For an exhibition game, saw both positive and negative which is too be expected. During the last few minutes of the game, only Zeigler seemed willing to take a shot and that in and of itself is a problem. As a facilitator he did create a nice look for Mashack which he buried from top of the key and at least he got the FT line often but he really shouldn't be our # 1 option at the end of the game and hope that gets fixed and we can run better halfcourt offense. Myles clearly outplayed him and thought ZZ was forcing too much throughout the game. His shooting % was poor and had 5 of our 15 turnovers. Barnes talks about players understanding their roles well and that includes Zeigler.
I like the fact that we really pushed tempo on offense, although we didn't create as many points off turnovers as we should. We are going to need to score easy buckets so hope they continue with tempo as our halfcourt offense may struggle unless we are hitting from the perimeter with regularity. Our defense overall was fine but our transition defense was not good. IU got 18 pts off fast breaks. I think we can be a very good rebounding team with the size and length we have on the court. Maybe offensive rebounding can get us some extra buckets. Low post scoring was almost non-existent except the times we went to Okpara. Very little driving to the basket either.
Individually: ZZ will be fine and is the heart and soul of the team. Gainey, if we can get 12 pts and only 1 TO from him every game, I would take that in a heartbeat. Mashack, played well and probably should look to generate more offense/shots than he did. Not really his nature but I think this team is going to need it. Lanier, wasn't shy that's for sure and we are going to need him to continue to be aggressive. Had some poor shot selection but for an exhibition that is forgivable. Bigger than I thought he would be. He isn't a 3-level scorer and obviously struggled today with FG % which may be attributed to higher level of competition, but it appeared he has modified his release a bit. Has a very quick shot. Need him to be consistent 15 ppg scorer so keep jacking them up when open. Carr didn't do much which was disappointing. Need something off the bench from him. Boswell won't really play this year unless we are blowing someone out, so wasn't expecting much.
In the frontcourt, Okapara is going to be better than I thought. He outplayed Ballo which was surprising. Very athletic dude and will control paint defensively. We need something from the frontcourt offensively and as of right now, he is our best option. Estrella will be capable backup in the post. Milicic is a good rebounder and is physical but wasn't looking for his shot at all. I thought we had a stretch 4 coming into the game but haven't seen it yet. If UT wants to compete for titles and do some damage in NCAA tournament, and if he wants to get a shot at next level, his mentality on offense has to change. We have to get more scoring from the frontcourt. Phillips has gotten bigger. Active and athletic who got 5 boards in 8 minutes (good) but also had 3 TOs (not good). He can give us some garbage points on put backs, running the court, etc...IMO. Hate to see it but Dubar is either a miss on the coaches' assessment OR the coaches are not using him correctly OR he just isn't buying into this role. Guy was a consistent scorer for 3 years at a very efficient rate, but he looked lost on offense and didn't play smart defensively (2 fouls in 5 minutes) and on his only shot attempt played too fast and the ball slipped out of his hands. He isn't going to create his own shot so they either need to run some action for him or I question why they even recruited him out of the portal. If you just want someone to defend and set screens, he isn't the guy. Kinda perplexing. No wonder Phillips is ahead of him in the rotation.
Overall, only an exhibition so take it what it's worth. They have some work to do on offense because they don't have "him" to bail them out anymore. Defensively we will be good, because that is UT's calling card.
