A win is a win is a win--even if it doesn't count and it's against a small D2 school with one good shooter.
A good crowd; must have been nearly 50 people there...(Calbears listed it as 1200, but that's only if you count all the empty chair backs as people and the actual people twice).
After the 1st half (which ended with the Bears up 44-41), I was shaking my head and wondering about Fox being a defense 1st coach. The defense tightened up considerably in the 2nd half, however, as St. Martin's FG percentage went from 53% (dreadful) to 35% in the second half. Apparently, Fox and crew reminded them that closing out on 3-point shooters and not allowing unimpeded drives to the hoop were now allowed in NCAA basketball.
What really impressed me, however, was the offense. By which I mean, THERE WAS AN OFFENSE! (Saints be praised, pun intended). St. Martin played exclusively zone, and the ball was moving crisply and (hold your breath), it consistently got to the flasher at the foul line (there was a flasher at the foul line). There was also a lot of inside-out and inside-out-inside play that led to wide open looks from 3 as well as open looks under the basket. Overall, we shot 54% from the field (62% in the 2nd half; 41% from 3). The next stat will warm SFCity's heart no end: 26 assists on 37 made baskets (against only 6 turnovers!). Some other observations:
Kareem South can light it up. Only 3-9 from 3 (not bad), but buried most of his open looks.
Lars Thiemann is already a serviceable replacement for Vanover. He can't shoot it from outside, but he has the body of a real 5, showed pretty good footwork underneath, and can finish with either hand.
Joel Brown was intriguing. He didn't shoot (his points were on fast breaks), but he is clearly a pass-first pg, and 6 assists in 14 minutes is pretty darn good. I hope he develops quickly because he's already a better defender than Paris Austin, who could have used a red cape out there, especially in the 1st half.
Speaking of Paris Austin, he's obviously looking to pass more in Fox's offense, although how long that will last is anyone's guess.
Grant Anticevich looked a lot more confident shooting the ball and seems to have a clue about what to do in Fox's offense.
Andre Kelly looked a bit slimmer to my eye and was solid in limited minutes. D.J. Thorpe seemed confused at times; I expect he won't have a lot of minutes once we get into the P12 season, although this was only one game.
As Nathan mentioned Kuony and JHD didn't play, and Klonaris looked kind of lost in his limited time.
Fox clearly has them playing an actual offense; it will be interesting to see what it looks like against a man defense and a better, bigger team. Also Fox got his first taste of P12 officiating, with the refs missing a blatant double dribble (the kind the NBA might have called against even Lebron). When he protested, the ref said he wasn't actually looking so he didn't see it. I also liked Fox's in-game coaching. He spoke with every player as he came off the court, at one point noting to Kareem that he had made a decent pass, but that there was a shooter who was more open who should have gotten the ball. By the way, he's not a big water drinker, but he had a whole slew of wrapped candies lined up on the railing of the scorer's table that he kept popping...
A good crowd; must have been nearly 50 people there...(Calbears listed it as 1200, but that's only if you count all the empty chair backs as people and the actual people twice).
After the 1st half (which ended with the Bears up 44-41), I was shaking my head and wondering about Fox being a defense 1st coach. The defense tightened up considerably in the 2nd half, however, as St. Martin's FG percentage went from 53% (dreadful) to 35% in the second half. Apparently, Fox and crew reminded them that closing out on 3-point shooters and not allowing unimpeded drives to the hoop were now allowed in NCAA basketball.
What really impressed me, however, was the offense. By which I mean, THERE WAS AN OFFENSE! (Saints be praised, pun intended). St. Martin played exclusively zone, and the ball was moving crisply and (hold your breath), it consistently got to the flasher at the foul line (there was a flasher at the foul line). There was also a lot of inside-out and inside-out-inside play that led to wide open looks from 3 as well as open looks under the basket. Overall, we shot 54% from the field (62% in the 2nd half; 41% from 3). The next stat will warm SFCity's heart no end: 26 assists on 37 made baskets (against only 6 turnovers!). Some other observations:
Kareem South can light it up. Only 3-9 from 3 (not bad), but buried most of his open looks.
Lars Thiemann is already a serviceable replacement for Vanover. He can't shoot it from outside, but he has the body of a real 5, showed pretty good footwork underneath, and can finish with either hand.
Joel Brown was intriguing. He didn't shoot (his points were on fast breaks), but he is clearly a pass-first pg, and 6 assists in 14 minutes is pretty darn good. I hope he develops quickly because he's already a better defender than Paris Austin, who could have used a red cape out there, especially in the 1st half.
Speaking of Paris Austin, he's obviously looking to pass more in Fox's offense, although how long that will last is anyone's guess.
Grant Anticevich looked a lot more confident shooting the ball and seems to have a clue about what to do in Fox's offense.
Andre Kelly looked a bit slimmer to my eye and was solid in limited minutes. D.J. Thorpe seemed confused at times; I expect he won't have a lot of minutes once we get into the P12 season, although this was only one game.
As Nathan mentioned Kuony and JHD didn't play, and Klonaris looked kind of lost in his limited time.
Fox clearly has them playing an actual offense; it will be interesting to see what it looks like against a man defense and a better, bigger team. Also Fox got his first taste of P12 officiating, with the refs missing a blatant double dribble (the kind the NBA might have called against even Lebron). When he protested, the ref said he wasn't actually looking so he didn't see it. I also liked Fox's in-game coaching. He spoke with every player as he came off the court, at one point noting to Kareem that he had made a decent pass, but that there was a shooter who was more open who should have gotten the ball. By the way, he's not a big water drinker, but he had a whole slew of wrapped candies lined up on the railing of the scorer's table that he kept popping...
