What a change from last year. The ball doesn't stop like it used to. Everything last year was about trying to get it into Josh in the post and the ball stopped too often and we had long lulls with no scoring. Even though Josh was nearly an automatic 2 last year, it was tough when he wasn't in the game because we didn't get enough movement at times. This year, guys were moving and Tad had them moving all game long. When they stopped, Tad would scream at them to move and they got flying. Lots of pass and screen away motion with 4 out. Excellent cuts off screens to the basket. We'll have to learn to back cut when the other team overplays and gets out of position, but that will come. Only thing really missing from the arsenal along with better offensive rebounding.
DeLeon Brown - loved him! I thought he might be a redshirt but figured that was out of the window after Tad didn't mention him and Peters was suspended. Was a pleasant surprise though. He gets over the top of screens super quick and smoothly. Only lost his man a couple of times but quickly found him. He gets out on his man quickly. He is definitely going to be a pain defensively. Offensively, he is super smooth. His late game drive to the basket was a thing of beauty and something we just didn't have a year ago. He has point guard skills with the ball in his hands which is nice. His shooting touch though is where he stands out. His form is excellent and his shot is pure. Reviews of CU rarely mention him and the few that do mention him as a 2* nobody. They are dead wrong. He's going to be a heck of a player for CU in the mold of Richard Roby (just a little smaller). He has a better shot than Roby ever did at CU though.
Lucas Siewert - Man, this dude is everything I was hoping Guzonjic would be last year. He moves very well without the ball. He gets down the court and even hustled down on defense. He fought hard down below defensively and played well on the perimeter. Of course, the highlight of the night is watching him shoot. We are going to be super dangerous with this guy as a stretch 4. No one is going to leave this guy open out there because he will kill you. Let him shoot 6 of those a game and he's going to make 4. I can't wait until he develops his post game. He went at it once but instead of up and undering, he just passed back out of the post. Confidence just isn't quite there yet with those moves, but I like that he gave it a shot. Next year he'll have those moves down and be a top level forward.
Derek White - I did not know he was going to man the point. I love the idea of him doing it though. It keeps Fortune on the floor and gives us our best 5. I'll be watching how well he handles the ball against teams with an athletic press. That will be the true test. Thought he got the team going in its motion offense well and had a few really nice passes to cutters. He made some nice shots and a couple of tough ones. He rushed a few too and seemed a bit nervous quite honestly. I would like to see the game slow down for him a little which I think it will after a few of these under his belt. You just know he can do so much more in watching him. His physique is completely different than what I saw from his UCCS videos. He was a lean dude then, but he is definitely much more 'buff' now to say the least. He looked strong and played strong actually posting guys up at times with success. He's not afraid to challenge shots nor rebound either. I look forward to seeing what he can do against the good teams where I think he can really stand out.
Those 3 guys certainly caught my interest for obvious reasons. Other than those guys, loved what Collier and Akyazili gave us off the bench. Both still have their same old games, but are just a lot better at them. TA is never going to be a great shooter for us, but he is tough breaking down a defense. He's quicker and stronger than ever and can now finish at the rim with authority. He can also pass on the drive and should get a bunch of assists for us off the bench by just breaking a guy down and kicking out. DC IS going to be a great shooter for us because he finds his spots and he just drains them. He's getting the elevation on his jump shot he never got before and his stroke is smooth. I would still like to see him drive it to the lane more because I know he can do that.
Tory Miller is still the same old Tory. Some great shots and some ugly shots along with a lot of energy. Some excellent defensive plays and some defensive breakdowns. Like Dom and TA, he's just better at being Tory, more refined. He's going to have beast mode games and games where he can't buy a bucket. I hope we get a lot more of the beast more than the latter.
Wes and Josh were really good IMO. Much improved from a year ago. Both look a lot stronger, tougher defensively, and very confident. Wes did a great job defensively in the post. It was such a big difference when he wasn't in the lineup. They got a lot more shots in the paint when he wasn't in there. He does a good job of keeping his man out of the low post and when they do back him down, he's ready to swat it away. His improved strength definitely showed. Same for Fortune - big improvement in his defense. He still had the blunder turnover, but he seems more bent on making the simple play like Tad wants. His shooting touch was excellent and his size is going to be a problem for opponents going forward.
XJ - XJ was rusty for sure. He did a great job in the post though. He sealed his man off a couple of times and made strong moves to the basket. He actually showed the best low post game of anyone on the team. He's going to have to work on his perimeter defense of course, but he played tough in the post defensively. When his shooting touch comes back, we'll see him with those high scoring games again. I did like what he did on the boards but know he can do a lot more. He can and should be a double digit guy.
King - King probably forced things a bit at times. Got himself caught in the air with nowhere to go sometimes. Didn't always set his feet on his shot. He was probably nervous with Mama's big day going on. I would like to see him get double digit rebounds as well. With his leaping ability, strength, and big mits, he should have his hands on a lot more balls. He needs to box out better though in order for that to happen. Can't have guys darted by him.
