A few thoughts on the Pokes season opener:
1. It's great to have Poke hoops back. The Ike injury is very tough for everyone, but this is still going to be a special season.
2. MVP - Co-MVP's awarded to Jeff Linder, Sundance Wicks, Ken DeWeese, Marc Rodgers, Shaun Vandiver, and the staff overall for assembling the deepest collection of talent I can remember. Who is our 12th guy? Caden Powell, who looks to be one of the best young bigs we have seen in a long time outside of Nance/Ike? Kenny Foster, a proven MWC starter on a mid-level MWC team 2 years ago? I mean, it's kind of ridiculous.
3. LVP - Empty seats disguised as Poke fans. More on this in a minute.
4. Good/Bad/Ugly:
a. The Good - Depth, pace, student section
b. The Bad - Injuries, weak opponent
c. The Ugly - Fan support (non-student division) - I know it's Monday night against a D2 school and I know I am a hypocrite since I am a season ticket holder that wasn't there (among many downsides of living in Texas, not being able to make it to the A-A often is near the top of the list), but for the love of god this team is freaking awesome. Where the hell is everyone? I saw some highlights from CSU's win over Gardner-Webb and while G-W is a more reputable opponents than CCU, you can't convince me folks turned out for the opponent. They have a team with more modest expectations and their best player injured and they clearly had a better crowd. I don't want to belabor it, but I think we drew more for Colorado Christian when we played them under AE than we did last night. I don't get it.
5. The Players - Overall, what a great group. Is there such a thing as too much talent? Obviously we don't really have a replacement for Ike (more on that in a minute), but aside from that, we are so deep overall. A few thoughts on those that played:
Newcomers:
Ethan Anderson - Pretty much as advertised, Strong and physical in ways we haven't really had on the perimeter much for a long time. Looks like he could play for SDSU. Shaky at the foul line and I felt he got caught out of position on defense a little bit, but he can really get into the heart of the defense and create open shots for others. He had some great finds in transition as well. The Pokes were vulnerable to ball pressure last year playing without a true PG. The combination of Anderson and development of Reynolds really addresses that weakness.
Max Agbonkpolo - Best bench player since Justin James in AE's first season. The difference here is that Max came off the bench because we are loaded, whereas JJ came off the bench because AE...well, I still have no idea what the hell that was about. Anyway, back to Max. He really jumps (literally) out at you when you watch this team. His length, athleticism, and fluidity really stand out.
Jake Kyman - Good looking shot and showed the ability to put the ball on the floor a little bit. I apologize in advance for this comparison on a number of levels, but Kyman is like a bigger, more athletic, more skilled version of Jake Hendricks. I know, I know. But, my point is that we are only a few years removed from Jake Hendricks being our second best player and a much better version of that player is now 10th or 11th. I can't stop thinking about how deep this roster is.
Caden Powell - He's good, right? I was pretty excited when we signed him. He played in a really good division down here and held his own against a lot of high level recruits and you can see why. Obviously needs to get stronger and he looked a little lost at time (to be expected), but he clearly showed he can impact the game defensively and I was really impressed with his ability to run the floor. Loved that transition dunk on a great feed from Anderson.
Returnees:
Maldo - He needs no introduction. He kind of took a backseat last night at times, which makes sense. When it comes right down to it in a close game in the Pit or the Spectrum in February and we need a bucket, you know where the ball will go.
HT - I thought he looked pretty good. Obviously he isn't going to magically become a physical force in the paint, but I thought he played well within the context of his role. His shot looks great to start the season.
JO - I am a card carrying member of the Jeremiah Oden fan club and have been since he was a freshman. He was aggressive last night and he continues to get a little stronger. He has all the tools. If he can hit the perimeter shot at a high percentage, his ceiling is really high.
X - Kind of invisible last night. There are only so many shots. I still have a high level of confidence in his shot if he gets a good look and he makes the right play the majority of the time.
Noah Reynolds - Hopefully he is fine after that fall. He seemed ok later on. He looked really solid taking it to the rim a few times and we know he can shoot.
Kenny Foster - He looked like the Kenny Foster from 2 years ago. Perimeter shot looked good, solid on on D, smart on offense.
6. Concerns - Playing a weak opponent can paper over a lot of concerns, and I do think we will have some issues in the paint until Ike comes back. Powell has a bright future, but it's a lot to ask of a true freshman and we have 5 years of experience with HT.
7. Tempo - Pokes had 82 possessions last night. Most in a game in regulation since 2019. This team can really get up and down the floor with long athletic wings like Oden and Max and even HT hustled down the floor for a transition bucket. Will be interesting to see how they play when Ike is back, but right now they were really pushing the pace and Linder was pushing them to go faster. Last year we didn't have enough ball handling, but I thought Anderson was really good in transition and Reynolds is really solid now as well.
8. Next - Nicholls - Really good team with a good young coach. Should be at or near the top of the Southland this year. Not a pushover by any means. We need a good crowd and good energy.
