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Post by theoracle on Nov 25, 2014 21:44:02 GMT -8
Good to see SDSU step up in scoring during this tourney. Also good to see Kell and Zabo playing more comfortably on the court. Crazy part is that they are only going to get better as time goes on. Love it!
Like the Oracle said for a few months now, AQ is going to be the go-to scorer on the team. He's gaining tons of confidence and it showed last night against BYU and he will continue to be the go to guy for this team.
With regards to Malik Pope. He's running okay and having his presence felt on the defensive side of the court. He's got a psychological block right now on his legs. His 3 point shot that was blocked at the end of the Pitt game should not have happened. It looked like he was pretty careful on his legs and he had no lift on his shot. Hope he can get over what ever is holding him back because he looked pretty passive on the offensive side of the ball.
Another thing, damn SDSU is DEEP!!!! We can go 11-12 guys into the bench and everyone can provide good minutes. Just think when ZC and MS are healthy again; where are we going to find playing time? Is it the Oracle or does it look like our depth is actually creating some continuity issues for the team? The chemistry looks good between the players. But with limited minutes available, it looks like it is harder for players to get into rhythm.
There are a few things SDSU can improve:
1. Last year's defense was better than this year's D. We've had a few good stops so far, but not really seeing the intensity that was consistently apparent in last year's team. The part that gets me about this year's team is that we will go 30 seconds of playing good defense, but bail out the other team with a cheap foul when their guard drives into the key. We have to stop this and we need to really cut down on this issue if we are to beat the better half of the top 25 teams.
2. We leave a lot of meat on the bones during games. We miss some lay ups and although we are better at FTs, we do miss a few key FTs down the stretch. This is an area of improvement but we'll get better on these issues as the season goes along.
Regardless, for a team that returned just its role players and relying on freshman to play big; the Oracle is happy for this team. Hope we beat UofA tomorrow.
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Post by drshotblock on Nov 25, 2014 21:56:35 GMT -8
The quality of the defense is on par with last year--for this early in the season. The bailouts and mistakes will fade as the season progresses. The exciting thing is the huge improvement on offense in the last two games. Looks like people are settling in and relaxing and figuring out how to make shots. I think the offensive potential is the highest ever for SDSU because of so many options. The guard play of Kell and Zabo is extremely promising.
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Post by rednblk on Nov 25, 2014 21:56:41 GMT -8
No way our D was this good at this point of the season last year. Multiple guys swatting everything
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Post by theoracle on Nov 25, 2014 22:01:44 GMT -8
We actually did a better job at defending Creighton last year. That team had less open looks than BYU and Pitt.
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Post by mySTRAS on Nov 25, 2014 22:02:14 GMT -8
No way our D was this good at this point of the season last year. Multiple guys swatting everything Agreed. Not fair to compare last season's D at the end of the season vs. this season's D at the beginning of the season. These guys are still learning to play together. Polee and DA are just flat out hounding opposing players. Sky is definitely improved. Shep continues to be a defensive juggernaut. AQ flat out shut down Delon... |
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Post by smoothcat on Nov 25, 2014 22:12:04 GMT -8
Aztecs should full court press Arizona tomorrow night and take advantage of our superior depth.
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Post by matteosandiego on Nov 25, 2014 22:15:34 GMT -8
Neither Byu or pitt are special defensively.
BUT they both tried so many different ways to defend us and our guys all have stepped up-unafraid to answer the call.
Tomorrow night vs uofA is going to be a slugfest as it always is with SDSU.
Dictating McConnel and York will be key.
