My Thanksgiving Fiver on WVU's victory over the 3rd rated Zags last night at the Battle of Atlantis...
1. Quite simply, we had the best player on the floor last night. Javon Small was damn near unstoppable. 31 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block in 42 minutes on 9/18 from the floor. He and Tucker DeVries play off of each other so well. DeVries has Sean McNeil-esque player gravity, and it gives Small all of the room he needs to penetrate or pull from beyond the arc. Then, when we play 4-out and 5-out, the Zags had to respect all shooters other than Mr. Sincere (more on him in a sec), and Small has room to operate and the green light from his HC to fire when ready. This was an all-time classic performance on a huge stage.
2. Tucker DeVries is not the player I thought he would be. He is a damn fine shooter, don't get me wrong. But, each game, he has had one or two steals that lead directly to run outs and points. Obviously, his steal at the end of regulation was enormous. But, you also have to factor in his four blocked shots - leading all teams in that category. I did not know that he was such a crafty defender. And that NBA-range trey to pull us within 2 with 20 seconds to go was just beautiful - a great look off of a great play drawn by his Dad.
3. Sincere Harris is a straight DAWG. Trust me, there will be nights where he drives us crazy on offense (I must've texted "FVCKING HARRIS!" at least five times yesterday) But, To be an elite defender, you must have a burning desire to defend (see: Carter, Jevon; Miles Jr., Dax)...and he has it in spades. Ryan Nembhard is going to have nightmares about Sincere for days and weeks to come. And when he sees Mr. Sincere in his sleep, he will see this:
4. Darian DeVries is a damn good basketball coach. The ability of our defense to turn Gonzaga into a team that had to rely on left handed hook shots down the stretch (someone may wanna let Amani Hansberry know that Huff is a lefty), while shutting off their ability to get into transition, was just high level honors coaching acumen. The stuff we ran on offense was just beautiful. PnR, ghost screens for Tucker DeVries, iso for Small, 5-out offense putting stress on their Bigs...folks, buckle up because it's going to be fun watching DeVries coach this program. DeVries now has his first signature W. I have a feeling that more are to come.
5. Well, we took down Gonzaga. Louisville ain't Gonzaga. I read @Thick's analysis of our matchups, and it looks good. It's a quick scout for us, although I'm sure one of the assistants already had it down before we even set foot on the plane to the Bahamas. My concerns for the game are: (1) Legs. Small, DeVries, and Harris logged a ton of minutes. Ditto Hansberry. Will they be able to do it again today? (2) Whistle. I thought the refs let both teams play yesterday, which was great. Can we get that two in a row? We've seen what happens when Amani Hansberry is tagged with two fouls early. We need to keep him on the floor. Otherwise, I like the matchup, and this team can beat anyone if they take care of the ball and keep firing.
I love what Darian DeVries said to the team before the game: "If you get an open look, let'er fly! Let it rip!" Couldn't have said it better. Keep firing boys...we may as well win the whole damn thing.
1. Quite simply, we had the best player on the floor last night. Javon Small was damn near unstoppable. 31 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block in 42 minutes on 9/18 from the floor. He and Tucker DeVries play off of each other so well. DeVries has Sean McNeil-esque player gravity, and it gives Small all of the room he needs to penetrate or pull from beyond the arc. Then, when we play 4-out and 5-out, the Zags had to respect all shooters other than Mr. Sincere (more on him in a sec), and Small has room to operate and the green light from his HC to fire when ready. This was an all-time classic performance on a huge stage.
2. Tucker DeVries is not the player I thought he would be. He is a damn fine shooter, don't get me wrong. But, each game, he has had one or two steals that lead directly to run outs and points. Obviously, his steal at the end of regulation was enormous. But, you also have to factor in his four blocked shots - leading all teams in that category. I did not know that he was such a crafty defender. And that NBA-range trey to pull us within 2 with 20 seconds to go was just beautiful - a great look off of a great play drawn by his Dad.
3. Sincere Harris is a straight DAWG. Trust me, there will be nights where he drives us crazy on offense (I must've texted "FVCKING HARRIS!" at least five times yesterday) But, To be an elite defender, you must have a burning desire to defend (see: Carter, Jevon; Miles Jr., Dax)...and he has it in spades. Ryan Nembhard is going to have nightmares about Sincere for days and weeks to come. And when he sees Mr. Sincere in his sleep, he will see this:
4. Darian DeVries is a damn good basketball coach. The ability of our defense to turn Gonzaga into a team that had to rely on left handed hook shots down the stretch (someone may wanna let Amani Hansberry know that Huff is a lefty), while shutting off their ability to get into transition, was just high level honors coaching acumen. The stuff we ran on offense was just beautiful. PnR, ghost screens for Tucker DeVries, iso for Small, 5-out offense putting stress on their Bigs...folks, buckle up because it's going to be fun watching DeVries coach this program. DeVries now has his first signature W. I have a feeling that more are to come.
5. Well, we took down Gonzaga. Louisville ain't Gonzaga. I read @Thick's analysis of our matchups, and it looks good. It's a quick scout for us, although I'm sure one of the assistants already had it down before we even set foot on the plane to the Bahamas. My concerns for the game are: (1) Legs. Small, DeVries, and Harris logged a ton of minutes. Ditto Hansberry. Will they be able to do it again today? (2) Whistle. I thought the refs let both teams play yesterday, which was great. Can we get that two in a row? We've seen what happens when Amani Hansberry is tagged with two fouls early. We need to keep him on the floor. Otherwise, I like the matchup, and this team can beat anyone if they take care of the ball and keep firing.
I love what Darian DeVries said to the team before the game: "If you get an open look, let'er fly! Let it rip!" Couldn't have said it better. Keep firing boys...we may as well win the whole damn thing.
