Final Score: UW-77 SPU-60
This will be a much quicker review than usual. UW plays Oregon in football today and tailgating is starting bright and early.
UW showed a lot of potential in last night's exhibition. They showed some good things as well as bad. Our offense is as potent as ever with a lot of scoring options. UW had 14 assists on 28 makes, which is around what our team did last season. Our defense was solid forcing 11 turnovers, 7 steals, and an amazing 10 blocks. SPU gave a valiant effort, but our team was much too quick, athletic, and skilled to overcome. Andy Poling and Jobi Wall each had 12 points for the falcons, but it took them a combined 10-31 to get the points. SPU's biggest key to remaining in the game was the superb job they were doing on the glass. UW managed to out rebound SPU 41-36, but the Falcons were fairly efficient at attacking the glass. The added height of their two 6-10+ players was a definite advantage.
Some quick hitting facts.
Four UW players had 10 or more points, three had 15 or more, and C.J. Wilcox led all players with 19. Wilcox still seemed to struggle offensively despite his high score. He was 5-12 from range, but missed some pretty open shots. This is something he needs to tack down, soon and preferably before any major non-conference game. 5-12 is 42%, a very respectable percentage, but Wilcox could have had another 2 or 3 shots go in without a doubt.
Terrence Ross led all players in rebounding with 8. UW also had 6 rebounds from Desmond Simmons and Tony Wroten Jr. UW only managed 10 offensive boards, a poor number in my opinion. The Dawgs felt the loss of Aziz N'Diaye and Matthew Bryan-Amaning in this instance.
A few thoughts on the players:
Our freshmen are pretty fresh, but some show lots of promise.
Martin Breunig really impressed me. He finished with 8 points on 3-6 shooting and 2-2 from the line (both were AND1's ). What I liked most was his ability to finish through contact. Breunig went strong to the hoop with both hands on lay-ins, which allowed him to finish his shots despite the fouls. Breunig held on solid as Tony Wroten threw him a pass with so much English on it, the Queen could have knighted it. Martin went to the hoop, made the shot, got fouled, and sunk his free throw. The place went nuts.
Tony Wroten Jr. will indeed be one of our top assist and play makers this season. He will also turn the ball over quite a bit. 4 assists and 4 turnovers. Admittedly, 1 or two of his turnovers were simply Tony getting two excited and overplaying the ball. He needs to slow down just a tad and make a bit smarter play. He will be one of my favorite players without a doubt. Wroten picks up where MBA left off getting super amped on big plays, yelling and chest pumping. It's fantastic and I'm glad to see someone is excited to make plays. Wroten also threw a great alley oop pass to Terrence Ross who was throwing down with authority all day.
Kemp has a ways to go before being a defensive threat outside the block. He plunders around a bit. There is a reason Simmons is the second post option. Kemp ran into foul trouble, picking up 4.
Jernard Jerreau had lots of foul trouble himself. He is long and lanky with a lot of room to improve. He only played 11 minutes so I don't have too much an opinion on him.
Hikeem Stewart is going to need to improve to be a legitimate point guard option.
Terrence Ross was monstrous. 6-8 shooting and a vicious transition dunk. After tipping the ball away, Ross chased the ball down, gathered it up, leaps up, jacks his arm all the way back, and slams home a brutal dunk. He was impressive throughout the game and as Romar said preseason, our wings will likely be our better post options. Ross, Wroten, and Simmons all showed the ability to finish inside as well as out.
Brendan Sherrer jumped in for the final two minutes and Alex Wegner got a minute as well. Andrew Andrews only saw 7 minutes of play time in what will be his only game this season.
All in all UW got the job done and won by 17. They had to opportunity to do more, but for a preseason game it wasn't a terrible outing. There is plenty of work to be done, but the fact that our players were able to play solid defense and get some good scoring in points towards a successful season. Our rebounding could use some improvement and Aziz N'Diaye is going to have a huge impact on how the Huskies play and succeed, that much is plainly obvious. People can criticize his offense all they want, but his defensive and rebounding contributions are immensely important. I liked what I saw out there. It was a bit sloppy as expected, but that is actually reassuring in a way. It means our coaches will continue to push our players harder everyday to get them to their full potential.
