The starting lineup in SC's 76-71 win (Andy Enfield's 200th career victory) over the Temple Owls was: Goodwin, White, Ellis, Peterson and Mobley.
If I hadn't watched the game on ESPN+, I would have been very happy and impressed that SC went into Philly and secured a win over Temple, I am still happy as ugly wins are still wins, so we will gladly accept it, but it could have gone better.
The game was disjointed, with whistles blowing right and left in the first half, these refs would fit in perfectly with the Pac-12 zebras. Our stars Mobley and Boogie looked very tentative at the start and it took a while for Boogie to get into the flow, he never really looked like the player we saw last game, but ended up playing a game high 34 minutes and scoring 11 pts (2-8 FGs, 0-1 3FGs, 7-9 FTs) and leading the team in assists (5) and steals (2), while grabbing 3 defensive boards.
Mobley never really did get into a good flow, after 2 quick fouls, he sat most of the first half, and ended up playing 24 minutes and scoring 9 pts (1 made 3 ptr, never got to the line) and grabbing 8 boards, and he led the team with 5 turnovers, the rest of the team combined for only 6 TOs. He did not appear to me to be aggressive in going for his offense and was really not a factor in the game for a player trying to build his resume for the NBA scouts.
The guys who came to play for us from the beginning were Chevez Goodman and Isaiah White, they kept us in the game. Chevez had his best and most efficient game as a Trojan. He shot 80% FGs and made 3-4 FTs for a team high 19 points. Note he is now 5-6 at the charity stripe on the young season, and that is dramatic improvement over last year. He grabbed 8 rebounds and had a steal, and an assist and, despite being in the middle of a bunch of flailing arms and bodies, only turned the ball over once. He needs to continue to start.
Isaiah White was his usual tough, nose -for-the ball self and was all over the court, in fact the announcer had him playing in 3 positions at once as he repeatedly referred to Chevez and Mobley as Isaiah White-haha. This homer play-by-play man and his mediocre color analyst were really horrible, with our team even being referred to as 'the bruins." Isaiah (White that is) was second in scoring with 12 points (5-11 FGs, 1-3 3FGs, 1-2 FTs) and had 7 rebs, 1 steal and 1 assist in his 26 minutes. Most of his good work was in the first half, in the second half he missed shots short, as he was trying to finesse them too much.
Drew came in ready to go, but could not harness that energy and was a little out of control and not the smooth Drew from last game. He was however, our best assist man with a game high 8 to only 2 TOs, a pretty nice ratio. He scored 10 pts on 2-5 FGs, no 3 pt attempts and, after missing his first 3 FTs, regrouped to finish 6-10 at the line, including a pair of clutch FTs in crunch time. Last game we saw a Drew that featured a bevvy of step-back and fade away mid-range shots that were really not guardable. Note that he has only attempted two 3-pt shots this season (0-2 against CSUN), so I would look for him to expand his game out to the line against FGCU, where he would have the threat of shooting from deep or driving past his man. I think he will be just fine going forward, he just needs to slow down a little.
I thought Ethan made a good contribution in his 19 minutes on the floor, he did not seem at all fazed out there. He was money from deep, hitting both of this 3 pt attempts at times when we really needed them. He also tallied 2 rebs, 2 assists with 1 TO. He put his body on the line and absorbed a hard charge, like he seems to do every game. He is a tough player and I was pleased with his efforts.
Josh Morgan I thought was very effective in the first half in his 9 minutes. He was 3-4 FGs, scoring 6 pts, but had 3 fouls. He was very valuable when paired with another big like Chevez. He probably earned more playing time.
OK Max, did not have any turnovers in 20 minutes, so that was definitely a positive, but he scored only 3 pts (1-5 FGs, 0-2 3FGs, 1-2 FTs), had 4 boards and a block. He had 3 fouls.
Reese played 4 minutes and had 2 assists, no shot attempts. Kobe received 1 minute and had a steal. That was it, Harrison and Malik DNP.
Overall SC shot 47% and held Temple to 38%. They were 4-12 (33%) from 3 pt land (2-3 in 1st half, 2-9 in 2nd half) and shot 67% FTs (8-15 in 1st half, 10-12 in 2nd half). Temple was 8-22 3FGs, but after going 1-10 in the first half, hit 7-12 in their comeback run in the second. They shot 54% FTs, 8-13 1st half, 7-15 2nd half).
SC was outrebounded by the smaller Temple team 44-39, this was largely due to Temple wanting the ball more and going after missed shots and loose balls more aggressively than the Trojans. The teams were equal with only 11 TOs each and SC had one less steal, 7 to 8 for the Owls.
SC was strong once again with points in the paint with 42 to 20 for Temple. This is an area where our front court players will continue to exploit throughout the season and once the 3's start falling, the offense will be firing on all cylinders.
Not all games are going to be easy to win and these hard games early in the schedule are valuable lessons for the remainder of the season. I expect we will have more close calls or perform down to the level of some of our lesser competition, but in the end, a win is a win, no matter how ugly. I know that computer rankings also measure the quality of wins with quadrants, etc. but as long as we keep winning and secure our tourney spot we will be good.
