It's difficult to take anything meaningful from last night's game because Presbyterian was just so over matched. One of the things that stood out for me was the Bruins' effort/focus. Across the board from opening tip off to the end throughout the entire roster the Bruins were focused with very little letup. If the Bruins can maintain and build on that it will bode well for them in the coming months.
The other thing that stood out for me was just how deficient the 5 spot is. Both Booker and Jamerson don't know how to post up, fix their defender, and present a target for the passer. Presbyterian was a very weak team and still the Bruins had difficulty getting any kind of effective and consistent post play.
From what I could see the problem wasn't from the outside but from the inside. Booker appears strong enough but he's just too loosey-goosey with his footwork. Post players need to get their defenders on their back or hip, fix them, plant and get wide, and get an arm and hand up to present a target for the passer. Taking it a step further, they then should be in a position to step into their move as they receive the ball. These guys don't even know how establish position.
The 5's, IMO, are going to have to get much better quickly to help this team be more overall effective come B1G play. I believe the Bruins are going to need effective post play to balance out and open up the rest of their offensive attack.
Along those lines Dent is also going to have to get much more effective with his outside shooting in order to facilitate his ball penetration which will then also open up things for the Bruin offense. Right now Dent doesn't present enough of an outside threat to bring the defense up which will make penetration easier. A large part of the Bruin offense depends on Dent's ability to get into the paint.
Also, he needs to clean up his free throw shooting. He keeps leaning away from the line as he releases his shot. It's a kind of mentally "cool" or aloof or casual or maybe even weak approach to shooting free throws and it just doesn't work. He needs to plant himself on the line and hold it well after his release. If he's going to lean he should slightly be leaning into his shot and not away from it. It's really important that the guys who have the ball in their hands a lot are good and consistent free throw shooters. Games can be won or lost on the free throw line. It really is pretty basic.
A lot of work still needed to get done but they seem to be getting there little by little. The next five games are going to tell us a lot about where the Bruins are at. The next five opponents aren't all good but they are all from major conferences and will present stiffer competition and more physical and faster play.