In Reply to: First Thoughts Post Exhibition Game #1 posted by UCLA78 on October 21, 2026 at 22:51:57
It is hard to draw too many conclusions, because Cal Baptist doesn't seem to be very good, but a few things stood out.
1) This may be the most althletic team Cronin has had.
2) They have bought into playing defense. Holding them to 30% shooting and generating 15 turnovers is good, but it is Cal Baptist.
3) It looks like we will go 9 deep, with Jovic, Stink, BWill, and Philon being the bench.
4) This may be the year we actually run. I saw one time all night we walked the ball up the floor.
5) We shot a lot of threes early in the shot clock. I don't know if that is by design. However, until Nikola shows he can make them consistently, he needs to cut down on them.
6) It seems like either Book or Jovic will be on the floor all the time. The competition wasn't great, but JoBook had 18 points, 9 rebounds in almost 40 minutes.
7) Philon showed some good stuff, but he needs to stop reaching on defense. Too many fouls would limit his play.