Mbb v. Northwest Indian

[BelgradeBobcat]

My initial thought: We were really spoiled with the talent we had the past three years. Robert Ford looked liked last season-no one else really did. But then the second half we saw glimpses of D-1 talent out there.
We're playing a team with nobody over 6'5" and it doesn't look like we'd ever see a dunk. Then midway through the 2nd half-bang-3 in a row and probably 6 or 7 total.
Chika Nduka and Brandon Walker are both wide body guys-but not super tall. Our first possession was a nice pass from Ford to a wide open Nduka in the key for a layup...last year that would have been a Belo or Osobor dunk. These guys are a lot different. Both bigs will launch 3's which is very different. John Olmsted can play above the rim, but he's very skinny and limited in skill. I'm just thinking if any of these guys had to play against Jubrile Belo it would be a very long night. I'm not sure who will guard Dillon Jones from Weber State-that could be ugly.
Brian Goracke has a very pretty looking shot and has some athleticism-dunking an alley oop from Ford in the second half.
Patrick McMahon had spurts where he looked really good. He hit some threes and has some nice moves with a half hook inside. He should get a lot of minutes.
Tyler Patterson missed too many wide open threes-kinda like he did last season. He's gotta be a stud this season, we really need it. You could tell he was frustrated.
Sam Lecholat was the only player not to score. He's there to do the dirty work and he does it well.
Jed Miller settled down and played a lot better in the second half. He can really shoot it...if he doesn't shoot himself in the foot with mental mistakes.
Last year when we played this team it did us no good, but this year it was really good for this team. They need reps, they need to hit shots with the lights on and a crowd in the stands. They will be a work in progress. Let's all enjoy the process.

[duelalumnicat]

BelgradeBobcat, I appreciate your analysis. I was intrigued by Eddie Turner III, the guard who transferred in as a graduate from Columbia. As I understand it, due to injuries and family issues, he has never really had a chance to play. I wonder if Coach Logie's offensive/defensive schemes are similar to Ivy League (Pete Carril) basketball? I am also curious about the 4 or 5 injured Bobcats who did not play last night.

[MSU01]

BelgradeBobcat, I appreciate your analysis. I was intrigued by Eddie Turner III, the guard who transferred in as a graduate from Columbia. As I understand it, due to injuries and family issues, he has never really had a chance to play. I wonder if Coach Logie's offensive/defensive schemes are similar to Ivy League (Pete Carril) basketball? I am also curious about the 4 or 5 injured Bobcats who did not play last night.

Do we know they're injured? MSU is currently carrying 16 players on the roster but only 13 are allowed to suit up for games. I'd assume that Rutherford and Robinson are redshirting which would leave Gair and Geron as the two who didn't play last night.

[BelgradeBobcat]

BelgradeBobcat, I appreciate your analysis. I was intrigued by Eddie Turner III, the guard who transferred in as a graduate from Columbia. As I understand it, due to injuries and family issues, he has never really had a chance to play. I wonder if Coach Logie's offensive/defensive schemes are similar to Ivy League (Pete Carril) basketball? I am also curious about the 4 or 5 injured Bobcats who did not play last night.

Do we know they're injured? MSU is currently carrying 16 players on the roster but only 13 are allowed to suit up for games. I'd assume that Rutherford and Robinson are redshirting which would leave Gair and Geron as the two who didn't play last night.

One of them was in a walking boot. I think it was Gair.

Turner has some quicks. He and Ford started at the guard spots and created a lot of havoc against an undermanned opponent. We pressed a little bit, but not for long just to be merciful, but I would guess this team will press a lot. With Ford, Turner, and the very long Tyler Patterson in the back court we could cause some problems.

[mslacat]

Thanks, Belgrade as always. It was nice to get a feel for the players we have been reading about but it is hard to really gauge this team (or any team D-1) based on yesterday's competition. I think the next week will start to give us a real sense of this team. The one thing though that is of concern for me is that NWI out rebounded the Bobcats 36 to 34.

[tetoncat]

Did they shoot a lot of threes, can lead to long rebounds and second chances.

[TheBigCat]

It’s really hard gauge anything from playing a team like that - they were extremely undersized and were not very deep.

[BelgradeBobcat]

The griz beat a more tired version of Northwest Indian 107-59 last night. What can we glean from that? Absolutely nothing.
Portland State beat Air Force on the road. Everybody else either beat their lower division opponent or lost to a high major D-1 opponent. NAU lost to the defending national champs, UConn by 43. I'm sure it was a good payday for them. Other than Weber and the griz, there has been so much roster turnover it's hard to tell what's going to happen in our league...other than Weber winning it (my prediction)

[TheBigCat]

Agreed, in my opinion the bobcat starters look as good or better than the Griz but most the bobcat second 5 or so looked slow and not real explosive to me.

[tetoncat]

Isn't the 2 players injured who are expected to get a lot of minutes

[thefrank1]

I liked the passing, movement without the ball, guard depth, and cohesiveness of the team. Good start with lots of room for growth.

[lv2hoop]

It's going to be an interesting season. Not sure that we can ever feel comfortable against any opponent we face, yet I feel like we have a chance against any opponent we face if that makes any sense.