MSU and North Carolina State faced off, as you likely know from your XM acquisition, for the Big Ten ACC challenge Wednesday night. From the tip it looked as though MSU had more energy. The game was over in the first 6 or 7 minutes.
The summary is pretty basic. NCSt did not pressure our guards on the perimeter. To be fair: 1. NCSt was a tired team that had to travel, 2. MSU is much deeper, and 3. There were few half court sets in the first half as we ran the break very, very effectively.
A few things stuck out in my mind.
- Travis Walton was pushing the ball like Lucas, head down and shifty in traffic. He said after the game he's learned from having Lucas around. It will be nice to be able to push the ball no matter who is running point.
- Suton played offense and defense. He took an 18 footer and I didn't cringe. I think that says it all.
- Neitzel hit some big shots, but we didn't need him to. That's when he is going to be dangerous, when we're up 25 points and Drew isn't the reason.
- Raymar is unstoppable if 1. he decides to be, and 2. he stays out of foul trouble.
- The freshmen continue to grow. Coming off the bench after sitting the first 10 minutes, Allen hit a couple of threes (and, of course, missed a couple, since he shoots about 1/3 of the times he touches the ball). Summers had a very, very athletic play on the baseline going up and under for the basket and a foul. Amazing control and timing. Lucas is so fast up and down the floor and quick handed. "The fastest I've ever coached" says quite a bit.
Can't take too much from the game. NCSt looked tired and flat out of the gates. I suppose this is about as good as it gets, so it's a point of comparison. Also worth noting, NCSt was dared to shoot the 3, like most teams we play, and they missed. A lot. That made a big difference. Late in the game when NCSt made a run it was on 3's and energy, but they just didn't have enough in the tank to come back from 30 down. Teams like Bradley, BYU, and others upcoming will not miss the open 3 as often. I look forward to seeing whether we stick with the pack it in the paint "go ahead and shoot the 3" defense, or if we come out to challenge.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
CBE Classic Semifinal/Final
The men's basketball team showed a lot this week, both good and bad, but overall I'm left encouraged. Our semifinal matchup against Missouri was ugly at times, but ended with a win. The final against UCLA was mostly dominated by MSU, but ended in a loss. Neither is terribly upsetting (other than losing the ability to say we beat #1 in the country).
Missouri's coach was an understudy to Nolan Richardson (former Arkansas head coach) in the 1990's. Arkansas played the "40 Minutes of Hell" pressing, trapping, running game that was very effective for a stretch of about 8 years in the 1990's. Missouri doesn't have the athletes that Arkansas of old did, but the system is in place and with time the recruiting will start to pan out. Missouri is a good, athletic team and will be a VERY tough draw for a team come March.
That said, college basketball has some problems. Guards are allowed to hack and handcheck 30 ft from the basket without consequence. That has hurt MSU for years, going back to games against teams like Duke and Kentucky with physical guards. When you have to run your offense from 35 feet, with your back to the basket, and every other possession turns into an uncontested layup the other way, things aren't going to go well.
MSU pulled off the win over Missouri mostly due to, gulp, Goran the Moron. I do not support his game fully. This is not an awards ceremony for eastern european basketball goran suton style (and while we're on the topic, could announcers stop calling him a "typical, skilled, eastern european player?" Cause he's not. His footwork is terrible on both offense and defense) Mr. Suton is frustrating because he does great things. Then he does terrible things. In essence, he's a wash. Against Missouri he gave up baskets and rebounds, but in the clutch nailed a few shots and set a nice moving screen for Neitzel to hit a late 3. Neitzel was on FIRE early in the game, hitting 5 of 6 shots in the first half, and having scored 10 points within the first 6 minutes. Then he was blanketed until the late 3, followed by 2 free throws. The team was up as much as 16, gave up the lead, but held on hitting big shots down the stretch and doing just enough to win. Considering the style of play, the hostile crowd, and how early it is in the season, I'm fairly happy with the result. The reffing needs help, but the team did well.
UCLA was much the same. MSU came out strong on both ends and lead early by as much as 15. At half the lead was 10, and in the second half the lead fluctuated from 2-14, but was mostly dominated by MSU. The story line that stands out to me is the freshman for UCLA, Kevin Love, who apparently took time off from walking on water and healing leppers to grace us all with his basketball performance. Love gets more calls than Jordan. That's a crime. He's a baby fat clod with good hands. He has great touch around the basket and is huge, but he's not the second coming. In fact, when players were struggling for post position Love got the call every time. In my book, when two guys go at it hard and one flops around (despite being about 50-75 lbs heavier than the defender) he doesn't just get the call. These refs had never heard of a double foul, offensive foul (unless your name is Morgan, in which case it's the ONLY foul they know to call) or flopping. So as the "big, physical, bruising" MSU big men "pounded" Love and made him work hard for every point (see: go over the back, throw your fat ass around in the paint for 6 seconds, they go to the foul line) the MSU guards were getting mugged once again on the perimeter.
