My fiver on last night's victory over Austin Peay at the Coliseum...
1. At the 12-minute mark of the first half, WVU held on to a 1-point lead at 14-13 and we were slogging along. Looking like another game where we don't pull away. Then, Sean McNeil entered the game. Within a minute, we were up 8. By the time he checked out, we were up 34-18. Coincidence?
2. I gotta admit, when we landed Gabe Osabuohien, and I watched his highlights...I was dubious. But, that dude can play defense and rebound. He is a hell of an athlete, and a perfect compliment to Oscar and Derek when they need a rest or are in foul trouble. Osabuohien is settling in, and is going to be a big part of our success this year.
3. Loved our three-guard lineups throughout the night. I particularly like the McBride/McCabe-McNeil-Sherman-Matthews-Culver/Tshiebwe lineup. McNeil-Sherman-Matthews could be a nice lineup...Taz is going to catch stride soon.
4. Jordan McCabe's struggles right now are not on the defensive end of the floor. I paid particular attention last night, and overall, he's doing OK there. Gave up a couple drives, one in particular which ended up drawing a foul on Chase Harler, who slid over to help. But, he had a couple nice steals and overall, stayed in front of his defensive opponent fairly well. Offensively, he's struggling. His shot is broken, in his head...he needs to see a few fall in gametime. He can go to the gym all he wants and hit 100 in a row. Until he sees it fall a few more times when the lights are on, and the crowd is in their seats, it's not going to be fixed. And, he seems to be really thinking out there and not playing. Over-thinking. He played on instinct the last half of last year, and fared really, really well. Now, he's looking over his shoulder. He did not play well last night.
5. Interesting matchup coming up vs. Nicholls. They took Illinois to OT and beat Pitt at their place. D'Angelo Hunter probably can't wait to play Huggs. This is a good mid-major...very interested to see how things go on Saturday.
1. At the 12-minute mark of the first half, WVU held on to a 1-point lead at 14-13 and we were slogging along. Looking like another game where we don't pull away. Then, Sean McNeil entered the game. Within a minute, we were up 8. By the time he checked out, we were up 34-18. Coincidence?
2. I gotta admit, when we landed Gabe Osabuohien, and I watched his highlights...I was dubious. But, that dude can play defense and rebound. He is a hell of an athlete, and a perfect compliment to Oscar and Derek when they need a rest or are in foul trouble. Osabuohien is settling in, and is going to be a big part of our success this year.
3. Loved our three-guard lineups throughout the night. I particularly like the McBride/McCabe-McNeil-Sherman-Matthews-Culver/Tshiebwe lineup. McNeil-Sherman-Matthews could be a nice lineup...Taz is going to catch stride soon.
4. Jordan McCabe's struggles right now are not on the defensive end of the floor. I paid particular attention last night, and overall, he's doing OK there. Gave up a couple drives, one in particular which ended up drawing a foul on Chase Harler, who slid over to help. But, he had a couple nice steals and overall, stayed in front of his defensive opponent fairly well. Offensively, he's struggling. His shot is broken, in his head...he needs to see a few fall in gametime. He can go to the gym all he wants and hit 100 in a row. Until he sees it fall a few more times when the lights are on, and the crowd is in their seats, it's not going to be fixed. And, he seems to be really thinking out there and not playing. Over-thinking. He played on instinct the last half of last year, and fared really, really well. Now, he's looking over his shoulder. He did not play well last night.
5. Interesting matchup coming up vs. Nicholls. They took Illinois to OT and beat Pitt at their place. D'Angelo Hunter probably can't wait to play Huggs. This is a good mid-major...very interested to see how things go on Saturday.
