The 2022-2023 Season Thread

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g32knights
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by g32knights »

I think my favorite poll was Stephen Tsai, who moved Duke up to #2 this week and only dropped Carolina to #3.

You go, Stephen Tsai!
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by 84Cat »

g32knights wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 12:02 pm I think my favorite poll was Stephen Tsai, who moved Duke up to #2 this week and only dropped Carolina to #3.

You go, Stephen Tsai!
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by CardiacCats97 »

He has UA at 13, the lowest anyone ranked us.

Did he submit his vote before the week started?
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by AZCatGirl »

“The reality is that the hardest games to win are over teams on their home court. Teams that don’t play those games can spin it however they want, but what they’re saying is, ‘We don’t want to lose in our non conference season.’" - Sean Miller
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by wyo-cat »

That’s pretty awesome.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by azgreg »

Are those good numbers? Asking for a friend.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by dovecanyoncat »

I'm going to wear a Spurs tee and watch the game while on an elliptical at the club. If we don't absolutely decimate Cal it will mean the universe has shifted and life will not be worth living.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Frybry02 »

My biggest issue with this team is I’m not sure what it does well defensively.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by SunnyAZ »

LIS when he committed, I think Henderson is the best perimeter players on the team
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Merkin »

Henderson sure shut down Askew.

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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by CatFan1399 »

At the beginning of the season, I told a friend that I wasn’t sure what we had in this team. I thought we would be in the Top 25 and a tourney team; beyond that, I didn’t know. After Maui, I thought Tommy had found something and we were looking at a special season. With the recent performances against Utah and Cal, I’m right back where I started the season. Hope they shake this funk soon.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Dave »

Getting better on defense has to be our #1 priority. 20-28 3pt attempts is way too much. Developing the bench is another priority.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Beachcat97 »

Couldn't watch the game tonight, but Larsson not being a factor is becoming a theme this season, and not one anyone expected. 8 assists for Kriisa is fantastic. 12 boards for Tubelis is also fantastic. We shot better than Cal, outrebounded them, turned the ball over fewer times, and made 19 to their 8 FTs. On paper, we should've won this game by 20. Not sure what's going on.

And as others have mentioned, after Henderson, the bench is a non-factor. That has to improve.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by billk78 »

Beachcat97 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:52 pm Couldn't watch the game tonight, but Larsson not being a factor is becoming a theme this season, and not one anyone expected. 8 assists for Kriisa is fantastic. 12 boards for Tubelis is also fantastic. We shot better than Cal, outrebounded them, turned the ball over fewer times, and made 19 to their 8 FTs. On paper, we should've won this game by 20. Not sure what's going on.

And as others have mentioned, after Henderson, the bench is a non-factor. That has to improve.
Good points. I wonder if there was a better bench maybe Lloyd would mix it up and have Pelle as the 5th man. He really hasn't improved as we had hoped. Same goes for Bal. Would be nice to have a more experienced big man to spell Tubelis and Ballo too. I think for being so young and raw Veesaar has done an okay job. He's not a scorer but I don't cringe when he's on the floor either.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by 84Cat »

I think Bal needs more time on the floor and we're going to need him at times throughout the season. Who else do we have to spell Kerr and Ramey?
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by billk78 »

84Cat wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 8:35 am I think Bal needs more time on the floor and we're going to need him at times throughout the season. Who else do we have to spell Kerr and Ramey?
Boswell I suppose. He doesn't seem ready for big minutes or big moments. I like the kids future though. More time on the floor could help Bal. He just looks uncomfortable handling the rock. Maybe having him solely at the 2 and shooting from the outside.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Merkin »

Henderson can guard smaller players and provides a great spark off the bench.

The beatdown by Utah, and lot blowing away winless Cal won't leave a lot of minutes for Bal to get the time needed on the court.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by EastCoastCat »

It easy to assume after the Maui trip we'd just steamroll a weak Pac schedule but I'm actually not that upset what has transpired over the last 2 games because we (and CTL) now have enough data to make some assessments and fix the issues.

What I noticed above everything else is this team runs on spurts - either good ones or bad ones. It happened in all 3 games in Maui and also last night. In the Utah game, we had nothing in the first half but the second half the runs went back and forth.

CTL needs to get this team to play more consistently over 40 minutes otherwise make sure your seat belts are tightened as each game will be a roller coaster.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by RawleArenas »

Maui was critical in allowing us to see what our ceiling could be if we played disciplined and focus basketball. Cincinnati, SDSU and Creighton are legit, and those victories demonstrated the versatility that we have on our roster. But like I mentioned before, we don't have great athleticism or depth. And when you don't have great athleticism, your conditioning and attention to detail have to be waaay above average. When Creighton cut the lead down to 4 after the transition three, I was thinking 'this is where Mathurin would impose his will,' except Kriisa and Ramey didn't quite know how to handle that moment. Despite that, we still snuck out a victory, but it reminded me of our lack of closers (and leadership).

