My notes on the SC vs. Georgia Tech game
I had tickets to the Session 1 of the Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Footprint Center (home of the Phoenix Suns). The first game in the session was Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech, followed by our game against Georgia Tech. We arrived halfway through the first half with Gonzaga leading Texas Tech by a handful of points and they would lead at the half 34-26. After the Zags survived a TT run early in the second half, cutting the lead to just 2 points, Gonzaga started to pull ahead and won comfortably 69-55. The atmosphere in this game was really rocking like a March Madness game, both of the fanbases traveled well and were boisterous. I was envious of a crowd like that. In this game, Gonzaga showcased their shooting, hitting 13 three's and spreading the points around, the leading scorer Ryan Nembhard had only 16 pts, followed by Rasir Bolton who scored 15 pts on 5 three pointers. Our nemesis from last year Drew Timmie took only 4 shots and ended with 7 pts. The Zags have a different team this year, and don't rely on Timmie to lead them. It is definitely Nembhard's team, as he plays the Jalen Suggs role. Corey Kisperts 3-pt shooting is now shared by several players. Throw in the nation's top recruit, 7 ft Chet Holmgren, and it is tough to see how they have lost 2 games already (Duke and Alabama). I watched and wondered whether SC could beat either of these teams.
In between games an older Texas Tech fan initiates a conversation with me, saying "where's your fans?" I tell him that our fans haven't learned to travel well for basketball games as SC has traditionally been a football school. He tells me that his niece is married to Lincoln Riley and that he is glad LR is at SC now, so he can stop rooting for Oklahoma! I tell him our fans are excited with having LR as our head coach. He wishes me good luck in our game against Georgia Tech and heads for the exits, like most Tech fans. Most of the Zag fans bailed as well. A full lower bowl in the 18,000 seat arena for the first game has been reduced to a couple hundred SC fans (spread throughout the arena), a like number of GT fans, and the hangers-on from Gonzaga and TT. The crowd is probably 20% of what it was in the prior game. The energy had been sucked out of the arena.
My main purpose for traveling to this game was to see SC avenge the last second loss to GT in the1992 NCAA tourney on the miracle 3 pointer by James Forrest. None of our players were even born then, but maybe they could get revenge on SC transfers Jordan Usher and Kyle Sturdivant, but they weren't on the team when those two players were Trojans, either. This game would have to be played with no extra motivation, only the desire to continue to stack up wins.
The starting lineup for GT included second leading scorer Usher, who looks like a completely different player physically. He was built like a LB and was often out of control at SC, at GT he has slimmed down and looks like a basketball player, but still plays with high energy, just harnesses it better. I could tell he and Kyle were keyed up for this game.
SC started Mobley, Chevez, Drew, Boogie and Ethan. It was Max's turn to start, but he didn't make the trip due to Covid protocols and will miss the OKC trip too. I couldn't really gauge the impact Max has on the games until he was missing. You missed his length on D, his scrappiness, rebounding. his 8.8 ppg and occasional streaks of hitting 3s. He really has become an integral part of the team.
Two big runs 25-4 in the first half and 20-4 to close out the game, were really the story. SC hit on 47% (9-19) of 3s, despite starting off slowly with 3 opening misses by Drew, but he didn't lose confidence, kept shooting, and ended up knocking down a season high 4 3-ptrs. SC continued the trend of holding opponents under 40% FGs, GT shot 33%, the Trojans 48%, including 54% in the second half. The Trojans had a 42-34 rebound advantage, but had 13 TOs and only 1 steal and 1 block, uncharacteristially low. GT had only 7 TOs and had 7 steals.
GTs top scorer, Michael Devoe did not disappoint, scoring a game-high 25 pts (9-22 FG, 2-6 3FG, 5-7 FT), with the game getting out of hand, every possession was run thru Devoe and he took many tough shots as SC tried to collapse on him with double teams. Usher scored 11 pts and Sturdivant 5 pts. Enfield commented afterwards that both players had improved their games since their time at SC.
The star of the game, owing to a strong second half was Boogie Ellis, who scored 16 pts on 7-14 FGs, with no 3s and 2-2 FTs. He was one of 5 Trojans in double figures. He came to life energy-wise after the half, showing more aggressiveness and drove to the hoop on a handful of occasions. He added 7 rebs and 2 assists. This effort made him the MVP for the game and he was awarded a plaque by Jerry Colangelo. Hopefully, this gives Boogie a confidence boost and he starts to consistently produce. His outside scoring, as well as Drew's, Ethan's and Isaiah's are key to competing with teams like Arizona, ucla and Gonzaga. The inside game is solid with Chevez, Mobley and Morgan, however, today there were two many poorly executed entry passes into the bigs that resulted in TOs.
