Quick disclaimer to start, I really need to see about ten games to have a decent handle on a team. So that's the caveat of the day for the next couple of weeks.
After a game and an exhibition, I think Pop Isaacs is going to get his. He shoots, he drives, he hits free throws. In 4 quarters he has finished at the rim pretty well in three of those quarters, I thought last night in the second half he struggled a lot to get into his shots, his shot looked tired. He was short at the rim and his jumpers were short. Maybe he rode adrenaline in the first half.
The entire team did a lot of sleepwalking in the second half. I won't dwell on it, we see this all the time when a team gets a big lead pretty easily against a team they should whip. I'll be looking for this in the next few games to see if it's a trend or an anomaly. I expect to see a better second half on Sunday if all other things play out the same way. Good teams get this out of their system.
Joe Toussaint is the leader, I don't think there is any question about it. I was surprised to check my notes and only have him down for one assist because he was very busy last night on both ends of the floor. I think Toussaint is the kind of player that could will Texas Tech to win or wins they may not otherwise get. He has limited scoring range but I think he can get to the free throw line because he will mix it up inside.
I'll be watching to see if Texas Tech is 7 deep. Robert Jennings, Kerwin Walton, and D'Maurian Williams look like spot players. I thought Walton looked better on defense last night than at any time last season. I thought Jennings looked smaller than I remembered, but he hustles. Chance McMillian and Lamar Washington are legit Big 12 players. Everyone wants Washington to be able to shoot but I'm not counting on that until at least he's a junior and more likely as a senior. If he shoots 300-400 jumpers a day on his own maybe we see it pay off during his junior year.
Warren Washington is tough but he is playing on an island inside because the Raiders just don't have anyone to complement him. It's mostly noticeable to me on defense. I expect teams to try to exploit this. He does change shots and he does get rebounds, and he looks like a good free throw shooter.
There's not a lot to complain about overall. What I saw were the typical issues a group of new guys has when they first play together against someone other than themselves. 17 point first half is going to win a lot of games, even a 29 point second half isn't awful...I'll call that average. I wasn't very impressed with the turnovers, but I think some of that also is newness to each other - I don't recall any time that Commerce forced any turnovers, from my seat it looked more like careless play on Tech's part.
San Jose State on Sunday will be a different test. Commerce isn't eligible yet for the tourney because they are too new to D1, though I thought their starters looked like D1 players. The Spartans have more size on their roster than Commerce but have lost a key player from last season.
After a game and an exhibition, I think Pop Isaacs is going to get his. He shoots, he drives, he hits free throws. In 4 quarters he has finished at the rim pretty well in three of those quarters, I thought last night in the second half he struggled a lot to get into his shots, his shot looked tired. He was short at the rim and his jumpers were short. Maybe he rode adrenaline in the first half.
The entire team did a lot of sleepwalking in the second half. I won't dwell on it, we see this all the time when a team gets a big lead pretty easily against a team they should whip. I'll be looking for this in the next few games to see if it's a trend or an anomaly. I expect to see a better second half on Sunday if all other things play out the same way. Good teams get this out of their system.
Joe Toussaint is the leader, I don't think there is any question about it. I was surprised to check my notes and only have him down for one assist because he was very busy last night on both ends of the floor. I think Toussaint is the kind of player that could will Texas Tech to win or wins they may not otherwise get. He has limited scoring range but I think he can get to the free throw line because he will mix it up inside.
I'll be watching to see if Texas Tech is 7 deep. Robert Jennings, Kerwin Walton, and D'Maurian Williams look like spot players. I thought Walton looked better on defense last night than at any time last season. I thought Jennings looked smaller than I remembered, but he hustles. Chance McMillian and Lamar Washington are legit Big 12 players. Everyone wants Washington to be able to shoot but I'm not counting on that until at least he's a junior and more likely as a senior. If he shoots 300-400 jumpers a day on his own maybe we see it pay off during his junior year.
Warren Washington is tough but he is playing on an island inside because the Raiders just don't have anyone to complement him. It's mostly noticeable to me on defense. I expect teams to try to exploit this. He does change shots and he does get rebounds, and he looks like a good free throw shooter.
There's not a lot to complain about overall. What I saw were the typical issues a group of new guys has when they first play together against someone other than themselves. 17 point first half is going to win a lot of games, even a 29 point second half isn't awful...I'll call that average. I wasn't very impressed with the turnovers, but I think some of that also is newness to each other - I don't recall any time that Commerce forced any turnovers, from my seat it looked more like careless play on Tech's part.
San Jose State on Sunday will be a different test. Commerce isn't eligible yet for the tourney because they are too new to D1, though I thought their starters looked like D1 players. The Spartans have more size on their roster than Commerce but have lost a key player from last season.