While Henderson is playing much better than expected, our bench is just not as strong as I was hoping for this year. We still have a long ways to go until the bench can give us an edge in big games. One problem I see with our team is maturity issues. It goes back to last year. We can't be seen overly celebrating in-games and showing up opponents.The serious teams in serious conferences will almost assuredly use it as bulletin board material for their practice sessions. We basically set ourselves up for let down games like Houston. Other teams want to knock us down a few pegs and get a signature win on their resume.

The Utah game was a shocker because it revealed our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Additionally, one thing that stuck out to me in that game aside from our poor defense, was the fact that we couldn't get a rebound. It reminded of the Lonzo/UCLA game in McKale where rebound after rebound went to the opposing team and we were just a step too slow to loose balls. In games where our shooting percentage is down and we are out of our rhythm, rebounding has to be our saving grace. We certainly have the size to make a great impact in that area, it remains to be seen if we will improve enough during the season to make a difference. Utah is a unique team. Craig Smith is a very good coach, and they were certainly prepared after watching us in Maui. All in all, let's not forget that Tennessee lost to Colorado, a team that is roughly in the same spectrum that Utah is. And Tennessee has more than recovered from that loss.

We don't have the right kind of maturity on our team. It seems like we have a bunch of talented kids on our team but not men. It could be an international/Euro thing where players are a bit more passive, regardless we need serious guys who are ready to take charge and lead by example. The great Baylor and Villanova teams always were dialed in and treated each game like a bunch of hired mercenaries. We need to adopt a similar approach. All of those teams were physical, mature and well conditioned. They could play a more imposing level of defense because they had the conditioning (and personnel).

Getting to our bench, Bal is interesting. I think his growth plates are still open because he appears taller than last year. He may be still adjusting to his growth spurt. Whatever is going on, he's not contributing at the level that we need him to. We need him to be a ringer off the bench, something that everyone was expecting going into this year. Unfortunately, his ball handling, defense and iq are just not there. Problem with younger players is that may not realize how much work they need to put in their game in order to become an asset on the court. Almost all of the work that matters has to happen outside of official practice. I'm reminded of Gil and the legendary stories of his conditioning drills and skill work outside of practice. It's the reason he became arguably the best player in the country going into his second year. And he was young for his class just like Bal.

Veesaar showed some flashes in Maui which demonstrated his defensive potential for the season. I'm still disappointed that his contributions on the offensive side are so limited. Lauri was far more polished coming into his freshman year than Veesaar. We could actually rely on him to put up serious numbers for our offense. They were both rated around the same, Lauri may have been a smidge higher than Veesaar. That being said, I think his defensive potential is great and if he builds his game around his defensive abilities, he'll have sound foundation for a great college (and NBA) career.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Lloyd and think he has done a bang up job of getting our program clean, winning and healthy. I'm still concerned about our recruiting because our success is not getting us the players that we need. I have a lingering belief that Lloyd might have issues connecting with certain American players, the kind of player that we need to round out our roster (players with the athleticism and size of Mathurin, Koloko and DT). Players like these make and break teams and are the sole reason why everyone is afraid of Arkansas right now. With their athleticism and talent level, if they put the pieces together they are an extremely dangerous team. Our tournament ceilings will be low if we don't have some athletic bangers who know how to fight in big games.

I still think that we can make a big run in the tourney; we have all the right pieces. It's just that our margin of error is smaller because we don't have the athleticism to push us over the edge. As long as our players are reminded of that, it will bode well for our season.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by dmjcat »

RawleArenas wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:43 am Maui was critical in allowing us to see what our ceiling could be if we played disciplined and focus basketball. Cincinnati, SDSU and Creighton are legit, and those victories demonstrated the versatility that we have on our roster. But like I mentioned before, we don't have great athleticism or depth. And when you don't have great athleticism, your conditioning and attention to detail have to be waaay above average. When Creighton cut the lead down to 4 after the transition three, I was thinking 'this is where Mathurin would impose his will,' except Kriisa and Ramey didn't quite know how to handle that moment. Despite that, we still snuck out a victory, but it reminded me of our lack of closers (and leadership).

