Sam Houston State

[jbix80]

I missed the game tonight due to work. How did we look? I saw we had a 20 point halftime lead. How did it end single digits?

 

[A Love Supreme]

I was at the game tonight. My first time getting to look at this years team. I really like Lammers and how much he has grown as a player. He had 6 blocks tonight and only 2 fouls. I like Okogie's athleticism. Q's jump shot was off. He didnt take any bad shots, he was just off. I believe he'll start knocking them down soon. I hope so because I'm pretty sure most teams will play zone against us. T. Jackson was an efficient 5-5 from the field. Unfortunately, he was 3-8 on free throws. And speaking of free throws, as a team we were 21-36 (58%). Thats definitely not good to shoot 58% FT at home. Also, 16 turnovers is not good either. Hopefully when Heath gets back from suspension those will go down.

 

[McCamish Maniacs]

Getting Heath back will be huge for two reasons:

1) We desperately need the depth
2) He immediately becomes our 3rd or 4th best player IMO

Lammers is a beast. Nothing more needs to be said. Another 20 point outing and a "quiet" six blocks (he just racks them up and without even realizing he's suddenly up to absurd numbers).

Tadric looks so so so so so much more improved. Not only is he being aggressive, but his outside shot is falling. Only played 19 minutes because of foul trouble and still scored 15 points (5-5 from the field). He's now shooting 68% on the season.

Q is struggling badly and this team needs him to turn things around. Credit him for making plays elsewhere tonight, leading to his second career double double (10 pts, 10 rebs), but his shooting percentage is killing us. After tonights 3-11 performance he's at 27% on the season.

Solid bounce back game from Okogie after last Friday's dud. Didn't realize he was our second leading scorer tonight until I looked at the box score after the game.

Positive: We got to the line a lot. Negative: Moore and Tadric need to be much better there.

Thought the defense was probably the best it's been all season against a very good offensive team, especially in the first half.

 

[A Love Supreme]

I do like the more uptempo and ball movement type of play CJP has implemented. Coach really wants the guards to push the ball and play with a lot of energy. It is going to take some time to get it right but I like his philosophy.

 

[ChasonBaller]

Im waiting for good ole Marta who is running late (shocking I know) to take me to my parents house, and the service sucks down here, so could someone give a score and quick recap of the game *thanks in advanced* I am leaving the hawks game(lost to Etwan Moore and Tim Frazier...who? Exactly) and Gucci mane concert and hoping for better news #Lammers4Heisman

 

[Peacone36]

I certainly like our new style when compared to the old style

1-Moore and Okogie. I think we knew Okogie would be good. But he is really good. He will regress a bit in league play but he does it all and he busts his ***. If Moore can shoot FTs he's a weapon. Personally I don't know he doesn't get called for a travel when he does that little head and shoulders left to right move before he starts running downhill, but it works. He will be called for it at least twice in Durham.

2-Ben is a damn machine. Great hands. Great timing. Makes his FTs. I said in chat last night I think we will get an adequate gauge of where he's at when he goes against Moe Allie-Cox in Richmond coming up.

3-Jax. The confidence looks good on him. 9 minutes to go and he checked in and I felt like he was going to put it away. Made a great move in the lane for a layup and then I think made 2 FTs after missing 2. His 2 3s in the first half you knew were straight cash as soon as he let em go. His little hitch is going away more and more each game and he's getting that really pretty looking left handed shot going.




but I still see some concerning things that make it tough for me to change the outlook on the season.

1-3 straight games we have been outscored in the second half. Was really hoping to put this away in the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half and put Ben on the bench given his average of 35 mog coming in. Didn't happen.

2-Free throw shooting. I like that we are getting there but we need to make them

3-Bens minutes are a real concern for me. The kid is 6'11. If he continues to play at this rate I have zero doubt he will miss time in the ACC schedule with injuries.

 

[orientalnc]

I certainly like our new style when compared to the old style

1-Moore and Okogie. I think we knew Okogie would be good. But he is really good. He will regress a bit in league play but he does it all and he busts his ***. If Moore can shoot FTs he's a weapon. Personally I don't know he doesn't get called for a travel when he does that little head and shoulders left to right move before he starts running downhill, but it works. He will be called for it at least twice in Durham.

2-Ben is a damn machine. Great hands. Great timing. Makes his FTs. I said in chat last night I think we will get an adequate gauge of where he's at when he goes against Moe Allie-Cox in Richmond coming up.

3-Jax. The confidence looks good on him. 9 minutes to go and he checked in and I felt like he was going to put it away. Made a great move in the lane for a layup and then I think made 2 FTs after missing 2. His 2 3s in the first half you knew were straight cash as soon as he let em go. His little hitch is going away more and more each game and he's getting that really pretty looking left handed shot going.




but I still see some concerning things that make it tough for me to change the outlook on the season.