I don't quite get it. Apparently playing defense is only physical in the interior. When it happens on the perimeter (leading to uncontested layups because of where it occured on the floor) it's not "physical" but "aggressive" and "pressure MSU can't seem to handle." Too bad we don't have a 300 lb point guard that Dicky V is in love with (see: Kevin Jesus Love), then we could get every call and score 19 points at the free throw line.
That was the difference in the game. Free throws. MSU made 14 of 15 on the night. UCLA made 19 of 31. The makes weren't the difference, but the attempts. Foul trouble is putting it mildly. The pace of the game, the effece the fouls had on lineups and rebounding, and the kick out threes that came as a result of having to double team took their toll. UCLA took it's first lead with 30 seconds left. They won in the end by a deceiving 5 point margin.
Down 4 with under 20 seconds Neitzel fired up a LONG 3 that went wide left, getting no rim. Izzo started to give drew a hard time, but I was ok with it. Who else were we going to? What would we have said had he hit it? It was a tough shot, but I'm ok with it. Win some, lose some--that shot didn't "lose" the game. At the end of the day Neitzel was sick, Walton was hurt, and the freshman played ok, but Lucas was subpar (by his own lofty standards). I was impressed overall and am even more confident that as these freshmen continue to get minutes and experience we are going to be a VERY bad draw for most anyone in March.
Missouri's coach was an understudy to Nolan Richardson (former Arkansas head coach) in the 1990's. Arkansas played the "40 Minutes of Hell" pressing, trapping, running game that was very effective for a stretch of about 8 years in the 1990's. Missouri doesn't have the athletes that Arkansas of old did, but the system is in place and with time the recruiting will start to pan out. Missouri is a good, athletic team and will be a VERY tough draw for a team come March.
That said, college basketball has some problems. Guards are allowed to hack and handcheck 30 ft from the basket without consequence. That has hurt MSU for years, going back to games against teams like Duke and Kentucky with physical guards. When you have to run your offense from 35 feet, with your back to the basket, and every other possession turns into an uncontested layup the other way, things aren't going to go well.
MSU pulled off the win over Missouri mostly due to, gulp, Goran the Moron. I do not support his game fully. This is not an awards ceremony for eastern european basketball goran suton style (and while we're on the topic, could announcers stop calling him a "typical, skilled, eastern european player?" Cause he's not. His footwork is terrible on both offense and defense) Mr. Suton is frustrating because he does great things. Then he does terrible things. In essence, he's a wash. Against Missouri he gave up baskets and rebounds, but in the clutch nailed a few shots and set a nice moving screen for Neitzel to hit a late 3. Neitzel was on FIRE early in the game, hitting 5 of 6 shots in the first half, and having scored 10 points within the first 6 minutes. Then he was blanketed until the late 3, followed by 2 free throws. The team was up as much as 16, gave up the lead, but held on hitting big shots down the stretch and doing just enough to win. Considering the style of play, the hostile crowd, and how early it is in the season, I'm fairly happy with the result. The reffing needs help, but the team did well.
UCLA was much the same. MSU came out strong on both ends and lead early by as much as 15. At half the lead was 10, and in the second half the lead fluctuated from 2-14, but was mostly dominated by MSU. The story line that stands out to me is the freshman for UCLA, Kevin Love, who apparently took time off from walking on water and healing leppers to grace us all with his basketball performance. Love gets more calls than Jordan. That's a crime. He's a baby fat clod with good hands. He has great touch around the basket and is huge, but he's not the second coming. In fact, when players were struggling for post position Love got the call every time. In my book, when two guys go at it hard and one flops around (despite being about 50-75 lbs heavier than the defender) he doesn't just get the call. These refs had never heard of a double foul, offensive foul (unless your name is Morgan, in which case it's the ONLY foul they know to call) or flopping. So as the "big, physical, bruising" MSU big men "pounded" Love and made him work hard for every point (see: go over the back, throw your fat ass around in the paint for 6 seconds, they go to the foul line) the MSU guards were getting mugged once again on the perimeter.
