Opening Night Observations

[HFCS]

Here is how i see things going by Hawaii. I am sure there could be variances which is a good option to have.
------
Starters:
Lipsey
Gilbert
Milan
Jefferson
Jackson
-----------------
Bench first subs:
Jones
Chatfield

Bench 2nd Subs (but this could be situational):
Indrusaltis
Heise
Watson
--------------------
No playing time:
fish
Rock
Hawley
Kelderman


as far as the game last night. players are just finding the roles and chemistry will find itself eventually.

It seems wrong for me to not start Milan given how high his upside is and how effortlessly/quietly he can score 15. But obviously Curtis does a ton and Jefferson seems to give us muscle we've lacked inside. I guess it depends on what you prioritize from those four guys.

I do think Milan really improved as a rebounder as the season went on and I can see him actually becoming an elite rebounder over time, but I can't pretended to understand defense well enough to judge him there.

 

[madguy30]

Aside from just the general success it's been fun watching TJ's program grow every year just from just a pure athletic standpoint.

Obviously barring total weirdness over the next two games/weeks, Maui will obviously give a good idea of how they can stack up against some very good teams.

 

[isucy86]

Milan not starting seems really weird to me and I don't like it.

It's a bit of a head-scratcher, but it does make sense.

1. Over the last couple years TJ has substituted out most starters in the first 6 minutes of the game and with his big men (Jones, King, Ward, Kunz, etc) as early as the 16 minute time out. So Milan will be substituted in around the 16 minute TO.
2. We have 3 solid jump shooters in Lipsey, Gilbert and Jones in the starting lineup, but they will all hit the bench between the 12 and 16 minute TO. Having Milan in the game during the 12-16 minute TO ensures TJ has his best shooter in the game when one and likely two of our starting guards are on the bench.
3. Just like we saw last year with Curtis Jones, just because a guy doesn't start doesn't mean he won't play starter minutes.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Nojus Industrial Arts & Sciences seems to have a boatload of potential if he can add a little muscle. The game seems very polished already and he has great length for a perimeter player.

He's already an upgrade and less of a defensive liability than Jackson Paveletzke in terms of an energy guy off the bench. I see him filling that role though, if the offense is stagnant, good energy changeup off bench.

I saw Nojus get caught a little flat footed on defense and attributed it to being a frosh. But then he showed good lateral quickness a few plays later and bodied the guard and stayed in front of him. I don't know how much PT he'll get, but he played like he wanted to make TJ's decision harder.

From an expectation vs reality standpoint, he was well ahead of what I thought I'd see.

 

[Big_Sill]

Here is how i see things going by Hawaii. I am sure there could be variances which is a good option to have.
------
Starters:
Lipsey
Gilbert
Milan
Jefferson
Jackson
-----------------
Bench first subs:
Jones
Chatfield

Bench 2nd Subs (but this could be situational):
Indrusaltis
Heise
Watson
--------------------
No playing time:
fish
Rock
Hawley
Kelderman


as far as the game last night. players are just finding the roles and chemistry will find itself eventually.

Agree.

With as high as I am on Indrusaltis, I'm having a hard time finding minutes for Heise.

 

[exCYtable]

I am very positive about everything in terms of what we saw on the court. Only negative was the 5-21 from three, and there were times we had guys wide open for three and opted to get physical in the paint instead. I'm totally fine if that's the identity, but I think we might struggle against real competition if teams, yet again, don't need to respect the deep ball.

Agreed. Both CJ and Milan had off shooting nights. We know those two can get hot, we just need it consistently. I'd also like to see Jackson take it to the hole a little more aggressively. With his size he could be unstoppable. He's a specimen for sure.

 

[ISUKyro]

Agree 3pters it going to hurt us bad if we don't find someone that is a consisten threat. Don't need a crazy high % but at the moment that is a worry since any coach will know to pack it in. If we settle for chucking 3s at last nights % we are going to struggle with some close B12 games. Fingers crossed someone has some consistency coming soon.

 

[ScottyP]

Feel like Jefferson was underappreciated in the transfer group. He averaged 10.2pts, 6.5rbs and 2.3ast on a top 25 team last year.

Both he and Jackson have two years to play. (I believe that's correct for Jackson, he has a weird covid year + injury thing that'll probably get him another year).

Jefferson could be a big upgrade from Tre King (and I loved Tre). He's not quite there defensively, but the upside is much higher. Tre also had an injury issue last year that limited his explosiveness.

