GT +8.5 @ NC State

[ChasonBaller]

Khalid Moore was a beast, the unsung hero. He got a huge steal late in regulation, he hustled to get the loose ball on that play late in overtime, then ran all the way back and got the rebound on the last play of the game. His heart, length, and athleticism are impressive.

Damn. I came to say exactly this lol

 

[gtpi]

III deserves his own replay...

 

[gt24]

A lot of positives. A lot of optimism for the season ahead. Saw real strengths right now from every player out there, plus future potential for more growth from all of them too.

Saw glimpses of more uptempo play. Saw better shooting. Saw a scrappy man-to-man defense with quick guards, athletic wings, and more than 1 rim protector.

I agree with what others have posted regarding lineups. Really like the flexibility of the roster. Potential to play big lineups, small lineups, and balanced lineups. In particular, as someone else noted, a lineup of Jose Mike Khalid Usher Banks is very intriguing. With Bubba giving Jose spells, and Moses giving Banks and Usher some rest. Should help Jose and Banks as the season grinds on into February and March.

I was very surprised, pleasantly surprised, that CJP went with Price so often and especially down the stretch in crucial moments. Against an ACC opponent this early, that speaks volumes about Price (and others), in my opinion. It was only one game, but already looks like an upgrade over Haywood.

The team help defense and rim protection in the 2nd half was beautiful many times.

Khalid had some very nice offensive and defensive possessions. More than just hustle and energy. Real skill and talent there. Not just an energy guy.

Devoe looks like a Top 150 kid who needed a year of seasoning followed by applying that new knowledge to offseason workouts before returning for a very nice sophomore year (and beyond). There are still areas for development, but he looked so much more confident and less hesitant than last year.

Last year we were dead when Jose and Banks got in foul trouble or ran out of gas. It appears that we have the depth and flexibility to manage those situations much better this year.

Hoping Bubba can play a role similar to Bynum - off the bench combo guard who can play PG, 2G, or in a 3G small-ball lineup. Bucket getter and spark plug, or veteran backup PG who can reliably run the show, depending on situation.

As for the slow start, I had a tough time identifying what the issue was beyond NCST was on fire. Some of that was because of them doing a nice job attacking the matchup zone for quality shots. Some of it was just making ridiculous shots vs solid defense. The switch to man defense helped, as did their PG going to the bench with his 3rd foul.

Turnovers were the main concern I saw, which was one of the main issues last year too I thought (along with depth and shooting last year).

 

[GT_EE78]

great to see Khalid have a solid game and all starters getting to double digits.
bench tossing in 7 pts over abt 50 minutes is a bit of concern but working out bugs is what Elon games are for.
I'm happy for now to have a starting lineup that is well set.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

NC State has a reputation as being a strong engineering school. Its the flagship engineering school for North Carolina. The Engineering school there is ranked #24 nationally. Obviously they have some junky programs too. But anyway, take a read at this:
https://247sports.com/college/north...ic-redshirt-year-in-2019-20-season-138105872/

One of NC State's basketball players is taking an "Academic Redshirt". He's been injured, and they've been appealing to the NCAA for him to be eligible...but his injury is lingering, so they're going to give up on the appeal and just redshirt him. What is an "Academic Redshirt"? It means he didn't qualify by the NCAA to be able to play college sports. That means he graduated with below a 2.3 in high school. This is the kind of crap we have to compete against in sports. Seabron was a 4-star top-125 guy nationally as a recruit. But can you imagine what The Hill would say if we asked for admissions for a guy with a sub 2.2 GPA coming out of high school? LOL
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/dereon-seabron-181681

 

[bob4gt]

Were the announcers the NC State announcers?
Moore did a great job denying Brice the ball once he started guarding him.

Bob

 

[gameface]

Thanks for bringing that up. I noticed more really hounding Bryce in the second half.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

This was also great for recruiting. We really need to land a good big man. James Banks showed out last night. He should get a shot in the league. Some of our other big men like Moses Wright played pretty well too. Remember that Wright was unrated when we offered him. UNRATED! Folks were incredulous that this guy was P5/ACC material. And look at what he's turned into. He's not the second coming of Jesus, but for a guy that was completely ignored in high school and not a single ratings service gave him a single star, that shows well on our staff for how they've developed him.

