BTO’s George Mason Postgame Report

#26
#26
Nice get right win for the Vols.

What's the Word with DJ? I know we are super deep and minutes are going to be hard to come by for anyone but I had high hopes for him.
 
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#27
#27
The Tall Gguy said:
I for one am thrilled when our bigs are dominant!
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They had a good game but really it was against smaller guys so it should be expected. GM's starting five are 4 Gs & 1 F with the F being 6'9"-225lbs. Their leading rebounder was 6'7"-230lbs G followed by the F.

Aidoo 6'11"-240lbs and Awaka 6'7"-250lbs along with two Freshman (Phillips 6'9"-212lbs & Estrealla 6'11"-241lbs) have to show they can do it against bigger opponents for TN to really make some strides. Tonight was a confidence booster but we need to see them perform like this against equal sized guys.

Illinois starts 4 Fs & 1 G. The Fs are 6'6"-210lbs, 6'8"-230lbs, 6'10"-230lbs, 6'6"-215lbs with 2 more Fs on the bench that are 6'8"-240lbs & 6'9"-255lbs. Hopefully we see similar production from TN against this lineup. GBO!
 
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#28
#28
wmcovol said:
Offense seems to incorporate more “dribble drive” this yr than the motion offense in years past. I understand with Knecht and that being his game more. It may have helped JJJ also but the man guarding Vesco still never leaves him to double so he’s rarely left open on the “kick out” pass.
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Santi’s past history will continue to dictate the opponent covering him tightly as they have all year. That’s another “plus” for having him on the court as it continues to open up the flow for others. Definitely more dribbling, but 27 assists last night was impressive.
 
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#29
#29
walkenvol said:
Last night might be an outlier if your seeing big improvements in our post play as GM didn’t have any height.
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True, but it’s a promising sign as GM won’t be the only team we face this year not blessed with size. Illinois actually is a guard heavy team. Play very similarly to us. Tallest guy is 6’10” but everyone else is in the 6’2” - 6’8” range for guys that play a lot of minutes. Hopefully Aidoo can work the pain on Saturday. We’ll need it to win.
 
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#30
#30
walkenvol said:
Last night might be an outlier if your seeing big improvements in our post play as GM didn’t have any height.
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Fair enough, but that is when you have to see improvement ... for it to carry over when there are bigger guys defending you. There is a sense in which confidence breeds competence and advances development of skills.
 
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#32
#32
Aidoo and Awaka played some great minutes! I hope Illinois is not a slug fest with 40 fouls called, would be nice to see the Vols jump on them early and dominate a top 20 team!
 
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#33
#33
I don’t think that the chemistry is right just yet. That’s to be expected when any of 13 could be regulars.

I think that Knecht has improved at involving his teammates on offense (UNC being an outlier game as he nearly carried the team to an historic comeback), but IMO Gainey has been moving in the opposite direction. Early on I thought that he was going to be a great option at PG. But lately he looks more like a ball hog than a fundamentally sound coach’s son.

It’s still very early. There’s lots of time to gel and go kick butts.
 
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#34
#34
CBVols said:
Nice get right win for the Vols.

What's the Word with DJ? I know we are super deep and minutes are going to be hard to come by for anyone but I had high hopes for him.
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He’s not going to be a factor.
 
#35
#35
JJJ also shutdown George Mason's #1 scorer he had a very strong game and could have easily pushed for a triple double if playing his normal minutes.

Was good to see DK, Freddie, and Awaka all play well as they work back from their injuries. I'm glad we didn't need DK to play 30+ and score a ton either. Great game and hopefully a good win. I noticed GM switched their rotation completely to try and play us with more length.

Austin Ball for example hadn't played 10 or more minutes since their second game of the season against Austin Peay but they thought his length would bother our smaller guards (he's 6'7")
 
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#36
#36
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I don’t think that the chemistry is right just yet. That’s to be expected when any of 13 could be regulars.

I think that Knecht has improved at involving his teammates on offense (UNC being an outlier game as he nearly carried the team to an historic comeback), but IMO Gainey has been moving in the opposite direction. Early on I thought that he was going to be a great option at PG. But lately he looks more like a ball hog than a fundamentally sound coach’s son.

It’s still very early. There’s lots of time to gel and go kick butts.
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Gainey was irking the nerves during the holiday stretch. It's nice to see somebody willingly shoot it, but it'd be much better if it was at a winning percentage. Hoping Santi will start taking that role and shot chart soon.

Dalton still needs to put more effort in on the defensive end. I've noticed a few lazy box outs and he plays too high on defense too often.

I think both of these are leading to chemistry issues with the older guys. That's the smoke coming out to the boards here anyways.
 
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#37
#37
MoCo_Vol said:
JJJ also shutdown George Mason's #1 scorer he had a very strong game and could have easily pushed for a triple double if playing his normal minutes.

Was good to see DK, Freddie, and Awaka all play well as they work back from their injuries. I'm glad we didn't need DK to play 30+ and score a ton either. Great game and hopefully a good win. I noticed GM switched their rotation completely to try and play us with more length.

Austin Ball for example hadn't played 10 or more minutes since their second game of the season against Austin Peay but they thought his length would bother our smaller guards (he's 6'7")
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Happy for JJJ. He looks athletic again. His mid post game is a factor too. I'd love to see us mismatch hunt a little more there late in clocks.
 
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#40
#40
2 - The big men! It is crazy to think they may have faced the 1st team, 2nd team, and 3rd team All-American big men in back-to-back-to-back games. I have faith in ours but there is a big drop off after Awaka.

4 - Regarding JJJ, one of the announcers last night called him a handy man which I think fits him perfectly. He does a little bit of everything and sometimes a whole bunch of one thing.
 
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