--Head coach Josh Eilert gave Houston credit for their culture and mindset on the defensive end. They have a heck of a shot to win the league and the whole thing. They've got things rolling and it was an impressive performance by then but he knows his team didn't play well and execute their own game plan which led to a lopsided loss. West Virginia must turn the page because this league can eat you alive if you hold onto things. The second day of prep for Kansas State will be today and they'll work through issues on the court after film work yesterday in order to get ready for the Wildcats.
--The foul situation has definitely changed going from zero depth to plenty of guard depth. They had to be careful and strategic to stay out of foul trouble early and the preparation up to that point was focused on staying out of foul trouble. Now, they're trying to be more aggressive in their approach but it doesn't mean that some of the muscle memory and what you've been taught is easy to get away from.
--RaeQuan Battle is as good as anybody in the country with his pump fakes to get people off the ground but he needs to be true to himself and stay on the floor and move laterally as much as he does vertically. That stuff will come with time but a lot of it is just excitement being out there so he needs to play a smarter game of basketball.
--Jerome Tang has done a good job with Kansas State especially when it comes to blending his rosters with a bunch of transfers and new faces. Tang put together a lot of talent last year and is doing the same thing this year with a lot of new guys both transfers and freshmen giving them good production. They have a really resilient group that finds a way to win.
--It takes time to mesh with a roster and build chemistry. He was naive enough to float three guys into the equation and think it was just going to work out perfectly. It takes time and a lot of times teams bring in transfers and they work together all summer and they're all there from day one. West Virginia is trying to make that work especially in the realm of chemistry because that has been a challenge. They can't lose sight and faith in each other, they need to go to work, turn the page and move onto the next one.
--A lot of the teams they're playing are really good offensive rebounding teams but don't do it as well on the defensive end. Transition offense is a life line and gives teams an easy way to score so West Virginia needs to figure out ways to run and get easy buckets. Kansas State took it to UCF from the jump.
--It's a concern keeping Kansas State off the line but they can't get caught up in that because they need to play as aggressive as they need to play and key on who they need to key on to prevent certain guys from beating them.
--The Houston game shots didn't fall and they had some good uncontested looks but they did a good job trapping Kerr Kriisa and getting the ball out of his hands but they didn't do a good job taking advantage when they got out of that. As soon as they got the ball out of the trap they didn't make the next pass and missed a lot of ones that would have gotten them uncontested good looks.
--Eilert gives a lot of credit that came in and played the backup role at Houston that held serve when things weren't going well. Those guys are going to help them win and they need everybody to help contribute in a meaningful way even with the changing roles.
--The foul situation has definitely changed going from zero depth to plenty of guard depth. They had to be careful and strategic to stay out of foul trouble early and the preparation up to that point was focused on staying out of foul trouble. Now, they're trying to be more aggressive in their approach but it doesn't mean that some of the muscle memory and what you've been taught is easy to get away from.
--RaeQuan Battle is as good as anybody in the country with his pump fakes to get people off the ground but he needs to be true to himself and stay on the floor and move laterally as much as he does vertically. That stuff will come with time but a lot of it is just excitement being out there so he needs to play a smarter game of basketball.
--Jerome Tang has done a good job with Kansas State especially when it comes to blending his rosters with a bunch of transfers and new faces. Tang put together a lot of talent last year and is doing the same thing this year with a lot of new guys both transfers and freshmen giving them good production. They have a really resilient group that finds a way to win.
--It takes time to mesh with a roster and build chemistry. He was naive enough to float three guys into the equation and think it was just going to work out perfectly. It takes time and a lot of times teams bring in transfers and they work together all summer and they're all there from day one. West Virginia is trying to make that work especially in the realm of chemistry because that has been a challenge. They can't lose sight and faith in each other, they need to go to work, turn the page and move onto the next one.
--A lot of the teams they're playing are really good offensive rebounding teams but don't do it as well on the defensive end. Transition offense is a life line and gives teams an easy way to score so West Virginia needs to figure out ways to run and get easy buckets. Kansas State took it to UCF from the jump.
--It's a concern keeping Kansas State off the line but they can't get caught up in that because they need to play as aggressive as they need to play and key on who they need to key on to prevent certain guys from beating them.
--The Houston game shots didn't fall and they had some good uncontested looks but they did a good job trapping Kerr Kriisa and getting the ball out of his hands but they didn't do a good job taking advantage when they got out of that. As soon as they got the ball out of the trap they didn't make the next pass and missed a lot of ones that would have gotten them uncontested good looks.
--Eilert gives a lot of credit that came in and played the backup role at Houston that held serve when things weren't going well. Those guys are going to help them win and they need everybody to help contribute in a meaningful way even with the changing roles.