While Henderson is playing much better than expected, our bench is just not as strong as I was hoping for this year. We still have a long ways to go until the bench can give us an edge in big games. One problem I see with our team is maturity issues. It goes back to last year. We can't be seen overly celebrating in-games and showing up opponents.The serious teams in serious conferences will almost assuredly use it as bulletin board material for their practice sessions. We basically set ourselves up for let down games like Houston. Other teams want to knock us down a few pegs and get a signature win on their resume.

The Utah game was a shocker because it revealed our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Additionally, one thing that stuck out to me in that game aside from our poor defense, was the fact that we couldn't get a rebound. It reminded of the Lonzo/UCLA game in McKale where rebound after rebound went to the opposing team and we were just a step too slow to loose balls. In games where our shooting percentage is down and we are out of our rhythm, rebounding has to be our saving grace. We certainly have the size to make a great impact in that area, it remains to be seen if we will improve enough during the season to make a difference. Utah is a unique team. Craig Smith is a very good coach, and they were certainly prepared after watching us in Maui. All in all, let's not forget that Tennessee lost to Colorado, a team that is roughly in the same spectrum that Utah is. And Tennessee has more than recovered from that loss.

We don't have the right kind of maturity on our team. It seems like we have a bunch of talented kids on our team but not men. It could be an international/Euro thing where players are a bit more passive, regardless we need serious guys who are ready to take charge and lead by example. The great Baylor and Villanova teams always were dialed in and treated each game like a bunch of hired mercenaries. We need to adopt a similar approach. All of those teams were physical, mature and well conditioned. They could play a more imposing level of defense because they had the conditioning (and personnel).

Getting to our bench, Bal is interesting. I think his growth plates are still open because he appears taller than last year. He may be still adjusting to his growth spurt. Whatever is going on, he's not contributing at the level that we need him to. We need him to be a ringer off the bench, something that everyone was expecting going into this year. Unfortunately, his ball handling, defense and iq are just not there. Problem with younger players is that may not realize how much work they need to put in their game in order to become an asset on the court. Almost all of the work that matters has to happen outside of official practice. I'm reminded of Gil and the legendary stories of his conditioning drills and skill work outside of practice. It's the reason he became arguably the best player in the country going into his second year. And he was young for his class just like Bal.

Veesaar showed some flashes in Maui which demonstrated his defensive potential for the season. I'm still disappointed that his contributions on the offensive side are so limited. Lauri was far more polished coming into his freshman year than Veesaar. We could actually rely on him to put up serious numbers for our offense. They were both rated around the same, Lauri may have been a smidge higher than Veesaar. That being said, I think his defensive potential is great and if he builds his game around his defensive abilities, he'll have sound foundation for a great college (and NBA) career.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Lloyd and think he has done a bang up job of getting our program clean, winning and healthy. I'm still concerned about our recruiting because our success is not getting us the players that we need. I have a lingering belief that Lloyd might have issues connecting with certain American players, the kind of player that we need to round out our roster (players with the athleticism and size of Mathurin, Koloko and DT). Players like these make and break teams and are the sole reason why everyone is afraid of Arkansas right now. With their athleticism and talent level, if they put the pieces together they are an extremely dangerous team. Our tournament ceilings will be low if we don't have some athletic bangers who know how to fight in big games.

I still think that we can make a big run in the tourney; we have all the right pieces. It's just that our margin of error is smaller because we don't have the athleticism to push us over the edge. As long as our players are reminded of that, it will bode well for our season.
I share the concern with regards to recruiting. People have to remember, however, that Lloyd is not operating in the same environment as Sean Miller was. We now have $NIL$, and AZ is not going to be able to effectively compete in that arena with the Oregons of the world (See Kwame Evans/Mookie Cook). I think to effectively compete the UA is going to have to pursue Euros & less talented 4 star recruits that are willing to stick around for 3-4 years and develop. I just don't see a world where some 5 star recruit turns down Oregon for the UA because Jim Click outbid Phil Knight.

It may actually be a good thing that we just hired a coach that knows how to recruit the foreign player market and is known for player development.......because thats the path I think the UA is going down.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Merkin »

RawleArenas wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:43 am Additionally, one thing that stuck out to me in that game aside from our poor defense, was the fact that we couldn't get a rebound.

Seemed that during the Colorado game every loose ball went to the Buffs. They just seemed to want the ball more.

Looking at the stats, I had thought that CU would have had more boards, but the Cats had 6 more.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by EastCoastCat »

Colorado?
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by arizonawildcats »

Good discussion in this thread. I agree that Tommy needs better athletes for his system. We're not playing Bennett ball. Hopefully scouting can overcome any NIL deficit.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by EastCoastCat »

Dropped in the AP Poll to #10.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Dave »

#10 is generous. How bad are we getting destroyed on the NIL front. How much are Oregon basketball players pulling in on NIL deals?
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Beachcat97 »

First NET rankings...

