Just got back from the game
It’s tough after a game like this for me to remember that this is a very young team that is still learning, because I can see all the potential there, and I feel like the better team lost tonight. Still, if you’d told me before the season that we would lead a top 25 team all game and then barely give it away in the end with this team at this point in the season, I would have absolutely taken it. This squad is much further along than I expected them to be.
The normally solid Freeman had a really hard time on the glass tonight. He still played some solid positional defense, but when he isn’t rebounding, he doesn’t bring a lot else to the table at this point.
I know Missouri started shifting their defense to shut down TJ in the second half, but we have to get him more touches down the stretch, and not just gunning 3s.
Kyle Washington continues to grow and get more confident, and he has the makings of a special player. He still takes a lot of ill-advised long jumpers, particularly when they come early in the shot clock. I like having him as an option to attack the middle of a zone though, he’s excellent there.
I’m not going to blame the loss on officiating, since lord knows there were things we could have done much better (defensive rebounding, free throws, shot selection, free throws). That said, I have no idea what a block or a charge is anymore. If that fourth foul on Cat is a block, then I’m honestly not sure how you’re supposed to play defense. The officials were really terrible all around, they were needlessly confused several times, and calls around the basket were awfully inconsistent.
Watching Ralston Turner play is infuriating. We desperately need him because of his shooting, but his shot selection is deplorable. He just doesn’t know what a good shot is, and that’s a serious problem. He’s also probably the worst defender on the team (and when I say “probably”, I mean “definitely”). He stays upright in his stance, and so he gets absolutely leveled by screens, both on and off the ball.
