mtgrizrule
Well-known member
1st of all, it was a long day for me, up at 6am, worked a fullday, got to the game right at tipoff. I got home around 11PM, and still did not fall to sleep until 1AM, from the adrenaline the GRIZ gave me. Will Cherry, Jamar, Selvig, and Henderson managed to pump a lot of adrenaline into me. Thank you guys!
It was great to talk with Coach Tinkle, and a few players for a few minutes after the game. I sense a lot more confidence, and silent believe in everyone, from every player, to every coach. Also a very calming, and confident, one game at a time approach. Based on the game, and some conversation, this team is on a mission this season.
I seen some very obvious, and positive things to me since seeing the GRIZ at CSU.
(1) The offense is crisply ran consistently, no matter the set, or personnel. Their spacing, and awareness is as good as it has ever been during Coach Tinkle's regime. Are they perfect, hell no, but they execute well, and it makes a huge difference. Even when the shots do not fall, they get points from defense, and fast.
(2) They are confident from the perimeter now, ready to shoot, and believe no matter who is shooting, the shot is going in. That could be part of the rebounding struggles too. Selvig, Cherry, Jamar, Henderson, Steward, Stockton, and Ward all shot the 3 against UNC without hesitation when it was open, and the results were solid. The confidence in the perimeter game has arrived, and I don't see it leaving either. Speaking of perimeter shooting, Weisner's ankle looked almost healed, and he told me he thinks he should be playing soon.
(3) Please get off Derek Selvig's ass, about him as a player. His intangibles are off the charts, and his passing has always been good, but it is better now. He has always had the instincts as a playermaker with his passing, but he has improved a lot. How? Like a young quarter back, he has learned to use touch on more passes, verses the bullets that were so hard to handle. He also seems to know what player can handle what kind of pass. He used to try throwing through defenders too often. Now he uses crisp bounce passes, lobs, and more finesse on his no look, and tip passes. His passing alone is worth 8 points per game to the GRIZ, most nights. Derek is also very confident shooting the 3 at big moments now too. I think some of Will Cherry has rubbed off onto Derek in that regard.
Defensively, he is not a shot blocker, but his length in the paint does impact a lot of shots, in not going in. He has awesome hands in poking the ball away in the paint too. The observations about how to use Derek, appear to be dead on accurate. He, and the coaching staff are on the same page as to what kind of player he is, and he is much more comfortable on the court now, and not pressing as much. Derek is very fun to watch, especially his 3 point shooting, and passing.
(4) The observations, well at least the results of our paint defense were accurate, but here is what I seen at the game live, verses what was seen online. The refereeing inside the paint calls was absolutely terrible, horrific, or whatever you want to call it. Even when the GRIZ bigs (Primarily Ward, and Selvig) were set, and/or straight up the damn whistle was being blown. To be honest, 75% plus of the in the paint calls, on both sides, were outright BS calls. That kind of officiating leads to tentative defensive play inside. A lot of our paint defensive struggles were the result of a very badly officiated game.
(5) Perimeter defenders are awesome, and even more "everywhere" seeing them live, than online. I am not sure if it was something the coaches picked up on or not, but officiating helped our defense on the perimeter. Unlike the post play, for the most part, the officials were letting the perimeter defenders play aggressively, and that it helped the GRIZ, due to how many talented defenders the GRIZ have. Cherry, Steward, Jamar, Wood (in his little time), Henderson, and even Selvig and Ward, were able to poke at the ball waist level, and below to create turnovers. UNC also created a few loose balls that way, too. To be honest, I did not see many missed calls on the perimeter.
(6) Kevin Henderson is emerging very nicely. Take his "T" with a grain of salt. It was another bad call, questionable, if giving the referee the benefit of the doubt. Even UNC fans were surprised by the call. Coach Tinkle was upset at the call, then got more upset, when Kevin tried to explain it. Tinkle just put a rest to the explanation by saying "enough", and he Henderson sat down. From what I seen Henderson thought he has missed the shot, and lipped some frustration, and when it went in, he reacted in what the referee thought was something else unsportsmanlike. I think Coach Tinkle, and the staff believed Henderson, because they did not hesitate to go back to Kevin, despite the "T". As for Henderson game, I unexpectedly, and surprisingly enough seen some Will Cherry, and Kareem Jamar confidence in him. He did not back down defensively, and when he did make a mistake, he recovered quickly,and smartly. He took the ball to the hole confidently as well. He looked like he belonged out there. I have a feeling his playing time will continue to increase, and he will remain to get good minutes.
(7) Leadership, and confidence is very high on this team. Will Cherry takes his game to a new level, every time I see him play. It has become contagious in this team. Every perimeter player pokes at the ball in crowds, or when an offensive players turns his head. We have a handful of guys wanting to shoot the ball now, and not playing scared. Kareem Jamar leadership is getting brighter, and bigger every game. He does it all, and well. He wants the ball in the clutch too, and believes he will deliver. I was also surprised his perimeter defense is better, and becoming another shutdown defender. Steward, Selvig, and Stockton are all good leaders too. Kevin Henderson, has all that in him too.
(8) The coaching staff is confident in both the offense, and defense. In turn, it allows them to keep teams off guard in not knowing what to expect. If I were to coach against the GRIZ, I would hate to game plan against them, because they can throw so many things at anyone, at anytime.
My only concerns are rebounding, and closely called officiating can hurt them. This team is so confident in their perimeter defense creating turnovers. A badly officiated game can really take away that from them. With that said, note to BSC officials, "Please let the GRIZ and Wildcats play" in the Montana/Weber State game. Let the players determine the game, not the officials.
As for Sac State, I see a lot of momentum carrying over from the UNC game, and a double digit GRIZ victory. Don't be surprised to see Kevin Henderson getting more minutes, and an offensive boost.