I don't quite get it. Apparently playing defense is only physical in the interior. When it happens on the perimeter (leading to uncontested layups because of where it occured on the floor) it's not "physical" but "aggressive" and "pressure MSU can't seem to handle." Too bad we don't have a 300 lb point guard that Dicky V is in love with (see: Kevin Jesus Love), then we could get every call and score 19 points at the free throw line.
That was the difference in the game. Free throws. MSU made 14 of 15 on the night. UCLA made 19 of 31. The makes weren't the difference, but the attempts. Foul trouble is putting it mildly. The pace of the game, the effece the fouls had on lineups and rebounding, and the kick out threes that came as a result of having to double team took their toll. UCLA took it's first lead with 30 seconds left. They won in the end by a deceiving 5 point margin.
Down 4 with under 20 seconds Neitzel fired up a LONG 3 that went wide left, getting no rim. Izzo started to give drew a hard time, but I was ok with it. Who else were we going to? What would we have said had he hit it? It was a tough shot, but I'm ok with it. Win some, lose some--that shot didn't "lose" the game. At the end of the day Neitzel was sick, Walton was hurt, and the freshman played ok, but Lucas was subpar (by his own lofty standards). I was impressed overall and am even more confident that as these freshmen continue to get minutes and experience we are going to be a VERY bad draw for most anyone in March.
Friday, November 16, 2007
MSU v Chicago State (round 1 CBE Classic)
How a tournament this new is a "classic" I'm not sure. I know, Classic is associated with basketball tournaments. I'm trying to figure out why.
MSU returned to "classic" form for the first round of the CBE against Chicago State. The game was dominated throughout, and once the Spartans locked down on defense (and Chicago missed the 3 point bombs everyone else seems to make), the score started to indicate just how dominant the performance was.
The Spartans had a substantial rebounding edge. Morgan (despite Ellie's opinion otherwise) is about 25lbs of muscle larger this year. Mentally he is what Gray should be; unstoppable and playing the game like everyone else is in slow motion. No thought, just instinctive action. Finally Morgan was standing beside Gray during a technical foul timeout when Ellie said "wow, I thought Morgan was Gray for a second." That's how physically big Morgan is now.
Morgan played like the tweener he is against Chicago State. He was too quick (and honestly too strong) for Chicago State's biggest players, and far too strong (and quick) for the smaller Chicago State forwards/guards. I am anxious to see how he does against the big ten.
I stand by the statement that Kalin Lucas is the best all around freshman I've seen come in (I was not at MSU yet when Mateen came in, though I saw them on TV). Mateen was a better leader--but needed to be. Walton is this team's leader, along with Drew, but Lucas has got to be #3 already on the leader list. He is the kind of player that drives you crazy on defense. He is the key to this season (along with Gray and Suton being consistently decent).
Drew isn't getting a lot of shots to drop. His shooting seems to be coming around. Teams are hounding him though, and again, he seems to be a step slow, a little sluggish off picks and off the dribble. He will continue to get better looks as the freshmen hit more shots.
Chris Allen never saw a shot he didn't like. He will shoot the ball until he can't lift his arms. I suppose I'm fine with that, as long as the bigs hit the boards.
I like Naymick. He's our best defender on the block. I also like the way he plays instinctually this year. I don't know how else to describe it. Some players think and then do (too late). Some players just do (anticipate and act). Naymick has been a victim of overthinking in the past. He seems confident. If Suton ever got to the point where he just did (correctly) it would help his defense 100%. He's too slow to handicap himself by overthinking.
We play again on Monday in K.C. Should be interesting to see what happens on national tv.
Go Green!
(Gus has been replaced, rumor has it, by Tim Bograkos for now)
MSU returned to "classic" form for the first round of the CBE against Chicago State. The game was dominated throughout, and once the Spartans locked down on defense (and Chicago missed the 3 point bombs everyone else seems to make), the score started to indicate just how dominant the performance was.
The Spartans had a substantial rebounding edge. Morgan (despite Ellie's opinion otherwise) is about 25lbs of muscle larger this year. Mentally he is what Gray should be; unstoppable and playing the game like everyone else is in slow motion. No thought, just instinctive action. Finally Morgan was standing beside Gray during a technical foul timeout when Ellie said "wow, I thought Morgan was Gray for a second." That's how physically big Morgan is now.
Morgan played like the tweener he is against Chicago State. He was too quick (and honestly too strong) for Chicago State's biggest players, and far too strong (and quick) for the smaller Chicago State forwards/guards. I am anxious to see how he does against the big ten.
