1-0 in MWC! Damn it's good to have Poke Hoops back. It's almost like a new season. An exciting win coming off a long COVID pause and the beginning of an action packed week for the Pokes. A few thoughts:
1. MVP - Jeff Linder - Can't say enough about the job the coaching staff did to have the team prepared for this game. Coming off a long pause in which they couldn't conduct a lot of practices and having to go to one of the tougher places to play in the league (and really country for this level) against a team that is very well coached is a recipe for disaster for many teams, but Linder had his team ready and came away with a win.
2. LVP - USU Announcers - Embarrassing honestly. They sum up everything I hate about BYU/USU/Utah.
3. Graham Ike = Villain - It has been building for a little while, but we are really starting to see Graham develop into a legit villain (in a good way!). Not only will he dominate, but he does so with violence. His size and skill is makes him a great college player, but his competitiveness is to going to make him even more than that. USU fans, announcers, and coaches were furious because they knew there was nothing they could do. He was simply bigger, stronger, more skilled. He is not fazed by the hatred of opposing fans, in fact it seems to fuel him. I always think really good teams need an edge and attitude. Our last NCAA team had Josh Adams to provide that fuel (and if it occasionally resulted in a cheap shot gut punch to a USU player, so be it). This group has Graham and it is great to see.
4. The Opponent - Let me just get this out of the way: I hate USU. Everything about them screams BYU Jr. However, I must give credit where it is due. That is a well coached team. They move consistently and with purpose on offense, they share the basketball, and they defend hard. They aren't the most talented team (they were a little shorthanded against us too without 1.5 starters) and surprisingly not the greatest perimeter shooting team, but they make you work on every possession on both sides of the court. Odom is a really good coach. Bairstow impressed me quite a bit. He is much smaller than his brother obviously (Cameron, former First Team All-MWC and NBA 2nd round draft pick from UNM), but plays with the same type of aggressiveness. On at least two occasions, he gave Maldo some of his own medicine by backing him down and working him in the post and then he did the same to Wenzel. He will be a big part of their team over the next couple of years.
5. X - I rewatched the last play several times to see if I could tell what happened to X. It clearly didn't appear to be a knee or ankle. Either a hamstring or a cramp most likely. I don't expect Linder to let news leak out until he has to so Nevada has to prepare for him, but it didn't look great. Concerned it could be a hamstring. It's impossible to know if the long layoff contributed, but that is obviously a concern. I am concerned about the rest of the team and playing tired as they will be the rest of this week.
6. Next Game - It's tonight! That's crazy, I am going to overdose on Poke Hoops this week and it is glorious (quick aside, my daughter drew a situational family portrait for what happens at Bed Time. It cracked me up, I will spare you the part about Mom and the little brother, but Dad was over in front of the TV yelling "Go Pokes"...she knows me well, LOL). Even though USU is a better team than Nevada, I think we match up better with USU. I knew going in that they simply lacked the size and athleticism in the front court to do anything about Graham. Nevada has more resistance with Washington and Baker and if we don't have X and Foster it is going to be really tough to deal with their guards. If that is the case, we go into the game with basically just 4 perimeter players that would play (Maldo, Jeffries, Wenzel, and Dut). I wonder if having the opportunity for extended time without the risk of a quick hook might unlock the ability that you can see that Dut has. He can be a solid MWC player I believe, it just hasn't happened yet. We might need it to tonight. If the Pokes win this one? Things get really, really exciting.
1. MVP - Jeff Linder - Can't say enough about the job the coaching staff did to have the team prepared for this game. Coming off a long pause in which they couldn't conduct a lot of practices and having to go to one of the tougher places to play in the league (and really country for this level) against a team that is very well coached is a recipe for disaster for many teams, but Linder had his team ready and came away with a win.
2. LVP - USU Announcers - Embarrassing honestly. They sum up everything I hate about BYU/USU/Utah.
3. Graham Ike = Villain - It has been building for a little while, but we are really starting to see Graham develop into a legit villain (in a good way!). Not only will he dominate, but he does so with violence. His size and skill is makes him a great college player, but his competitiveness is to going to make him even more than that. USU fans, announcers, and coaches were furious because they knew there was nothing they could do. He was simply bigger, stronger, more skilled. He is not fazed by the hatred of opposing fans, in fact it seems to fuel him. I always think really good teams need an edge and attitude. Our last NCAA team had Josh Adams to provide that fuel (and if it occasionally resulted in a cheap shot gut punch to a USU player, so be it). This group has Graham and it is great to see.
4. The Opponent - Let me just get this out of the way: I hate USU. Everything about them screams BYU Jr. However, I must give credit where it is due. That is a well coached team. They move consistently and with purpose on offense, they share the basketball, and they defend hard. They aren't the most talented team (they were a little shorthanded against us too without 1.5 starters) and surprisingly not the greatest perimeter shooting team, but they make you work on every possession on both sides of the court. Odom is a really good coach. Bairstow impressed me quite a bit. He is much smaller than his brother obviously (Cameron, former First Team All-MWC and NBA 2nd round draft pick from UNM), but plays with the same type of aggressiveness. On at least two occasions, he gave Maldo some of his own medicine by backing him down and working him in the post and then he did the same to Wenzel. He will be a big part of their team over the next couple of years.
5. X - I rewatched the last play several times to see if I could tell what happened to X. It clearly didn't appear to be a knee or ankle. Either a hamstring or a cramp most likely. I don't expect Linder to let news leak out until he has to so Nevada has to prepare for him, but it didn't look great. Concerned it could be a hamstring. It's impossible to know if the long layoff contributed, but that is obviously a concern. I am concerned about the rest of the team and playing tired as they will be the rest of this week.
6. Next Game - It's tonight! That's crazy, I am going to overdose on Poke Hoops this week and it is glorious (quick aside, my daughter drew a situational family portrait for what happens at Bed Time. It cracked me up, I will spare you the part about Mom and the little brother, but Dad was over in front of the TV yelling "Go Pokes"...she knows me well, LOL). Even though USU is a better team than Nevada, I think we match up better with USU. I knew going in that they simply lacked the size and athleticism in the front court to do anything about Graham. Nevada has more resistance with Washington and Baker and if we don't have X and Foster it is going to be really tough to deal with their guards. If that is the case, we go into the game with basically just 4 perimeter players that would play (Maldo, Jeffries, Wenzel, and Dut). I wonder if having the opportunity for extended time without the risk of a quick hook might unlock the ability that you can see that Dut has. He can be a solid MWC player I believe, it just hasn't happened yet. We might need it to tonight. If the Pokes win this one? Things get really, really exciting.
