
It was good to see us win with Kelly struggling from the floor. If he starts shooting the ball anywhere near his numbers from last year we can be a really dangerous team.
Ndongo is a beast. 19 rebounds? He gives us so much in rebounding and on defense. At times he just looks like the best player on the floor.
Shoutout to Reeves, who I think has been our unsung hero so far this season. He has been a model of consistency for us. I really like seeing him being aggressive on offense.
A lot to clean up especially with turnovers. However, it is always good to get a w away from home. Love seeing these young guys develop.

 

[forensicbuzz]

It's going to be really interesting to see how CDS keeps this team together from year-to-year. With NIL $ out there and the option to go pro, the dynamics of managing the roster is going to be very difficult.

 

[Root4GT]

It's going to be really interesting to see how CDS keeps this team together from year-to-year. With NIL $ out there and the option to go pro, the dynamics of managing the roster is going to be very difficult.

Good problems to have vice not having ACC caliber players!

 

[okiemon]

Kyle had a poor ball handling game. He had 5 turnovers in only 14 minutes. That cannot happen from your 5th year senior pg. The team struggled against the press but it I really hard to simulate that in practice. Add in the fact that 2 of the 5 players on the floor were true freshmen. George will learn to not run to the corner to receive an inbounds. Glad to see his shot start falling yesterday. He is exactly what this team needed. Yesterday showed why CDS was so high on Gapare in his preseason comments. He has a high ceiling. Really excited about his development.
It was good to see us win with Kelly struggling from the floor. If he starts shooting the ball anywhere near his numbers from last year we can be a really dangerous team.
Ndongo is a beast. 19 rebounds? He gives us so much in rebounding and on defense. At times he just looks like the best player on the floor.
Shoutout to Reeves, who I think has been our unsung hero so far this season. He has been a model of consistency for us. I really like seeing him being aggressive on offense.
A lot to clean up especially with turnovers. However, it is always good to get a w away from home. Love seeing these young guys develop.

Agree with your comments about Kyle’s game yesterday. Hopefully that was a one-off game, but he seems to have a penchant for making lazy passes that are easy to pick off, or handing off when the guy he’s handing the ball to has a defender right in his face.

 

[TechPhi97]

This team is better than we have been in a long time and have a long way to our ceiling.

This. Very encouraging. I’ve lost interest in GT basketball over the past 3-4 years because the play was so boring. The games I’ve watched this year have rekindled my interest because the guys CDS brought in just seem like they have higher basketball IQ across the board. The athleticism of some of these guys is amazing. Agree that the upside seems much higher. Granted too many turnovers, but it’s not surprising with basically having to rebuild an entire roster.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Good problems to have vice not having ACC caliber players!

I was at dinner with a colleague the other night and there was a pro basketball game on the TV over their shoulder so I could see it indirectly as I was talking to him. Not really paying attention to the game but subconsciously taking in the patterns being formed by the motion of the players on the court, it caught my eye and I focused on the game for a minute. The spacing, the ball movement, the motion offense being ran was exactly what I'm seeing GT do now. CDS has installed a PRO motion offense and these kids are learning exactly what they will be doing at the next level, if they make it. The Pros are going to get to see these guys in the same offense they'll be running in the Pros, which takes some of the guess work out of evaluation. I think kids will flock to GT for that type of exposure.

 

[MtnWasp]

Bodies get tired playing 30+ minutes of basketball at this level. It's even harder when the game is even and competitive. But, tired is not the same as fatigued. Every player on the floor late in the game was tired. Our guys no moreso than the PSU players. Tired players are not better shooters. That was a tough game for both teams. It was a great game for GT fans because we won. The PSU fans think they were robbed.

That is not what I saw.

Penn State was able to implement full court pressure to make up a deficit at the end of regulation. They exerted and played with more energy than we did at the end of regulation. Our shooting percentage dipped in each period. Our rebounding, especially offensive rebounding, similarly dipped.

I attributed our relative fatigue to the fact that we had 8 days off and were coming off exams. Gt usually lays an egg the first game after exams. The fact that we came out strong is better than we usually do. We managed to make enough plays to pull it out, but we did fade.

