Really nice day at the Convo today...lots of friendly faces and a nice win to kickoff the Thanksgiving week festivities.
- A&M Corpus Christie...I think they surprised all of us. Decent little team. Not really little. Big boys. I was super excited to see Perry Clark in the Convo for some reason. I remember his Kim Lewis (A&M CC Assistant) and Pointer Williams teams at Tulane and the posse scheme that he would throw out there. His era kind of paralleled my interest in basketball, so it was cool to see him on our floor.
- My twin boys (Evan and Ethan) got to see their first game action in the Convo today. That was really cool. Evan was wide-eyed the whole time and Ethan was scared out of his mind. Just very cool that my dad ('71) watched games in the Convo, I ('98) watched games there, and now my boys ('27?) have started out on their journey. (I'm a little concerned that they both started screaming "HELP!!" when we got home, but whatever....)
- I loved our starting lineup today...it's probably the one I would roll with for a while. (Sayles, Freeman, Baltic, Keely, and Coop). Kellogg and Washington first off the bench. Wash, rinse, repeat.
- Nick Kellogg looked really smooth today. Definitely seems more comfortable coming off the bench. Big 3 to get us on the board early, and then a couple more in the 2nd half at key times. I think anywhere from 25-30 minutes is perfect for him, but he played really nicely today. (Sidenote, good to see Clark Kellogg in the crowd today. He was reading a book for a good portion of the game. Maybe an econ final tomorrow?)
- Baltic, Washington, Sayles, and Keely all played really nice. 53 points from those 4 with only 7 turnovers. I'm still a little concerned that Baltic and Keely are so damn comfortable with their back to the basket. They both just seem dead set on backing a guy down 1 on 1, no matter what the situation gives them. There's very little comfort with the mid-range jumper, and a couple times it was tough sledding trying to work the paint against the bigger A&M lineup. Washington was a great spark off the bench. Really ran the floor well, and gave us a tremendous effort on the glass. Asown hit a big 3 and gave us a good, solid 20 mins of energy.
- Freeman..big daggers late that we're looking for. Seems to be getting his rhythm back. Not sure why the last couple first halves have been a little bit of a struggle for him, but I think he's finally getting settled. His finger looked a little bothersome (right hand), but those shots from the deep corner in the 2nd half were picture perfect. What I would pay for that form....
- Coop...maybe his most important contribution thus far. Couldn't get it going offensively, but was dishing out big assist (Baltic Dunk...whewewewe!!!) after big assist and getting his hands in the passing lanes a bunch. I've doted on him enough this year, but man he's fun to watch.
- I'm not going to be there for Valpo. PM me if you want my tickets and maybe we can figure something out if it's not a huge pain in my butt. I leave Tuesday AM for Kansas City.
- I am predicting we play Kansas VERY close. Our guard play is going to be very key, as aside from the Morris Twins and Thomas Robinson...the KU frontcourt has little depth or athleticism to match Baltic, Keely, and Washington. The guard position is where we're going to have problems. Big problems. Even without Selby, Coach Self is going to throw blue ribbon guard after blue ribbon guard after us. TJ, Ric, Nick, and even Tunji are going to have to all play meaningful minutes. That said, I really think we can give these guys a game while they're looking ahead to Arizona the next night and Selby coming back a few nights later. You gotta believe.
- One funny moment today. #11 Chris Mast of Texas A&M CC gets a technical in the first half for slapping the floor in the lane after a tussle for a loose ball. In the 2nd half, Keely slaps the floor in disgust after being called for a cheap foul. Technical? NOPE. Good to have that home cookin! Refs did a nice job today, second game in a row I've enjoyed their presence.
- Students, enjoy your Thanksgiving Break. Everyone else, Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy some nice downtime with your families. See you 12/4 at the Convo for M...M...M...M...arshall. Oh well, we only have to play them once this year. Happy Turkey Day this week!