The official (other) Broncos game thread

[kccougar]

Do you think Ashley Hamilton (The 2nd leading scorer for LMU who was out for the BYU game but was in for the Gonzaga game) will play well when LMU comes to Provo? He didn't play against BYU when the Cougars played LMU in LA (he did, however, play in the game tonight against Gonzaga). He is the 2nd leading scorer on LMU who has been out with an injury (including the BYU game... he returned tonight against Gonzaga).

[higherroad]

+ ∞

well-played.

[KillerDog]

Interesting game. For the first few minutes I was moaning that we weren't guarding them with any effort. Then I settled down and noticed that our problem seemed more grounded in the effort they were giving to run their offense and the mismatches they had. Their back-court was quick. Ours is not the best defensively. It made for a fun chess match because their back-court could also shoot so we couldn't revert to a zone to protect against penetration.

Offensively we continue to improve. Davies has realized that he was playing lazy and that with more effort he could be a 20 ppg guy. I think I'll send Noah a gift basket for that. Either Noah or Mark Durrant (who made a comment about 4 games ago). I still hate his fake wrap around pass but he is only using it rarely now and has really started to set guys up in the post. I'm still shocked by how nice his hands are.

Carlino is also continuing to develop. He is a really aggressive passer. I don't mind turnovers from aggressive passing. He is finding his spots and learning the teams tendencies. By the end of the season we could be really scary if Rogers gets back in the groove.

Cusick also really is starting to impress me. Rose is increasingly using him as an off guard and is getting away with it against teams without substantial size at the 2. He is athletically limited but very skilled and smart. I would like to see him shoot from the perimeter more aggressively on the inside out play or in transition. I expect in the next 3 games we see a drop in Zylstra's minutes if Cusick can continue to play the 2 spot well and Rogers gets his game back.

If I was playing ball against BYU and coach gave me the assignment of guarding Noah, I would refuse. You can't win. He really gets angles around the basket and his length lets him get the ball up on the glass quickly. He pump fakes and hooks like mad then gets a lot of lean, takes a swipe at you with his elbow and hits impossible shots. All the while he is physically pounding you because he likes contact. In the end he will burn you for a bunch of points and your friends will mock you that some accountant from Golds Gym torched you. I'd just tell coach I was sick.

Abuou has increasingly started looking to drive and his ft totals are the evidence. If he keeps it up and can stay under control he will be a difference maker in the NCAAs.

Zylstra again has a solid but unspectacular game.

A couple other observations. In shoot around Harrison is canning shots like crazy. I don't know what's happening in the game other than that his shot is more relaxed in warm-ups and shoot around and it is going in. Eventually it will translate unless he is the second coming of Chris Miles. Anson Winder on the other hand is as streaky in pre game as he is during a game. Luckily coach was watching too. Anson missed nearly every jumper he took in shoot around and didn't see much court time. He really needs to keep working on his jumper though because he'll have a career here if he does. The more I watch Sharp play the more I think he sees time at the 3 longterm. He could be a 4 but he would be a 4 like Tavernari. His frame isn't going to take a ton of weight so he'll never be a true inside guy. He has a nice looking stroke and looks smooth off the bounce. Most importantly, he has good length and decent feet to defend on the perimeter.

I don't know why SCU doesn't have more wins but they are a good looking team and I can see how they beat UNM.

[Guest]

Interesting game. For the first few minutes I was moaning that we weren't guarding them with any effort. Then I settled down and noticed that our problem seemed more grounded in the effort they were giving to run their offense and the mismatches they had. Their back-court was quick. Ours is not the best defensively. It made for a fun chess match because their back-court could also shoot so we couldn't revert to a zone to protect against penetration.

Offensively we continue to improve. Davies has realized that he was playing lazy and that with more effort he could be a 20 ppg guy. I think I'll send Noah a gift basket for that. Either Noah or Mark Durrant (who made a comment about 4 games ago). I still hate his fake wrap around pass but he is only using it rarely now and has really started to set guys up in the post. I'm still shocked by how nice his hands are.