 

[spdrama]

That is not what I saw.

Penn State was able to implement full court pressure to make up a deficit at the end of regulation. They exerted and played with more energy than we did at the end of regulation. Our shooting percentage dipped in each period. Our rebounding, especially offensive rebounding, similarly dipped.

I attributed our relative fatigue to the fact that we had 8 days off and were coming off exams. Gt usually lays an egg the first game after exams. The fact that we came out strong is better than we usually do. We managed to make enough plays to pull it out, but we did fade.

Also, according to Deebo Coleman’s mom, the team flew into NY late Friday, not arriving at their hotel until midnight to be game ready by noon.

 

[Root4GT]

That is not what I saw.

Penn State was able to implement full court pressure to make up a deficit at the end of regulation. They exerted and played with more energy than we did at the end of regulation. Our shooting percentage dipped in each period. Our rebounding, especially offensive rebounding, similarly dipped.

I attributed our relative fatigue to the fact that we had 8 days off and were coming off exams. Gt usually lays an egg the first game after exams. The fact that we came out strong is better than we usually do. We managed to make enough plays to pull it out, but we did fade.

We looked hesitant with the 2 PGs in the game. Got stagnant. Likely they weren’t sure who was going to initiate or play the off ball guard.

Likely something that is correctable with practice.

 

[78pike]

Our guys could benefit by faking their passes every now and then to bait the defender into moving with the fake and allowing our guy receiving the pass to slip by him and present for a much easier pass.

Also, where are the poster from earlier in the season that said these transfers we got were not ACC or P5 level talent? Gapare and Reeves have definitely shown they can hang with the big boys. And Downona gives us some minutes and doesn't hurt us when he is in the game because he understands and accepts his role as a pick and roll guy on offense but is primarily in there for his defense. Really the only transfer that has played below expectation to date is Abram but I still hold out hope that the light turns on for him and he becomes more of a contributor down the road.

Did anyone else see that when the game was on the line at the end of regulation and OT CDS had Gapare guarding the guy at the top of the key. And on offense he gives us that stretch 4 that we have been looking for that can hit the three and just as easily drive it to the hole and post up a shorter defender.

Ndongo reminds me of Lorela Cubai. He just has a nose for the ball and a desire to get every rebound. And then has the quickness to come from the Weakside to block a shot.

 

[Root4GT]

Our guys could benefit by faking their passes every now and then to bait the defender into moving with the fake and allowing our guy receiving the pass to slip by him and present for a much easier pass.

Also, where are the poster from earlier in the season that said these transfers we got were not ACC or P5 level talent? Gapare and Reeves have definitely shown they can hang with the big boys. And Downona gives us some minutes and doesn't hurt us when he is in the game because he understands and accepts his role as a pick and roll guy on offense but is primarily in there for his defense. Really the only transfer that has played below expectation to date is Abram but I still hold out hope that the light turns on for him and he becomes more of a contributor down the road.

Did anyone else see that when the game was on the line at the end of regulation and OT CDS had Gapare guarding the guy at the top of the key. And on offense he gives us that stretch 4 that we have been looking for that can hit the three and just as easily drive it to the hole and post up a shorter defender.

Ndongo reminds me of Lorela Cubai. He just has a nose for the ball and a desire to get every rebound. And then has the quickness to come from the Weakside to block a shot.

Who said they were not ACC caliber. I don’t recall that at sll

 

[spdrama]

Who said they were not ACC caliber. I don’t recall that at sll

I don’t remember that either. I think there might have been 1 post questioning whether Claude could play as well in the ACC.

 

[MtnWasp]

A shout-out to Penn State for being the best screening team I've seen in a while. It was one solid screen after another and our guys could only dip below the screen or switch. If they had some bigs who could score on a roll, they would have feaster on us.

 

[yjfan]

I didnt know where to mention this- but i see comments on our transfers-- has anyone seen that Jalon moore is playing well for an UNDEFEATED oklahoma team?