1. Can’t take too much from this game, as Wagner was not a good team. But there were some good signs (and a couple of not-so-good signs) nonetheless.
2. Dylan with an all around good game, played like an established veteran, creating scoring chances for himself and others. Had 20 pts, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists and 9-14 from the field. He is sooo good “at the rim.” Guarantee he will be practicing FTs tonight at the APC after going 1-6 at the line.
3. Pleasant surprise of the night was the play of Lathan Sommerville. Went for 11 and 8 and had some nifty post moves, plus he was more aggressive in rebounding the ball.
4. But (current) starting C Manny Ogbole was a complete non-factor. He’s just very stiff and unskilled. Pike needs to continue to force feed Sommerville to get him ready for the big opponents.
5. The offense generally functioned well, with good ball movement, ZERO guys just dribbling with nowhere to go and ZERO hoisting up desperation shots late in the clock. We consistently got really good looks, with guys making the extra pass. The fact that we went 7-23 (30%) doesn’t concern me, as there wasn’t a “bad” shot among them. The guys that we WANT shooting threes (Martini, Harper, Hayes, Acuff) were a solid 6-16 (37.5%).
6. Acuff still looked rusty, but hitting that three late in the game was really important to give him confidence. That shot could unlock his potential.
7. Absolutely love PJ Hayes. Kid is a baller, plays better defense than we all thought he would, and has a money stroke. Had 12 points on 4-6 (2-4).
8. JMike with a solid floor game, with the usual good on-ball defense (plus 2 blocks and a steal), but also 5 assists and 0 turnovers. He was also 3-4 at the line. He was 0-3 from deep, but I didn’t hate any of those shots.
9. We won handily, that’s all that matters without our best offensive player and after a slow/ragged start.