Here are a few more observations, and one little post-game anecdote from the Huskies’ win last night over Cal State Northridge:
Without anything actually happening to elicit the change (at least nothing I could see), Coach made one of the fastest substitutions I’ve seen in a while last night, substituting Darnell Gant for Elston Turner 65 seconds into the game. Maybe he felt that Elston earned the start with his play at Texas Tech, but Coach decided he wanted to go bigger against Northridge early on? Not sure why.
If what Coach said is true, and the rotation will be trimmed for the next few games, at least Clarence got his money’s worth while he was on the court last night. In four minutes, he scored four points, grabbed four rebounds, turned the ball over twice and committed three fouls. He does make things happen when he’s in the game — it’s just a crapshoot whether those things are going to help the Huskies, or hurt them.
Trent does hustle, though. His rebounds are never cheapies. He often gets them by charging into a pack of opposing players and grabbing a ball that would’ve gone to the other team.
New nickname for Matthew Bryan-Amaning: “The Big Goaltender.” Has anyone else noticed that MBA will generally get called for a goaltending violation once per game? Rarely twice, but almost always once.
Really impressed with the way the Huskies came out and asserted their dominance over the final 15 minutes. Looking at just a one-point lead five minutes into the second half, it was hard not to think about how devastating it would be to lose this very winnable game. It’s crazy to say so early in the season, but, as far as the Huskies’ aspirations to be thought of as a national power, this was as close to a must-win as it was going to get (given the loss on Thursday and a very tough game coming up on Saturday).
Tyreese Breshers committed five fouls in 10 minutes against the Matadors. It’s been hard to get a sense of what he’ll be able to do with 20-25 minutes per game. Last night, he had three points, five rebounds, three blocks and three turnovers.
I’m a little concerned about how the Dawgs are going to handle talented Georgetown big men Greg Monroe (6’11″, 250) and Julian Vaughn (6’9″, 246) on Saturday. I haven’t seen anything so far to tell me that the Huskies can defend a team with two powerful presences in the post.
Quincy hit his first three-pointer of the season last night. He said during the post-game press conference that the coaches have been encouraging him to shoot it when he’s open. Prior to hitting one of his two attempts tonight, he was 0-5 on the year.
And, finally, a little anecdote:
After the game, while I was writing my post-game story in the press room, a group of players came in looking for a stat sheet. The group included Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Clarence Trent, Scott Suggs and Elston Turner. In the five minutes they went through the stats together, I’d say 90% of the discussion was about the Huskies’ team stats versus the Matadors’ stats (rebounding total, field goal percentage, free throw shooting, etc.). VERY little discussion about personal stats.
MBA mentioned that the coaches told him to focus on other areas of the game since his shot wasn’t falling (he had 10 rebounds), and also said to his teammates that he didn’t think Coach Romar was happy with the performance, given that the Dawgs shot only 40%.
I was in the middle of writing, so wasn’t really listening with full attention, but thought it was interesting to hear the things the players were focusing on.
Thanks for coming!
Tags: analysis, Post-game story
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Understand your point about Trent……but I’d rather have him in there instead of Gant and sometimes even Breshers. They all get after the boards, but when it comes to providing something offensively……I think Trent is the better play. On a team that has little post prescence….I think that’s something you have to seriously consider.
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I’ve been watching games across the country and seems like everyone has doubts about their teams with few exceptions. Many powerhouses have struggled (Michigan St, North Carolina, Louisville, Oklahoma, Kentucky and of course UCLA), the list goes on. Someone mentioned to me that we are overrated. Well, everyone is this time of year. Teams we have beaten keep winning now (Wright St, PSU, Belmont). Nationally, we have work to do as does everyone else. We are going to win ugly games this year and have questions all year long. Can we handle the big guys at Georgetown? We will have to shoot well and get Monroe in foul trouble. He plays on the perimeter and then drives, passes. Hopefully we can get some offensively fouls on him. Watch that on Saturday. I don’t know where we would be without QP and beginning to wonder who will take his place next year in the offense. He is good.
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I agree re Trent. His rebounds per minute work out to about 6.5 per 15 to 16 minutes and some very agressive work on the offensive glass. He also has the ability to block shots and make the adrenalin jam that can up the ante for the dawgs. Love to see him get some more minutes and could well happen vs Georgetown with their bigs.