 

[gameface]

If I remember correctly; Wright had a growth spurt late in high school. He played guard most of his time. This is probably why he tries some of his old guard moves.

 

[MWBATL]

If I remember correctly; Wright had a growth spurt late in high school. He played guard most of his time. This is probably why he tries some of his old guard moves.

You mean like heaving up three pointers well beyond his effective range? (Sorry, he played great in the 2nd half, but this is one of my pet peeves about Moses....)

 

[Peacone36]

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.

I worry more about Moses keeping himself under control than Jose. We have Bubba backing up Jose so I say go full bore all the time. The shot selection is a valid point though.

 

[gtpi]

Damn. I came to say exactly th

Were the announcers the NC State announcers?
Moore did a great job denying Brice the ball once he started guarding him.

Bob

did you record the game? gtbob

 

[vamosjackets]

It's uploaded for the guy that's helping me while I've got a strike. He's been really good handling this. Hopefully the ACCN won't hassle him like they've hassled me.

Who's the guy helping you? How do we find it on Youtube?

 

[slugboy]

NC State has a reputation as being a strong engineering school. Its the flagship engineering school for North Carolina. The Engineering school there is ranked #24 nationally. Obviously they have some junky programs too. But anyway, take a read at this:
https://247sports.com/college/north...ic-redshirt-year-in-2019-20-season-138105872/

One of NC State's basketball players is taking an "Academic Redshirt". He's been injured, and they've been appealing to the NCAA for him to be eligible...but his injury is lingering, so they're going to give up on the appeal and just redshirt him. What is an "Academic Redshirt"? It means he didn't qualify by the NCAA to be able to play college sports. That means he graduated with below a 2.3 in high school. This is the kind of crap we have to compete against in sports. Seabron was a 4-star top-125 guy nationally as a recruit. But can you imagine what The Hill would say if we asked for admissions for a guy with a sub 2.2 GPA coming out of high school? LOL
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/dereon-seabron-181681

They’re also (kind of) the Ag school, even though there’s an A&M, and there are a lot of majors there.
Good engineering school—one of the best in the southeast for sure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tsrich]

They’re also (kind of) the Ag school, even though there’s an A&M, and there are a lot of majors there.
Good engineering school—one of the best in the southeast for sure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The engineering school there is about 1/3 the students. The profile outside of the engineering school is much more like any state school, including is a sizable school of education

 

[GTpdm]

Oh sh*t, flashback to before my mtrain days. Just read his post slowly, kg. I'm sure he's trying to communicate ... something ... oh no ... not again ...

I’ll have to remind myself never to go full-physics on you. It’d be like:

 

[g0lftime]

Devoe has really improved his ball handling this year. He is a really good player and may be the best we have. Banks has really stepped it up this year. We have some good talent on the court but we have to keep Banks out of foul trouble for defense. Moses is really improved but he needs to stay out of foul trouble. The ACC refs will call over the back fouls even if there is no contact. Just the way it is in this conference. The kid is a real athlete.

 

[GTJason]

I worry more about Moses keeping himself under control than Jose. We have Bubba backing up Jose so I say go full bore all the time. The shot selection is a valid point though.

I think Moses looks like he's playing basketball on a trampoline. Great ups and he gets up quickly, but every once in a while he can't control the ball and his footwork goes all whacky. Willing to live with those mistakes if he plays like last night.

 

[alagold]

Ididn't get to see game but the looking at stats 2 things JUMPED out at me--1.Banks with MONSTER game 20 pts, 14 rebs,3 assts (1 to) and 5 blocks.! When has that happened before vs a conf foe? 2.--FT% 16-22, incl last 2 winners
They were missing a LOT but who cares--a ROAD win

 

[LibertyTurns]

Ididn't get to see game but the looking at stats 2 things JUMPED out at me--1.Banks with MONSTER game 20 pts, 14 rebs,3 assts (1 to) and 5 blocks.! When has that happened before vs a conf foe? 2.--FT% 16-22, incl last 2 winners
They were missing a LOT but who cares--a ROAD win

I think at one point were were 4-8 from the line so we went 12-14 down the stretch when it most counted.