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketbal ... t-rankings

How is ucla ahead of us?
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Dave »

RawleArenas wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:43 am Don't get me wrong, I appreciate Lloyd and think he has done a bang up job of getting our program clean, winning and healthy. I'm still concerned about our recruiting because our success is not getting us the players that we need. I have a lingering belief that Lloyd might have issues connecting with certain American players, the kind of player that we need to round out our roster (players with the athleticism and size of Mathurin, Koloko and DT). Players like these make and break teams and are the sole reason why everyone is afraid of Arkansas right now. With their athleticism and talent level, if they put the pieces together they are an extremely dangerous team. Our tournament ceilings will be low if we don't have some athletic bangers who know how to fight in big games.
Nice write up! Arkansas is following the Kentucky model this year with five players projected to go in the first round. It will be interesting to see how they perform in the tournament.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Postmaster »

Rawle: I’m not as impressed with Vessar as you were re Maui. But I thought he looked better in the two conference games.
He looked to have real problems guarding away from the basket in Maui.

Nebraska just beat Creighton, right?

I’m less optimistic than I was in October.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by RawleArenas »

Great win tonight, I was worried that we would show up slow and lethargic like the previous couple of games. We got a nice little resume heading into conference play. We need to pay back Tennessee though. Defense still needs improvement, that still remains a work in progress.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, outside of Tennessee, ASU will be our biggest test this season. They are as good as any team we faced in Maui. They might be better than UCLA. That rivalry game will take a whole new meaning this year. I watched them a couple of times and they have made vast improvements to their roster. They have high impact four stars from Ohio State and Michigan as well as veteran players from Auburn and Nevada. They also had a good recruiting class of a top 50 point guard and high level four star big. Their 1-7 is legit. Even if Hurley wasn't coaching them, that roster is a legit sweet 16 team. We can't overlook them this year, they're gonna give us all the prep we need for the tournament.

I like what I see, as long as we have steady improvement, we will be battle tested come March.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by TheCat »

Great win but Kerr needs to make those easy drives. He looked like he was afraid to get his shot blocked. Needs to take the hit and try to score. Glad he came out of his 3 point shooting slump.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by U.P. Zona Fan »

Man I hope we go into Tempe and wipe the floor with ASU.

No matter how good they are, that is not a good loss. It may be one of 3 "non-BAD" losses in pac 12 play, but never good.
Arizona State might have the most surprisingly anemic history in men's basketball of any program that you might think is better than it is.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by TheCatInTheHat »

On Indiana: That was a big-time win worth celebrating. Neutral court, FoX, prime time ET, name opponent in Indiana, close enough to hold the audience, and 14-point win. Now we've got a week to prep for Tennessee at McKale. They've got wins over Gonzaga, Kansas, and USC, a loss to Colorado, and they play Maryland today in Brooklyn this afternoon on FS1. After that, a couple of automatics at McKale, break for Christmas, and a week to prepare for a New Year's Eve Day game at Tempe on FoX. ASU relies on outside shooting, so they'll be tough at home. Wins over Michigan, Stanford, at Colorado, and at SMU, with the only blemish a flukey early-season loss at 1-7 Texas Southern. I don't think they'll escape Creighton in Vegas or at the USF Dons unscathed, but they still figure to be a challenge with a rowdy and suddenly optimistic New Year's Eve crowd and payback motive for football. Their alternative would be a likely scenario of being swept in the big two sports.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by TheCat »

Pelle played the type of offense and defense (w/o fouling) that we will need to be successful this season. He is a critical player for us and when he starts to hit the long ball we can reach our potential. The other thing I would like to mention is Adama. Adama in previous games came in and just fired up shots. If you watched him closely last night he got a big assist in the corner to Remey and then a pass to tubelis for a layup. He did not just come in firing he came in playing real basketball. He even played a little defense. Lastly what can I say about Ballo other than he has exceeded all my expectations. That off balance layup at the end of the game was unbelievable. Humble kid playing better then expected and is in a game shape that shows how hard he has worked.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Merkin »

TheCat wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 12:16 pm Pelle played the type of offense and defense (w/o fouling) that we will need to be successful this season. He is a critical player for us and when he starts to hit the long ball we can reach our potential
Pretty fly too.


