SD SMT exhibition

[THE PRIDE IS BACK!!!]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

There was a lot of sloppy playing amidst some great plays, but it was also hard to tell with whistles being blown at everything. Every little thing was a foul, and a bunch of us were getting sick of all the fouls being called on both teams (there was a combined total of 46 fouls, plus 2 technicals; one on the Mines team, the other on a Mines player.) We were sure the game wouldn't be over until 1AM or better because of how much they stopped the clock. It's hard to judge how either team plays when the refs don't let them play.

I do have to say, there did look to be some D1 talent on Mines' team. I have a feeling some will transfer after this year (a lot of young players on that team), if the academics of Mines doesn't keep them there. Play well, get noticed, bulk up. Be on a mid-major court in two years (after this year and transfer year.)

[Southeast]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

New coach, new players, completely new style of play...... If a rough OOC portion of the season is going to drive you mad you might want to wait until January to tune in. It will be fun to watch the team make progress but I'm expecting a few more clunkers like last night along the way.

[SteelSD]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

Good typo!
Was that 80s boy band called "In Sink"?

Didn't like them as much as INXS... I blame it on the lack of oxygen as high up as my seats are... Hard to believe as a ticket holder for both BB and FB the last 8 years that every reallocation for BB my seats get worse.

Overall sloppy play that comes with the first game, a gaggle of new-to-the-program players, and a new coach. We settled down a bit in the 2nd half and didn't hand the ball over at the rate of the first half. That combined with Telly putting his team on his back for a stretch allowed us to open up the lead and go from there. I did like what I saw from Wallace and think he is going to be good. He played almost exclusively at the point in the 2nd half over Orris. Severyn actually looked a little better in the 2nd half on offense. Dykman got in the game in the 2nd half but didn't do much of anything.

It looks like the start to the season may be a little rocky, but hopefully these guys can grow into the style of play by conference season.

And I agree with the Pride, the refs were in preseason form as well. I don't agree that there looked like any D1 talent on that team, but can agree to disagree on that. Seriously, their good outside shooter #5 looked like a middle school kid out there...

[JackJD]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

Didn't like them as much as INXS... I blame it on the lack of oxygen as high up as my seats are... Hard to believe as a ticket holder for both BB and FB the last 8 years that every reallocation for BB my seats get worse....

At the risk of causing thread drift -- just a comment on the above. I've heard a few other relatively long-time season tickets holders make the same comment. One told me he was done buying BB season tickets after this season (he's quite a fan so I doubt he'll hold to that). I think what we see happening is significant donors who have not always held season tickets have renewed interest and have re-entered the season-ticket seating competition. Overall, it's a good development for the program. When Frost is renovated, I expect to see the competition for seats to grow. Of course, the plan is to renovate the place so that all of the seats offer good sight lines etc.

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

I have always kind of hated these exhibition games. I've been going to Jacks games since the early '70's. Ok, I scared myself by typing that. Holy cow, I'm getting old! Anyway, I can not remember ever walking out of one games feeling really great about the way it went. They are almost always sloppy, played to evaluate young players to determine redshirts, and are against a team that has no business on the same court but is going to give you everything they have because it is their "Game against the big school". So, hearing all the comments above don't surprise me at all. FYI, I wasn't able to be there.

This season may very well resemble the 2014-15 season when it is all said and done.

The facts are we have a new coach, a new offense, and a bunch of new faces. There is bound to be some good, some bad, and some ugly to start the year as everyone becomes comfortable in these roles.

There is no doubt we have a talented roster but it just remains to be seen how quick they come together in game form and how good that result will be. My gut says that early on it will be pretty erratic but by the time the conference season comes along this team will be pretty darn tough to beat. They will be fun to watch due to their overall athleticism and depth of the bench. These will truly be the running rabbits!

I never get too worried about anything basketball related until the football season is over. It takes them a while to get their "sea legs" on so to speak. The event at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls will be a real good look into where we are at as that will be some very good competition and three days in three games will give them things to work on every day.

Bottom line I think this is going to be a really exciting season.