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Post by mySTRAS on Nov 25, 2014 22:22:43 GMT -8
Neither Byu or pitt are special defensively. BUT they both tried so many different ways to defend us and our guys all have stepped up-unafraid to answer the call. Tomorrow night vs uofA is going to be a slugfest as it always is with SDSU. Dictating McConnel and York will be key. The 'Stanimal' is already the alpha dog for Arizona. |
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Post by kaztec on Nov 25, 2014 22:37:31 GMT -8
Aztecs should full court press Arizona tomorrow night and take advantage of our superior depth. I'd be disappointed if we didn't. |
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Post by aztecforlife29 on Nov 25, 2014 22:38:54 GMT -8
Neither Byu or pitt are special defensively. BUT they both tried so many different ways to defend us and our guys all have stepped up-unafraid to answer the call. Tomorrow night vs uofA is going to be a slugfest as it always is with SDSU. Dictating McConnel and York will be key. The 'Stanimal' is already the alpha dog for Arizona. I'm excited to see how we gameplan against him. He looks like a beast. |
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Post by mySTRAS on Nov 25, 2014 22:40:08 GMT -8
The 'Stanimal' is already the alpha dog for Arizona. He looks like a beast. No doubt. |
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Post by Old School on Nov 25, 2014 22:45:23 GMT -8
If I was one of our players, I can't wait to shut this chump down. Oldie Out |
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Post by mySTRAS on Nov 25, 2014 22:47:00 GMT -8
If I was one of our players, I can't wait to shut this chump down. Oldie Out I sure hope we do shut him down. Why is he a chump? |
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Post by jpaztec on Nov 25, 2014 22:49:53 GMT -8
JJ can check Johnson, the mismatch I don't like is Brandon Ashley. He's a solid inside/outside player, too much for Winston or JJ, in my opinion. DP can handle York, and Kell just needs to stay in from if McConnel. |
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Post by mySTRAS on Nov 25, 2014 22:55:22 GMT -8
JJ can check Johnson, the mismatch I don't like is Brandon Ashley. He's a solid inside/outside player, too much for Winston or JJ, in my opinion. DP can handle York, and Kell just needs to stay in from if McConnel. Neither Ashley, Tarc, nor York concern me at all. McConnel is a crafty player that gets results. And SJ is the complete wild-card right now. Really looking forward to this heavyweight battle! Go Aztecs! Edit: RHJ is also gonna be difficult to stop. |
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Post by dunksalot on Nov 25, 2014 23:05:17 GMT -8
The Oracle normally has good takes (and the best animated gifs of all times) but I'm afraid this thread was created by the "Fauxricle".
1. Our D. It is a level improved this season. We've played some good teams and the FG% and scoring outputs are our opponents season lows. We held Bakersfield scoreless for the first 12 freaking minutes! And they were held to the lowest score of any team in collegiate hoops this season. The lowest in Aztecs history.
2. Leaving meat on the bones. I would have agreed here pre-Maui. However, it appears we turned that corner. AQ is becoming our outspoken leader and 3-pt sharp shooter a la Thames. JJO is making lay-ups more often than not. If anything Kell was dragging the team down but he appears to be gaining confidence (and mine too.)
Ultimately the UofA game will define who we are this season just like it did last season. Are we a legit contender capable of hanging with anyone? Or are we that inept shooting, leaderless, defense-only team that showed up for the first few games.
Can't wait! [cue the Bart Scott guy...]
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2014 23:43:01 GMT -8
JJ can check Johnson, the mismatch I don't like is Brandon Ashley. He's a solid inside/outside player, too much for Winston or JJ, in my opinion. DP can handle York, and Kell just needs to stay in from if McConnel. Neither Ashley, Tarc, nor York concern me at all. McConnel is a crafty player that gets results. And SJ is the complete wild-card right now. Really looking forward to this heavyweight battle! Go Aztecs! Edit: RHJ is also gonna be difficult to stop. I would put Polee on Johnson. Don't forget about Jefferson, he is UA's leading scorer even though he does not start. When everyone is healthy, Steve Fisher should just alternate the bottom 5 players [including Williams] every other game, unless a certain player matches up significantly better. Sort of like Hockey where you have a healthy scratch for a few players each game. |
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Post by cvtower on Nov 25, 2014 23:45:00 GMT -8
I can't help but remember that it was Nick Johnson making all those free throws in the last 3 minutes that sent SDSU packing. All the other Arizona players were having trouble at the line, but SDSU kept fouling Johnson and he kept making the FTs.
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Post by azteccc on Nov 25, 2014 23:59:11 GMT -8
I can't help but remember that it was Nick Johnson making all those free throws in the last 3 minutes that sent SDSU packing. All the other Arizona players were having trouble at the line, but SDSU kept fouling Johnson and he kept making the FTs. He was the donkey all damn game too before the last 4 minutes. If i recall correctly, he hit some garbage, banked in, last second on the shot clock bomb from Fullerton and finally made a difference in the game being super aggressive late. |
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Post by Gundo on Nov 26, 2014 2:01:49 GMT -8
God hates BYU, and so does Satan. They told me
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