Go Dawgs!
Showing posts with label SPU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SPU. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Seattle Pacific University Game Preview
SPU is coming in riding high after beating Arizona in Arizona 69-68. This makes their third straight win over a D1 opponent dating back to last season. They finished 20-10 last season with a 12-6 conference record. The Falcons, while DII, have shown they can compete with their DI opponents. Without Aziz N'Diaye the Huskies will have a little more on their plate as SPU sports a 6-10 240lb player and 6-11 240lb player.
Last year's exhibition was a blowout and this year's is likely to be the same. Sure, they beat UA, but the Huskies will be a bit more prepared, a bit more experience, and a bit more talented. Let's take a quick look at their roster and what they bring to the game.
SPU Roster:
Jonnie Washburn 6-2 175lb
Ryan Todd 6-2 180lb
David Downs 6-2 185lb
Riley Carel 6-2 190lb
Jeff Dorman 6-2 190lb
Riley Stockton 6-4 195lb
Josh Jordan 6-5 195lb
Alex Weber-Brader 6-5 195lb
Jobi Wall 6-6 215lb
Jake Anderson 6-6 210lb
Scott Morse 6-7 190lb
Kellan Moll 6-8 220lb
Cory Hutsen 6-8 230lb
Modou Niang 6-10 240lb
Andy Poling 6-11 240lb
Andy Poling was a beast for SPU last season. He was third in scoring at 14 points per game and second in rebounding at 7 rebounds an outing. At 6-11 he has great height and with 240lb he can muscle most players around. Poling also manged to average a block a game. Aziz N'Diaye would have been a great match-up for Poling. It'll be up to Darnell Gant and Desmond Simmons to contain the SPU big men. David Downs is their best returning guard with a 7 point per game average. He also had a team high 4 assists per game. Downs is the returning 3 point expert at 41% (35-86).
As a team SPU is fairly uptempo, averaging over 75 points per game and a decently respectable 35 boards per game. These are better numbers than some Pac-12 teams (yes, the competition is worse) and the Dawgs would be wise not to overlook the Falcons.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups:
Seattle Pacific University:
David Downs 6-2 185lb
Jeff Dorman 6-2 190lb
Jobi Wall 6-6 215lb
Jake Anderson 6-6 210lb
Andy Poling 6-11 240lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
C.J. Wilcox 6-5 185lb
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Desmond Simmons 6-7 220lb
Darnell Gant 6-8 230lb
Keys to the Game:
Get in the Paint Early
UW needs to establish their post quick and early to open up our perimeter shooters. Get the ball to Simmons on the block or Gant at the high post and let them work. UW can also drive the lanes and pressure their big men into sloppy fouls. Getting Poling and Niang out of the game early will help our cause immensely.
Attitude and Hustle
Playing in an exhibition game against a DII opponent can seem very unimportant in the grand scheme of things and statistically it is. What is important to remember is that these games help sort out real game team chemistry issues and allow coaches and players to find out how they'll react in a game situation. The Dawgs need to give 100% the entire game and not allow their ego get in the way of a quick and easy preseason win.
Get the Freshmen Some Minutes:
With 7 freshmen on the roster we have a lot of young talent that needs to get rid of the first game jitters and discover themselves at the college level. A lot of this talent is in the post, which makes it even more critical that they find confidence in themselves and their teammates to ensure success later in the season.
Game Expectation:
UW should break out quick and early with SPU tagging along for the first 5 or 7 minutes. UW's depth on the perimeter should open the game up. SPU's post will be tougher to handle and I suspect a majority of their offense will run off the block. The key to preventing that is controlling the backcourt with tenacious defense. Look for Terrence Ross to show off some athletic moves, Tony Wroten to wow with a few crazy passes, and our bench players to see their fair share of minutes. The court should mostly be bench players when the final buzzer roars as risking injuries to first stringer in an exhibition game is just plain silly.
