First off, it was great to see a good group of Baylor Bears at Victory Burger enjoying some cold brews and delicious hamburgers before the game - met some folks that actually flew out here from DFW to attend the game! (Ouch)
Second, this was supposed to be a neutral court site - I guess Vegas fell through and Seattle fell through - while it was at The Spokane Arena and not at Zags home court - it was 100% a home game - they usually play a couple of games in there so the poors have a chance to see them in person (about 5,800 or so in the McCarthy Athletic Center and 12K plus in the Arena)
I was fortunate to snag a ticket center court, team bench side, row 6 - so I had a very good view of the arse whoopin. Great crowd, pumped up, excited to play "the number 8 team in the country" all the way up here in Spokane WA - the middle of nowhere! No one gave me too much grief in the Baylor gear - but it was embarrassing- particularly in front of my friend and former work colleagues - as I have lived in Spokane for 22 years now.
Now a few game observations:
As everyone knows we were awful - Gonzaga is a good team all around - they were much taller than us at every position - except when Hickman and Nembhard are in but when they play Battle (Arky transfer) and Ajayi (Pepperdine transfer) at Guard they are big and athletic - then they have long posts like Ike that can rebound and play with his back to the basket - but then they have a couple other 6-10 guys (Gregg and Huff) that can play inside and outside and defend pretty well - I thought our guards were quicker than their guards - wow Roach and Nunn are really quick in person - but that was it
Zags are probably a top 5-10 team - but we were so bad it is hard to say how good they are
Our offense had no flow - no identity - you couldn't tell what we were trying to do? Omier is probably our best post guy but first he didn't start and most of his minutes were one on one takes - I did not see good ball movement - assists were abysmal - it honestly looked like pick roll and jack it up - or dribble drive jack it up - we shot poorly but there d was in our face on most "jack it up shots"
Edgecombe was a lost puppy out there - oh my he was abused on the defensive end - had no idea what to do with the ball on offense - numerous times he would drive the lane, give up his dribble half way to the basket and then start pivoting around trying to dump it off - awful - his shot when contested is not pretty - Wright was the more polished freshman
Defense was atrocious - started out in zone - probably should have stayed there because when we went man - our little guys were in so many mismatches down low - and no body boxed out - Zags had so many second chance opportunities - mid way through the second half it looked like we quit playing hard - difficult to watch
So while Gonzaga is good and will be in the running at the NC - right now we are not a top 25 team - we looked lost on both ends of the floors - I would put Edgecombe on the bench and let him gradually get more minutes over the length of the season - guards should be Nunn, Roach and Love (in street clothes so not ready yet I guess) Josh O, Omier - then Celestine and Asemota and Edgecombe - in the front - but right now I am lost as to where you go for consistent offense - probably Roach and Nunn
But biggest issue is we have to rebound better and play much better defense or we are a middle to bottom quarter of the Big 12.
Second, this was supposed to be a neutral court site - I guess Vegas fell through and Seattle fell through - while it was at The Spokane Arena and not at Zags home court - it was 100% a home game - they usually play a couple of games in there so the poors have a chance to see them in person (about 5,800 or so in the McCarthy Athletic Center and 12K plus in the Arena)
I was fortunate to snag a ticket center court, team bench side, row 6 - so I had a very good view of the arse whoopin. Great crowd, pumped up, excited to play "the number 8 team in the country" all the way up here in Spokane WA - the middle of nowhere! No one gave me too much grief in the Baylor gear - but it was embarrassing- particularly in front of my friend and former work colleagues - as I have lived in Spokane for 22 years now.
Now a few game observations:
As everyone knows we were awful - Gonzaga is a good team all around - they were much taller than us at every position - except when Hickman and Nembhard are in but when they play Battle (Arky transfer) and Ajayi (Pepperdine transfer) at Guard they are big and athletic - then they have long posts like Ike that can rebound and play with his back to the basket - but then they have a couple other 6-10 guys (Gregg and Huff) that can play inside and outside and defend pretty well - I thought our guards were quicker than their guards - wow Roach and Nunn are really quick in person - but that was it
Zags are probably a top 5-10 team - but we were so bad it is hard to say how good they are
Our offense had no flow - no identity - you couldn't tell what we were trying to do? Omier is probably our best post guy but first he didn't start and most of his minutes were one on one takes - I did not see good ball movement - assists were abysmal - it honestly looked like pick roll and jack it up - or dribble drive jack it up - we shot poorly but there d was in our face on most "jack it up shots"
Edgecombe was a lost puppy out there - oh my he was abused on the defensive end - had no idea what to do with the ball on offense - numerous times he would drive the lane, give up his dribble half way to the basket and then start pivoting around trying to dump it off - awful - his shot when contested is not pretty - Wright was the more polished freshman
Defense was atrocious - started out in zone - probably should have stayed there because when we went man - our little guys were in so many mismatches down low - and no body boxed out - Zags had so many second chance opportunities - mid way through the second half it looked like we quit playing hard - difficult to watch
So while Gonzaga is good and will be in the running at the NC - right now we are not a top 25 team - we looked lost on both ends of the floors - I would put Edgecombe on the bench and let him gradually get more minutes over the length of the season - guards should be Nunn, Roach and Love (in street clothes so not ready yet I guess) Josh O, Omier - then Celestine and Asemota and Edgecombe - in the front - but right now I am lost as to where you go for consistent offense - probably Roach and Nunn
But biggest issue is we have to rebound better and play much better defense or we are a middle to bottom quarter of the Big 12.
