I hate jumping to conclusions one game into the season, so I'll try to keep it low-key....but how about Trey Chapman? The most unlikely of suspects nails a three-pointer to send the Keydets to their third championship appearance in four All-Military Classics.
I'll start with the positives. Or negatives? Nah, positives it is. Our rebounding tonight was superb; 31-22 advantage will win you a lot of games (and we beat them 12-4 on the offensive side, another plus). That's especially impressive considering the fact that Horgan, White, and Koopman are taller than everyone on our team. Clearly the five-man gang-up rebounding strategy is working.
We made 45% of our shots, bested by The Citadel's crisp 55% shooting. The difference? We attempted sixteen more shots, facilitated by our sizable rebounding advantage. Making nine more three-pointers helped too. Not sure why The Citadel didn't try more.
Individually, QJ scored a calm 25. Overall his shooting wasn't bad but from long range it was terrible - 3 of 11 is not what Coach Baucom or anyone on the staff expects out of him. The five assists are encouraging, but 4 PF's is a no-no. And it seemed like he fatigued late in the game. B+ for QJ tonight.
Game ball goes to Brian Brown - 6 of 9 shooting, 4/7 from three, 16 points in all in only twenty-four minutes. And not a single foul. Yeah yeah, Trey made the game-winning three, but Brian made four of them. He is the glue of this team. And speaking of Trey, what are the odds that a guy who shot 21% from deep his freshman year would knock down his only three-point attempt of the game in a do-or-die situation? Statistically speaking, it was a so-so game from Chap. Five points, three boards (all offensive), an assist and steal. A solid effort, but I'd hope for more the rest of the way.
Great game by Weethee. Only 9 points but the eight rebounds were huge. Phil also led in that category with nine of his own, and three blocks too. Defensively Phil's a monster but he needs to work on finishing at the rim. He missed a layup and two short jumpers which could've cost us the game were it not for Trey's heroics. I thought that was a consistent problem throughout the team but it's hard to tell with no video.
Only team negative I can see is in the free throws. Not the percentage, like we're used to seeing, but rather the attempts - only four trips to the line. I can't quite tell if that's a testament to the Bulldogs' defense or an obvious hint at our lack of physical aggressiveness. El Cid went to the line twenty-two times and you can see why the game was this close.
I would also have liked to have seen a better performance from Jarid. Two points + one block in sixteen minutes is poor, but what you'd expect from a guy with minimal game experience. As the season progresses, Jarid should see continued playing time and improve, but with such a lean build and unimposing stature it's hard to see him being reckoned with as a dominant post presence. Armani got a couple of minutes and hit on his only shot, and Eleby hit a three. Nothing from Tim Marshall, which was disappointing. As expected, Tyrell Mason, Fred Iruafemi, and Christian Burton did not see any action. Not sure where Craig was.
So we are now 1-0. Can't say too much about this game other than that fact. And that we have a chance to claim a second AMC title with a win tomorrow. Can we survive without a true point guard? Can we survive without a true post player? Is our bench deep enough to help us win games? At this point I don't know. I do know, however, that Army is currently taking Air Force to the woodshed and if the score holds up, we have some work cut out for us in the title game tomorrow.
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