Q: What's 6'10" and can disappear?
A: Malik Pope.
Malik was pretty bad. He displayed all the things he does poorly, and very few of the things he does well. Offensively, I'm not sure he touched the ball inside the paint. Roamed the perimeter 3' beyond the arc and was a total non-factor. On defense, he was plain lazy. Coach was in his face a LOT, and he deserved it. In the second half, he was frustrated and started to over dribble when he touched the rock. Turnover. A pathetic start for a key to our season.
Winston didn't really hurt us, but he wasn't a big plus either. At least he was in there banging.
Trey Kell played tentatively, which happens when you get early fouls.
D'Erryl played well in the first half, but didn't see the floor in the second. That was a coaching mistake. When a kid performs, he needs to be rewarded. Just my opinion, but some of the second half minutes that went to Perez should have gone to D'Erryl. Yes, it would have been an unusual lineup, but Ben wasn't shooting the ball well and D'Erryl can get to the rim. There have been other SDSU players in the past whom the coaching staff just can't seem to see when it's time to substitute. It's unfair to the kid.
Skylar was a PRESENCE.
Horrific shooting beyond the arc. That will NOT be a theme this year, but it was last night.
Dakarai (a revelation on offense), Z (exuberant performance) and our freshman PG (player of the game) played VERY well. Coach left them on the floor because they earned the minutes.
Z is likely to be our leading rebounder. Super athletic, intuitive, and WANTS IT. He was significantly better than Malik last night. If Malik continues to mope and doesn't exert maximum effort, he not only won't be a first round pick, he won't start for SDSU, and he'll transfer.
If the refs continue to call the game they called last night: a. the games will be boring, b. home court advantages will shrink because less-involved crowds will not fuel runs, c. defenses won't be able to exert as much pressure and d. benches will need to be deeper because foul trouble will be more of a factor. The flow of the game was dramatically impacted. If the NCAA and the networks want more offense, calling 30% more fouls is not the way to do it.
A: Malik Pope.
Malik was pretty bad. He displayed all the things he does poorly, and very few of the things he does well. Offensively, I'm not sure he touched the ball inside the paint. Roamed the perimeter 3' beyond the arc and was a total non-factor. On defense, he was plain lazy. Coach was in his face a LOT, and he deserved it. In the second half, he was frustrated and started to over dribble when he touched the rock. Turnover. A pathetic start for a key to our season.
Winston didn't really hurt us, but he wasn't a big plus either. At least he was in there banging.
Trey Kell played tentatively, which happens when you get early fouls.
D'Erryl played well in the first half, but didn't see the floor in the second. That was a coaching mistake. When a kid performs, he needs to be rewarded. Just my opinion, but some of the second half minutes that went to Perez should have gone to D'Erryl. Yes, it would have been an unusual lineup, but Ben wasn't shooting the ball well and D'Erryl can get to the rim. There have been other SDSU players in the past whom the coaching staff just can't seem to see when it's time to substitute. It's unfair to the kid.
Skylar was a PRESENCE.
Horrific shooting beyond the arc. That will NOT be a theme this year, but it was last night.
Dakarai (a revelation on offense), Z (exuberant performance) and our freshman PG (player of the game) played VERY well. Coach left them on the floor because they earned the minutes.
Z is likely to be our leading rebounder. Super athletic, intuitive, and WANTS IT. He was significantly better than Malik last night. If Malik continues to mope and doesn't exert maximum effort, he not only won't be a first round pick, he won't start for SDSU, and he'll transfer.
If the refs continue to call the game they called last night: a. the games will be boring, b. home court advantages will shrink because less-involved crowds will not fuel runs, c. defenses won't be able to exert as much pressure and d. benches will need to be deeper because foul trouble will be more of a factor. The flow of the game was dramatically impacted. If the NCAA and the networks want more offense, calling 30% more fouls is not the way to do it.