I stand by the statement that Kalin Lucas is the best all around freshman I've seen come in (I was not at MSU yet when Mateen came in, though I saw them on TV). Mateen was a better leader--but needed to be. Walton is this team's leader, along with Drew, but Lucas has got to be #3 already on the leader list. He is the kind of player that drives you crazy on defense. He is the key to this season (along with Gray and Suton being consistently decent).
Drew isn't getting a lot of shots to drop. His shooting seems to be coming around. Teams are hounding him though, and again, he seems to be a step slow, a little sluggish off picks and off the dribble. He will continue to get better looks as the freshmen hit more shots.
Chris Allen never saw a shot he didn't like. He will shoot the ball until he can't lift his arms. I suppose I'm fine with that, as long as the bigs hit the boards.
I like Naymick. He's our best defender on the block. I also like the way he plays instinctually this year. I don't know how else to describe it. Some players think and then do (too late). Some players just do (anticipate and act). Naymick has been a victim of overthinking in the past. He seems confident. If Suton ever got to the point where he just did (correctly) it would help his defense 100%. He's too slow to handicap himself by overthinking.
We play again on Monday in K.C. Should be interesting to see what happens on national tv.
Go Green!
(Gus has been replaced, rumor has it, by Tim Bograkos for now)
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Men's BB game 2: Michigan Tech
The MSU men's basketball exhibition season came to a merciful close last night with a 61-55 win over basketball powerhouse Michigan Tech. Michigan Tech started a white guard that was 5'10" and from Lansing and was a senior. He was fairly typical for their team, and once again, and opposing coach implemented the "chuck up as many 3's as you can in 40 minutes" gameplan. It almost worked, again, as Tech hung around and hung around on miscues and a complete lack of anything remotely resembling an offense from MSU.
Drew Neitzel couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He was pretty bad. His defense and passing were ok, he got good looks at the basket, and he made a couple of clutch and difficult shots. Perhaps I expect too much of him after last years blistering performances. I honestly think putting on 15 lbs in the offseason was a move that helps his long term career goals (NBA?) but in the short term his shot is rough. He doesn't have the leaping ability or shiftyness he displayed last year. Not sure this is the right playing weight for him. My take.
Our offense was just bad. I mean bad. Turnovers. Not much movement. No inside play. Transition was strong at times, but as far as halfcourt sets, bad. We have too many players that aren't threats (Walton, Ibok, Naymick outside 8ft, etc.) and then when Neitzel goes cold...and Chris Allen fires up about 6-3's (may have made one) we have problems. The defense was improved. The rebounding was so-so, considering this team was nowhere near as good as GVSU, but also taking into account Gray and Morgan were both out.
Kalin Lucas is the best all around freshman, at this point in his career, since Mateen. I have no doubt in that. Other players did things better, but none were: lockdown defenders (currently already the 2nd best on the team to Walton) AND capabe point guards AND legitimate threats to take the ball end to end for a layup in transition AND floor confidence/command. He drove to the basket--from what I can recall--at least 5 times last night, both in transition and half court sets. He's good with the ball. He is a capable open shooter. He is a capable free throw shooter. He is without a doubt the best Freshman defender I've seen, as good as Walton for sure. That is huge. Two lockdown guards at the point and Neitzel to boot, who is great on any other team, and the backcourt is solid defensively.
Suton is still just wow. I mean, the guy fumbled and stumbled and was a tornado of elbows and awkward at one point in the second half (I can best summarize his moves like a video game character; when you push the B button he: spins left, pump fakes, pivots back and throws up a clunky fade away. A button? some other combination of predetermined moves that in no way have any relation to what the defender (if he's even there) is doing) and then in the last 2 minutes (much to the dismay of my heart muscle tissue) he posted up and threw up a shot that somehow went in, SHOT AND MADE A 3 POINTER with just over a minute left, and made another 2 point basket (after he missed once from close range, fouled a guy to get the rebound, and clunked up a putback that went in). Suton had 8 points before the last 2 minutes, and finished with 15. He also cannot play defense. I'm sorry, he just can't. He can't jump or recover fast enough. I think he knows WHAT to do, and HOW to do it, but can't actually carry it through. Physical limitations are a bitch.
The team will be ok I think. They really just need to make some shots. The defense is getting better and I have to think the offense will come around. Neitzel getting hot would do a lot for everyone else. Also, perhaps having Gray (swollen knee) and certainly having Morgan (academics) would have helped. Morgan had better watch out though. With 3 very good guards, as well as Summers coming on, playing time is not going to be a given.