1-3 straight games we have been outscored in the second half. Was really hoping to put this away in the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half and put Ben on the bench given his average of 35 mog coming in. Didn't happen.

2-Free throw shooting. I like that we are getting there but we need to make them

3-Bens minutes are a real concern for me. The kid is 6'11. If he continues to play at this rate I have zero doubt he will miss time in the ACC schedule with injuries.

I agree and will add that we are making far too many unforced turnover mistakes and getting out hustled in the paint too often. These things are especially true in the second half. As you mentioned, we are also getting outscored. Last night it was for a variety of reasons, but, like Ohio, SHS started getting open shots from 3-point range at the same time we hit a streak of mistakes and missed shots. That 20-point lead evaporated in a few minutes to ten points.

We are not a good enough team to play tired. Getting Heath back will help, but our bench is devoid of the talent we need to fix the problem. As we get pressured in our half court offense the way ACC teams will do, the fatigue is likely to set in earlier. As you said, Lammers is especially vulnerable because we have no one to give him minutes on the bench without opening up the middle of our defense. Last night Q played 34 minutes, Ben 37 minutes, Corey 34, Moore 38. Okogie only played 26 minutes because of foul trouble. Tadric played only 19 minutes! Those six guys, plus Heath are going to be our rotation, so we have to get use to it. Maybe AD and Ogbonda will share enough minutes to keep Lammers healthy, but don't expect much more.

One more thing. Everyone needs to lay off Q. He played his heart out last night in spite of not hitting his shots.

 

[MWBATL]

As the token casual fan who lurks and reads and seldom posts, I can tell you that I like what I am seeing from this staff and team. No, the talent doesn't thrill me, and I accept they won't win many games (what do I know?). BUT they look like they have a plan on offense, and when they execute it, it looks pretty decent. MUCH more interesting and entertaining than what I have sene on the Flats for, oh, I don't know...10 seasons maybe?

The defense seemed excellent in the first half. That (imho) was what won us this game. I fully expected a lousy 2nd half (and got it). GT teams either have not enough talent and depth or get complacent or over-confident or something, but they never have had the kills instinct when ahead by 20 to go ahead and bury other teams, They almost always seem to let the other team back in the game.

I am rather enjoying watching GT basketball with absolutely no expectations. ANY win will be a pleasant surprise which I will enjoy seeing. I have been to one game live already and hope to find the time to get to a couple more there soon. These guys deserve better support, and for the first time in many years, I have a sense that we could be starting to build something really interesting.

 

[Peacone36]

I'll also add, and I have reservations doing so given our competition, we seem to run more offense than Memphis teams ever did. It was as if CJP gave Joe Jackson the keys and let him go. But he is coaching this team. He chewed up J-Mo AFTER A MADE BASKET last night. Haven't seeen that in a bit.

 

[gt69hjcollins]

Well said. This team deserves support!

 

[Jmonty71]

Lammers looked good inside. Stephens has the base skill set to be a baller. Just needs to get shooting down a little better. But, the skills are there.

 

[RamblinRed]

I'll take any win I can get and this game sort of encapsulated the good and bad.

Lammers is developing so well. He is our best scorer, he's even our best FT shooter and one of our better decision makers.
Okogie is going to be a player. He reminds me alot of MGH. He is the type of kid that will develop for 4 yrs and be a great senior.
Moore has pleasantly surprised me. I just wish he had a shot. That is going to start hurting him in the next month as teams game plan it.
TJ is finally starting to look like the player I saw in HS. He looks so much more confident.

We have a serious issue in the backcourt. Moore is 4-12 on FT and TJ 8-18. That is combined 12-30 (40%). You can't have 2 of your primary ballhandlers be such poor FT shooters.
It makes them a liability late in close games.

I agree with you again Pea. This team looks much better coached than Pastner's Memphis teams (which often look like they threw a ball out and said go run). Don't know how much that is his learning from his time there and how much that is due to the assts (probably some of both), but it is a good sign.

This team is going to lose alot of games because it is going to run out of gas the last 8 min. We only played 6 guys consistently last night. Just shows how little talent is on this team. Guys are going to get tired and start to get dinged up. Unfortunately there are not alot of great options there - hopefully a couple of the bench guys can develop during the year where the staff is comfortable playing them 8-10 min as backups just to get the main guys a little more rest.

We made more FT than SHS attempted, but instead of 21 to 19 it should have been about 28 to 19.
We really need Q to at least approach his previous season's shooting %. Pastner will play him because he has as much experience as anyone and does alot of secondary things pretty well (he's second on the team in assists and A:TO ratio and rebounds fairly well).

