I watched the game on replay. There were lots of positives:
– 4-0: Eyes on the prize. The record matters more than anything else and we got another W. Look at what Clemson, BC, Syracuse and FSU are doing non-conference, and we’re going to need every one we can get.
– Defense on USF’s Perry. The kid was averaging 20 a game coming in, and our waves of defenders held him to 1/2 that while fouling him out.
– Anya with a good all around game.
– Lacey carrying the load.
– Des coming in cold off of the bench with 5 minutes left and providing a key defensive spark. The original post here kind of blasts him, but I felt like we wouldn’t have won without him.
– Spurt-ability of this team. It felt like every time USF would get close, the Pack would go on a little run.
– Caleb Martin: Looks game ready to me.
There were some issues:
– I would agree with Rick, there’s no reason to do what our fans deride UNC fans for (so called “Curry math”). The FT shooting is what the FT shooting is — not that good. That’s been consistent under Gott, so I don’t see it changing.
– Cat: This is the type of game where he should have been the dominant guard, and that just wasn’t the case. He’s also got to make clutch free throws because the ball will be in the PG’s hands.
– Killer instinct: As with FT shooting, the other issue that seems consistent with Gott’s teams year in and year out is a general lack of killer instinct. We had several chances to just blow this game open and didn’t do it. The same thing happened against Hofstra.
– I love Anya and his spirit, but he’s going to get T’d up in ACC play. This will happen against UNC and Duke.
– Breaking a press: Again we struggle despite effectively playing 2 PGs and putting 2 other guards (Turner and Des) on the court. You wouldn’t think that this is a team that could be easily pressed, but we were rattled again. We’re going to have to clean this up.
– 3 Point shooting and zone offense: We saw a zone and settled for just chucking shots up over it. The results were atrocious.
– Perimeter defense: It looked like USF was playing a variation of Calipari’s dribble drive offense (which to be fair is really a High School coach’s offense). Our big men bailed us out time and again, but the guards are going to have to move their feet better.
The Purdue and West Virginia games are going to be huge. We can’t go 0-2 in those.
