I thought (and still think) we'll see a lot more Obi at the 4 this year, but it didn't happen last night. Obi 35 minutes, Johnson 11 minutes, Tshimanga and Sissoko 0 minutes, means only 6 minutes where Toppin and Johnson were on the floor together. Clearly Sissoko's not quite ready for prime time or you would think he'd have seen at least a few minutes. Tshimanga has 15 days to get healthy for Maui. Hopefully he can get a few minutes vs. Omaha to ease back into action. Which leads to my next point...
Dribble penetration was insane last night by ISU. Having an eraser in the middle should help with this. We've hoped that Tshimanga can play D similar to Big Steve. Man, I sure hope so. I don't know how to contain the dribble-drive, but it was a weakness last year. The coaches need to figure this out, fast.
7-27 3FG is not going to cut it. Even 33% would have made last night closer to the expected margin of 12 points. A few of the misses can be chalked up to poor shot selection which can be fixed by coaching, and I seriously doubt that Mikesell and Crutcher, proven 33+% shooters, will combine for 0-9 very often.
Ibi Watson's debut was kind of quiet. I'm really excited to see how he progresses.
Brooks Hall told us that he was the best player on the team last year. For UD to advance to the level we want them to, we need to have another star develop, and Watson is the most likely candidate.
Rodney Chatman, so far, is a better version of Jordan Davis. Better ball handler, equal shooter, almost as good of a defender, and most importantly, can get Crutcher some minutes on the bench with no drop-off at the point. He's the most plug-and-play of any of the new faces.
Opening Night Victory: The Ledge and the Potential
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