I'd invite Ike to every home game. We literally have no one to really back up Lammers right now (Ogbonda simply isn't ready for any major min and AD is more of a wing or combo guy). Let him see how much Lammers has developed and see that there is quite a bit of time for a FR big to play next season.

 

[Connell62]

I certainly like our new style when compared to the old style

1-Moore and Okogie. I think we knew Okogie would be good. But he is really good. He will regress a bit in league play but he does it all and he busts his ***. If Moore can shoot FTs he's a weapon. Personally I don't know he doesn't get called for a travel when he does that little head and shoulders left to right move before he starts running downhill, but it works. He will be called for it at least twice in Durham.

2-Ben is a damn machine. Great hands. Great timing. Makes his FTs. I said in chat last night I think we will get an adequate gauge of where he's at when he goes against Moe Allie-Cox in Richmond coming up.

3-Jax. The confidence looks good on him. 9 minutes to go and he checked in and I felt like he was going to put it away. Made a great move in the lane for a layup and then I think made 2 FTs after missing 2. His 2 3s in the first half you knew were straight cash as soon as he let em go. His little hitch is going away more and more each game and he's getting that really pretty looking left handed shot going.




but I still see some concerning things that make it tough for me to change the outlook on the season.

1-3 straight games we have been outscored in the second half. Was really hoping to put this away in the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half and put Ben on the bench given his average of 35 mog coming in. Didn't happen.

2-Free throw shooting. I like that we are getting there but we need to make them

3-Bens minutes are a real concern for me. The kid is 6'11. If he continues to play at this rate I have zero doubt he will miss time in the ACC schedule with injuries.

Nice post P.. Right on the money. The minutes are already wearing on Ben. SHS was playing physical and it was taking a toll on Big Ben. This should have been an easy double-double for him.

We must find a way to spell him and get him a breather. One thing is clear.. Coach Pastner has plenty of playing time to sell for next year's frontcourt recruits!!

 

[scotts]

CBC only played 6-7 guys during our glory years. We just don't have the talent on the bench this year.

 

[RamblinRed]

CBC only played 6-7 guys during our glory years. We just don't have the talent on the bench this year.

Unfortunately it is a very different game then what they played back in the Thin Gold Line days.
In general it is much faster paced with shot clock. You also play a couple more games per year.

 

[Fatmike91]

A lot has been covered. I'll add that Corey played very well. Maybe his best game as a jacket? Happy to see him get 10, because he deserved it - and deserved the playing time he got.

The back-door cuts were great to see - did we run 3 or 4? We also had a series of easy run-out baskets in the final 8 minutes to maintain/extend our lead that really made me happy.

/

 

[Techster]

Okogie is going to be a player. He reminds me alot of MGH. He is the type of kid that will develop for 4 yrs and be a great senior.

Okogie is the type of player Pastner alluded to in Jeff Schultz AJC podcast. Guys who are good players, but end up developing into better players than their rankings indicated, who become a foundational type pieces for the program. Getting guys like Okogie is just as important as getting an elite player who becomes a 1-2 year player and moves on to the next level. I'd include Lammers in that as well.

I think the early indications on Okogie is that he's a more aggressive player than MGH at the same point in their careers. It really wasn't until the second half of last season when CBG forced MGH to take the ball as the team's PG that he really imposed his will on the game. Before that, it was kinda frustrating to see MGH flash his potential during games, but not keep up the pace. Okogie seems willing to impose his game more at certain points as true freshmen.

 

[Peacone36]

Okogie is the type of player Pastner alluded to in Jeff Schultz AJC podcast. Guys who are good players, but end up developing into better players than their rankings indicated, who become a foundational type pieces for the program. Getting guys like Okogie is just as important as getting an elite player who becomes a 1-2 year player and moves on to the next level. I'd include Lammers in that as well.

I think the early indications on Okogie is that he's a more aggressive player than MGH at the same point in their careers. It really wasn't until the second half of last season when CBG forced MGH to take the ball as the team's PG that he really imposed his will on the game. Before that, it was kinda frustrating to see MGH flash his potential during games, but not keep up the pace. Okogie seems willing to impose his game more at certain points as true freshmen.

+1

 

[dtm1997]

For as much playing time as he can sell, Pastner's interviews are now stressing he typically plays an 8 man rotation.

 

[RamblinRed]

For as much playing time as he can sell, Pastner's interviews are now stressing he typically plays an 8 man rotation.

Even right now he is only getting to about 7 guys and that includes AD and Corey. You look at playing time and what comes back next season and it is easy to see there are major min for probably up to 3 players who can play. They will be huge min for anyone that can play 4 and slide to 5. Also at least 1 starters type min on the perimeter. With Corey, Q and Heath graduating there is likely room for Alvarado and one more perimeter player to see significant playing time and certainly at least 1 player closer to the basket.