mtgrizrule
Well-known member
Just got to the game. I expect everyone to play.
Mavman said:GRIZ are deep
Damn
Bear Axed said:Let's Go Brandon
:thumb:
mtgrizrule said:Bear Axed said:Let's Go Brandon
:thumb:
I'm so tempted
[/quot
As in “Let’s Go Brandon the Cats?”
Ah, grizrule, I’m disappointed in you. This just the kind of shit you complain about on this board. Stick to basketball, puh-lease.
mtgrizrule said:Added highlight. Kyle Owens with a quick guitar strum on his made 3s.
Griz til I die said:Lock down defense. Hell of a performance defensively. I thought it was a little bit hard to get a gauge on our offense because Dickinson State had no defense, but I thought we spread the ball around nicely. We definitely took our foot off the gas pedal offensively in the second half. Almost felt like we were experimenting in the second half. Good opening night performance though.
bearister said:Bannon is HUGE. Looks like he put on 20 lbs of muscle since last year’
mtgrizrule said:It sure was terrific to be watching GRIZ basketball live again.
I came away very impressed with the depth, defense, ball movement, and team attitude.
Travis played 11 guys within the 1st 10 minutes of the game. I didn't notice any drop off in effectiveness. No matter the lineup on the floor, they were cohesive on both ends of the court. There was a stretch of DSU handing it to the GRIZ with their offensive rebounding. Fortunately, the GRIZ got that under control as the game progressed. There were a few breakdowns with DSU getting to the rim. However, the GRIZ trapped well, and not many open looks from the perimeter. The additional depth allowed for more defensive intensity and experimentation, that we haven't seen before. The additions of Blakeney, Martin, and return of DCH appear to be just what the DR ordered. Let me expand on that.
The GRIZ were able to extend the defense with traps out to midcourt, with a mix of different personnel trapping. They were able to gamble with on the ball strip attempts, tipped balls, etc. Martin, Owens, and DCH are very defensive versatile, in being able to defend multiple positions. Mac Anderson takes post defensive hedging to a whole new level. He consistently hedged out to midcourt and quickly got back to the paint, when he wasn't wrecking havoc further out. He did this kind of hedging frequently. Usually with great success. I recall, no less than 4 straight DSU possessions resulting in turnovers with Mac trapping at or near midcourt, along with our guards. Meanwhile Martin, Owens, and DCH were in position to defend the paint and the perimeter, until Anderson could recover his paint position.
Krslovic used to hedge well out to the 3 point line. However, Anderson did so out to half court, with ease. That boy is defensively agile for a post defender, ditto Owens. What even impressed me more, Mac stayed out of foul trouble. He also aggressively rebounded and blocked shots. If Anderson can continue this kind of defensive play, I care less what he contributes offensively. He is a damn defensive machine, when allowed to play it. Granted, it was a lesser opponent, but his ability to cover the ground he does quickly is impressive. It looks to me, the depth and versatility at post, will allow the GRIZ to use Anderson like that at a regular basis. Blakeney is a true in the paint position defender and rebounder. It will be interesting to see if the GRIZ experiment with him hedging. I'd like to see what Owens and DCH can do with more aggressive hedging, when Anderson is sitting. I think they're capable of being very solid aggressive hedge defenders (new term I am using, especially with Anderson). Anyway, the defense is well ahead of schedule, based on how crisp their defensive rotations and awareness. The defense looks very aggressive and cohesive. Very impressed with the defense and depth.
Personnel wise, everyone is ready to contribute comfortably up to 11 players. If, all 11 continue with consistency, DeCuire will have a lot of difficult decisions to make. I'm hoping, he will decide to use his depth like this more often. At the very least, go deep in the 1st half, to determine who has it, and who doesn't. I honestly feel, that kind of depth allows for more aggressive and better defense for 40 minutes. The guard depth is very versatile. Parker, Whitney, Beasley, and Vazquez each initiated the offense at various points. I'm sure, Parker and Whitney each had 5 or more assists. Also, the GRIZ missed several shots, that were from nice assists. The assist total should have been close to 25, if not for the misses. All the guards play great defense as well. Also, Martin is more of a true guard than a SF. He doesn't have a weakness. He does everything well, on both ends of the court. He adds a lot of perimeter defense, shooting, and ball control . He brings a lot of intensity too. As for our forwards and centers, I like the variety of what each brings to the team. Added bonus, as mentioned before, Owens, DCH, and Martin have the physical tools to guard inside, outside, on the ball, and off the ball. Offensively, they all are capable scorers that can score at all 3 levels. It was nice to see Owens and DCH find their games again too. Those 2 off the bench give this team a lot of versatility and potential scoring. Blakeney brings solid inside scoring, rebounding, and post defense. He fits in well with this team. Finally Bannan, he too is versatile on offense as a 3 level scorer. If needed, he can be a consistent go to guy on offense. He always plays hard and is consistently in the right position. His defense is solid, just doesn't stand out with it.
Onto team attitude, It looks to me, Owens is "That Guy" that keeps everyone in high spirits. His personality stands out on and off the court. From the bench, he leads cheers, keeps guys loose, and his personality is contagious. On the court, he's starting to let that personality shine too. Normally, I'm not a big fan of on court animations. However, he's an exception. His air guitar strumming after hitting 3's was done in great fun. The fans and teammates enjoyed it. He did it in fun. He wasn't taunting the opponent, but adding an element of entertainment to the game. Seriously, how can anyone not like Owens? Speaking of entertainment, he may have a future as an entertainer. Just watch how he interacts with the team, on and off the court. As for the team, every player was very engaged on the bench, paid close attention to the coaches, and appeared happy to be here.
Overall, 2 things really stood out to me, Defense and team morale. They were very in sync on defense, consistently moved the ball well, and encouraged 1 another. All those are terrific signs for the season. Granted, it's difficult to truly evaluate the team when playing lower competition. However, I was impressed how the took care of business and set the tone from the start, and kept it for a whole game. Travis did tone it down though in the 2nd half. Between the maturing and adding the perfect personnel in the off season, early indications are, the GRIZ will be a contender again this year. We shall see and learn more as the competition is greatly magnified over the next few games.
GREAT JOB, boys!!! Keep it up!