A few thoughts on a fun season opener:
1. The Score! Oh The Score! - I don't care who the opponent is, it's always fun to be on the kicking side of an ass-kicking and that was an ass-kicking.
2. MVP: Hunter Maldonado. Yes, Ike is a problem and will be a problem for everyone, but Maldo was the story here IMO. First of all, he was in complete control of the offense, especially in the first half when the Pokes jumped out to a big lead. Directing traffic, bending the defense, scoring when he needed to, etc. I also thought he looked really athletic. There were times over the last couple of years when the various injuries seemed to sap a little bit of that, but he looked like the 5th year senior version of the freshman who made the SC Top 10 with a monster dunk at SDSU. He went for one last night that he didn't complete because he was fouled, but he was looking to put the hammer down. Can't say enough about how he played especially considering the level of responsibility he has right now.
3. Building on the last one, I want to give some credit to the players and the Strength and Conditioning staff (Jimmy Edel specifically). I thought the Pokes looked to be in game shape. We aren't the biggest, strongest, most athletic team overall, but I thought the whole team looked to have gained some strength in the offseason and looked well conditioned.
4. Detroit - They aren't very good. They will underperform preseason expectations. Building a generally stagnant offense around a high volume, low efficiency, ball dominant guard is not a successful route in 2021.
5. Rotation Thoughts - Looks like one of our fundamental questions was answered. Maldo will be our starting PG and Oden will step in as a starter. I mentioned before the season that Oden's development is key to the long term potential of this program and he looks right on schedule to me. He is comfortable shooting the corner 3 and makes sharp baseline cuts to the basket if his man gets too concerned about helping on Ike or Maldo. He will need to consistently hit those shots, but if he can do that, the Pokes ceiling could be raised. Overall, it looks like when it gets tight I would expect an 8 man rotation with Maldo/DuSell/Foster/Oden/Ike as the starters and Dut/Jeffries/Thompson as the primary bench guys. Nelson will step in depending on matchups and Wenzel is an option.
6. Newcomers - It looks like Barnhart/Bowen are heading towards a redshirt season (if you don't see the floor up 40, it's probably not going to happen). Dut looked solid to me, pretty much what I expected as a steady ball handler and pass first PG. He doesn't have the dynamic downhill ability of Marcus Williams, but it's not fair to compare. Dut should be a solid rotation guy. Wenzel has good size and a nice perimeter shot (I count him as a newcomer), but struggled defensively from what I saw. Reynolds didn't see time until garbage time, so hard to say, but hopefully a future contributor.
Overall, I am excited for this season. Hope the fans start to show up, this team is fun to watch. Great energy and emotion together. Kind of the opposite of our football team.
1. The Score! Oh The Score! - I don't care who the opponent is, it's always fun to be on the kicking side of an ass-kicking and that was an ass-kicking.
2. MVP: Hunter Maldonado. Yes, Ike is a problem and will be a problem for everyone, but Maldo was the story here IMO. First of all, he was in complete control of the offense, especially in the first half when the Pokes jumped out to a big lead. Directing traffic, bending the defense, scoring when he needed to, etc. I also thought he looked really athletic. There were times over the last couple of years when the various injuries seemed to sap a little bit of that, but he looked like the 5th year senior version of the freshman who made the SC Top 10 with a monster dunk at SDSU. He went for one last night that he didn't complete because he was fouled, but he was looking to put the hammer down. Can't say enough about how he played especially considering the level of responsibility he has right now.
3. Building on the last one, I want to give some credit to the players and the Strength and Conditioning staff (Jimmy Edel specifically). I thought the Pokes looked to be in game shape. We aren't the biggest, strongest, most athletic team overall, but I thought the whole team looked to have gained some strength in the offseason and looked well conditioned.
4. Detroit - They aren't very good. They will underperform preseason expectations. Building a generally stagnant offense around a high volume, low efficiency, ball dominant guard is not a successful route in 2021.
5. Rotation Thoughts - Looks like one of our fundamental questions was answered. Maldo will be our starting PG and Oden will step in as a starter. I mentioned before the season that Oden's development is key to the long term potential of this program and he looks right on schedule to me. He is comfortable shooting the corner 3 and makes sharp baseline cuts to the basket if his man gets too concerned about helping on Ike or Maldo. He will need to consistently hit those shots, but if he can do that, the Pokes ceiling could be raised. Overall, it looks like when it gets tight I would expect an 8 man rotation with Maldo/DuSell/Foster/Oden/Ike as the starters and Dut/Jeffries/Thompson as the primary bench guys. Nelson will step in depending on matchups and Wenzel is an option.
6. Newcomers - It looks like Barnhart/Bowen are heading towards a redshirt season (if you don't see the floor up 40, it's probably not going to happen). Dut looked solid to me, pretty much what I expected as a steady ball handler and pass first PG. He doesn't have the dynamic downhill ability of Marcus Williams, but it's not fair to compare. Dut should be a solid rotation guy. Wenzel has good size and a nice perimeter shot (I count him as a newcomer), but struggled defensively from what I saw. Reynolds didn't see time until garbage time, so hard to say, but hopefully a future contributor.
Overall, I am excited for this season. Hope the fans start to show up, this team is fun to watch. Great energy and emotion together. Kind of the opposite of our football team.
