Post by pnoyaztec on Jan 17, 2013 19:55:09 GMT -8
This was a "coming out party" of sorts for Winston as there were some firsts we saw from our freshman phenom. He finally played with no fear. One thing I noticed up until the last few games was an awful lot of tentativeness from Shep. Last night? Hell no. He drove the lane a lot last night and got to the free throw line a ton. Many of the fouls that got him to the line were on shots where he drew a lot of contact, but the shots didn't look like they would realistically go in. Had UNLV not done such a good job defending against kickouts, I don't think Shepard would have gone to the line as much. That said, Shep has a hell of a burst when he drives. Took me (as well as UNLV) by surprise. I know we're a little disappointed with his lack of finishing, but one can teach finishing. Athleticism cannot be taught.
Once Shep got to the line, he finally did a great job on his free throws. Yes, it would have been great if they were "and ones", but at this point, I'll take what I can get. I see Shepard getting to the line a lot more as we move forward. I believe this can negate a bad shooting night from the perimeter. Especially with Jamaal and Shep drawing fouls and getting the other team in foul trouble. The game is a hell of a lot easier to win if we're in the bonus with a decent amount of time left on the clock.
Lastly, Thames was obviously hurt last night. His stat line was as full as any of ours...and we didn't play. A bad back can be a tricky proposition. I'm thinking Shep will see even more time at the point as Thames gets better. That means Rahon may get more minutes. Shep will need to continue the trend on the stat sheet and Rahon will have to play more consistently.
Once Shep got to the line, he finally did a great job on his free throws. Yes, it would have been great if they were "and ones", but at this point, I'll take what I can get. I see Shepard getting to the line a lot more as we move forward. I believe this can negate a bad shooting night from the perimeter. Especially with Jamaal and Shep drawing fouls and getting the other team in foul trouble. The game is a hell of a lot easier to win if we're in the bonus with a decent amount of time left on the clock.
Lastly, Thames was obviously hurt last night. His stat line was as full as any of ours...and we didn't play. A bad back can be a tricky proposition. I'm thinking Shep will see even more time at the point as Thames gets better. That means Rahon may get more minutes. Shep will need to continue the trend on the stat sheet and Rahon will have to play more consistently.