Thomas more (exhibition)

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Perhaps the biggest thing to come out of this game was what is going to happen when Jarron gets denied the ball and face guarded against future teams. I mean he's a potential ALL American that will receive HEAVY attention.
McNeal and JC2 give us some options. Nothing against Williams or Scott but they aren't as good at creating points.

I was expecting Jaevin to be a very good 2nd option. But if McNeal can hit from deep this year...it's going to open things up for Jarron and the team as a whole a LOT more than we thought. I am not drawing any conclusions from McNeals shooting against TM but if he can CAN 35% plus from deep we will have a wide open offense.

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Originally Posted by sirthought

I was really pleased with most everyone out there tonight. It's Thomas More, so it probably doesn't say much, but the offense was looking in better shape than I expected. There are criticisms, but overall it looked good for a first game.

Still miles to go, but compared to some other teams I've watched this week, the Bearcats are shooting pretty well and seem to have a grasp of at least what they want to do. Compared to Mick ball, I really loved the movement and the backdoor cuts. It seemed to open up some shooters and we actually looked like their was an offensive game plan. There seemed to be a nice balance of guys driving to the hoop, passing inside, and throwing it back out for an outside shot.

I do worry about the fast break three pointers. It's great if you're making them, but if you're on a fast break, the higher percentage is the layup/dunk and perhaps a foul. I admit, it was impressive that they shot 50% from 3 point land tonight. The majority of those we not really contested, so kudos to Brannen's system for giving the green light and hopefully that shooting touch continues.

We all know the bigs are not anyone's first or second pick right now, but I thought they actually played pretty well for a first outing. They were aggressive at times and didn't shy away from working for a shot, yet also were willing to pass out. It seemed like what you'd want them to do overall.

The best thing I can say about this game is that they really tried to score in balanced ways. Everyone got a chance, and for the most part people were in a position to succeed. That wasn't always the case in past years, and if the main one or two guys weren't on, then the whole team suffered.

I don't know that we can comment on defense as much because the opponent was just so physically overmatched. The Bearcats did not seem to lose their defensive identity. There was some pressing and guys played more in the face of their matchup than a looser zone. But it's early and a young-ish team and they are still learning about the college game.

So much fun to watch this team.

I think your analysis here is very good. I was looking at the box score last night and I think we had like 9 FT's. That's not going to get it done. We have to put some fouls on the opposition one way or another and it's not likely going to come from defense over compensating on our bigs like in recent years. The guards are going to have to create some contact.

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Good lawd...I hope Davenport ends up better than a Shaq Thomas. He already looks like he can develop some strength inside and hopefully he can learn to shoot some.