MBK Final: Cougs 65, Cal 57 (Stats)
- Thread starter ScottHood
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I didn't see the first half, but the second half they looked good. They built a 7 point lead near the end, and CAL came back with back to back buckets to reduce the lead to 2. The team didn't wilt, and increased the lead bigger than it was. CAL is not a good team, but nonetheless, it was a good learning experience.
Yup, Cal's not a good team but we definitely needed to get this win. Losses by 5 points each to CU and Stanford. Still learning how to win but good step even if it's just a small one.
Having seen a steady progression forward this season from Abogidi and Gueye, I think the coaching, and they, have been given a bum rap by many on here. Abogidi, though still far from a finished product, is light years ahead of when he first got here, and Gueye has slowly, but surely established himself as a viable low post threat.
They win when Noah plays fewer minutes.
I’ve been harping on getting more from the bigs for weeks.
This is largely nonsense. He was in for the last roughly 10 minutes of the game when we got the lead back and held on to it. I agree that Noah needs to stop trying to be "the man" on offense but he does a lot of good things on defense. In this game he got some tough rebounds and made some key plays. But don't let that get in the way of your narrative.
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Gueye is really coming on and gaining confidence. Needs to make his free throws but he should be a force to reckon with down the road.
Noah needs to be a role player until he gets his mojo back.
Huge win. I saw the season heading for a death spiral if they lost today. Probably better they ground this one out then won by 20 to gain some confidence after so many close losses.
Noah just is not a “go to “ guy he is a secondary guy. As long as he plays within his role and abilities he a solid player. His problem comes from thinking he is an NBA caliber scorer and can take over a game.
After about the 3rd game of the season when he got sick Noah hasn't been the same. Who knows if it's a mental or physical problem.
I completely agree that he isn't the "go to guy". I also suspect he hasn't been healthy but I don't know that. Both Flowers and Roberts are better playing off the ball. I would like to see Noah play distributor.
Williams is not a go to guy this season. He statistics are down almost across the board from last season. Last year, there were games he took over and singlehandedly won the game when Bonton was out. So, he does have it in him, but unfortunately, he has not been the same player this year. Often, it is confidence, and the only way to overcome it is to keep playing. WSU is only six games into the conference season, there is still a long way to go for him and this team.
Bingo, Rich wins. He has some problem for sure probably physical but who knows. You don't go from what he did last year against Cal and Furd to what is happening without some type of problem.
Often a physical issue leads to the mental issue. He is a really good player as he showed last year. I think we see the same thing with Abogidi and Jackson.
His shooting percentage is up, but a lot of his other statistics like rebounding, free throw shooting is down. I think it has more to do with his injury than anything. We all were hoping he would make a big leap this year and it didn't happen. But, I know he is a talented player and will get there, either this season, or next.
IMO The problem with Efe is basketball IQ. I just don’t think he has played enough against top level competition, where he had to learn proper technique, foot work and positioning rather than simply relying on superior athleticism. It’s pretty common with foreign players and freshmen who didn’t play high level AAU.
I think the lack of a basketball IQ is definitely a problem with Efe but is also a problem across the entire team. They hustle and try hard but when the game is close in the last couple of minutes there are a lot of poor choices and unforced errors.
Losing 2 years to injury didn't help either. I think his IQ has improve over late last year but it's a slow process.
I'm going back to something Dick Bennett said in a podcast about losing teams in late game situations. "Players try something or go on their own (off-script) and when it doesn't work things come unglued." Paraphrasing but post-game, Smith talked about how in late game situations players are becoming "selfish" but "it wasn't coming from a bad place. It's just players trying to make a play when they actually need to do less". Learning isn't always a smooth process. In fact, learning is typically a bit of a struggle and I think we are in the middle of it.
Regardless of what people might feel about certain players I liked what I saw after the last game among the leaders of this team. Noah, Roberts, and Flowers are upperclassmen but all 3 are either new to the roster, new to the role at this level, and only Noah's been around for multiple seasons. If we collectively can "stay the course" we will become a team you have to beat rather than one that finds ways to beat itself.
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Even though there are 6 upper classmen (4 Juniors, 1 senior and 1 grad) this is a very young team. Of the upper classmen only Noah, DJ and Ryan have experience at this level. Roberts has only played at the DII level, Flowers and DeWolf at mid or low level D1. Rapp and DeWolf are essentially practice players. So when it's all said and done experience is pretty thin.
