Thomas

[MGB1229]

Really like his game.  He is going to be a good one sooner rather than later I believe.  Moves really well for a guy his size and is very disruptive defensively.  Interested to see what he looks like by mid-season.  He definitely will be able to give us another scoring option to go along with Moses.

[daprospecta]

He can not only score but his size allows him to get physical.  One thing I love about his game is he was quick enough to guard on the perimeter.  I think he is Coty Clarke with a slightly higher ceiling.

[HoopS]

He's a player. Played Pac12 ball and wasn't bad then.

[Little Lady Back]

Was really impressed with both him and Macon.

[Razorod]

I think he and Kingsley will be a good tandem at the high and low posts.

[MGB1229]

He can not only score but his size allows him to get physical.  One thing I love about his game is he was quick enough to guard on the perimeter.  I think he is Coty Clarke with a slightly higher ceiling.

Definitely. That fall could have been bad.  Was really glad to see him back out there.

[Kevin]

That fall was ugly. Surprised he came back in

[Kevin McPherson]

https://twitter.com/ARHoopScoop/status/797517247220744192

[Rawker]

Valuable addition, but perhaps his best skill is the ability to take a face-plant.

[Danny J]

with two spin moves in the paint with the sweet finish? Very nice

[Hawg Red]

I'll take 10 and 6 all day from the 4 spot. And he didn't even look fully loose out there. Same with Barford. Can't wait to see this team 10 games from now.

[1hawgballer2]

Valuable addition, but perhaps his best skill is the ability to take a face-plant.

Man you are sick, that young man could have been injured seriously and you got jokes

[Big Nasty 34]

I was most excited about him for much of what above posters have said. His athleticism really surprised me, has much better lateral quickness than I expected. Really solid ball handler too.

His versatility should really help us matchup against bigger lineups.

[ShadowHawg]

That fall was ugly. Surprised he came back in

When I saw it, I was afraid he had broken his neck. It was scary looking in person.

[poloprince]

DT is tough and a tremoundous upgrade from last season. He just has to stay on the court.  :razorback:

[mhuff]

For those lucky enough to see the game, are we going to have a. Defense ? MA was stressing work on pressure defense. Babb was the last player we've had that stopped penetration .i want to see some havoc in a good defensive way.

[hawginbigd1]

For those lucky enough to see the game, are we going to have a. Defense ? MA was stressing work on pressure defense. Babb was the last player we've had that stopped penetration .i want to see some havoc in a good defensive way.

I see the same issues, our rotations are late, not anticipated, which causes a blow- by and it ends with a wide open look either outside or point blank. One of the reasons we are generally on the low end in 3pt defense.

[hawginbigd1]

Man you are sick, that young man could have been injured seriously and you got jokes

Bit of an overreaction, if all ends well generally feel like it is ok to make fun of. If he had been hurt, then it would be sick.

[Science Fiction Greg]

For anyone that didn't get to see Thomas's fall:

Warning, it's a little tough to watch:



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[Danny J]

For those lucky enough to see the game, are we going to have a. Defense ? MA was stressing work on pressure defense. Babb was the last player we've had that stopped penetration .i want to see some havoc in a good defensive way.

As mentioned above our D looks roughly the same. We allow easy dribble penetration, not boxing out and switching too much leaving obvious mismatches. Going to have to get better. Also need to adjust better to the whistles. Had they shot an even average FT% the game would have went to OT. Had they made around 85% or so they win.

[mhuff]

Well it was first game. Perhaps someone will change something. MA was talking about pressure defense. Was there any?7

[lefty08]

Babb was a defensive stopper?  LOL

[mhuff]

Babb was a defensive stopper?  LOL

BABB was the ONLY one who stopped penetration to the basket.

[JIHawg]

Based on this game only, defense will be nothing special.  They got lots of open shots.  Good shooting teams will be hard for us.

Also, as usual, we will not be a good rebounding team.

But we do have more scoring options.

[Danny J]

Well it was first game. Perhaps someone will change something. MA was talking about pressure defense. Was there any?7

Yes but tempo didn't pick up until around the halfway point of second half. You could see it getting to them. They faded late which allowed us to pull away. They are a good team no question. We have a lot of work to do.

[mhuff]

Based on this game only, defense will be nothing special.  They got lots of open shots.  Good shooting teams will be hard for us.

Also, as usual, we will not be a good rebounding team.

But we do have more scoring options.

I was encouraged by the inside scoring. Nolan's teams didn't rebound, but we got points on TO's. First game but defense has got to pick up if we are going to have a special team.

[mhuff]

Yes but tempo didn't pick up until around the halfway point of second half. You could see it getting to them. They faded late which allowed us to pull away. They are a good team no question. We have a lot of work to do.

Standard for a team in better shape or one with a better bench. Still don't like opponents to have wide open threes.

[Biggus Piggus]

Tempo was pretty good in the first half. Halftime score was 51-45.

[ShadowHawg]

Yes but tempo didn't pick up until around the halfway point of second half. You could see it getting to them. They faded late which allowed us to pull away. They are a good team no question. We have a lot of work to do.

It actually started about the last 4 minutes of the first half. We trailed for most of the first half before blowing by them in the last couple of minutes of the half for a 51-45 lead.

[ShadowHawg]

For those lucky enough to see the game, are we going to have a. Defense ? MA was stressing work on pressure defense. Babb was the last player we've had that stopped penetration .i want to see some havoc in a good defensive way.

Watch the 2nd half. Penetration from the top was taken away for the most part. Manny gave up the baseline in the 2nd but as team they did a much better job of forcing the ball handler into help instead of letting them blow by like what happened most of the first half.

The other thing I hear is whining about rebounding. There were some breakdowns at times, but they had 50 something rebounds and we had 40 something. There was one possession that IPFW got 6 rebounds in. That's over 10 percent in one trip down the court. Their starting lineup had more speed than we did to begin which helped them be quicker to the long rebounds early. But after their legs were gone down the stretch they got very few 50/50 balls. Everyone sitting around me noticed it as well.

[Big Nasty 34]

We will see the inexperience in CMAs system show mostly in defensive rotations and instincts. Yes we have older newcomers, but they're still learning the defense. Offense will be fine.

[ShadowHawg]

Standard for a team in better shape or one with a better bench. Still don't like opponents to have wide open threes.

We shot wide open 3s also. Everyone does. It was the first game with 3 starters who weren't on the active roster last season. They will have to learn to play together defensively just like on offense.

It's also called fools gold. Hit 3s early and lose your legs late. Their shots in the second half weren't just misses, but most were bricks. They had a starter get hurt and his replacement came in and hit some shots because he was fresh. The rest of their closers were worn out.

IPFW went 10 deep, fwiw.

[Hawg Red]

We shot wide open 3s also. Everyone does. It was the first game with 3 starters who weren't on the active roster last season. They will have to learn to play together defensively just like on offense.

It's also called fools gold. Hit 3s early and lose your legs late. Their shots in the second half weren't just misses, but most were bricks. They had a starter get hurt and his replacement came in and hit some shots because he was fresh. The rest of their closers were worn out.

IPFW went 10 deep, fwiw.

We definitely wore them down.