By: Ronald "Doc" Ball
General Impressions My overall impression was one of "Bad basketball", especially after the first half. In my mind I was convinced there would be no A or B grades, and despite an improved second half, I am holding to that. Hard to believe this team has literally regressed from what we saw in Nassau this summer. We managed to beat a tired, nonathletic, length limited team in a manner that was pretty piss poor.
Jacob Toppin C+ His 12 pts, 2 assists and 5 rebounds were needed. Had no turnovers or steals. However of those 12 pts, 2 assists and 5 rebounds, NO points or assists were tallied in the first half and only 3 rebounds. His 0-4 was typical of the cats first half effort and effectiveness. Fortunately he managed to go 4-5 in the second half.
Cason Wallace C- Probably a harsh grade, but then they all might be. Hit only one shot of his five attempted in 30 minutes. His saving grace was 3 assists to 1 turnover. Failed to connect on his 3 trey attempt. And managed to make half of his 2 FT attempts.
Chris Livingston C Call raved about him post game so I guess Chris really earned his 12 minutes (please note the sarcasm). In fact Cal implored the crowd to chant for Chris next game so Cal doesn't forget about him on the bench. I'm not sure there is a face palm GIF big enough for that. Livingston managed to get 5 rebounds in that time, and an assist...but no points on no shots. He did manage a steal as well. I hate seeing him being wasted so much. In HS he was an absolute beast brimming with confidence and attitude. I saw his potential being as high as anybody on the team, and yet Cal "forgets" about him.
CJ Fredrick C+ Finished with 11 points by hitting 3 of his 7 shots, all treys, and making a couple FT. Added 3 rebounds, but no assists, steals or turnovers. Played 18 minutes. I will say he did a good job of creating some looks for himself with a jab step move. Still waiting to see a screen or two for him.
Lance Ware C- Poor Lance. With Oscars subpar game, he had an opportunity but came up short. Really not much in his 7 plus minutes. He was the only player with a negative +/- (-2). Was 1 of 1 from the field with 1 rebound and an assist to go with 2 turnovers
Antonio Reeves C+ Game high 18 pts in almost 24 minutes. Shot 7-15 and hit half of his 6 trey attempts. Matched Toppins numbers in rebounds (5) and assists (2) but also had a blocked shot. IMO it was a good game for him, and I'm sure I'd have given a higher grade had the team looked better...but its a team game so how the team performs has an affect.
Adou Thiero DNP
Ugonna Onyenso DNP
Daimion Collins D+ Needs to get his head back in the game. Needs to play like he can. UK needs to try to get him involved, maybe try something like a alley oop. Just throwing that out there! In just over 9 minutes he took a shot which he missed, had 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers.
Oscar Tshiebwe C No double double for Oscar as he only managed 8 points to go with 12 rebounds. Several bunny shots that he could have or should have dunked. The other option is to kick the ball out when quadruple teamed, again, just throwing that out there.
Sahvir Wheeler C IMO is trying to do too much and thus makes unfortunate plays. 6 assists is great but at the cost of 4 turnovers. Also managed 6 points on 2-6 shooting, including a trey. Led the team in minutes with over 35. Like many I am not a fan of the extended minutes with both Wheeler and Wallace on the floor together.
Coaching C Cal literally admitted in the post game he forgot about Livingston. Its bad enough that he does it but to announce it!?! This team wasn't prepared at all. Our defense the first half was horrible. Granted, props for half time adjustments but at this point that should not be needed against a low major team.
Officials B Any time Pat Adams is calling a game I expect absolute crap. Well, it wasn't crap so give them the grade. The other guys were Byron Jarrett and Shaun Seales
Commentators B I like the team of Sunvold and Hart. Usually they stay on topic and don't have the goal of annoying the crap out of the listeners. However I think everybody in the BBN as well as the general population knows that Savhir parents met at Rucker park. Its falling into the same category as Willy Cauley Stein being a football WR and Kevin Knox's dad playing for FSU. Just because its in the media guide does not mean you need to mention it every single game.
Other A tale of two halves. Shot 18% from long range in the first half, and 45% in the second, for a total of 32%. Overall shooting went from 30% to 56.5% by half (41.5% overall). We predictably won the rebound battle 42-21. We had 2 more TO than Bellermine (12-14) and 1 less steal (6-7). 28 of our points came in the paint and 13 on the fast break. Our bench kicked in 13 points with CJ kicking in 11 and Lance 2. We need more bench production but then they won't score from the sidelines.
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