Just a few belated thoughts on the new look Pokes before the real challenges begin:
1. Enthusiasm - From the players and coaches? Excellent. If only the student body could match it. Ridiculous how little support there is for Men's BB from the students. I mean, it's late enough on a Sunday the hangovers should be mostly resolved.
2. Team Strengths - Relatively decent size and athleticism on the perimeter and relatively good shooting as well. Kind of depends on mix of who is playing, but I think I like our backcourt (more on that later).
3. Team Weaknesses - Frontcourt physicality. Always the hard thing to manage when you are down the totem pole in recruiting. Ebube has all the tools in the world, but it doesn't do any good if he is on the bench with fouls. Henry and Tainamo are skilled, but got pushed around by TSU, it's going to be real ugly going against teams like UNM.
4. Underrated Personnel - There were a few players who I am more impressed with than I thought I would be:
- Jordan Nesbitt - I was kind of skeptical of the signing to be honest. I saw a guy that had already been on 3 teams and last averaged 10 ppg in a very inefficient manner on a low major D1 team. However, I have been very impressed with him on a number of levels. Obviously the rebounding has been impressive, but beyond that it is so critical for this team because with Henry/Tainamo in the frontcourt we are at a real disadvantage on the glass (didn't show up against D2 team, but was obvious against TSU). His rebounding from the guard position will be critical. Second has been the passing. He has always had decent assist numbers, but I have been impressed with some of the precision and vision on his passes. He had one along the baseline from under the basket to a shooter spotted up in the corner. Perfect look and execution (we missed the shot, but you get enough of those and the production will be good). Obviously shooting is the issue, but if he could shoot he wouldn't be in Laramie right now, so happy to have the other aspects he brings. Love having someone on the floor that can finish a fast break with authority. Speaking of..
- Obi Agbim - I was happy with this signing and expected him to be our starter, but he has obviously been more than that. He won't continue to shoot 60% and score 25 a game or whatever, but he will be our go to guy and is fun to watch in many ways. A better shooter than I expected from the perimeter and one guy on this team that can create his own mid-range shot if needed (probably not quite Kot in that regard, but still a skill we need), and more athletic than I expected. Nesbitt and Agbim attacking the rim on the break is legitimately exciting. Last, but not least, is that he plays with some fire and emotion. He wants to win and I get the feeling he has very bad intentions for the opponent. Not comparing him to Josh Adams exactly, but that's what I loved about Adams. He was a killer and I think he is someone that others can feed off of.
- Abou Magassa - Obviously raw offensively, but a smooth quick jump athlete that is getting his first college playing time. A real asset to the frontcourt rotation.
5. Concerns - I still have major concerns moving forward regarding how we score when it gets tough against quality competition. I don't know if we have enough ways to force the defense to adjust. There is a future where Ebube could be the type of big to draw a double, but that's obviously a work in progress and against high quality defenders, as much as a I like Agbim and Nesbitt, I don't think either are pure creators/PG's. Defensively, I think we can really be had inside. Henry/Tainamo/Magassa just aren't that big and Ebube will give opponents an opportunity on the line.
6. Optimism - This team can be really fun. We actually do have enough shooting I believe as Newton has proven from his JC days to last year to this year to be a very high percentage perimeter shooter, Agbim as noted earlier, and Allen will come around. Tainamo can provide enough perimeter shooting from the 4 as well. Obviously that isn't Nesbitt's strength, but combine enough shooting with Agbim and Nesbitt attacking and the occasional burst of entertainment from the bench from Ebube and there will be some excitement. I am probably forgetting, but seems like way more dunks in the last 2 games than any game in recent years.