Quincy may end up a surprise three ball guy. Just judging from his free throw release and jumper he seems to have the hand and wrist action of a potentially(current 53.7%) top notch shooter. Just needs a bit more confidence from that range.
Nice to hear the anecdotal ‘team’ discussion.
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Bulletin:
Clarence Trent had 3 personal fouls and 2 turnovers in the 4 minute stretch that he play. He came back late and had another personal in that two-minute stretch. He scored 4 points and got four rebounds in those 6 minutes, but taking care of the ball and playing defense without fouling are way off the charts right now to the negative.
The same thing happened last year at Patterson. He had great stat lines in limited minutes off the bench, but couldn’t stay in games because of the same type of PF and TO stat lines. He needs to be a bench guy and listen to the coaches as to how to take better care of the ball and play hard on defense without fouling before he gets meaningful minutes.
Trent is a star in the making, but he just needs to work on a few things to make his skills applicable to a team at this level. Clarence is the kind of guy you see in pick-up and say this guy is the greatest, but that’s because stats like fouls and turnovers aren’t as consequential, because if you foul you just check the ball and if no one is playing too organized mistakes in execution don’t happen, because there isn’t much of any to screw up.
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Great comments Gersen. Truthfully, prior to the 2nd half run I was coming to grips with myself that this Husky team just may not be that good…then it all starts clicking and you see a glimpse of what they can be.
Many of the criticisms and concerns leveled at this team are fair and accurate…but at least the potential is there for them to overcome those and be great.
I’m not predicting either way, but I sure do hope they figure some of these things out and become the team they are capable of being.
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“The Big Goaltender” is apt for MBA. I wouldn’t mind if he was being aggressive and just mistimed a few, but some of them are egregious. He also has trouble blocking the ball without spiking it like it’s a damn volleyball. I know players like the big, intimidating swat, but its just as impressive and deflating to the other team to simply snatch the ball out of the air.
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Jimmy…..great points on Trent. But I have to speak up a little about the foul troubles (at least this year). It would be rather unfair not to mention that the Huskies have played in a lot of games so far this season where we wish the officials would just swallow the whistle. Including last night’s game, officals have called an average of 46 fouls per game. With the exception of a game or two this year, I’ve found myself yelling “Let them play!!” at the officials quite a bit.
Watching every minute of the contests so far this year and the type of refs we’ve had…..you have to cut Trent a little bit of slack. You have to believe the refs will get better as the season wears on in not calling a lot of the ticky-tac fouls….which in my view, Trent has gotten a lot of.
You make a great point about the turnovers though…..
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How good are we? It’s impossible to tell right now, and truthfully, it doesn’t matter. I think last year’s Husky team went through a stretch (when Dentmon was playing so inspired) that made them look like a top-ten team. Then, the Pac-10 tourney came and they were awful…and they were not much better in the big dance.
How we start doesn’t matter. It’s all about the finish. How good can we be? Now, thats the more appropriate question. The decisions Romar makes (if he EVER does!) on this rotation will define how high that ceiling is.
Trent looks like an absolute baller. If he can figure out how to play smart, I think he can be a big part of a special season. Coach Romar, if you read this, here are my recommendations.
30-35 minutes : IT, Quincy
25-30: Gaddy, MBA, Holiday
20-25: Venoy, Turner
10-20: Trent, Gant
5-10: BresheersThis team can’t win with Suggs in the lineup. I am sure he could play well at a D-1 school, but the frantic, physical, up-and-down style that has become a trademark of this team, doesn’t jive with his game. Romar knows it, and he needs to act on it ASAP.
Bresheers slows us down. Gant is not that athletic. They should go in against big, physical teams (like Georgetown), but stay on the bench for the most part against smaller teams (virtually the entire Pac-10).
Coach: Nobody can get into a rhythm when they play 65 seconds at a time. Come on now.
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Did you notice Michigan St and Texas A & M struggled last night? As Romar said, our mistakes can be fixed. Let’s hope so.
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Moustache,
I disagree re: Suggs. Trent still needs time to adjust to the college game and Holiday is a liability on offense right now. If he gets more than 2 shots per game, Suggs can put some points on the board.
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