Drew Neitzel couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He was pretty bad. His defense and passing were ok, he got good looks at the basket, and he made a couple of clutch and difficult shots. Perhaps I expect too much of him after last years blistering performances. I honestly think putting on 15 lbs in the offseason was a move that helps his long term career goals (NBA?) but in the short term his shot is rough. He doesn't have the leaping ability or shiftyness he displayed last year. Not sure this is the right playing weight for him. My take.
Our offense was just bad. I mean bad. Turnovers. Not much movement. No inside play. Transition was strong at times, but as far as halfcourt sets, bad. We have too many players that aren't threats (Walton, Ibok, Naymick outside 8ft, etc.) and then when Neitzel goes cold...and Chris Allen fires up about 6-3's (may have made one) we have problems. The defense was improved. The rebounding was so-so, considering this team was nowhere near as good as GVSU, but also taking into account Gray and Morgan were both out.
Kalin Lucas is the best all around freshman, at this point in his career, since Mateen. I have no doubt in that. Other players did things better, but none were: lockdown defenders (currently already the 2nd best on the team to Walton) AND capabe point guards AND legitimate threats to take the ball end to end for a layup in transition AND floor confidence/command. He drove to the basket--from what I can recall--at least 5 times last night, both in transition and half court sets. He's good with the ball. He is a capable open shooter. He is a capable free throw shooter. He is without a doubt the best Freshman defender I've seen, as good as Walton for sure. That is huge. Two lockdown guards at the point and Neitzel to boot, who is great on any other team, and the backcourt is solid defensively.
Suton is still just wow. I mean, the guy fumbled and stumbled and was a tornado of elbows and awkward at one point in the second half (I can best summarize his moves like a video game character; when you push the B button he: spins left, pump fakes, pivots back and throws up a clunky fade away. A button? some other combination of predetermined moves that in no way have any relation to what the defender (if he's even there) is doing) and then in the last 2 minutes (much to the dismay of my heart muscle tissue) he posted up and threw up a shot that somehow went in, SHOT AND MADE A 3 POINTER with just over a minute left, and made another 2 point basket (after he missed once from close range, fouled a guy to get the rebound, and clunked up a putback that went in). Suton had 8 points before the last 2 minutes, and finished with 15. He also cannot play defense. I'm sorry, he just can't. He can't jump or recover fast enough. I think he knows WHAT to do, and HOW to do it, but can't actually carry it through. Physical limitations are a bitch.
The team will be ok I think. They really just need to make some shots. The defense is getting better and I have to think the offense will come around. Neitzel getting hot would do a lot for everyone else. Also, perhaps having Gray (swollen knee) and certainly having Morgan (academics) would have helped. Morgan had better watch out though. With 3 very good guards, as well as Summers coming on, playing time is not going to be a given.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Basketball Season Begins
Or did it? MSU followed up its impressive 61-57 win last year over Grand Valley with a loss this year. The Spartans fell, at home, in OT by 3 points.
Breakdown:
1. we have no interior play.
The offense doesn't try to play inside out basketball. Again we decided to run the "pass it around the perimeter for 20 seconds then either drive (and get a charging call) or fire up a 3." This didn't work well since Neitzel was double teamed all night and didn't get many looks, and the rest of the team was stone cold. Didn't help that we also got out rebounded. Suton was a joke. He was not a threat on offense and on defense...just wow. At what point do we decide there's no hope for his defense? (answer: 2 years ago)
Gray was nonexistant. This is the type of team he should dominate. He did nothing. The freshmen were better and more aggressive than Gray.
Herzog will be ok. He had flashes. He was also out of position at times. He'll be ok I think.
2. we don't have any (not one) inbounds plays.
With a 2 point lead, 14 seconds remaining, and the ball in our FRONTCOURT we attempted to inbound from the sideline. The play? No one do anything then chuck the ball into the backcourt to who? Suton. The Suton that has the footwork of a drunk giraffe? Yes, that Suton. Result? GVSU steal, layup, and foul. 1 point defecit with 8 seconds in regulation.
Overtime 1. Ball out of bounds (frontcourt) with a tie game. Inbounds play? Everyone slide side to side like you are going somewhere. You are decoys. One person is actually supposed to try to get the ball--but he doesn't--so you call another timeout. Then you run a play called "Neitzel run over there and get the ball" which works (at getting the ball in, we did not score).
