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Perhaps....we handled their "physicality" pretty darned well for most of the game. You always "look good" when you shoot the ball well. That being said, we mostly took good shots and we made every effort to get the ball inside and be successful "inside out". Mark was good this way...so is Gregg.
We didn't rebound as well as I thought we did. The effort, however, was all over the court.
Personnel-wise:
Clevin Hannah - he really has done a nice job leading this team. Undersized and often overmatched at least physically, he has been a stalwart and without him we are essentially dead. Still makes the same bad decision when he gets too deep. His defense is surprisingly strong given his lack of size and speed. We asked a lot of him yesterday and he mostly delivered. B+
JT Durley - the 4 blocks were glitzy, but his defense was average. 4 turnovers is too many for your post man. 32 minutes and he played HARD for the vast majority of those minutes. Got to have more than 2 boards and less than 4 turnovers. The effort was there, no doubt. C+
Toure' Murry - Really good defensively. Big time shooting from 3 but otherwise 1-8 and 0-2 at the line. Was visibly frustrated at times and he simply has to overcome those moments. Big time plays that change the game counts for something. B
AJ Hawkins - Outstanding defensively. 5-8 from the field, team leading 8 boards (4 big offensive boards) 2 assists and NO turnovers and NO bad decisions. Simply put, this was about as much as you could ever ask from AJ. A+
Ramon Clemente - Senior leadership. Great D. 7 boards, 3-4 from the field, 4-4 from the line :yahoo: 3 assists, 2 turnovers. Again, I'm not sure what more you could ask from this young man. A
Reggie Chamberlain - struggled, as usual, with the bigger stronger guards. Surprisingly no turnovers. No assists or points either...did get 2 boards. Still struggles on defense from time to time. C
David Kyles - Young man is getting better and better with each game. Still needs to focus all the time. As a boxing commentator once said, he is prone to spasms of lucidity. Supremely talented, it's going to be the little things (not the 2-2 from 3) like rebounds, assists and defense that get him more minutes and thereby WSU more success. B-
Aaron Ellis - Is more and more comfortable....but damn that toe. I'd love to see where he could be had he been healthy for 2 years. Solid enough to give the starters a blow without causing trouble....not bad but not exactly a ringing endorsement. Let's hope that toe magically repairs itself.
Graham Hatch - tweaked his ankle and he hobbled a lot. Stayed on it to keep it from tightening up....shows the guts he has. Not much to show stat wise but it's his intangibles that make him important. C+
Brett Steven - Always good to see the walkons get in. A+
Reggie Britton Jr. - Thrills me to tears to see him play. 1 assist gets him in the books. A+
I was happy to see David Kyles back at full strength but I hope Hatch is ok....I bet that ankle hurts today.
Very sad to see Mantas shake his head "no" when Coach asked if he wanted to go in late in the game, only because the injuries have forced him into having to make that decision.
We better send these 2 seniors out right on Tuesday.
We didn't rebound as well as I thought we did. The effort, however, was all over the court.
Personnel-wise:
Clevin Hannah - he really has done a nice job leading this team. Undersized and often overmatched at least physically, he has been a stalwart and without him we are essentially dead. Still makes the same bad decision when he gets too deep. His defense is surprisingly strong given his lack of size and speed. We asked a lot of him yesterday and he mostly delivered. B+
JT Durley - the 4 blocks were glitzy, but his defense was average. 4 turnovers is too many for your post man. 32 minutes and he played HARD for the vast majority of those minutes. Got to have more than 2 boards and less than 4 turnovers. The effort was there, no doubt. C+
Toure' Murry - Really good defensively. Big time shooting from 3 but otherwise 1-8 and 0-2 at the line. Was visibly frustrated at times and he simply has to overcome those moments. Big time plays that change the game counts for something. B
AJ Hawkins - Outstanding defensively. 5-8 from the field, team leading 8 boards (4 big offensive boards) 2 assists and NO turnovers and NO bad decisions. Simply put, this was about as much as you could ever ask from AJ. A+
Ramon Clemente - Senior leadership. Great D. 7 boards, 3-4 from the field, 4-4 from the line :yahoo: 3 assists, 2 turnovers. Again, I'm not sure what more you could ask from this young man. A
Reggie Chamberlain - struggled, as usual, with the bigger stronger guards. Surprisingly no turnovers. No assists or points either...did get 2 boards. Still struggles on defense from time to time. C
David Kyles - Young man is getting better and better with each game. Still needs to focus all the time. As a boxing commentator once said, he is prone to spasms of lucidity. Supremely talented, it's going to be the little things (not the 2-2 from 3) like rebounds, assists and defense that get him more minutes and thereby WSU more success. B-
Aaron Ellis - Is more and more comfortable....but damn that toe. I'd love to see where he could be had he been healthy for 2 years. Solid enough to give the starters a blow without causing trouble....not bad but not exactly a ringing endorsement. Let's hope that toe magically repairs itself.
Graham Hatch - tweaked his ankle and he hobbled a lot. Stayed on it to keep it from tightening up....shows the guts he has. Not much to show stat wise but it's his intangibles that make him important. C+
Brett Steven - Always good to see the walkons get in. A+
Reggie Britton Jr. - Thrills me to tears to see him play. 1 assist gets him in the books. A+
I was happy to see David Kyles back at full strength but I hope Hatch is ok....I bet that ankle hurts today.
Very sad to see Mantas shake his head "no" when Coach asked if he wanted to go in late in the game, only because the injuries have forced him into having to make that decision.
We better send these 2 seniors out right on Tuesday.
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