1. It's great to have Poke hoops back. The Ike injury is very tough for everyone, but this is still going to be a special season.
2. MVP - Co-MVP's awarded to Jeff Linder, Sundance Wicks, Ken DeWeese, Marc Rodgers, Shaun Vandiver, and the staff overall for assembling the deepest collection of talent I can remember. Who is our 12th guy? Caden Powell, who looks to be one of the best young bigs we have seen in a long time outside of Nance/Ike? Kenny Foster, a proven MWC starter on a mid-level MWC team 2 years ago? I mean, it's kind of ridiculous.
3. LVP - Empty seats disguised as Poke fans. More on this in a minute.
4. Good/Bad/Ugly:
a. The Good - Depth, pace, student section
b. The Bad - Injuries, weak opponent
c. The Ugly - Fan support (non-student division) - I know it's Monday night against a D2 school and I know I am a hypocrite since I am a season ticket holder that wasn't there (among many downsides of living in Texas, not being able to make it to the A-A often is near the top of the list), but for the love of god this team is freaking awesome. Where the hell is everyone? I saw some highlights from CSU's win over Gardner-Webb and while G-W is a more reputable opponents than CCU, you can't convince me folks turned out for the opponent. They have a team with more modest expectations and their best player injured and they clearly had a better crowd. I don't want to belabor it, but I think we drew more for Colorado Christian when we played them under AE than we did last night. I don't get it.
5. The Players - Overall, what a great group. Is there such a thing as too much talent? Obviously we don't really have a replacement for Ike (more on that in a minute), but aside from that, we are so deep overall. A few thoughts on those that played:
Newcomers:
Ethan Anderson - Pretty much as advertised, Strong and physical in ways we haven't really had on the perimeter much for a long time. Looks like he could play for SDSU. Shaky at the foul line and I felt he got caught out of position on defense a little bit, but he can really get into the heart of the defense and create open shots for others. He had some great finds in transition as well. The Pokes were vulnerable to ball pressure last year playing without a true PG. The combination of Anderson and development of Reynolds really addresses that weakness.
Max Agbonkpolo - Best bench player since Justin James in AE's first season. The difference here is that Max came off the bench because we are loaded, whereas JJ came off the bench because AE...well, I still have no idea what the hell that was about. Anyway, back to Max. He really jumps (literally) out at you when you watch this team. His length, athleticism, and fluidity really stand out.
Jake Kyman - Good looking shot and showed the ability to put the ball on the floor a little bit. I apologize in advance for this comparison on a number of levels, but Kyman is like a bigger, more athletic, more skilled version of Jake Hendricks. I know, I know. But, my point is that we are only a few years removed from Jake Hendricks being our second best player and a much better version of that player is now 10th or 11th. I can't stop thinking about how deep this roster is.
Caden Powell - He's good, right? I was pretty excited when we signed him. He played in a really good division down here and held his own against a lot of high level recruits and you can see why. Obviously needs to get stronger and he looked a little lost at time (to be expected), but he clearly showed he can impact the game defensively and I was really impressed with his ability to run the floor. Loved that transition dunk on a great feed from Anderson.
Returnees:
Maldo - He needs no introduction. He kind of took a backseat last night at times, which makes sense. When it comes right down to it in a close game in the Pit or the Spectrum in February and we need a bucket, you know where the ball will go.
HT - I thought he looked pretty good. Obviously he isn't going to magically become a physical force in the paint, but I thought he played well within the context of his role. His shot looks great to start the season.
JO - I am a card carrying member of the Jeremiah Oden fan club and have been since he was a freshman. He was aggressive last night and he continues to get a little stronger. He has all the tools. If he can hit the perimeter shot at a high percentage, his ceiling is really high.
X - Kind of invisible last night. There are only so many shots. I still have a high level of confidence in his shot if he gets a good look and he makes the right play the majority of the time.
Noah Reynolds - Hopefully he is fine after that fall. He seemed ok later on. He looked really solid taking it to the rim a few times and we know he can shoot.
Kenny Foster - He looked like the Kenny Foster from 2 years ago. Perimeter shot looked good, solid on on D, smart on offense.
6. Concerns - Playing a weak opponent can paper over a lot of concerns, and I do think we will have some issues in the paint until Ike comes back. Powell has a bright future, but it's a lot to ask of a true freshman and we have 5 years of experience with HT.
7. Tempo - Pokes had 82 possessions last night. Most in a game in regulation since 2019. This team can really get up and down the floor with long athletic wings like Oden and Max and even HT hustled down the floor for a transition bucket. Will be interesting to see how they play when Ike is back, but right now they were really pushing the pace and Linder was pushing them to go faster. Last year we didn't have enough ball handling, but I thought Anderson was really good in transition and Reynolds is really solid now as well.
8. Next - Nicholls - Really good team with a good young coach. Should be at or near the top of the Southland this year. Not a pushover by any means. We need a good crowd and good energy.