3. Grand Valley is a bad matchup.
I said before the game, Grand Valley is good and the EXACT team we don't want to play. Senior heavy, 4/5 of starters returning, and athletic. GVSU has 8 guys that are exactly the same person. 6'7" 220 lbs. Defenders, side to side agility guys, with just enough range to exploit the fact that we have NEVER (ever, ever) played perimeter defense. They hit about seven 3's. They also harrassed our guards (and forwards that think they are guards...dribbling and passing through the lane) effectively. Our free throw shooting was horrible. That alone would have won the game. Finally, they had one big man (must have been about 6'10") that exploited the middle. Backed Suton down or just went around him consistently.
4. There were some suspect calls.
At one point Kalin Lucas was triple teamed as he ran down the floor with the ball. He was mugged about 5 times before hitting the lane, then hit as he took off, and hit as he shot. None of the three defenders was stationary, Lucas did not drop his shoulder or use his off arm, but he was called for a charge. One of the worst calls I've seen in a while. Over and over Neitzel was banged around with no calls--them with 6 seconds left in regulation a phantom call putting him on the line to tie the game. It was a rough night all around.
5. The team is athletic and deep. They are capable and determined. Its all about sharpening up. The offense was atrocious. The defense was so-so, mostly getting burned on 3's (which we seem to be ok with) and then being picked apart by good coaching (picking on Suton and making Gray learn to rotate). Rebounding won't be this bad again. I compare this GVSU team, in size, to the George Mason team that beat MSU a few years ago. Not as good, but the whole team is 6'8" and can jump. A bad matchup. But hey, it's not Appalachian State.
Breakdown:
1. we have no interior play.
The offense doesn't try to play inside out basketball. Again we decided to run the "pass it around the perimeter for 20 seconds then either drive (and get a charging call) or fire up a 3." This didn't work well since Neitzel was double teamed all night and didn't get many looks, and the rest of the team was stone cold. Didn't help that we also got out rebounded. Suton was a joke. He was not a threat on offense and on defense...just wow. At what point do we decide there's no hope for his defense? (answer: 2 years ago)
Gray was nonexistant. This is the type of team he should dominate. He did nothing. The freshmen were better and more aggressive than Gray.
Herzog will be ok. He had flashes. He was also out of position at times. He'll be ok I think.
2. we don't have any (not one) inbounds plays.
With a 2 point lead, 14 seconds remaining, and the ball in our FRONTCOURT we attempted to inbound from the sideline. The play? No one do anything then chuck the ball into the backcourt to who? Suton. The Suton that has the footwork of a drunk giraffe? Yes, that Suton. Result? GVSU steal, layup, and foul. 1 point defecit with 8 seconds in regulation.
Overtime 1. Ball out of bounds (frontcourt) with a tie game. Inbounds play? Everyone slide side to side like you are going somewhere. You are decoys. One person is actually supposed to try to get the ball--but he doesn't--so you call another timeout. Then you run a play called "Neitzel run over there and get the ball" which works (at getting the ball in, we did not score).
3. Grand Valley is a bad matchup.
I said before the game, Grand Valley is good and the EXACT team we don't want to play. Senior heavy, 4/5 of starters returning, and athletic. GVSU has 8 guys that are exactly the same person. 6'7" 220 lbs. Defenders, side to side agility guys, with just enough range to exploit the fact that we have NEVER (ever, ever) played perimeter defense. They hit about seven 3's. They also harrassed our guards (and forwards that think they are guards...dribbling and passing through the lane) effectively. Our free throw shooting was horrible. That alone would have won the game. Finally, they had one big man (must have been about 6'10") that exploited the middle. Backed Suton down or just went around him consistently.
4. There were some suspect calls.
At one point Kalin Lucas was triple teamed as he ran down the floor with the ball. He was mugged about 5 times before hitting the lane, then hit as he took off, and hit as he shot. None of the three defenders was stationary, Lucas did not drop his shoulder or use his off arm, but he was called for a charge. One of the worst calls I've seen in a while. Over and over Neitzel was banged around with no calls--them with 6 seconds left in regulation a phantom call putting him on the line to tie the game. It was a rough night all around.
5. The team is athletic and deep. They are capable and determined. Its all about sharpening up. The offense was atrocious. The defense was so-so, mostly getting burned on 3's (which we seem to be ok with) and then being picked apart by good coaching (picking on Suton and making Gray learn to rotate). Rebounding won't be this bad again. I compare this GVSU team, in size, to the George Mason team that beat MSU a few years ago. Not as good, but the whole team is 6'8" and can jump. A bad matchup. But hey, it's not Appalachian State.
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