 

[TitanClone]

Love the "Kill" chant. It's always been a football thing when we need someone to lower the boom, bringing it to basketball is beautiful

 

[Dgilbertson]

Agree 3pters it going to hurt us bad if we don't find someone that is a consisten threat. Don't need a crazy high % but at the moment that is a worry since any coach will know to pack it in. If we settle for chucking 3s at last nights % we are going to struggle with some close B12 games. Fingers crossed someone has some consistency coming soon.

We have four returning scorers who shoot between 34-39%; I think the combination of that plus additional options in the paint will be more than enough and keep us from the nights where opponents just load the paint and we have to chuck a bunch of shots up.

 

[TheCaptain]

Agree 3pters it going to hurt us bad if we don't find someone that is a consisten threat. Don't need a crazy high % but at the moment that is a worry since any coach will know to pack it in. If we settle for chucking 3s at last nights % we are going to struggle with some close B12 games. Fingers crossed someone has some consistency coming soon.

Curtis.

 

[Clone9]

If Milan and Jefferson can figure it out on defense, I expect we will be finishing close games with this lineup:

Tamin
Keshon
CuJo
Milan
Jefferson

I'm also hopeful that Nojas can have a Monte Morris-like freshman season....not a major contributor early but by the end could be getting big minutes. My guess is that Heise will get more minutes early in the season but Nojas will chip into those more and more as the season progresses.

 

[CloniesForLife]

I'll go so far as saying that Chatfield determines how far this team can go. We're so solid and deep at every position except that backup C/PF spot. When he's needed to cover for foul issues, can he do the job? I think he probably can, but against the top teams that seems like it'll be the test.

I'm very excited about this teams potential.

I actually think we would just go small ball with Milan and Jefferson over playing a ton of Chatfield in league play . I didn't see anything from Chatfield that showed he will be more than a big body but I'm not going to totally bury him after one game.

 

[VeloClone]

I couldn't help but get 'Presidential Posts' stuck in my head when Jackson and Jefferson started.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I couldn't help but get 'Presidential Posts' stuck in my head when Jackson and Jefferson started.

NIL t-shirt time.

We got far less out of having a Holmes and a Watson on the team two years ago than we should.

 

[cycloneevan]

NIL t-shirt time.

We got far less out of having a Holmes and a Watson on the team two years ago than we should.

We also need a Dishon "Big Dog" Jackson t-shirt too. I love that guy already.

 

[brokenloginagain]

I think our bench/role players right now are fine, and potentially very good.

What gets us to the next level, IMHO, is can our really good players become great?

When we play Auburn, UNC, UCONN, or Marquette, the best player on the court will be on the opposing team.

Can we overcome that with great teamwork and total production, or do we need someone to elevate above the rest and become our own bigtime player?

 

[MountainHigh]

Agree that three point shooting needs to be solid say 35-40%. We know that is up and down by game so hopefully becomes a consistent strength.

Missed the BRE energy! Hopefully Dishon can show that fire and hustle we’d gotten used to.

 

[Dgilbertson]

I'm honestly a bit surprised the consensus isn't more full on hype train. TJ has had far less talented teams the past few seasons as one of the last 16 standing, and this years roster returns much from that and added a whole lot more.

I'm all in on these guys.

 

[CYdTracked]

Here is how i see things going by Hawaii. I am sure there could be variances which is a good option to have.
------
Starters:
Lipsey
Gilbert
Milan
Jefferson
Jackson
-----------------
Bench first subs:
Jones
Chatfield

Bench 2nd Subs (but this could be situational):
Indrusaltis
Heise
Watson
--------------------
No playing time:
fish
Rock
Hawley
Kelderman


as far as the game last night. players are just finding the roles and chemistry will find itself eventually.

This is how I see the rotation shaping up too with Heise and Indrusaltis as the 8th guy depending on the matchup. To me Jones is so much more of a weapon off the bench as the 6th man because he can spell Lipsey or Gilbert. All 3 of them on the floor to start the game feels like it limits what Jones is able to do as he does a lot with the ball in his hands just like the other 2 guys can.

Chatfield is a big body and thought he did a good job defensively and rebounding. He missed some close ones under the basketball but it's just 1 game so I will need to see more of him before I rush to judgement that he can't finish those shots.

Going to take me awhile to get used to the new intro music. I know people have been wanting to get rid of the jock jams intro but didn't feel like there was as much energy with the player intros as it's not music that you can really clap along with. The new scoreboard, ribbon boards, and sound system were great but at times during timeouts or halftime I could barely carry a conversation with someone 2 seats down from me without shouting. I'm fine blasting music to keep a crowd going during a timeout but when it's not needed it felt like it was a little too loud as was tough for us to hear people talking withing arms reach at times.