Seattle Pacific Game

Overall thoughts:: SPU played pretty well and was a good opponent. We didn't get many cheap buckets. We would have really blow this game open without all the fastbreak turnovers.





Started KC-Fischer-Haws-Sharp-Worthington



KC looked fine. He looked a little sleeker than I remember him being last year. He was able to slide laterally and had able as much lift as he had before. He did look rusty around the hoop. He was indeed playing PG as well.



Haws looked fine even though we couldn't really get him the ball.



Fischer was our best player tonight. He took some 3's but most he focused on finding chances to drive to the hoop. Also his effort level on defense was good. Note he is a little wild like Carlino. But his risk-taking feels more under control.



Sharp is exactly what he was last year. If he is playing that it means better options aren't available.



Ahh Worthington. The kid plays hard. He can move well enough and is a big enough to have some value. When Austin, Kaufusi and Neilson are in foul trouble against Gonazaga we'll need him. I hope we don't see too much of him until then.



Winder was the sub off the bench in the 2nd half-- he came in for Sharp. He looks slightly improved to me over last year. He added a under control one dribble pull-up.



Neilson looked a lot the same as the last two games. Very aggressive on D and on boards. Just a little out of control and fouls a lot. Still can shoot. I have concerns about his ability to play post D against St Mary's, Gonzaga, etc.



Nixon looked better to me than in the last couple. He just seemed to understand his role and the defensive scheme a little better. He has some size and athletic ability. He was hustling all other place too. If he can continue to do that--hustle, improve his defensive awareness and drill 3's, then he will an important role for us. We need a backup 4 in the worst way.



Halford was bad tonight. He tries so hard on D he gets beat 25 feet from the hoop and his offensive game wasn't going tonight.



Bartley played most good defense and had a few good finishes. Mostly he turned the ball over on offense when he tried to drive. He actively avoided even wide open jumpers.



Kaufusi was a man among boys. I love how he rebounds with two hands in traffic. He blocked several shots. Most blocks were as a help defender. Too bad his offensive skills aren't there. We are still going to need him for 10 minutes in several games this year.



Toolson might be the best passer on the team and that might get him a few minutes. He has a good offensive game but I still wonder who he guards.



Ellis looked okay, but little.



Rotation thoughts:



We are going to close most games this year with our best lineup



Winder-Fischer-Haws-KC-Austin



Unless another team has great size, we are going offensively be hard to stop. I wonder if we will play some zone.



Long Beach should be a better test.

Gre writeup. I listened on the radio for the first half, watched some of the 2nd. Not afraid to admit I'm worried about the season and our lack of a dominate post player.

hawkwing wrote:
Gre writeup. I listened on the radio for the first half, watched some of the 2nd. Not afraid to admit I'm worried about the season and our lack of a dominate post player.

It will be post by committee. Austin still might be the best we've got.



there is some real talent on this team. I've been impressed with Nixon AND Toolson so far. Bartley is looking very "athletic" this year, hopefully he quits running into people at full speed.



There are reasons to be optimistic and concerned about this team.

Just finished watching the game. Positives, at a high level:



1) Defense was good. We were quick, got lots of steals. Liked that a lot because we are going to need a lot of fast breaks.

2) KC didn't looked hampered by that knee.

3) Haws was smooth.

4) Kaufusi's shot blocking.

5) We won.



Areas of improvement at a high level:



1) Folks, we don't have a PG. KC did not look good at the position. Don't know if his knee is still catching up with him or not. Halford coughed the ball up right and left. Bartley and Winder looked okay. Fischer isn't a PG either. The only one that actually looked like a PG out there was Ellis who only played for the last 4 min.

2) We don't have anyone that can score in the post. Nobody. Post defense was okay, but no back to basket moves, no hook shots, nothing. Hope Austin gets better soon because he has more to offer down low offensively than what I saw tonight.

3) We looked real sloppy at times.



Some insights on players:



Halford looks bigger but he looked bad out there. Turned it over a bunch and on defense he got beat all the time.



Bartley is talented but still prone to forcing things. Needs to slow down a bit and not drive into traffic. Had a sick dunk.



Fischer looked sloppy in the beginning but calmed down and looked legit. He is not a PG.His defense was good.



Winder played pretty good. If I had to pick a PG, it would be him.



Sharp shouldn't be starting. IMO, better to have KC at the 4 and Winder at PG. Better defense and better scoring.



Kaufusi will be silly good next season. He's raw but the athleticism is there and he has a real good read on the ball.



Worthington was solid on defense. I thought his footwork down low on defense was good.



Winder



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We beat a decent Div2 team by 30 points. 12 players played double digit minutes. Haws played 23 minutes. Some combinations didn't really work well. Halford was not good at all. He had a very bad game. Kaufusi looked awesome. I really think he is a better option than Worthington. We got some good minutes with Kaufusi and Neilson playing the 4 and 5. Nixon was also very good at the 4. When year end comes, I think BYU will be playing Austin, Kaufusi, Neilson and Nixon rotating at 4 and 5, Haws, Collingsworth, Winder, Fischer and Halford rotating on the guard line. End of year starters will be Austin, Kaufusi, Haws, Collingsworth and Fischer. We will be able to put together a lineup that can play with anybody. Our weak link will be Halford. Unfortunately, he will need to get some minutes. Maybe Bartley can develop enough to keep Halford off the floor; however, he is not there.

