A couple observations from last night.
1. To me the momentum in this game swung when we put Isiah on Cooks. Cooks was hot, his dribble penetration was killing us as was his shot making ability. He was working Gilly over. Mooney switched and put Zay on him and Zay locked him down. He didn't score another point and in fact got sent to the bench because Zay had bothered him so much. So, if I got a game ball last night, I'm giving it to Wilson because his defense completely changed the momentum in the second half. Other thing I'll say about Zay, he is super intense out there, that is infectious, particularly because most of our senior players do not play with that same dog in them as Zay has.
2. As noted, our defense was god awful in the first half. Burton and Crabtree couldn't stop dribble penetration, Grant was hedging out again and then getting beat down low because he couldn't rotate back quick enough. Grant is never going to be a great defender, but Mooney puts him in the worst positions by having him hedge so much. Just stop it Mooney.
3. I will credit Mooney for the second half defensive adjustments. Yes, Hofstra missed some wide open shots in the second but our defensive intensity and assignments were much improved in the second. Credit to the coaches on that one.
4. Tyler is making a play for A-10 POY with his regular performances.
5. Shoutout to Cayo. Yeah, his first few games were bad but the dude takes most of his shots from inside 5 feet, he wasn't going to keep missing them. Last night, we saw what Cayo can and will bring to this team. Side note: What in hell is going on with his foul shot. That is a ridiculous hitch he has in it this year. He's gonna shoot under 50% with that. Why did someone try to fix something that wasn't broken?
6. Minutes last night: Not enough for Dji (he makes good things happen when he is in the game). Sal, only getting mop up minutes was deserved. Sherod at 14 minutes seems about right as well. This is what I thought it would be coming into this season. Sherod is a role player, who can offer a change of pace with his great 3 point shooting. If he is not hitting 3's with regularity though, this will be his minutes. I'm cool with that, we need Zay's defense out there. If anyone doubted that before, the second half of last night should have put that baby to bed.
1. To me the momentum in this game swung when we put Isiah on Cooks. Cooks was hot, his dribble penetration was killing us as was his shot making ability. He was working Gilly over. Mooney switched and put Zay on him and Zay locked him down. He didn't score another point and in fact got sent to the bench because Zay had bothered him so much. So, if I got a game ball last night, I'm giving it to Wilson because his defense completely changed the momentum in the second half. Other thing I'll say about Zay, he is super intense out there, that is infectious, particularly because most of our senior players do not play with that same dog in them as Zay has.
2. As noted, our defense was god awful in the first half. Burton and Crabtree couldn't stop dribble penetration, Grant was hedging out again and then getting beat down low because he couldn't rotate back quick enough. Grant is never going to be a great defender, but Mooney puts him in the worst positions by having him hedge so much. Just stop it Mooney.
3. I will credit Mooney for the second half defensive adjustments. Yes, Hofstra missed some wide open shots in the second but our defensive intensity and assignments were much improved in the second. Credit to the coaches on that one.
4. Tyler is making a play for A-10 POY with his regular performances.
5. Shoutout to Cayo. Yeah, his first few games were bad but the dude takes most of his shots from inside 5 feet, he wasn't going to keep missing them. Last night, we saw what Cayo can and will bring to this team. Side note: What in hell is going on with his foul shot. That is a ridiculous hitch he has in it this year. He's gonna shoot under 50% with that. Why did someone try to fix something that wasn't broken?
6. Minutes last night: Not enough for Dji (he makes good things happen when he is in the game). Sal, only getting mop up minutes was deserved. Sherod at 14 minutes seems about right as well. This is what I thought it would be coming into this season. Sherod is a role player, who can offer a change of pace with his great 3 point shooting. If he is not hitting 3's with regularity though, this will be his minutes. I'm cool with that, we need Zay's defense out there. If anyone doubted that before, the second half of last night should have put that baby to bed.