VinyVango

Ensuring a sure win while working towards getting all the new pieces and combinations thereof playing in sync by the time conference games start …

We owe these fucks for several recent ass kickings they’ve put on us… hoping the offense comes out focused this morning and ewers has had a couple espressos

Looks like they’re playing in a concrete underpass or drainage ditch with some cheap green turf rolled into it

42-0 good guys

In the second half it appeared like many of our players started to find their individual grooves of sorts (against an inferior opponent with no depth) where they were finding spots to get better shots up and playing better defense. The key will be whether we can get a reliable offense with multiple layers installed so guys can get good looks moving without the ball without being too predictable when we play the big boy teams who are coached up well

Vinson deserves some more minutes in the next few games to see if we have a viable backup center … Onyema has had his chance to show something

Our fast break offense looks good against this team … our half court offense is VERY basic at the moment

Whataburger manager vibe

Offense is basically looking for the three point shot off drives. We’ve been hitting shots but need to get something going inside to mix things up. Defense is a work in progress…hit and miss so far on the help defense,switches off screens and communication Team looks fast and they seem like they can shoot… they’re a little out of control on both ends so far and zero post offense

And now they’re cooking a bit better

Rough offense execution so far

I don't think you can put too much weight into a game 1 loss against a Power5 opponent in the portal day and age where 6 of your top 8 players are new guys every year. The warning signs for Rodney will be: getting embarrassed by scrub teams we play in the pre-season; finishing in the bottom 1/2 to 2/3 of the conference standings; failing to make the NCAA tourney or consistently being on the bubble hoping for other teams to lose to make it in; and/or not showing the ability to correct and coach up fixable problems [like defensive rotations] from game to game (preferably from half to half).

those are solid coaches... I like the guy at Arizona as well.

The ugliness of the portal era is trying to get puzzle pieces from different systems, many of whom were role players who now expect more minutes and freedom to get their shots ups, to gel with one another and the system as quickly as possible. There will be growing/gelling pains. The coaches who are elite at evaluating personnel, drilling fundamentals and details, and getting a few good offensive sets in place with lots of options seem to rise above the bell curve early in the season. And, the coaches who can adjust well in-game, add some new wrinkles on offense each week, and establish a good 8-to-9-man rotation seem to excel later. With so many big guards / small forwards on the roster, Terry will need to figure out fast how to get other players open for a good look / drive when our opponents double up on Johnson. I think that will entail a lot of off-the-ball activity rather than just running the pick and roll action with everyone else camped outside the 3 point line. We have a lot of interchangeable parts outside Johnson, Mark and to a much lesser extent Shed who will need some heavy coaching and show some heavy effort on the defensive side before they get heavy minutes and the green light to get their shots up.

Need something from Shedrick and Onyema… would like to see Larry and Kent get some run since they’ve played on a good team together