Hello Followers.
Well, its 38-31 WSU at the half.
And for the first 13 minutes, I thought that I had seen the complete arrival/revival of WSU basketball.
Between the exuberiance of Casto, the cutting and cunning of Motum, and some deft ball movement and playmaking by Klay, we were a balanced machine. And yes, Bone and staff did a GREAT job of coming up with a fantastic early game plan.
On top of that, the traps we were setting out of the match-up zone was taking away Northwestern’s biggest strength–their patience and ability to cut you to death.
Alas, from the 7 minute on, we came back to reality a bit. We rushed some shots, but more importantly, Northwestern started to figure out our trap. And, two crucial missed box outs by Klay and Reggie allowed this to be a single digit game at the half,.
So, what now?
While Northwestern’s offense is going to get better as the game goes on, their defense is NOT going to improve. So, we need to continue to move the ball, drive the CENTER of the lane (WELL coached teams don’t give up the baseline–and NW is no exception), and kick to open shooters.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, we have too many guys going to slack much.
Now, on defense, we need to make shots and throw in some full court ball pressure. We need to mix and match our looks and keep up the intensity.
And we need to rebound.
I’ll be back after the game for a quick round-up.
But before I do, allow me to say that, win or lose, Moos’ decision today was one of the greatest decisions ever. I’ll have more on that too in the coming days.
Twenty minutes until the season can be qualified as a success.
Go do it!
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