There's good and bad in every game (regardless of win or loss).
Good
- I thought for all the turnovers and offensive miscues Moses had in the 1st half, he redeemed himself with great energy and presence, especially defensively, in the 2nd half. There was a stretch where NCSU had trouble getting anything up inside with Banks and Moses there. I think that gave us a little spark.
- Devoe is picking up where he left of last year shooting the ball from deep. He's a finesse player and should look to develop a floater or learn to use his body better when going to the cup, but the guy makes some really good moves and tough shots.
- Everybody's effort was excellent - Moore, Banks, Alvarado, etc. The question is can we keep that same intensity in games where the crowd and opponent (skill-wise) are smaller, see: Elon on Monday.
- CJP's awareness to get out of the zone and pressure the ball in man in the first half as opposed to staying in it and letting them bury us with 3's was a great adjustment. Not sure it would have been as effective if MJ was active, but certainly worked last night.
Development Opportunities
- Jose doesn't play like a guy with 2 full seasons under his belt. With 5.5 left in regulation, there's no way you should settle for a 30 footer that doesn't draw iron. And again with 10 seconds left in OT, the shot he takes is a transition 3 with 1 teammate under the basket? And he picks up his 4th foul with 10 min left in the game - I just think he's an emotional player, which is great if you can harness that, but sometimes he gets so caught up in the moment that he forgets the situation and makes careless decisions. We need for him to be a smart basketball player in all scenarios, especially as a junior.
- 18 assists to 18 turnovers - that's not going to get it done. Moses had 5 (FIVE!) TOs in 23 minutes.
- Keep playing with pace - halfcourt offense struggled at times last night, especially when we couldn't get the ball inside. We looked pretty good in transition and got some easy buckets before the defense was able to get set - I'd like to see us keep pushing the ball and leveraging our athleticism.
Overall, awesome win and a great feeling to be 1-0 not only overall but also in the league. This team will only get better, esp when Usher joins in mid-December. I'm also looking forward to Bubba getting more comfortable in the offense and becoming a little more aggressive.