Back again with another entirely too long post about basketball. Been a while since I did this so forgive any repetitiveness. Frankly, the schedule post-Atlantis has been a shit sandwich of low major opponents. So some random thoughts as Tech gears up for B12 Play.
Things I like:
Things I don't like:
Things I like as much as Rebel Moon:
Things I like:
- Joe Toussaint. What more can he do for this Tech team? He's the best on ball defender, scorer, playmaker and seems to be the clear leader of the team. I was a fan when he was picked up in the offseason, but I would be lying if I said I thought he would be this good. Toussaint is showing serious growth on the offensive end. He's always been a jet quick playmaker who could get into the lane and get others shots but right now he is doing that while doing it x10 at an efficient clip. At this point of the season, he looks like one of the 5 best guards in the conference. My only concern is if there is a burnout as the season progresses, one man can only do so much.
- Having an actual plan/seeing growth on offense - While Tech's offense might not be a powerhouse it is refreshing to see semblances of an actual plan and incremental improvement as the season progresses. McCasland deserves a ton of credit for that and it's exciting to see actual sets being ran for guys and above average ball movement. McCasland's offenses inherently create a ton of spot up threes but Tech continuously gets good looks. The offense has come down to earth a bit in the past few games but a lot of the struggles will have to do with roster limitations imo (more on that later).
- Multi-year transfers - Chance McMillian and Darrion Williams both have multiple years of eligibility and at a minimum seem to be B12 rotation players. That will play.
- Darrion Williams' Ceiling - He's already an exceedingly solid player but I think he is just scratching the surface. Williams can play on the wing and has the size to play in the front court. He does all of the little things well: he's a solid defender/passer, good rebounder and an excellent spot up shooter. Hopefully he can continue to develop his handle and as the game slows down for him a bit I think he ends up being close to an all-conference player.
- Kerwin Walton getting the green light - We all knew he could shoot the rock but the question was outside of that what could he do? Question has seemingly been answered. Walton still has his limitations but he is playing his ass off on defense and moves the ball on offense. If he can continue to grind on the defensive end and give Tech 6-8 ppg then that's found money for Tech.
- Warren Washington appreciation - Washington is far from perfect, he has little to no back to the basket game and gets displaced on defense a bit too easily. But, let's appreciate what he does give Tech.... A solid rebounder/shot blocker and dynamite lob threat who gives them close to a double double every night. As the only real big guy on the roster his weaknesses shine through a bit more (think MSS during the 2020 season) but he is doing his part. Just wish he had help.
- Transition and shooting - The shooting splits aren't beautiful, but it just "feels" like Tech has more shooters this year. Some of them are very streaky but having shooters like McMillian and Kerwin play heavy minutes is fun. I also love the way this team can turn TO's and stops into transition looks. Do I wish it was a more regular occurrence and that many of them didn't end in a turnover? Sure, but that's beside the point.
- McCasland - It's super early but he's been a breath of fresh air to me. From his general demeanor to his enjoyable pressers I have like what I have seen so far. Do I have questions personally? Of course, but alot of those will be answered next offseason imo.
- Pop minus shooting - I still think way too much is asked of him but he has improved in areas outside of his shooting. You can tell he has more craft to his attack game and his floor game has really improved. I want it to work out for him and the shooting can't/won't continue to be as bad as it has been (knocks on faux wood desk).
Things I don't like:
- Turnovers - I'm not sure whether to attribute these to players trying to do too much or just being TO prone but either way it's not good. With this team it seems to ebb and flow but they really need to limit them to a minimum. Tech isn't talented enough to overcome being turnover happy, especially in a physical conference like the B12.
- Not finishing at the rim - Or as @ttuboat would put it "getting our shit swatted". Tech is among the most oft blocked teams in the country, it's ungodly really, and struggle to finish at the rim in general. Attribute it to the lack of length, athleticism or general poor finishing ability, either way it's not good. And it won't get any easier in conference play.
- Defense - The defense hasn't been "bad" per say but 45th in the country when your offense isn't "good" won't cut it. Tech really struggles giving up dribble penetration and defending the paint in general. Alot of this is just going to happen when they aren't overly big and have zero depth but it needs to improve.
- Guards other than Joe shooting 2's - Not going to do the whole pile on Pop thing but he has really struggled finishing (just shooting in general really) but a lesser known offender of this is Chance. He's a great shooter from distance but he has been pretty atrocious outside of his three point shooting. Some of this might have to do with a lack of an advanced handle and being slight of frame.
- Lamar Washington Leap: Wya cuz? He's seemingly the same exact player as last year. Would have hoped he made a discernable leap (even a minor one).
Things I like as much as Rebel Moon:
- Roster holes/wasted spots- This team has some very clear needs (size, wing depth, shot creation) and flaws. To me at least it's annoying to see 4ish wasted roster spots while watching Tech struggle to get paint touches and have zero front court depth. I'm not sure there was much McCasland could have done different, but my mind is still very bottled. Are we really sure Drew Steffe, EY and Lindsay aren't false constructs of our imaginations at this point? Because I'm not.
- Playable front court depth - There is none.
- Weird energy - This is most likely me reading into things that don't exist and that have a logical explanation (shitty last season by Adams, "meh" non con games, overlapping football season), But whether it's the crowds at home games or even the overall coverage/discussion about basketball the only way I can describe it is "lukewarm". I get that winning cures all and it's only McCasland's first season but I freaking miss when Tech was "on", it was a ton of fun. I hope McCasland continues to build because getting that buzz back for Tech hoops would be amazing.
