By a score of 86-57 Ike led all scorers with 21 pts while Hawkinson scored 19 pts. Izundu continued to impress with his leaping and blocking ability. Clifford is still slow to round into shape as the big guys take longer especially after an injury. It looks like Suggs,Redding Que,Daniels ,King,Franks, and Callison will divide the time between them before Kent settles on the top eight. The others like Boese and Longrus will provide vocal support and senior leadership to the young guns. It is a good situation.
Cougs beat idaho St
- Thread starter ElComanche
- Start date
I have been impressed with Izundu against the limited competition. Clifford is very slow of foot, hopefully that is still left over problems from the injury. Suggs has been very good so far and Daniels has been a very pleasant surprise. It seems Boese and Franks are competing for the limited back up minutes at the 4 since Hawk won't see the bench very often. Last game seemed to be Franks, this game Boese got those minutes. Longrus was the starter last night but I would say he might move to back up after Izundu's game last night. Conoer has a long way to go before he sees solid minutes. King seems to be the odd man out as of now but he does have 3 years to play. Callison has been impressive at times but looked lost last night.
Valentine really showed something in that game. He might lead the nation in blocked shots this year. It will be interesting to see how he does when we face some better big men. Clifford did look really slow, but hopefully that is somewhat related to his lack of playing time. He might be more effective against teams with more size (Gonzaga). I think Val's defense may be more important to this team than what even a healthy Clifford can bring.
The Cougs struggled in the first half against a team projected to finish last in the Big Sky. They really picked it up when Ike was switched to the point in the second half. He still looks to me to be the best point guard option. Redding seems just a little bit better. Callison is athletic but hasn't shown me much as a point guard (not nearly as good a distributer as the other two). They will all see time but Ernie has a lot more options now and I think playing Ike at point allows him to get the most talent on the court.
The Cougs struggled in the first half against a team projected to finish last in the Big Sky. They really picked it up when Ike was switched to the point in the second half. He still looks to me to be the best point guard option. Redding seems just a little bit better. Callison is athletic but hasn't shown me much as a point guard (not nearly as good a distributer as the other two). They will all see time but Ernie has a lot more options now and I think playing Ike at point allows him to get the most talent on the court.
Good contributions from the new guys, pleased to see Izundu play well, anxious to see how he does against good competition. Hawk is about as solid and consistent a player as the Cougs have had in a long time. Suggs, for me, has been a pleasant surprise. Really angry that I haven't been able to see these games on TV down here in Oregon. Hope to catch a game or two either in Pullman or when the Cougs come to the Willamette Valley.
By the way, the score was actually 85=67...an 18-point win rather than a 29-point win as you reported. Nonetheless, a comfortable victory.
Glad Cougar
Yes my memory failed me on the score. Clifford is not that slow. I saw clips of him in juco ball and he will improve as his conditioning improves.I wonder when Callison will hit his stride, He is one of the players who is playigf"robotic" as Kent describes.
Izundu has really impressed the last few games and is a good compliment to Hawkinson at the 4. My only issue with Izundu is when he goes to block a shot he leaves the backside open for easy put backs for the other team. Someone needs to be aware and rotate over.
Clifford is going to get better but could have used a transfer year like Izundu in this case to shed a few pounds and get in better shape.
Suggs has a great feel for the game and does a nice job of putting the ball where Izundu can finish. Surprised his shooting hasn't been better in the regular season but you have to assume that will come at some point. He's been a pleasant surprise passing to Izundu and finishing on the baseline. Still waiting for Que to breakout but right now Suggs is making the bigger impact on the game.
Callison hasn't found much of a comfort zone yet but Redding really seemed to struggle against Idaho State.
Rotation should start to take shape in the next week.
Starters:
1 - Callison (although Ike still looks better but it's early)
2 - Ike
3 - Suggs
4 - Hawkinson
5 - Izundu - hope he can stay out of foul trouble
Clifford is going to get better but could have used a transfer year like Izundu in this case to shed a few pounds and get in better shape.
Suggs has a great feel for the game and does a nice job of putting the ball where Izundu can finish. Surprised his shooting hasn't been better in the regular season but you have to assume that will come at some point. He's been a pleasant surprise passing to Izundu and finishing on the baseline. Still waiting for Que to breakout but right now Suggs is making the bigger impact on the game.
Callison hasn't found much of a comfort zone yet but Redding really seemed to struggle against Idaho State.
Rotation should start to take shape in the next week.
Starters:
1 - Callison (although Ike still looks better but it's early)
2 - Ike
3 - Suggs
4 - Hawkinson
5 - Izundu - hope he can stay out of foul trouble
Prior to his injury Clifford was looking very good according to reports. Izundu was quoted as saying that Clifford brought the whole package to the game. I assume since he got in little time in the last gamee that he is working on his conditioning. I see him getting about 15 mins the next game. The cougs are a work in progress at this time.
I'm pretty sure I posted the video where Izundu commented so I'm aware of the quote. Bigs typically have ugly early moments. We are going to see Izundu, Clifford, and Longrus at the 5 this season. Boese and Franks will get time at the 4. Agree we are definitely a work in progress at this point but each game things will become more and more clear. Hopefully everyone can stay healthy, out of trouble, going to class, etc. It's a long season.
Maybe it's because he's out of shape but Clifford seems very slow (both afoot and quickness). Because of his lack of quickness he is very prone to fouling. Despite that my impression is that his biggest problem might be attitude. When things don't go his way he immediately starts pouting. When a foul was called on him in the Idaho State game he was obviously pouting on the court. Then when Ernie took him out it was even worse. Junior Longrus took him aside and had a talk with him. Hopefully it's all a result of being injured. Ernie seems to think a lot of him.
Disappointing to read of a possible attitude. I wonder if it's due to a slow start? It wouldn't surprise me to see him taking until next year to make an impact but I am hoping Kent/Izundu's assessment is good. Still happy about Izundu's start. Gonzaga will be the first real look at how this team projects though.