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- Aug 24, 2011
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I re-watched the game this morning and came away very impressed with how well the team defended the top of the key. On one of the last defensive stands they made, TO hedged out at the at the top of the key preventing the guard from cutting into the lane and retreated back to his man as the defending guard (Boat or Bazz) re-engaged. It was executed perfectly.
It's plays like that which are either executed well or not that can determine the outcome of the game. This is a team that will need to execute well in the areas where they can be strong to make up for their areas of weakness, such as rebounding and post play on both ends of the floor.
I was pleasantly surprised, probably shocked is a better fit, at how many shots they blocked. Not to take away from this huge win, but the Spartan bigs were dumb as dirt at times, lowering the ball and putting it on the floor in traffic.
I think the tale of this season lies in their ability to take away some of the other teams perimeter punch and get more takeaways than their opponent, especially when teams try to dribble in traffic areas to make up for the 2nd chances they'll give up due to rebound differential.
Hopefully as the season goes, the team will improve in their team rebounding reducing the other teams second changes a tad and getting a few more of their own. The fact is they're not going to get bigger and stronger any time soon, but all teams have their weaknesses. It comes down to who can exploit the others teams weaknesses more.
Last night KO had his kids ready and they were able to disrupt the Spartan handlers throughout the game. They were not able to get the ball in the post as much or as easily as they had hoped, and when they did get the ball there, the D did a good enough job of swarming in on them, giving up few easy and/or uncontested shots.
I really didn't expect them to execute as well as they did on defense based on all the good looks they were giving up during the two preseason games, but they really stepped up their D last night. Just seems no matter who is thrown out there on the court, it's still the out-hustle and out-will Husky hoops we've come to know.
It's plays like that which are either executed well or not that can determine the outcome of the game. This is a team that will need to execute well in the areas where they can be strong to make up for their areas of weakness, such as rebounding and post play on both ends of the floor.
I was pleasantly surprised, probably shocked is a better fit, at how many shots they blocked. Not to take away from this huge win, but the Spartan bigs were dumb as dirt at times, lowering the ball and putting it on the floor in traffic.
I think the tale of this season lies in their ability to take away some of the other teams perimeter punch and get more takeaways than their opponent, especially when teams try to dribble in traffic areas to make up for the 2nd chances they'll give up due to rebound differential.
Hopefully as the season goes, the team will improve in their team rebounding reducing the other teams second changes a tad and getting a few more of their own. The fact is they're not going to get bigger and stronger any time soon, but all teams have their weaknesses. It comes down to who can exploit the others teams weaknesses more.
Last night KO had his kids ready and they were able to disrupt the Spartan handlers throughout the game. They were not able to get the ball in the post as much or as easily as they had hoped, and when they did get the ball there, the D did a good enough job of swarming in on them, giving up few easy and/or uncontested shots.
I really didn't expect them to execute as well as they did on defense based on all the good looks they were giving up during the two preseason games, but they really stepped up their D last night. Just seems no matter who is thrown out there on the court, it's still the out-hustle and out-will Husky hoops we've come to know.
