By all rights, this game should have been a blowout. Dawgs played fantastically for about 12 minutes and had a 27-10 early lead. They were shooting well, passing the ball, rebounding and pressing! I'm a big believer in pressing, and it sure worked for us early. We played about as well as we can play. And then, and then, and then, we began taking shots too early in the clock, playing lackadaisically on defense, making poor passes, not hustling and ended up in a real fight to win the game. The dawgs had been shooting around 55-56% early and ended the game shooting under 40%, whereas the Redhawks shot 44% - mostly from their tiny but talented PG, who scored 34 pts. We turned the ball over 18 times. But in the end, our size and athleticism pulled the game out - 42 rebounds to 27, for example.

We were led by Terry Roberts with 22 pts. Freshman KyeRon Lindsay had 14 pts and 10 rebs for a huge double double. He is tremendously active. He's gonna be a fine player for us in his career. Justin Hill did yeoman work off the bench with 12 pts. Oquendo was only 2-8 from the field and had one of his worst games as a Dawg with 9 pts and 3 TOs. And Bridges had no pts and 4 fouls - very subpar for him.

Mike White made some really good decisions in the game, I thought, starting with pressing on made shots early when we stretched the lead. When we started missing our shots, we could no longer press, and Miami got comfortable. Late in the game, White came out of a timeout with a 1-3-1 halfcourt trap (something we never used before in the game) surprising Miami and leading to a valuable TO. Lindsay started and played a lot of minutes thankfully.

If we can play more consistently like we did early, and can learn from our somewhat lackadaisical approach at times, we can be competitive....

Agree with all of that. I never felt like we were going to lose despite it getting close a couple times, but the game should have been a blowout.

That's two games in a row where the press has been really good. Hope to see more of that in future.

Yep. Miami pulled to within 2 though, so it got a little hairy toward the end, but we had the better team. They had one guy. And to say that Lindsay is a good one is an understatement. That kid has a big motor and skills.

I love the press. White hasn't put it on really hot yet. I'm not sure he knows whether he has the depth to do that yet. He spoke after the game about the physical and mental toll the press can take on the team pressing. So, I don't think he's confident with it yet.

Love the report Monk. Would it be fair to say that White is still tinkering with all things which maybe contributes to the inconsistencies - but certain things and players are starting to get clarity?

Nostradawgus said:

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Love the report Monk. Would it be fair to say that White is still tinkering with all things which maybe contributes to the inconsistencies - but certain things and players are starting to get clarity?

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No question that White is still trying to figure this team out - what are the best lineups, what are the best rotations, who gives us what on both ends? It's too bad Moncrieffe has been out. I think he will be valuable as well. And Ingram. I was watching Ingram just shooting around before the Miami game. He was on the floor by himself about 45 minutes to an hour before game time. He was filling it up. Both those guys will be big help. Ingram is almost there. White said he's got to get some practice time under his belt and earn his playing time. When healthy, Ingram is very good, so I think he will be out there within 2 weeks or so. White said that he wasn't sure whether Moncrieffe was gonna go last night until he got to the dressing room and saw him in street clothes, so it sounds like he's day to day. White said Moncrieffe was working hard with the trainers every day to get that ankle better. Jusuan Holt has earned his PT on the defensive end, though he hit a big 3 late in the shot clock last night. We went with a somewhat smaller lineup so we could press better at a spot late in the game, as well. So, yeah, White is still tinkering. And I really like Lindsay! And it seems like we're getting more out of McBride than I expected, too. With Ingram and Moncrieffe healthy, our frontcourt could be pretty darn good. Not sure about the backcourt yet....

Another good game to build experience. Our guys can shoot well at times. Need more game reps to build shooting consistency.

Nice to have to face their defensive pressure. Rattled us some, so we need to face more of that, and work
on ways to beat that. Same with the zone - couldn't score well against it.
Need more work to be able to hit shots over the zone, and work up some plays to get inside it.

Was pleased we settled down after they made their run, and stretched the lead back out to 7 - 10.