That was fun! The hype and the excitement and the hostility were all there and Bruce and company showed once again how elite they are as motivators. It's been a long time since we've brought the intensity for 40 minutes, but it was there all day today and it was a blast to watch. Everybody in the rotation today brought it and produced in the spotlight and I think some of the questions that were creeping in were answered. Answered resoundingly.
Defensively, the plan was to not allow them to beat us from 3 and to not foul at the rim. Our length and playing a lot less help really bothered their shooters. Not just an off night. Despite the ridiculous amount of soft calls at the rim, our guys played vertical the whole game. You could tell it was an emphasis and kids executed. I did not like how many of those were called fouls, but can't waste time worrying about independent variables like officiating. We also did a lot less switching than normal and it was reassuring to see we're capable of that adjustment. We were fantastic defensively and it's nice to know that we have that gear. Hopefully it's a constant come tournament time.
That was about as balanced and dynamic an offensive performance as you will see. Six guys in double figures and they all did it in their own way. When Chad and Tahaad penetrate and finish, we are damn near unstoppable. Johni will almost always get his and at least one of shooters will be making shots. We do sometimes lack slashers driving to the rim. I don't think Bama is great defensively, but it never felt like they could consistently stop us from doing what we wanted. And for the Aden Holloway haters, we absolutely targeted him on defense.
Side note, I am absolutely floored that two sure fire All-Americans in Broome and Sears are so left hand dominant. Great players, but the game should be in a better place. Thought Bama played a little soft with the exception of Diaboute being a dog and Philon giving us fits. Really like both of those kids' game. Alabama overall is a very, very good team and we rolled into their place and pretty much throttled them. This one wasn't as close as the score would indicate. Great game for bragging rights, rankings/seeding, and flexing our muscle in front of the sports world. War Eagle!
Defensively, the plan was to not allow them to beat us from 3 and to not foul at the rim. Our length and playing a lot less help really bothered their shooters. Not just an off night. Despite the ridiculous amount of soft calls at the rim, our guys played vertical the whole game. You could tell it was an emphasis and kids executed. I did not like how many of those were called fouls, but can't waste time worrying about independent variables like officiating. We also did a lot less switching than normal and it was reassuring to see we're capable of that adjustment. We were fantastic defensively and it's nice to know that we have that gear. Hopefully it's a constant come tournament time.
That was about as balanced and dynamic an offensive performance as you will see. Six guys in double figures and they all did it in their own way. When Chad and Tahaad penetrate and finish, we are damn near unstoppable. Johni will almost always get his and at least one of shooters will be making shots. We do sometimes lack slashers driving to the rim. I don't think Bama is great defensively, but it never felt like they could consistently stop us from doing what we wanted. And for the Aden Holloway haters, we absolutely targeted him on defense.
Side note, I am absolutely floored that two sure fire All-Americans in Broome and Sears are so left hand dominant. Great players, but the game should be in a better place. Thought Bama played a little soft with the exception of Diaboute being a dog and Philon giving us fits. Really like both of those kids' game. Alabama overall is a very, very good team and we rolled into their place and pretty much throttled them. This one wasn't as close as the score would indicate. Great game for bragging rights, rankings/seeding, and flexing our muscle in front of the sports world. War Eagle!