If I hadn't watched the game on ESPN+, I would have been very happy and impressed that SC went into Philly and secured a win over Temple, I am still happy as ugly wins are still wins, so we will gladly accept it, but it could have gone better.
The game was disjointed, with whistles blowing right and left in the first half, these refs would fit in perfectly with the Pac-12 zebras. Our stars Mobley and Boogie looked very tentative at the start and it took a while for Boogie to get into the flow, he never really looked like the player we saw last game, but ended up playing a game high 34 minutes and scoring 11 pts (2-8 FGs, 0-1 3FGs, 7-9 FTs) and leading the team in assists (5) and steals (2), while grabbing 3 defensive boards.
Mobley never really did get into a good flow, after 2 quick fouls, he sat most of the first half, and ended up playing 24 minutes and scoring 9 pts (1 made 3 ptr, never got to the line) and grabbing 8 boards, and he led the team with 5 turnovers, the rest of the team combined for only 6 TOs. He did not appear to me to be aggressive in going for his offense and was really not a factor in the game for a player trying to build his resume for the NBA scouts.
The guys who came to play for us from the beginning were Chevez Goodman and Isaiah White, they kept us in the game. Chevez had his best and most efficient game as a Trojan. He shot 80% FGs and made 3-4 FTs for a team high 19 points. Note he is now 5-6 at the charity stripe on the young season, and that is dramatic improvement over last year. He grabbed 8 rebounds and had a steal, and an assist and, despite being in the middle of a bunch of flailing arms and bodies, only turned the ball over once. He needs to continue to start.
Isaiah White was his usual tough, nose -for-the ball self and was all over the court, in fact the announcer had him playing in 3 positions at once as he repeatedly referred to Chevez and Mobley as Isaiah White-haha. This homer play-by-play man and his mediocre color analyst were really horrible, with our team even being referred to as 'the bruins." Isaiah (White that is) was second in scoring with 12 points (5-11 FGs, 1-3 3FGs, 1-2 FTs) and had 7 rebs, 1 steal and 1 assist in his 26 minutes. Most of his good work was in the first half, in the second half he missed shots short, as he was trying to finesse them too much.
Drew came in ready to go, but could not harness that energy and was a little out of control and not the smooth Drew from last game. He was however, our best assist man with a game high 8 to only 2 TOs, a pretty nice ratio. He scored 10 pts on 2-5 FGs, no 3 pt attempts and, after missing his first 3 FTs, regrouped to finish 6-10 at the line, including a pair of clutch FTs in crunch time. Last game we saw a Drew that featured a bevvy of step-back and fade away mid-range shots that were really not guardable. Note that he has only attempted two 3-pt shots this season (0-2 against CSUN), so I would look for him to expand his game out to the line against FGCU, where he would have the threat of shooting from deep or driving past his man. I think he will be just fine going forward, he just needs to slow down a little.
I thought Ethan made a good contribution in his 19 minutes on the floor, he did not seem at all fazed out there. He was money from deep, hitting both of this 3 pt attempts at times when we really needed them. He also tallied 2 rebs, 2 assists with 1 TO. He put his body on the line and absorbed a hard charge, like he seems to do every game. He is a tough player and I was pleased with his efforts.
Josh Morgan I thought was very effective in the first half in his 9 minutes. He was 3-4 FGs, scoring 6 pts, but had 3 fouls. He was very valuable when paired with another big like Chevez. He probably earned more playing time.
OK Max, did not have any turnovers in 20 minutes, so that was definitely a positive, but he scored only 3 pts (1-5 FGs, 0-2 3FGs, 1-2 FTs), had 4 boards and a block. He had 3 fouls.
Reese played 4 minutes and had 2 assists, no shot attempts. Kobe received 1 minute and had a steal. That was it, Harrison and Malik DNP.
Overall SC shot 47% and held Temple to 38%. They were 4-12 (33%) from 3 pt land (2-3 in 1st half, 2-9 in 2nd half) and shot 67% FTs (8-15 in 1st half, 10-12 in 2nd half). Temple was 8-22 3FGs, but after going 1-10 in the first half, hit 7-12 in their comeback run in the second. They shot 54% FTs, 8-13 1st half, 7-15 2nd half).
SC was outrebounded by the smaller Temple team 44-39, this was largely due to Temple wanting the ball more and going after missed shots and loose balls more aggressively than the Trojans. The teams were equal with only 11 TOs each and SC had one less steal, 7 to 8 for the Owls.
SC was strong once again with points in the paint with 42 to 20 for Temple. This is an area where our front court players will continue to exploit throughout the season and once the 3's start falling, the offense will be firing on all cylinders.
Not all games are going to be easy to win and these hard games early in the schedule are valuable lessons for the remainder of the season. I expect we will have more close calls or perform down to the level of some of our lesser competition, but in the end, a win is a win, no matter how ugly. I know that computer rankings also measure the quality of wins with quadrants, etc. but as long as we keep winning and secure our tourney spot we will be good.