Drew was pressing and had 4 of SCs 13 TOs. Other than that he played great, scoring 14 pts, with 8 rebs and 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He knew from the get-go that he had to score and he didn't hesitate to try to do so.
Chevez was efficient getting 13 pts on 4-7 FGs and an amazing 5-6 FTs! He added 8 rebs and 1 assist. He carried us for stretches in the first half until others could get untracked.
Mobley was too hesitant to look for his shot in the first half, passing up several catch and shoot opportunities, When he did shoot the 3s, he was 2-3 and looked comfortable shooting them with his always perfect form.
Ethan had a good game with 3 made 3's and a scoring drive for 11 pts. He stayed under control and had 2 assists and no TOs and only 1 PF.
Josh scored a bucket on a dunk and grabbed 2 boards in his 13 minutes on the court.
White played 12 scoreless minutes, missing both of his shot attempts, but had 3 rebs and an assist.
Reese played 11 minutes, missed his 1 shot and had 2 rebs.
Kobe played 1 minute at the end of the half and registered no stats.
This game was very ugly in the first half and other than Drew no one really was aggessive with their offense. The second half was a different story, there must have been a good half-time speech from Andy, or more likely a tongue lashing from Capko.
On this road trip, the first leg of the mission was accomplished with a 67-53 defeat of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, and SC remains undefeated at 12-0, the most wins in the nation. Part 2 of the trip is a so-called 'neutral site' game in Oklahoma City with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. If SC wins this game, they really should be credited with a true road victory as OSU's campus in Stillwater is less than 1 hr away. This will definitely be a home game for the Cowboys, as SC will probably have less than the couple hundred fans they had in Phoenix.
Expect a tougher game against OSU (69 NET, compared to 141 for Georgia Tech). The Cowboys come into the game with a 7-4 record (4-3 home, 1-0 away, 2-1 neutral), after losing to Houston in the Hoops Hype XL classic in Fort Worth, TX. They are led in scoring by Avery Anderson at 12.9 ppg (47% FG, 36% 3FG, 71% FT) and Bryce Williams at 11.4 ppg (45% FG, 29% 3FG, 80% FT). Three players (Likekele, Cisse and Moncrieffe) lead in rebounding at 5.7/game. Anderson leads with 2.0 steals/game and Boone and Cisse average 2.0 blocks/game.
Once this road trip concludes, SC will return to Pac-12 conference games, starting with ASU on 12/30 at Galen Center. Get out and support the team! Fight on!
I had tickets to the Session 1 of the Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Footprint Center (home of the Phoenix Suns). The first game in the session was Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech, followed by our game against Georgia Tech. We arrived halfway through the first half with Gonzaga leading Texas Tech by a handful of points and they would lead at the half 34-26. After the Zags survived a TT run early in the second half, cutting the lead to just 2 points, Gonzaga started to pull ahead and won comfortably 69-55. The atmosphere in this game was really rocking like a March Madness game, both of the fanbases traveled well and were boisterous. I was envious of a crowd like that. In this game, Gonzaga showcased their shooting, hitting 13 three's and spreading the points around, the leading scorer Ryan Nembhard had only 16 pts, followed by Rasir Bolton who scored 15 pts on 5 three pointers. Our nemesis from last year Drew Timmie took only 4 shots and ended with 7 pts. The Zags have a different team this year, and don't rely on Timmie to lead them. It is definitely Nembhard's team, as he plays the Jalen Suggs role. Corey Kisperts 3-pt shooting is now shared by several players. Throw in the nation's top recruit, 7 ft Chet Holmgren, and it is tough to see how they have lost 2 games already (Duke and Alabama). I watched and wondered whether SC could beat either of these teams.
In between games an older Texas Tech fan initiates a conversation with me, saying "where's your fans?" I tell him that our fans haven't learned to travel well for basketball games as SC has traditionally been a football school. He tells me that his niece is married to Lincoln Riley and that he is glad LR is at SC now, so he can stop rooting for Oklahoma! I tell him our fans are excited with having LR as our head coach. He wishes me good luck in our game against Georgia Tech and heads for the exits, like most Tech fans. Most of the Zag fans bailed as well. A full lower bowl in the 18,000 seat arena for the first game has been reduced to a couple hundred SC fans (spread throughout the arena), a like number of GT fans, and the hangers-on from Gonzaga and TT. The crowd is probably 20% of what it was in the prior game. The energy had been sucked out of the arena.
My main purpose for traveling to this game was to see SC avenge the last second loss to GT in the1992 NCAA tourney on the miracle 3 pointer by James Forrest. None of our players were even born then, but maybe they could get revenge on SC transfers Jordan Usher and Kyle Sturdivant, but they weren't on the team when those two players were Trojans, either. This game would have to be played with no extra motivation, only the desire to continue to stack up wins.
