* Gotta open today's notes with more love for Jontel Evans. The guy is 9 for 11 from the field, 5-5 from the line, 2-2 from 3 on the season. Do I expect that sizzle to continue? No. But that jumper really does look more natural, even in pre-game warmups. Outside of providing a little scoring punch he continues to do the other things that Jontel does, set the tone with on ball defense and just work hard on both sides of the ball. Kudos to him on a great start to the season.
* What does it all mean when Sammy returns? Not sure. Initially I didn't think you would see that much of the Jontel and Sammy backcourt this year, with all of the different options available. Now I suspect you will see Sammy off the ball and Jontel at the point at times, with Malcolm being interchangeable at any of the guard spots at anytime. It's crazy to have depth like we do right now. It's been a really long time.
* I saw some people were concerned about Malcolm's 'flat' shot. It's something I noticed even in his high school footage. I wouldn't lose sleep over it. What I like about his jumper is that it is quick and very controlled. There is nothing herky-jerky about it, and while it is a little flat, he makes up for it with a sort of calm repetitive demeanor. He's not a guy that will miss many shots terribly, but he will have some rim outs. Malcolm in general, you can't help but be impressed and optimistic about his play.
* Not trying to scare people but I am concerned about Mike's surgically repaired ankle. I watch him and at times it is evident to me that he is not completely comfortable. He played another solid game regardless, finished much better, and continued to be the real glue for our offense. Something in the back of my mind just isn't sitting right about that ankle. Hope it's just unwarranted nervousness.
* That awful stretch in the first half (1 for 15 shooting) was mostly due to really poor shot selection and our guys "settling" instead of working hard to get good looks. Mike was not getting touches and we ignored the post like we were forced to do last year. It's these type of stretches that obviously we HAVE to avoid this season, and getting our post guys touches in threatening positions is absolutely key to avoiding them. I remember watching Bennett's teams at Washington St. and marveling at the shot selection, how patient they were to make sure they really got a high percentage look. I haven't always had that feeling with his teams here, and I hope we don't hit long stretches this year where we try to "shoot" our way out of a slump other than working hard for a high percentage look.
* The second half was actually more of a beating than the scoreboard even reflected. I re-watched the game tape and thought we actually played a stronger defensive half the second half, despite Winthrop scoring more and shooting 20% higher than the first. By my count, 7 of the 10 made FG's by Winthrop in that half were highly contested low percentage shots that went down. In all 7 situations I think Tony Bennett was more than OK with the look that defensive set produced, but alas they were making them. Happens sometimes. We still outscored them by 18 in the half, could have been a lot more.
* Yes, it was a little sketchy when they took a 2nd half lead, but I really never felt we would lose that game. Winthrop is a team that will get after it on defense and it affected us in the first half. Couple that with some timely shooting and they were able to stay in it. It was only a matter of time before we imposed our will, we were much better at every spot on the floor.
* Akil had another positive night. He will be a very important role player for this team. Successful Bennett teams always had a versatile big man like him coming off the bench.
* 19 for 19 from the free throw line? Cue the drums. Gotta love that.
* I guess I just have to accept that there will never be good or even decent crowds for early season games, even if you are supposed to have your best season in a decade. Tough pill for me to swallow.
* Joe Harris has put up 16 threes through two games. He's on pace for 248 this season. I'm cool with it, as long as his percentage is closer to what it was last year instead of where it sits now. I kid. He will be just fine. He is not lacking for confidence I'll tell you that.
* My season picks still looking good.. had us winning by 18, won by 21. 2-0
To wrap it up, this was not our best effort but once again you can't be too upset with the result. I think it's a good thing that we actually had a little adversity and had to battle back against a defensive minded team. Think it puts us in a better mindset as we travel to paradise. Through two games, there is very little to take with us as concrete data towards how we will play all season.. but what intrigues me is that we didn't play a complete game or put it all together AT ALL in either contest, and still won in blowout fashions. I know it's what were supposed to do, but even last year we struggled to win some of these types of games. I can't wait to see what we look like when we do put it all together.
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