Overall: Very fast, very athletic. All the new guys can run. Lost of fast breaking after defensive rebounds. Here's a surprise, we're gonna shoot a ton of 3's this year.
a Durham team shooting lots of 3's??? Will need to improve defensively and will need to improve the chemistry on offense with all the new guys. Everyone will take the 3 except Beye (unless Big Al is waiting for conference play to unleash the outside jumper). FT shooting was not good tonight. This team will be fun to watch, and pretty much everything I saw suggests that this team has the potential to maybe be similar to the '01-'02 team.Individuals:
Dissly: Really good (duh). Scored 18 points with several dunks before leaving early in the second half w/ a non-serious (apparently) ankle injury.
Miller: Looks like a great shooter. Also pretty good ball-handler and defensive player. He'll be a major contributor. About 14 pts tonight.
Beye: Wow, this guy will become a major fan favorite very quickly. Not much in the way of offensive skills but we've never had anyone like him defensively. Had 3 blocks within the first 2 minutes of the game. Also, runs the court amazingly well for his size. There was one play in which he got the defensive rebound, passed it off to Brown, then sprinted down the court to finish with a dunk on the fast break. 8 points tonight. FT shooting could be iffy with him...
Moss: Talented on the offensive end. Typical MSU undersized PF who can score. Had 14 or 16 points tonight, I'd expect him to average close to that. Hit a 3 on the first possession of the game and also seems to be good around the basket.
Pratt: Very impressed with him. He reminded me a bit of Tayshaun Prince in terms of his body type (tall and skinny with long arms). Another very good interior defender, he had probably 4 or 5 blocks and he also seems to have some skill offensively as well.
Brown: Didn't score but only took a couple shots. Pretty obvious that his main role this year is to get the ball into the hands of the scorers.
Woodall had the "WOW" play of the night, as he drove in from the FT line and dunked right over a guy.
Durr seems to have improved quite a bit over the summer. Hit 2 3's.
Ryan Holmes apparently will not redshirt as he played tonight, unless you can play guys in exhibition games and still redshirt them.
Martrel and Towsley didn't play.
That's about all I can think of right now...