Carlino is also continuing to develop. He is a really aggressive passer. I don't mind turnovers from aggressive passing. He is finding his spots and learning the teams tendencies. By the end of the season we could be really scary if Rogers gets back in the groove.

Cusick also really is starting to impress me. Rose is increasingly using him as an off guard and is getting away with it against teams without substantial size at the 2. He is athletically limited but very skilled and smart. I would like to see him shoot from the perimeter more aggressively on the inside out play or in transition. I expect in the next 3 games we see a drop in Zylstra's minutes if Cusick can continue to play the 2 spot well and Rogers gets his game back.

If I was playing ball against BYU and coach gave me the assignment of guarding Noah, I would refuse. You can't win. He really gets angles around the basket and his length lets him get the ball up on the glass quickly. He pump fakes and hooks like mad then gets a lot of lean, takes a swipe at you with his elbow and hits impossible shots. All the while he is physically pounding you because he likes contact. In the end he will burn you for a bunch of points and your friends will mock you that some accountant from Golds Gym torched you. I'd just tell coach I was sick.

Abuou has increasingly started looking to drive and his ft totals are the evidence. If he keeps it up and can stay under control he will be a difference maker in the NCAAs.

Zylstra again has a solid but unspectacular game.

A couple other observations. In shoot around Harrison is canning shots like crazy. I don't know what's happening in the game other than that his shot is more relaxed in warm-ups and shoot around and it is going in. Eventually it will translate unless he is the second coming of Chris Miles. Anson Winder on the other hand is as streaky in pre game as he is during a game. Luckily coach was watching too. Anson missed nearly every jumper he took in shoot around and didn't see much court time. He really needs to keep working on his jumper though because he'll have a career here if he does. The more I watch Sharp play the more I think he sees time at the 3 longterm. He could be a 4 but he would be a 4 like Tavernari. His frame isn't going to take a ton of weight so he'll never be a true inside guy. He has a nice looking stroke and looks smooth off the bounce. Most importantly, he has good length and decent feet to defend on the perimeter.

I don't know why SCU doesn't have more wins but they are a good looking team and I can see how they beat UNM.

No comment on Nate Austin? I thought he was big in the 2nd half with his rebounding. That dude plays all out and I love it from a guy who is just removed from a mission and will get much much better in the next couple of years. To the point we can start comparing him to Sacre. That is a joke by the way. He will need to get all tatted up first. Rogers has taken a step back since coming back from his knee injury but I hoping he will be hitting his stride come tourney time.

[Surfah]

No comment on Nate Austin? I thought he was big in the 2nd half with his rebounding. That dude plays all out and I love it from a guy who is just removed from a mission and will get much much better in the next couple of years. To the point we can start comparing him to Sacre. That is a joke by the way. He will need to get all tatted up first. Rogers has taken a step back since coming back from his knee injury but I hoping he will be hitting his stride come tourney time.

I am not sure Rogers is getting the lift on his shot as he did before. I am confident he'll find his stroke as his conditioning improves.

I thought Austin gave us some big minutes as well. I love his hustle. Now if we could get him to improve his FT shooting. How does a guy with his stroke not hit FTs?

[TripletDaddy]

Austin was a tale of two halves.

First half he was Auful. Second half he was Ausome.

How can you be a better 3 point shooter than free throw shooter?

[KillerDog]

No comment on Nate Austin? I thought he was big in the 2nd half with his rebounding. That dude plays all out and I love it from a guy who is just removed from a mission and will get much much better in the next couple of years. To the point we can start comparing him to Sacre. That is a joke by the way. He will need to get all tatted up first. Rogers has taken a step back since coming back from his knee injury but I hoping he will be hitting his stride come tourney time.

I love Nate and he is giving us consistent minutes but I thought he gave us nothing more or less than he has given us before. Other than the starters, I usually don't address people unless they do something unexpected of I notice them for something particular. I did talk to coach Pope prior to the game and he mentioned that he was very pleased with Nate's progress and expect Nate to be an increasing factor on offense now that he knows both the 5 and the 4 offensively. This allows him to use his strength as a jump shooter instead of trying to do something he isn't ready to do yet.