Final Score Predicition:
UW-84 SPU-60
Romar always instills a great sense of defensive importance in his program and players. UW has much better athletes who should be able to shut down most of SPU's offensive capabilities. I think the offense will be a bit down after last season and more players will need to learn how to get in a groove, which will prevent a 100 point outing. Not saying it couldn't be done with the shooters our team has, but I'd be amazed if it happened. Easy game, easy win, lots of fun. Let's get the excitement started and get ready for some great basketball.
Last year's exhibition was a blowout and this year's is likely to be the same. Sure, they beat UA, but the Huskies will be a bit more prepared, a bit more experience, and a bit more talented. Let's take a quick look at their roster and what they bring to the game.
SPU Roster:
Jonnie Washburn 6-2 175lb
Ryan Todd 6-2 180lb
David Downs 6-2 185lb
Riley Carel 6-2 190lb
Jeff Dorman 6-2 190lb
Riley Stockton 6-4 195lb
Josh Jordan 6-5 195lb
Alex Weber-Brader 6-5 195lb
Jobi Wall 6-6 215lb
Jake Anderson 6-6 210lb
Scott Morse 6-7 190lb
Kellan Moll 6-8 220lb
Cory Hutsen 6-8 230lb
Modou Niang 6-10 240lb
Andy Poling 6-11 240lb
Andy Poling was a beast for SPU last season. He was third in scoring at 14 points per game and second in rebounding at 7 rebounds an outing. At 6-11 he has great height and with 240lb he can muscle most players around. Poling also manged to average a block a game. Aziz N'Diaye would have been a great match-up for Poling. It'll be up to Darnell Gant and Desmond Simmons to contain the SPU big men. David Downs is their best returning guard with a 7 point per game average. He also had a team high 4 assists per game. Downs is the returning 3 point expert at 41% (35-86).
As a team SPU is fairly uptempo, averaging over 75 points per game and a decently respectable 35 boards per game. These are better numbers than some Pac-12 teams (yes, the competition is worse) and the Dawgs would be wise not to overlook the Falcons.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups:
Seattle Pacific University:
David Downs 6-2 185lb
Jeff Dorman 6-2 190lb
Jobi Wall 6-6 215lb
Jake Anderson 6-6 210lb
Andy Poling 6-11 240lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
C.J. Wilcox 6-5 185lb
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Desmond Simmons 6-7 220lb
Darnell Gant 6-8 230lb
Keys to the Game:
Get in the Paint Early
UW needs to establish their post quick and early to open up our perimeter shooters. Get the ball to Simmons on the block or Gant at the high post and let them work. UW can also drive the lanes and pressure their big men into sloppy fouls. Getting Poling and Niang out of the game early will help our cause immensely.
Attitude and Hustle
Playing in an exhibition game against a DII opponent can seem very unimportant in the grand scheme of things and statistically it is. What is important to remember is that these games help sort out real game team chemistry issues and allow coaches and players to find out how they'll react in a game situation. The Dawgs need to give 100% the entire game and not allow their ego get in the way of a quick and easy preseason win.
Get the Freshmen Some Minutes:
With 7 freshmen on the roster we have a lot of young talent that needs to get rid of the first game jitters and discover themselves at the college level. A lot of this talent is in the post, which makes it even more critical that they find confidence in themselves and their teammates to ensure success later in the season.
Game Expectation:
UW should break out quick and early with SPU tagging along for the first 5 or 7 minutes. UW's depth on the perimeter should open the game up. SPU's post will be tougher to handle and I suspect a majority of their offense will run off the block. The key to preventing that is controlling the backcourt with tenacious defense. Look for Terrence Ross to show off some athletic moves, Tony Wroten to wow with a few crazy passes, and our bench players to see their fair share of minutes. The court should mostly be bench players when the final buzzer roars as risking injuries to first stringer in an exhibition game is just plain silly.
Final Score Predicition:
UW-84 SPU-60
Romar always instills a great sense of defensive importance in his program and players. UW has much better athletes who should be able to shut down most of SPU's offensive capabilities. I think the offense will be a bit down after last season and more players will need to learn how to get in a groove, which will prevent a 100 point outing. Not saying it couldn't be done with the shooters our team has, but I'd be amazed if it happened. Easy game, easy win, lots of fun. Let's get the excitement started and get ready for some great basketball.
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