I said in my previous game thoughts that there were not six better players on the UT roster last year than Jaylon Tyson. I'm still convinced that's true. Tyson got a least a couple of steals last night and for sure he got his hands on three other balls. The way his head moves on defense and his seeming awareness of what's going on around him reminds me favorably of Martin Zeno on defense. More on reminders coming up, but you'll need your old school cap.
It's only two games but I think you saw the conference starting lineup: Batcho, Obanor, Isaacs, Harmon, Tyson. Kerwin Walton is right there if something needs to change. I think we'll see some lineup experiments but in the end it's going to be those five guys - with Fardaws Aimaq being the wildcard right now.
Which means Texas Tech is starting a freshman point guard in Isaacs, so be ready for some tough lessons. He's going to get some beat downs but he's going to give some out, too. Physically he looks like a freshman, and you could see the difference last night against a team of big, strong upperclassmen. Just part of it, everyone is a freshman at some point. He's crafty though, like a guard should be. Get out your old school hat because he does something I like that you don't see a lot, the last guy I saw do it on the regular was Steve Alford, a guard from the mid 1980s. On the break or when heavily defended, Isaacs will position himself in front of his defender then slow up and let the guy mug him for an easy foul call. Alford did that every game and defenders never learned, and Isaacs does it too. I love to see heady guards and this guy is one. He's a four year starter and will be all conference.
We saw 11 players last night, only Aimaq and CJ Williams did not get in the game. Aimaq I think is going to play when he's healthy, and I don't think we see CJ Williams very often. I'll discount Aimaq here because I have not seen him play any significant minutes, but of the 11 players last night I think 8 of them could play for any team in the country today. Yeah I said it.
The Anthony Hopkins award is given out to the guy who plays the least but has the most impact, named after Hopkins for his 16 minutes of screen time in Silence of the Lambs which had great impact and won him a well deserved Academy Award. Last night Kevin Obanor played only 17 minutes and was the team leader in points, rebounds, steals (tied), three pointers made (tied), second in offensive rebounds (tied), and second in assists (tied). Of the starters only Batcho played fewer minutes (by one) and six other players had more minutes than Obanor.
Three first-year players led the team in minutes at 24: Isaacs, De'Vion Harmon, and the guy who looks like he keeps everyone together Kerwin Walton. I hope Walton likes being 6th man because after two games he's invaluable in that role. He has a lot of skills, though cutting to the basket wasn't evident last night much to my personal dismay. Oh well, the Red Raiders managed to squeak by anyway.
Texas Tech is a little loosey goosey on defense, so I'm watching for that to tighten up a bit. I have in my game notes that Tyson tried to go under screens a couple of times rather than switch. I assume that's a mistake on his part, though it could have been by design (it did not look like it was by design). That put the rest of the team in a more difficult position on those plays, though to my recollection all that happened only in the first half. A lot of guys are watching shots instead of watching shots and playing defense, but as noted Tech is young and I'm sure that will improve though it will take some time.
Worth noting that while I say loosey goosey, Tech still only gave up 54 points to a likely NCAA tournament team and beat them rather handily.
Red Raiders get La Tech on Monday night, can't wait to see it!
It's only two games but I think you saw the conference starting lineup: Batcho, Obanor, Isaacs, Harmon, Tyson. Kerwin Walton is right there if something needs to change. I think we'll see some lineup experiments but in the end it's going to be those five guys - with Fardaws Aimaq being the wildcard right now.
Which means Texas Tech is starting a freshman point guard in Isaacs, so be ready for some tough lessons. He's going to get some beat downs but he's going to give some out, too. Physically he looks like a freshman, and you could see the difference last night against a team of big, strong upperclassmen. Just part of it, everyone is a freshman at some point. He's crafty though, like a guard should be. Get out your old school hat because he does something I like that you don't see a lot, the last guy I saw do it on the regular was Steve Alford, a guard from the mid 1980s. On the break or when heavily defended, Isaacs will position himself in front of his defender then slow up and let the guy mug him for an easy foul call. Alford did that every game and defenders never learned, and Isaacs does it too. I love to see heady guards and this guy is one. He's a four year starter and will be all conference.
We saw 11 players last night, only Aimaq and CJ Williams did not get in the game. Aimaq I think is going to play when he's healthy, and I don't think we see CJ Williams very often. I'll discount Aimaq here because I have not seen him play any significant minutes, but of the 11 players last night I think 8 of them could play for any team in the country today. Yeah I said it.
The Anthony Hopkins award is given out to the guy who plays the least but has the most impact, named after Hopkins for his 16 minutes of screen time in Silence of the Lambs which had great impact and won him a well deserved Academy Award. Last night Kevin Obanor played only 17 minutes and was the team leader in points, rebounds, steals (tied), three pointers made (tied), second in offensive rebounds (tied), and second in assists (tied). Of the starters only Batcho played fewer minutes (by one) and six other players had more minutes than Obanor.
Three first-year players led the team in minutes at 24: Isaacs, De'Vion Harmon, and the guy who looks like he keeps everyone together Kerwin Walton. I hope Walton likes being 6th man because after two games he's invaluable in that role. He has a lot of skills, though cutting to the basket wasn't evident last night much to my personal dismay. Oh well, the Red Raiders managed to squeak by anyway.
Texas Tech is a little loosey goosey on defense, so I'm watching for that to tighten up a bit. I have in my game notes that Tyson tried to go under screens a couple of times rather than switch. I assume that's a mistake on his part, though it could have been by design (it did not look like it was by design). That put the rest of the team in a more difficult position on those plays, though to my recollection all that happened only in the first half. A lot of guys are watching shots instead of watching shots and playing defense, but as noted Tech is young and I'm sure that will improve though it will take some time.
Worth noting that while I say loosey goosey, Tech still only gave up 54 points to a likely NCAA tournament team and beat them rather handily.
Red Raiders get La Tech on Monday night, can't wait to see it!