Thank you for a great game GRIZ! Also it was nice seeing the parents, friends, and family of Jordan Gregory and Jordan Wood. All of you are classy people. :thumb:
It was great to talk with Coach Tinkle, and a few players for a few minutes after the game. I sense a lot more confidence, and silent believe in everyone, from every player, to every coach. Also a very calming, and confident, one game at a time approach. Based on the game, and some conversation, this team is on a mission this season.
I seen some very obvious, and positive things to me since seeing the GRIZ at CSU.
(1) The offense is crisply ran consistently, no matter the set, or personnel. Their spacing, and awareness is as good as it has ever been during Coach Tinkle's regime. Are they perfect, hell no, but they execute well, and it makes a huge difference. Even when the shots do not fall, they get points from defense, and fast.
(2) They are confident from the perimeter now, ready to shoot, and believe no matter who is shooting, the shot is going in. That could be part of the rebounding struggles too. Selvig, Cherry, Jamar, Henderson, Steward, Stockton, and Ward all shot the 3 against UNC without hesitation when it was open, and the results were solid. The confidence in the perimeter game has arrived, and I don't see it leaving either. Speaking of perimeter shooting, Weisner's ankle looked almost healed, and he told me he thinks he should be playing soon.
(3) Please get off Derek Selvig's ass, about him as a player. His intangibles are off the charts, and his passing has always been good, but it is better now. He has always had the instincts as a playermaker with his passing, but he has improved a lot. How? Like a young quarter back, he has learned to use touch on more passes, verses the bullets that were so hard to handle. He also seems to know what player can handle what kind of pass. He used to try throwing through defenders too often. Now he uses crisp bounce passes, lobs, and more finesse on his no look, and tip passes. His passing alone is worth 8 points per game to the GRIZ, most nights. Derek is also very confident shooting the 3 at big moments now too. I think some of Will Cherry has rubbed off onto Derek in that regard.
Defensively, he is not a shot blocker, but his length in the paint does impact a lot of shots, in not going in. He has awesome hands in poking the ball away in the paint too. The observations about how to use Derek, appear to be dead on accurate. He, and the coaching staff are on the same page as to what kind of player he is, and he is much more comfortable on the court now, and not pressing as much. Derek is very fun to watch, especially his 3 point shooting, and passing.
(4) The observations, well at least the results of our paint defense were accurate, but here is what I seen at the game live, verses what was seen online. The refereeing inside the paint calls was absolutely terrible, horrific, or whatever you want to call it. Even when the GRIZ bigs (Primarily Ward, and Selvig) were set, and/or straight up the damn whistle was being blown. To be honest, 75% plus of the in the paint calls, on both sides, were outright BS calls. That kind of officiating leads to tentative defensive play inside. A lot of our paint defensive struggles were the result of a very badly officiated game.
(5) Perimeter defenders are awesome, and even more "everywhere" seeing them live, than online. I am not sure if it was something the coaches picked up on or not, but officiating helped our defense on the perimeter. Unlike the post play, for the most part, the officials were letting the perimeter defenders play aggressively, and that it helped the GRIZ, due to how many talented defenders the GRIZ have. Cherry, Steward, Jamar, Wood (in his little time), Henderson, and even Selvig and Ward, were able to poke at the ball waist level, and below to create turnovers. UNC also created a few loose balls that way, too. To be honest, I did not see many missed calls on the perimeter.
(6) Kevin Henderson is emerging very nicely. Take his "T" with a grain of salt. It was another bad call, questionable, if giving the referee the benefit of the doubt. Even UNC fans were surprised by the call. Coach Tinkle was upset at the call, then got more upset, when Kevin tried to explain it. Tinkle just put a rest to the explanation by saying "enough", and he Henderson sat down. From what I seen Henderson thought he has missed the shot, and lipped some frustration, and when it went in, he reacted in what the referee thought was something else unsportsmanlike. I think Coach Tinkle, and the staff believed Henderson, because they did not hesitate to go back to Kevin, despite the "T". As for Henderson game, I unexpectedly, and surprisingly enough seen some Will Cherry, and Kareem Jamar confidence in him. He did not back down defensively, and when he did make a mistake, he recovered quickly,and smartly. He took the ball to the hole confidently as well. He looked like he belonged out there. I have a feeling his playing time will continue to increase, and he will remain to get good minutes.
(7) Leadership, and confidence is very high on this team. Will Cherry takes his game to a new level, every time I see him play. It has become contagious in this team. Every perimeter player pokes at the ball in crowds, or when an offensive players turns his head. We have a handful of guys wanting to shoot the ball now, and not playing scared. Kareem Jamar leadership is getting brighter, and bigger every game. He does it all, and well. He wants the ball in the clutch too, and believes he will deliver. I was also surprised his perimeter defense is better, and becoming another shutdown defender. Steward, Selvig, and Stockton are all good leaders too. Kevin Henderson, has all that in him too.
(8) The coaching staff is confident in both the offense, and defense. In turn, it allows them to keep teams off guard in not knowing what to expect. If I were to coach against the GRIZ, I would hate to game plan against them, because they can throw so many things at anyone, at anytime.
My only concerns are rebounding, and closely called officiating can hurt them. This team is so confident in their perimeter defense creating turnovers. A badly officiated game can really take away that from them. With that said, note to BSC officials, "Please let the GRIZ and Wildcats play" in the Montana/Weber State game. Let the players determine the game, not the officials.
As for Sac State, I see a lot of momentum carrying over from the UNC game, and a double digit GRIZ victory. Don't be surprised to see Kevin Henderson getting more minutes, and an offensive boost.
Thank you for a great game GRIZ! Also it was nice seeing the parents, friends, and family of Jordan Gregory and Jordan Wood. All of you are classy people. :thumb:
