mtgrizrule
Well-known member
Sorry this is late, but I had a little too much fun after the game, and have just awaken from the dead.
Being this was the 1st game of the season, I am not sure how long this will be, but here it is.
With Selvig, we likely win this game. His experience, versatility, defense, length, and passing was very much missed by his team. He would have given us a few more rebounds, a few more baskets, and a lot better open looks for his teammates (Reader and Hutchison, just are not ready to find other guys with pressure in the paint). Speaking of Reader, Hutchison, and let's add Ward, this group was the difference in this game, and unfortunately for the GRIZ, their play was not close to what it needs to be.
Rebounding from the bigs were non existent. Granted, my sight line was not the best. I consistently seen the following, not finding anyone to box out, or getting great position, but just to release too soon, allowing CSU to gather way too many offensive rebounds. If we even get 3 of those rebounds, we win from keeping them 3 more second chances, which they converted. Pretty bad when the best rebounders are your PG and SG/SF. Cherry, and Jamar consistently got their hands on missed shots, too bad they could not secure a few more. Reader, and Hutchison have some great potential, and will get better in every aspect. Not only do they need to rebound better, but be more aware on offense. They were solid in creating space to get the ball. The problem was after getting the ball. They need to learn what to do, and when. They rushed a few too many moves, had the ball too low, or just were not ready to find wide open teammates for easier shots. Selvig's passing would have being 5 plus assists. I was surprised Ward was on the bench as much as he was. Offensively, he is very good, and absolutely love his mid to 3 point shooting. The offense is better with him out there. His passing has improved too. He looked comfortable out there, but I have a feeling he too was on the bench due to bad rebounding.
Plain and simple, even without Selvig, the GRIZ win this game with even average rebounding. It was BAD, and I have a feeling Tinkle knew it early. I am guessing, there had to be a lot of ass chewing at halftime about rebounding. Early in the 2nd half the bigs still were not rebounding, and Tinkle made it a point in the 1st game for them to learn a lesson. Not only did they sit on the bench, but Tinkle was not even considering putting any of them back in the game. I cannot speak for Tinkle, but he definitely was not happy, and chose this to be a time make a point to the guilty players. He used smaller guys almost the whole 2nd half, and to be honest they played well despite height mismatches.
One positive that came away from this game was Weisner getting big minutes. Granted, he did not make a huge impact in the stat lines, but this kid WILL be a very good player. His perimeter shot is as smooth as advertised, and looks to good not to be a 40% 3 pt shooter, in time. He also does not force shots. He moves the ball well too, and defensively, he has a much better defender than I thought he would be. He was in position defensively, battled the bigs well (needs more strength though), moves his feet well. I actually seen a Matt Dloughy (sp?) type defender as he gains strength, and maturity. I also see a much more consistent offensive player. Weisner impressed me a lot. I really look forward to watch this kid grow on the court. He will be a good one.
Will Cherry, and Kareem Jamar are a duo capable of keeping the GRIZ in any game. They both have the want to be the man in the clutch, and did not shy away from having the ball. Too bad their offensive games were not there to go with the desire. The GRIZ ran a few clear out isolations, and 2 man plays for them, and got a few nice baskets from those plays. I hope the GRIZ run more of those plays as the year progresses. I like their chances with either, or both in isolation plays. When Will Cherry ever gets his perimeter shooting to high 30's percentage, he will be nearly unstoppable. Speaking of shooting, he has a lot less body, and ball movement in his FT shooting, and actually looks very good at the line.
Shawn Stockton is a more willing shooter this year. He took the shots, when open, looked much more confident, and ready to shoot it too. Shawn had a nice game. If he plays that way all season with his minutes, it will be hard to knock him this year.
Jordan Wood has very little confidence with this shot, from the perimeter, and the FT line. He is pressing every time he shoots. Again, he plays good defense, and makes a few things happen that does not show up in the stats. There is not any reason in the world for defenses to not challenge him from the outside. I really feel for the kid, he has a good looking shot too, so his struggles are not from his form. I honestly think it is in his head. I see the same potential as Tinkle has in Jordan's time here. I really do hope he finds his game this year.
