Great win today. Looking ahead till conference play I think we’ll be favored in every game until then. WKU will be a very good test, Ga. Tech should be solid, but for the most part it should be fun to watch the team grow over the rest of the year. Plus add the secret weapon of Jordan Phillips I hope.
We’ve got a solid non-con ahead. WKU, FIU, CSU, and Georgia Tech will be good teams to beat. But I agree, if we play just with the intensity and mostly intelligent defense we’ve played, I think we can win out our non-con and be 11-1 going into conference play.
I’m sure it changed some today, but prior to the Texass game, I went to ESPN and looked at each game on our schedule, and the “predictor.” They had us favored in 8 of the 13 non-conf, and even more shockingly only 3 of our conference games. I’d like to look at them again (the conference games anyway) towards the end of Dec, and see how much it changes.
I think we will be much better than expected, and I really expect Phillips to help. IMO, I think Phillips ends up starting at the 3 and Jones goes to the bench like Macon his JR year, to give the second team a scorer to help them out.
Right now I would think that Jones is our second best player overall and you think that Phillips is going to send him to the bench? Wow! That would be the best thing that could happen to this team except for Garland playing.
I think Phillips is a good player, but you need to reread what I said. Jones would go to the bench to help the second wave have a scorer, not that Phillips will be so good Jones will be regulated to the bench. That’s what happened with Macon his Jr year. It’s about having help on the second wave in close games so our starters can have a rest. Plus, the final five guys, may not be the five that starts.
Now, I saw someone earlier mention having Gafford and four guards, Phillips is a 6’7 guard, so I can see a lineup of Harris, Joe, Jones, Phillips, and Gafford as well. And Phillips has the length and quickness to create problems for PF’s trying to guard him.
Good point Bake. CMA can experiment when Phillips get to playing in game action.
I hope the second group can be effective without Jones! I like his passing skills to Gafford. They are starting to make some good plays together. Phillips is going to impact regardless if he starts or comes off the bench. The one player no one is mentioning is Henderson. There’s another big that needs to earn some playing time.
His development is important along with the other big man on the bench. We will need depth to get some players rest.
Gafford was totally gassed today and without him on the floor we looked bad.
I ABSOLUTELY agree with you about Henderson. He was our highest rated recruit, I don’t understand how he can’t even get a few minutes to give Gafford a break. I know he needs a little time to adjust, but we are gonna wear Gafford out, and he won’t be worth a dang come March (exhausted, and we’ve seen it happen before).
Gafford is getting some time on the bench and is subbed out for Gabe and Reggie. The problem is Gafford is so much better than those two that his presence is required in tight situations to have a chance to win. I think that would be the case with Henderson also.
We know by now Mike tries to build confidence in a player and he is not going to put someone in and risk destroying that confidence.
You may recall that I was saying that Henderson will get minutes in the face of the reports that he was slow in developing. I have to admit I was wrong.
I generally don’t like to do this, but it’s my opinion - Henderson can’t play. He is skinny, lacks lateral quickness and has no post moves. He has looked lost in every game I’ve watched him play. He has 2 assets - he is tall and can jump. I don’t think he is a SEC level player.
How about that catch cheney made under the basket for the layup tho! nice hands on that one!
Getting Gafford more rest is mainly about the team getting better around him. Nobody is going to come close to replacing what he does individually. However, if we can get a unit that can play small ball effectively, that won’t be necessary. Gafford on the bench might be a good time to throw a changeup with the full scramble pressure. Likewise, I think Harris is good enough that we can empty the lane, spread the court, and let his drives key the offense. I’d like to see more drives from Harris regardless. The bench is going to improve significantly as the season progresses. It’s more about finding combinations that can play effectively without Gafford, which will require a different approach than when he is on the court with his considerable talents.