All in all, an excellent first game. Obviously boxing out will be preached in practice as will be offensive rebounding. When the post moves improve, this team is going to be extremely difficult to even slow down offensively much less stop. We could shoot the entire Pac 12 off the court and I don't see any of them winning in Boulder. That's not happening with this team. Too much depth. Guys having a bad night can be benched for one of many other guys who will take their place and play better. Can't wait until we play Notre Dame!
DeLeon Brown - loved him! I thought he might be a redshirt but figured that was out of the window after Tad didn't mention him and Peters was suspended. Was a pleasant surprise though. He gets over the top of screens super quick and smoothly. Only lost his man a couple of times but quickly found him. He gets out on his man quickly. He is definitely going to be a pain defensively. Offensively, he is super smooth. His late game drive to the basket was a thing of beauty and something we just didn't have a year ago. He has point guard skills with the ball in his hands which is nice. His shooting touch though is where he stands out. His form is excellent and his shot is pure. Reviews of CU rarely mention him and the few that do mention him as a 2* nobody. They are dead wrong. He's going to be a heck of a player for CU in the mold of Richard Roby (just a little smaller). He has a better shot than Roby ever did at CU though.
Lucas Siewert - Man, this dude is everything I was hoping Guzonjic would be last year. He moves very well without the ball. He gets down the court and even hustled down on defense. He fought hard down below defensively and played well on the perimeter. Of course, the highlight of the night is watching him shoot. We are going to be super dangerous with this guy as a stretch 4. No one is going to leave this guy open out there because he will kill you. Let him shoot 6 of those a game and he's going to make 4. I can't wait until he develops his post game. He went at it once but instead of up and undering, he just passed back out of the post. Confidence just isn't quite there yet with those moves, but I like that he gave it a shot. Next year he'll have those moves down and be a top level forward.
Derek White - I did not know he was going to man the point. I love the idea of him doing it though. It keeps Fortune on the floor and gives us our best 5. I'll be watching how well he handles the ball against teams with an athletic press. That will be the true test. Thought he got the team going in its motion offense well and had a few really nice passes to cutters. He made some nice shots and a couple of tough ones. He rushed a few too and seemed a bit nervous quite honestly. I would like to see the game slow down for him a little which I think it will after a few of these under his belt. You just know he can do so much more in watching him. His physique is completely different than what I saw from his UCCS videos. He was a lean dude then, but he is definitely much more 'buff' now to say the least. He looked strong and played strong actually posting guys up at times with success. He's not afraid to challenge shots nor rebound either. I look forward to seeing what he can do against the good teams where I think he can really stand out.
Those 3 guys certainly caught my interest for obvious reasons. Other than those guys, loved what Collier and Akyazili gave us off the bench. Both still have their same old games, but are just a lot better at them. TA is never going to be a great shooter for us, but he is tough breaking down a defense. He's quicker and stronger than ever and can now finish at the rim with authority. He can also pass on the drive and should get a bunch of assists for us off the bench by just breaking a guy down and kicking out. DC IS going to be a great shooter for us because he finds his spots and he just drains them. He's getting the elevation on his jump shot he never got before and his stroke is smooth. I would still like to see him drive it to the lane more because I know he can do that.
Tory Miller is still the same old Tory. Some great shots and some ugly shots along with a lot of energy. Some excellent defensive plays and some defensive breakdowns. Like Dom and TA, he's just better at being Tory, more refined. He's going to have beast mode games and games where he can't buy a bucket. I hope we get a lot more of the beast more than the latter.
Wes and Josh were really good IMO. Much improved from a year ago. Both look a lot stronger, tougher defensively, and very confident. Wes did a great job defensively in the post. It was such a big difference when he wasn't in the lineup. They got a lot more shots in the paint when he wasn't in there. He does a good job of keeping his man out of the low post and when they do back him down, he's ready to swat it away. His improved strength definitely showed. Same for Fortune - big improvement in his defense. He still had the blunder turnover, but he seems more bent on making the simple play like Tad wants. His shooting touch was excellent and his size is going to be a problem for opponents going forward.
XJ - XJ was rusty for sure. He did a great job in the post though. He sealed his man off a couple of times and made strong moves to the basket. He actually showed the best low post game of anyone on the team. He's going to have to work on his perimeter defense of course, but he played tough in the post defensively. When his shooting touch comes back, we'll see him with those high scoring games again. I did like what he did on the boards but know he can do a lot more. He can and should be a double digit guy.
King - King probably forced things a bit at times. Got himself caught in the air with nowhere to go sometimes. Didn't always set his feet on his shot. He was probably nervous with Mama's big day going on. I would like to see him get double digit rebounds as well. With his leaping ability, strength, and big mits, he should have his hands on a lot more balls. He needs to box out better though in order for that to happen. Can't have guys darted by him.
All in all, an excellent first game. Obviously boxing out will be preached in practice as will be offensive rebounding. When the post moves improve, this team is going to be extremely difficult to even slow down offensively much less stop. We could shoot the entire Pac 12 off the court and I don't see any of them winning in Boulder. That's not happening with this team. Too much depth. Guys having a bad night can be benched for one of many other guys who will take their place and play better. Can't wait until we play Notre Dame!