For every negative, there is a positive. In a little playing time, I liked what I seen of Henderson and Gregory. Defensively, they were solid. Gregory moves well without the ball, and looks like he is ready to shoot when the ball comes his way. His one 3 point shot was taken with confidence, and looked smooth. Henderson will be a defensive nightmare, and man is he ever athletic. As he gets experience, I hope he looks to take the ball to the hole. He had a few touches where he should have looked to make something happen, and did not. He had an unbelievable baseline hustle save too. If Wood continues to struggle, these 2 will gradually see more minutes. Speaking of Jordan Gregory, I met his parents. What a great family, and his Dad is very happy Jordan is a GRIZ. They will be making a few road trips from CO to watch him play. They are extremely supportive of Jordan, and the GRIZ.
Art Steward had his usual complete game, and is again comfortable playing anywhere, and doing everything. I will really miss him after this season.
In my opinion, there is no need to panic from this game. Rebounding can only get better. Selvig getting healthy will be a huge positive. The GRIZ have a lot of depth. Cherry and Jamar will have very few games when both struggle to find their games, offensively.
Finally, the officiating stunk equally for both sides. These officials were more whistle happy than Big Sky officials. I did see the officiating frustrate Huchison, Reader, Ward, and even Jamar. At one point, Jamar politely asked an official to explain something. The official either said something he did not like, or did not acknowledge his question. Jamar turned away from the official with a very disgusted look, and even look over to the staff, with a look of disbelief on the interaction.
The struggles I seen tonight was mainly inexperienced bigs, and inconsistent shooting. The execution though was solid, but does have room for improvement. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Tinkle's benching of his bigs will have the next game. I have a feeling we will be seeing a few fired up bigs. :thumb: I have a very good feeling about this year's team, despite lousy rebounding, and a loss. GO GRIZ!!!!
Being this was the 1st game of the season, I am not sure how long this will be, but here it is.
With Selvig, we likely win this game. His experience, versatility, defense, length, and passing was very much missed by his team. He would have given us a few more rebounds, a few more baskets, and a lot better open looks for his teammates (Reader and Hutchison, just are not ready to find other guys with pressure in the paint). Speaking of Reader, Hutchison, and let's add Ward, this group was the difference in this game, and unfortunately for the GRIZ, their play was not close to what it needs to be.
Rebounding from the bigs were non existent. Granted, my sight line was not the best. I consistently seen the following, not finding anyone to box out, or getting great position, but just to release too soon, allowing CSU to gather way too many offensive rebounds. If we even get 3 of those rebounds, we win from keeping them 3 more second chances, which they converted. Pretty bad when the best rebounders are your PG and SG/SF. Cherry, and Jamar consistently got their hands on missed shots, too bad they could not secure a few more. Reader, and Hutchison have some great potential, and will get better in every aspect. Not only do they need to rebound better, but be more aware on offense. They were solid in creating space to get the ball. The problem was after getting the ball. They need to learn what to do, and when. They rushed a few too many moves, had the ball too low, or just were not ready to find wide open teammates for easier shots. Selvig's passing would have being 5 plus assists. I was surprised Ward was on the bench as much as he was. Offensively, he is very good, and absolutely love his mid to 3 point shooting. The offense is better with him out there. His passing has improved too. He looked comfortable out there, but I have a feeling he too was on the bench due to bad rebounding.
Plain and simple, even without Selvig, the GRIZ win this game with even average rebounding. It was BAD, and I have a feeling Tinkle knew it early. I am guessing, there had to be a lot of ass chewing at halftime about rebounding. Early in the 2nd half the bigs still were not rebounding, and Tinkle made it a point in the 1st game for them to learn a lesson. Not only did they sit on the bench, but Tinkle was not even considering putting any of them back in the game. I cannot speak for Tinkle, but he definitely was not happy, and chose this to be a time make a point to the guilty players. He used smaller guys almost the whole 2nd half, and to be honest they played well despite height mismatches.
