In Reply to: Finally watched the replay and I have to agree with you posted by traprh on November 10, 2024 at 08:40:22
agree on most points - physically we just don't match up in the paint with some teams.
OTOH your comment about them just seeming out of sync imo sums up this particular game. Someone posted "soft" and they certainly played soft but I think it was over confidence. The comment about playing tough opponents is right on but, you know, second game of the season with so many new players there really hasn't been much chance to play tough opponents yet before this game.
I think they listened to their coaches talk about UNM being really intense and playing really hard but they just believed they would be athletically better and more skilled and could just play their game and would win. That's how they played, imo. Especially those soft cross passes and inbounds passes. And watching Cronin on the sidelines and listening to him post game he knew that and was watching them get their lesson on the court.
UNM is good - Joseph is an excellent big but Andrews and Clark were just snuffed out almost completely in that game - another area of concern.
Still, they wound up losing by just 8 - perhaps four possessions. They give up so much height in the paint (and outside when both Dylan and Sjyy are playing together) and all of the above. It was surprising they were that close but it says something about them. Cronin is a coach who doesn't mind using an early loss as a teaching and motivational tool for his team.
I still expect them to be top five in the B1G (with 18 teams, there are several very good ones and a bunch that aren't so good also. Still, it's important that Kyle get competitive with at least most opposing front lines and it would help a lot if Harris could get the systems and be able to contribute. (I just don't think we can rely on Clark and Mack - I like Perry as a freshman but we need that outside scoring threat especially if we're undersized against some teams