I would take Bartley over Halford right now. Better defense, better speed.



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Gunk wrote:
I would take Bartley over Halford right now. Better defense, better speed.



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I must say I agree here and that I'd like to see Frank get some more minutes at Halford's expense and even Ellis for that matter. As to your post above Austin does not offer anything offensively anymore as he has completely stopped looking to score. He grabs a rebound down low and passes it back out. I'd rather see a better shot blocker like Kaufusi out there who will actually try to score in the low post, even if not pretty, if fed the ball. I agree we have no low post scoring right now and unless Austin looks to score this year he won't be an improvement. I thought Worthington was supposed to have developed some sort of hook shot he can go to with either hand near the basket but I haven't seen anything to indicate he's developed at all offensively. I still think he should be playing football instead. There is some speculation that Aytes may try to come back in February so let's hope we can be somewhat decent enough to get to the tourney without him for now. KC and Nixon may have to see quite a bit of time at the 4 if we want to see any sort of scoring from the 4 but that would require some good zone defense with Haws, Nixon, and KC on the floor all at the same time.



My eventual starting 5:



1 - KC - might as well face it he's Rose's guy at PG/Winder

2 - Fischer/Winder

3 - Haws/Nixon/Toolson

4 - Nixon - he's a perfect stretch 4 in Rose's system/KC

5 - Austin/Kaufusi/Neilson - having 2 of these guys on the floor at the same time would yield minimal offense from 2 spots on floor and I don't think we can afford that. At least Neilson can shoot the ball so he might be an option to help score



You could also go:



1 - Winder

2 - Fischer

3 - Haws

4 - KC

5 - Austin/Kaufusi

beauso79 wrote:

I would take Bartley over Halford right now. Better defense, better speed.



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I must say I agree here and that I'd like to see Frank get some more minutes at Halford's expense and even Ellis for that matter. As to your post above Austin does not offer anything offensively anymore as he has completely stopped looking to score. He grabs a rebound down low and passes it back out. I'd rather see a better shot blocker like Kaufusi out there who will actually try to score in the low post, even if not pretty, if fed the ball. I agree we have no low post scoring right now and unless Austin looks to score this year he won't be an improvement. I thought Worthington was supposed to have developed some sort of hook shot he can go to with either hand near the basket but I haven't seen anything to indicate he's developed at all offensively. I still think he should be playing football instead. There is some speculation that Aytes may try to come back in February so let's hope we can be somewhat decent enough to get to the tourney without him for now. KC and Nixon may have to see quite a bit of time at the 4 if we want to see any sort of scoring from the 4 but that would require some good zone defense with Haws, Nixon, and KC on the floor all at the same time.



My eventual starting 5:



1 - KC - might as well face it he's Rose's guy at PG/Winder

2 - Fischer/Winder

3 - Haws/Nixon/Toolson

4 - Nixon - he's a perfect stretch 4 in Rose's system/KC

5 - Austin/Kaufusi/Neilson - having 2 of these guys on the floor at the same time would yield minimal offense from 2 spots on floor and I don't think we can afford that. At least Neilson can shoot the ball so he might be an option to help score



You could also go:



1 - Winder

2 - Fischer

3 - Haws

4 - KC

5 - Austin/Kaufusi

While I like Kaufusi's shot blocking and his tenacity to score down low, he's a huge liability on defense and has no low-post moves (still in development). Doesn't look nearly as lost as his brother did and he moves his feet well, but he sucks in hard to one side when defending leaving his man to spin to the other side and be wide open. Any decent post player will take advantage of that all night long. Plus, the refs were letting a lot of contact go in the Seattle game. He would have fouled out.



Unfortunately, I think you are right. Rose will play KC at PG, which still continues to boggle my mind.



IMO, Rose should grab the 5 best players on the team, figure out who will play what among that 5, and start them. In which case it would be Winder, Fischer, Haws, KC and Austin.



Instead, we'll see a bunch of shuffling throughout the season and when our backs are against the wall Rose will finally start the best 5, but by that time it will be too little too late.

I agree Winder, Fischer, Haws, KC and Austin are our best 5. I think you close with them, but playing KC at the 4 for most of the game is a bad idea.



Our other options at the 4 aren't appealing though. I guess we have to take a chance on Nixon. At least he has some size and shooting. Sharp doesn't bring a lot. Maybe we can play Austin next to Neilson as stretch 5.

Qman wrote:
I agree Winder, Fischer, Haws, KC and Austin are our best 5. I think you close with them, but playing KC at the 4 for most of the game is a bad idea.



Our other options at the 4 aren't appealing though. I guess we have to take a chance on Nixon. At least he has some size and shooting. Sharp doesn't bring a lot. Maybe we can play Austin next to Neilson as stretch 5.

I would be fine with Austin and Neilson or Kaufusi in there at the same time. We have enough big bodies to mix it up. And, one of the advantages KC has is playing at multiple positions; so, it makes sense to move him around a bit too. That would create mismatch problems for opponents and keep them on their toes.



That said, there needs to be a unit in there that clicks.