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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by 84Cat »

TheCat wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 12:16 pm Pelle played the type of offense and defense (w/o fouling) that we will need to be successful this season. He is a critical player for us and when he starts to hit the long ball we can reach our potential. The other thing I would like to mention is Adama. Adama in previous games came in and just fired up shots. If you watched him closely last night he got a big assist in the corner to Remey and then a pass to tubelis for a layup. He did not just come in firing he came in playing real basketball. He even played a little defense. Lastly what can I say about Ballo other than he has exceeded all my expectations. That off balance layup at the end of the game was unbelievable. Humble kid playing better then expected and is in a game shape that shows how hard he has worked.
I remember Ballo's first red/blue game and he made a shot and did the superman pose and I thought who the fuck is this guy. He has grown and matured so much since he came on campus I don't even recognize him anymore. Congrats to Ballo for putting in the work and props to the staff for sticking with him and teaching him how to be a highly productive college player on one of the top college teams. He has a bright future ahead of him
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Osborn »

TheCat wrote: Sun Dec 11, 2022 12:16 pm Pelle played the type of offense and defense (w/o fouling) that we will need to be successful this season. He is a critical player for us and when he starts to hit the long ball we can reach our potential. The other thing I would like to mention is Adama. Adama in previous games came in and just fired up shots. If you watched him closely last night he got a big assist in the corner to Remey and then a pass to tubelis for a layup. He did not just come in firing he came in playing real basketball. He even played a little defense. Lastly what can I say about Ballo other than he has exceeded all my expectations. That off balance layup at the end of the game was unbelievable. Humble kid playing better then expected and is in a game shape that shows how hard he has worked.
Agree, especially regarding Bal. Bal came in and played within the offense and was rewarded with extended playing time. Usually, he'll come in and try to do too much and Lloyd will pull him after a short stint. If the Cats can continue to get productive minutes from Bal and Veesaar, they're a Final Four team.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by TheCat »

So I have been watching Tenn. vs Maryland and the Vols play great defense. Jump the passing lanes well and are just a constant nuisance. Have to be strong with the ball. Limit turnovers is key. Their offense looks average but I have only seen them play once. Their D held a top 20 team Maryland to 17 in the first half. Will be a challenge but again the kind of game that we need. They are physical but so are we.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by EastCoastCat »

They have also scored only 45 points in almost 35 minutes. And we played them last year.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by TheCatInTheHat »

Brief Indiana post-mortem. In something of a surprise, their fans showed up en masse in Vegas and seemed somewhat more vocal than our typical Vegas contingent. And they tried working the refs, which is certainly fair game. Per their message boards, they wanted a very physical and loosely called game, and while I think the refs let both sides play, it wasn't ideal for what they wanted. Looks like the refs blew what should have been a goal-tend on Ballo. But, they know that, and whatever other calls they were outraged by wouldn't have made the difference. Despite the yapping of fans at a game, which always happens, on their boards they seemed pretty effusive in their praise for Arizona, and accepted that they still need some development to get to where they want to be. All fine. Apparently in the comments section of the Indy paper, some of their fans put in that they'd rather be Indiana than Arizona this year, due to consoling themselves with the idea that we only beat them because we're peaking in December, and they'll be better than we are in March. Whatever. Not representative of their overall fan base, and I'd certainly be willing to play them in future non-conference games.
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Dave
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Dave »

Just found a real gem.

https://youtu.be/eYBFRsOqars
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EastCoastCat
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by EastCoastCat »

IU complaining about a coach’s antics is just rich.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by CardiacCats97 »

“I never grouse about officials. And every time I do, I say ‘I never grouse about officials.’”

Excellent self-awareness chief.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by SabinoDrifter »

Indiana basketball fans bitch like crazy.
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by dovecanyoncat »

They certainly aren't the silent stoic Bobby Knight types.
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by 84Cat »

dovecanyoncat wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 1:17 pm They certainly aren't the silent stoic Bobby Knight types.
Stoic? :lol:

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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by dovecanyoncat »

8-) Yeah, he was a paragon of restraint.
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by azcat49 »

Saw a tweet that the last 20 tournament winners have come from teams in the top 12 in week 6. So we have a chance
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Re: The 2022-2023 Season Thread

Post by Beachcat97 »

azcat49 wrote: Mon Dec 12, 2022 2:34 pm Saw a tweet that the last 20 tournament winners have come from teams in the top 12 in week 6. So we have a chance
I think our blend of size, timely shooting, limited turnovers, and experience from last season makes us a real contender. We've also already beaten at least three teams that will be in the NCAA tournament (SDSU, Creighton and most recently Indiana). I don't really care what we're ranked from here on out. I just wanna see us continue to improve, stay healthy and get a decent seed for the tourney. If our bench improves, we are a legit title contender.
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