There were some clear positive take-aways from tonight's exhibition game.
First, Woj started at 2-G, as a few expected, and played very well, looking more like a senior than a freshman.
Second, Dre (Andre Gustafson) looked solid during his minutes on the floor, mostly backing up Woj at 2-G. He had one spin dribble move that was "big-time" and showed off some of his athleticism.
Third, We put the pedal to the metal in this one and won by roughly 42 points. We did not "play down to the competition," as we have often done in the past. It was nice to see the effort level stay high.
Fourth, the biggest pleasant surprise for me was Matt Grace's play as our back-up center. Matt showed some of the same maturity as Woj, made very few mistakes and showed off some of his exceptional passing skills, skills that will likely earn him some playing time over the next few years. Matt truly reminds me of Dan Geriot, and I say that in the most positive way possible. Dan played smart basketball and passed exceptionally well, and Matt does some of the same things.
Fifth, the box-score for the game may already be posted, or is likely to be posted soon, showing our shooting percentages. However, we likely shot close to 50% from the 3-point line in this game, based on a few notes I jotted down. We definitely shot it well from outside, and I would expect this trend to continue, given that we have brought in several above-average shooters, and at least one exceptional one (Woj).
Sixth, Sal may not have lit it up and his box-score numbers may not have been great, but he showed some real potential in this game, both rebounding and handling the ball and driving for a lay-up. If he can get stronger, and put on some muscle, he could be REALLY good.
Seventh, this team's versatility was on display. We played a large number of combinations of players and most of these line-ups played well together. I even saw a "big" line-up that was fascinating to see, and that one had Woj at PG, Dre at 2-G, Sal at SF, Nathan at PF and Grant at center. If we were to play that line-up against any team in the country, we would not be at a height disadvantage.
Finally, our passing was mostly very crisp and we managed to work the ball around to get open 3-point shots with some frequency. We also APPEARED to box out and rebound well in this game (albeit against a much shorter team), but it was good to see the rebounding EFFORT and a few steals too.
