(UTSA 8-14, 2-7), at (WSU 9-13, 1-8) GAME THREAD

[Kung Wu]

Does it matter whether it's Wednesday or Thursday?

Missed it, eh?

[BOBB]

I don’t want to hear how bad UTSA was. We needed that. Great win for the team.

[asiseeit]

Ballards development is impressive. And you are not imagining. KP is and always has been weak. While he is tall, he is not cutout to play D1 ball. I hate badmouthing a player like him, who seems to be a good kid and puts good effort into the game, but facts are facts.

Was KP weak the 2nd half of last season playing for IB ? Was he weak the earlier part of this season where he had several very solid games at PF? Eight boards and three assists last night in 16 minutes. Was that not pretty darn good for a backup center? I am 100% on board with QB starting but KP is badly needed and a solid contributor. I don't see any fall off offensively with him in there. Defensively, he may not be a shot blocker but he does stay in the paint where he belongs, he blocks out well for others to rebound while grabbing some himself, and taps out some balls for others, as well. He is a keeper, for sure !

[Stickboy46]

I don’t want to hear how bad UTSA was. We needed that. Great win for the team.

UTSA being bad, Us really needing that, And it being a great win for the team can all be true at the same time

[WstateU]

While the game was relaxing and enjoyable, 'Ms. Leatherpants' was sporting her high top leather boots again; that was the highlight of my evening.

[Topshock]

Was KP weak the 2nd half of last season playing for IB ? Was he weak the earlier part of this season where he had several very solid games at PF? Eight boards and three assists last night in 16 minutes. Was that not pretty darn good for a backup center? I am 100% on board with QB starting but KP is badly needed and a solid contributor. I don't see any fall off offensively with him in there. Defensively, he may not be a shot blocker but he does stay in the paint where he belongs, he blocks out well for others to rebound while grabbing some himself, and taps out some balls for others, as well. He is a keeper, for sure !

As far as I am concerned, KP is weak every time he plays.

Last night he had the most energy I have ever seen from him and he played well. If we can keep him as a backup center next year, I think we should at this stage of our program.

Offensive ratings last night:

KP 124
QB 181

[TrackSuitAndTie]

You can immediately tell when Joy is on the court that he needs to play next season. Physically mature, can seemingly shoot, and looks like a dog on defense.

[Atxshoxfan]

Was KP weak the 2nd half of last season playing for IB ? Was he weak the earlier part of this season where he had several very solid games at PF? Eight boards and three assists last night in 16 minutes. Was that not pretty darn good for a backup center? I am 100% on board with QB starting but KP is badly needed and a solid contributor. I don't see any fall off offensively with him in there. Defensively, he may not be a shot blocker but he does stay in the paint where he belongs, he blocks out well for others to rebound while grabbing some himself, and taps out some balls for others, as well. He is a keeper, for sure !

KP has had some good games, but they are few and far between. He could develope to be a great player if he added some weight, improved his vertical jump ability and became more physical in his playing style. But I think his mentality doesn't allow for physical play. That used to be ok, in the old days, but today you better be physical.
And yes he had some good games last year as well, but I've just never been impressed overall.

[Woodrow]

Does it matter whether it's Wednesday or Thursday?

Yes.

[CBB_Fan]

Ballard only played 16 minutes because he immediately fouled while coming in for Pohto for his second rotation, resulting in him going back to the bench with foul trouble.

Between that and putting in the subs, he lost about 6 to 8 minutes of playing time.

[Woodrow]

I like RD3's hustle. He seems to be rubbing off on others. Thengvall's block and rebound was also great hustle.

[ShockerFever]

UTSA being bad, Us really needing that, And it being a great win for the team can all be true at the same time

We don’t have to hear about it in every effing post from you. So bad that they took Memphis to overtime in Memphis and was ahead of us in the league standings.

We get it. They suck. But this team is looking for W’s right now and we DGAF who it’s against. We aren’t building up an at large resume right now.

[shocker43]

You can immediately tell when Joy is on the court that he needs to play next season. Physically mature, can seemingly shoot, and looks like a dog on defense.

No, you can't. His first possession was a wild, uncontrolled spin move in the lane into two defenders that resulted in a turnover. He was late defensively on multiple switches. Maybe the kid turns into something down the road, but trying to gather this kind of information about him during mop-up minutes is silly. If he was capable of helping the team more than other people on the court, he would be getting minutes now. Do we think the walk-on is a defensive god because he got one block in the last minute of a 20 point game? If Germany hits the wide open three are we yelling for more Germany minutes because he made a shot? I get people on this board are pining for this kid to play, but come on.

[asiseeit]

Can anyone name me a few reserve centers with better stats than KP? What if QB hurts his back again? Can QB play thirty minutes or more without it adversely effecting his game? Don't understand the negativity several of you have re him or your lack of understanding about his value to the team. Sometimes I wonder about the BBIQ of some posters.

[Shockm]

Was KP weak the 2nd half of last season playing for IB ? Was he weak the earlier part of this season where he had several very solid games at PF? Eight boards and three assists last night in 16 minutes. Was that not pretty darn good for a backup center? I am 100% on board with QB starting but KP is badly needed and a solid contributor. I don't see any fall off offensively with him in there. Defensively, he may not be a shot blocker but he does stay in the paint where he belongs, he blocks out well for others to rebound while grabbing some himself, and taps out some balls for others, as well. He is a keeper, for sure !

KP isn't a bad player. He has some great skills. Mainly, he is a top notch passer, and he is tall, and a decent ball handler for 6"10.

He's a decent low post player (not great), decent rebounder (not great), and is decent on defense (although not a shot blocker). If he had more heft and strength, he'd be better in the low post. With a better outside stroke, he'd be perfect facing the basket, and passing out of the high post. As it is, they don't really have to follow him closely on the perimeter.

I was hoping that his shooting stroke would improve this year, but it hasn't. If he was able to hit just 33-36% of his 3 point attempts, and be a consistent 70% free throw shooter, he would be a very good player, and be able to play a little 4. But for the skills he has, he's not as good as QB, and not capable of helping us at the 4. He's best as our back up 5 man. He's not as bad as some say. He's a good D1 player off the bench, but not as good as I hoped when he decided to be a Shocker.