The starting lineup for GT included second leading scorer Usher, who looks like a completely different player physically. He was built like a LB and was often out of control at SC, at GT he has slimmed down and looks like a basketball player, but still plays with high energy, just harnesses it better. I could tell he and Kyle were keyed up for this game.
SC started Mobley, Chevez, Drew, Boogie and Ethan. It was Max's turn to start, but he didn't make the trip due to Covid protocols and will miss the OKC trip too. I couldn't really gauge the impact Max has on the games until he was missing. You missed his length on D, his scrappiness, rebounding. his 8.8 ppg and occasional streaks of hitting 3s. He really has become an integral part of the team.
Two big runs 25-4 in the first half and 20-4 to close out the game, were really the story. SC hit on 47% (9-19) of 3s, despite starting off slowly with 3 opening misses by Drew, but he didn't lose confidence, kept shooting, and ended up knocking down a season high 4 3-ptrs. SC continued the trend of holding opponents under 40% FGs, GT shot 33%, the Trojans 48%, including 54% in the second half. The Trojans had a 42-34 rebound advantage, but had 13 TOs and only 1 steal and 1 block, uncharacteristially low. GT had only 7 TOs and had 7 steals.
GTs top scorer, Michael Devoe did not disappoint, scoring a game-high 25 pts (9-22 FG, 2-6 3FG, 5-7 FT), with the game getting out of hand, every possession was run thru Devoe and he took many tough shots as SC tried to collapse on him with double teams. Usher scored 11 pts and Sturdivant 5 pts. Enfield commented afterwards that both players had improved their games since their time at SC.
The star of the game, owing to a strong second half was Boogie Ellis, who scored 16 pts on 7-14 FGs, with no 3s and 2-2 FTs. He was one of 5 Trojans in double figures. He came to life energy-wise after the half, showing more aggressiveness and drove to the hoop on a handful of occasions. He added 7 rebs and 2 assists. This effort made him the MVP for the game and he was awarded a plaque by Jerry Colangelo. Hopefully, this gives Boogie a confidence boost and he starts to consistently produce. His outside scoring, as well as Drew's, Ethan's and Isaiah's are key to competing with teams like Arizona, ucla and Gonzaga. The inside game is solid with Chevez, Mobley and Morgan, however, today there were two many poorly executed entry passes into the bigs that resulted in TOs.
Drew was pressing and had 4 of SCs 13 TOs. Other than that he played great, scoring 14 pts, with 8 rebs and 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He knew from the get-go that he had to score and he didn't hesitate to try to do so.
Chevez was efficient getting 13 pts on 4-7 FGs and an amazing 5-6 FTs! He added 8 rebs and 1 assist. He carried us for stretches in the first half until others could get untracked.
Mobley was too hesitant to look for his shot in the first half, passing up several catch and shoot opportunities, When he did shoot the 3s, he was 2-3 and looked comfortable shooting them with his always perfect form.
Ethan had a good game with 3 made 3's and a scoring drive for 11 pts. He stayed under control and had 2 assists and no TOs and only 1 PF.
Josh scored a bucket on a dunk and grabbed 2 boards in his 13 minutes on the court.
White played 12 scoreless minutes, missing both of his shot attempts, but had 3 rebs and an assist.
Reese played 11 minutes, missed his 1 shot and had 2 rebs.
Kobe played 1 minute at the end of the half and registered no stats.
This game was very ugly in the first half and other than Drew no one really was aggessive with their offense. The second half was a different story, there must have been a good half-time speech from Andy, or more likely a tongue lashing from Capko.
On this road trip, the first leg of the mission was accomplished with a 67-53 defeat of the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, and SC remains undefeated at 12-0, the most wins in the nation. Part 2 of the trip is a so-called 'neutral site' game in Oklahoma City with the Oklahoma State Cowboys. If SC wins this game, they really should be credited with a true road victory as OSU's campus in Stillwater is less than 1 hr away. This will definitely be a home game for the Cowboys, as SC will probably have less than the couple hundred fans they had in Phoenix.
Expect a tougher game against OSU (69 NET, compared to 141 for Georgia Tech). The Cowboys come into the game with a 7-4 record (4-3 home, 1-0 away, 2-1 neutral), after losing to Houston in the Hoops Hype XL classic in Fort Worth, TX. They are led in scoring by Avery Anderson at 12.9 ppg (47% FG, 36% 3FG, 71% FT) and Bryce Williams at 11.4 ppg (45% FG, 29% 3FG, 80% FT). Three players (Likekele, Cisse and Moncrieffe) lead in rebounding at 5.7/game. Anderson leads with 2.0 steals/game and Boone and Cisse average 2.0 blocks/game.
Once this road trip concludes, SC will return to Pac-12 conference games, starting with ASU on 12/30 at Galen Center. Get out and support the team! Fight on!
