GT vs. UTRGV

SecretAgentBuzz

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GT poured it on against a tired UTRGV squad tonight. By halftime, the game was already over (42-11). It was a slow, sloppy game with lots of TOs, but the Jackets put them away early with good shooting.

I missed the start of the game, but it looks like Alvarado came off the bench--anybody know why? Haywood came out playing well and had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals in the first 10 minutes or so! Devoe and Wright contributed well with 14 and 11 points. Banks had 8 boards and 3 blocks. With 6 guys scoring 8 or more points, we had good contributions from a number of players. Overall, a nice 72-44 win. Go Jackets!
 

ramblinjacket

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We played well the first half with several times getting buckets off of great ball movement.

Second half we really weren’t there mentally.

The good is we put them away early and never let them back in it.

The bad that I have noticed the last couple of games is that we seem to struggle with a full court press even with Alvarado and Devoe on the court at the same time. That could be a recipe for disaster against better competition.
 
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Second half showed we have to stay mentally sharp for 40 minutes. We are getting better and players are beginning to learn their roles.
 

glandon1960

Jolly Good Fellow
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Thoughts from being there:

- Alvarado did not start - but played rode bike most of time while on sideline. Did not notice anything in his play to indicate significant injury
- Cole did not dress

- Defense in first half was very good - got hands on a lot of balls, and made them take tough shots. Agree with comments that mental focus was not there in second half (up 42-11 at half). Lead stayed in the 25-30ish range most of second half.
--- UTRGV was 2 for 24 from the field in first half ... some bad shooting, but GT defense had a lot to do with things
- Curtis was very good - made two threes early from really deep to get team going, and was everywhere on defense - thought he played really well
- Devoe continues to improve - some nice passes and steals, did not shoot it well this game
- Banks - very good on defense, limited offense (can dunk, but has not shown much ability to score with back to basket)
- Wright - decent game tonight. Crashed boards and played under control most of the night.

While we should have won this game, it is worth noting we barely beat them last year - and have dropped an early non-conference game to non-Power conference each of last two years - I don't see that happening this year,
 

AE 87

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We played well for 5 min, from ~6.5 to ~1.5 min we out scored them 19 to 1.

Besides those 5 min it's a different game if UTRGV could hit freethrows. We did play decent D alot but also fouled a lot.

I was encouraged by the score until I saw how it happened.
 

orientalnc

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Pastner is giving minutes to guys who may not play a ton during the ACC season. It is not his style to play this many people, so I am sure he has a plan for PT distribution that is being managed by one of his assistants. I think our #1 issue is finding someone who can play the point while Jose is on the bench. Alston appears to be that guy right now, but I think Devoe may work his way into time at the point.

Wright had a nice game last night, but I wish he played under control all the time. Wow, he can be wild at times. AD is making me think he can be a dependable guy in the middle. Next week will be interesting to see where he is against better competition. Banks does not move well without the ball, so he doesn't get it very often. I hope is carelessness with the ball is due to not playing much. He is a shot blocking machine on D.

I understand why we play these games against UTRGV and PV, but that was ugly last night. And all those empty seats on TV had to embarrass folks in the Edge Building.
 

Jim Prather

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The score had more to do with their ineptness rather than anything we did. Our defense was sloppy last night. We were slow to rotate and did not overlap well. If they could have hit the inside of a barn with their shooting or even their free throws it would have been a very different game. We gave them a ton of open looks and a ton of fouls. I will always take the win but we lose that game against a team with a pulse
 

RamblinCharger

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Man I wish we had okogie we’d be dancing. I saw the first half. I thought we played alright. They made a ton of mistakes and our guys took advantage in transition. I’m excited to see us against NW, Ark, uga, and St. John’s. I think we can win 2 or maybe 3 of those. I like this team, we just need a scorer, which is why I wish we had Josh O so badly.
 

Bule

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We don’t really have anyone right now that can create their own shots like Josh O can and that is what will hurt us this year. I still think we have some guys that can shoot and we look like we will be a good defensive team again. I have hopes that we can upset a few teams and have a semi decent season. We will see
 

684Bee

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We don’t really have anyone right now that can create their own shots like Josh O can and that is what will hurt us this year. I still think we have some guys that can shoot and we look like we will be a good defensive team again. I have hopes that we can upset a few teams and have a semi decent season. We will see

Does Devoe have the ability to be that guy?
 

Connell62

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The score had more to do with their ineptness rather than anything we did. Our defense was sloppy last night. We were slow to rotate and did not overlap well. If they could have hit the inside of a barn with their shooting or even their free throws it would have been a very different game. We gave them a ton of open looks and a ton of fouls. I will always take the win but we lose that game against a team with a pulse

Sloppy? We apparently didn’t watch the same game. We held them to 11 pts in the first half and 22% for the game. That’s good enough for second lowest FG% ever against GT.

Nothing sloppy about that Jim!
 

Bule

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Sloppy? We apparently didn’t watch the same game. We held them to 11 pts in the first half and 22% for the game. That’s good enough for second lowest FG% ever against GT.

Nothing sloppy about that Jim!
Agreed. I thought every shot Rio Grande took was contested. We were all over those guys
 

YlJacket

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Devoe has the potential but he is not physically strong enough to do it by himself the way JO could. CJP is going to have to devise ways to help Devoe in the half court. He is a better catch and shoot guy than JO so put in sets to utilize that and also give him motion and picks to make driving easier. Obviously if you can get him the ball in transition but that is harder in the ACC

I have also been pleasantly surprised with Haywood. Hope that continues. He is even more toward catch and shoot
 
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