One positive that came away from this game was Weisner getting big minutes. Granted, he did not make a huge impact in the stat lines, but this kid WILL be a very good player. His perimeter shot is as smooth as advertised, and looks to good not to be a 40% 3 pt shooter, in time. He also does not force shots. He moves the ball well too, and defensively, he has a much better defender than I thought he would be. He was in position defensively, battled the bigs well (needs more strength though), moves his feet well. I actually seen a Matt Dloughy (sp?) type defender as he gains strength, and maturity. I also see a much more consistent offensive player. Weisner impressed me a lot. I really look forward to watch this kid grow on the court. He will be a good one.
Will Cherry, and Kareem Jamar are a duo capable of keeping the GRIZ in any game. They both have the want to be the man in the clutch, and did not shy away from having the ball. Too bad their offensive games were not there to go with the desire. The GRIZ ran a few clear out isolations, and 2 man plays for them, and got a few nice baskets from those plays. I hope the GRIZ run more of those plays as the year progresses. I like their chances with either, or both in isolation plays. When Will Cherry ever gets his perimeter shooting to high 30's percentage, he will be nearly unstoppable. Speaking of shooting, he has a lot less body, and ball movement in his FT shooting, and actually looks very good at the line.
Shawn Stockton is a more willing shooter this year. He took the shots, when open, looked much more confident, and ready to shoot it too. Shawn had a nice game. If he plays that way all season with his minutes, it will be hard to knock him this year.
Jordan Wood has very little confidence with this shot, from the perimeter, and the FT line. He is pressing every time he shoots. Again, he plays good defense, and makes a few things happen that does not show up in the stats. There is not any reason in the world for defenses to not challenge him from the outside. I really feel for the kid, he has a good looking shot too, so his struggles are not from his form. I honestly think it is in his head. I see the same potential as Tinkle has in Jordan's time here. I really do hope he finds his game this year.
For every negative, there is a positive. In a little playing time, I liked what I seen of Henderson and Gregory. Defensively, they were solid. Gregory moves well without the ball, and looks like he is ready to shoot when the ball comes his way. His one 3 point shot was taken with confidence, and looked smooth. Henderson will be a defensive nightmare, and man is he ever athletic. As he gets experience, I hope he looks to take the ball to the hole. He had a few touches where he should have looked to make something happen, and did not. He had an unbelievable baseline hustle save too. If Wood continues to struggle, these 2 will gradually see more minutes. Speaking of Jordan Gregory, I met his parents. What a great family, and his Dad is very happy Jordan is a GRIZ. They will be making a few road trips from CO to watch him play. They are extremely supportive of Jordan, and the GRIZ.
Art Steward had his usual complete game, and is again comfortable playing anywhere, and doing everything. I will really miss him after this season.
In my opinion, there is no need to panic from this game. Rebounding can only get better. Selvig getting healthy will be a huge positive. The GRIZ have a lot of depth. Cherry and Jamar will have very few games when both struggle to find their games, offensively.
Finally, the officiating stunk equally for both sides. These officials were more whistle happy than Big Sky officials. I did see the officiating frustrate Huchison, Reader, Ward, and even Jamar. At one point, Jamar politely asked an official to explain something. The official either said something he did not like, or did not acknowledge his question. Jamar turned away from the official with a very disgusted look, and even look over to the staff, with a look of disbelief on the interaction.
The struggles I seen tonight was mainly inexperienced bigs, and inconsistent shooting. The execution though was solid, but does have room for improvement. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Tinkle's benching of his bigs will have the next game. I have a feeling we will be seeing a few fired up bigs. :thumb: I have a very good feeling about this year's team, despite lousy rebounding, and a loss. GO GRIZ!!!!