SUPERBUNNY

[goon]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

The only thing I worried about was orris and king starting at guards. Not a lot of potential offense production from those 2. Don't know enough about orris but king is talented but not the deep threat I like to see from a 2 guard. Hope Gentry is able to play well all year. Need him for the future. The experience will be great for him.

[OldHare]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

The game was a bit disjointed. Remember that Thiesen and Gentry were not on the floor as 2 players who will see their share of playing time. Also, Severyn may have appeared to be out of his element at times as he was spending some time at the post position. Severyn plays good defense and he has an ability to be where the loose ball is found. I would agree that Howell has a strong move inside like Deondre Parks had, but he must have a vision problem that he is not able to see team mates on the floor. Hess should sharpen up on the defense and he will be a possible contributor with the with his 3 point shot that would be part of the offense on the fast break. That appears to be a favorite play on taking the ball inside quick in transition and popping it back for the open 3. Wallace looked very promising in the second half as the point and potential scorer. King plays a very strong defensive/offensive game and he did not try shots that were not in his strong suit which is close the bucket. Remember this is the young man who lifts extraordinary amounts of weight. Flatten played fairly well in first competition in a couple of years. I was happy to see him make a 3 point shot and not get skunked from the field. He is another guy who looks a step slow at times on defense. I am not sure if the captains were ever announced for the team like football, but Telly and Daum were the guys who appear to be ready to lead this group. There are plenty of talented players to be on the floor. The OOC will test the coaches as much as the players.

[OldHare]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

The only thing I worried about was orris and king starting at guards. Not a lot of potential offense production from those 2. Don't know enough about orris but king is talented but not the deep threat I like to see from a 2 guard. Hope Gentry is able to play well all year. Need him for the future. The experience will be great for him.

Gentry will be a big piece in 2016-17 when he is healthy. He may also be the deep threat you want from the guard position not that Wallace will not contribute as a scorer.

[91jack]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

I know that Howell will get better but he didn't do much/anything in this exhibition. I will not count the last two touches because they were in the last 30 seconds of the game and we were running the clock out. He actually had two passes in that position.
I could be off one touch but I think I am correct from what I remember. He touched the ball 11 times during the game.

He had 1 pass- They threw the ball to him at the free throw line and he almost handed it off to a player cutting by him.
He made 1 basket- He drive in and made a layup.
He got fouled 1 time- He made 1 of 2 free throws.
He had 2 turnovers- One was on his other pass attempt and the other was when he was driving to the basket.
He missed 6 shots- One was a 3-pointer but the rest of the time he either drive or had the ball down low and shot and missed. One was an offensive rebound from one of his misses and then another SDSU player rebounded his second miss.

I'm sure he will get better but for some reason I was following him during this game.

I assume that Gentry might be our best guard when he gets healthy.
The best players in this game were arguably Reed, Mike and Lane. The new guys will get better but I don't know if I would put any of them over Lane for #3. It was just good to get out there and paly against somebody else and now they can see what they need to work on.

[22jack]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

Didn't like them as much as INXS... I blame it on the lack of oxygen as high up as my seats are... Hard to believe as a ticket holder for both BB and FB the last 8 years that every reallocation for BB my seats get worse...

I have had season tickets 12 years and they keep getting worse. It really bugs me to see lower level seats empty. I think we should get points for actually using our tickets.

[bigticket1]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

The only thing I worried about was orris and king starting at guards. Not a lot of potential offense production from those 2. Don't know enough about orris but king is talented but not the deep threat I like to see from a 2 guard. Hope Gentry is able to play well all year. Need him for the future. The experience will be great for him.

When TJ was interviewed postgame, it sounded like Gentry is the starter at PG when healthy.

[Southeast]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

I have always kind of hated these exhibition games. I've been going to Jacks games since the early '70's. Ok, I scared myself by typing that. Holy cow, I'm getting old! Anyway, I can not remember ever walking out of one games feeling really great about the way it went. They are almost always sloppy, played to evaluate young players to determine redshirts, and are against a team that has no business on the same court but is going to give you everything they have because it is their "Game against the big school". So, hearing all the comments above don't surprise me at all. FYI, I wasn't able to be there.

This season may very well resemble the 2014-15 season when it is all said and done.

The facts are we have a new coach, a new offense, and a bunch of new faces. There is bound to be some good, some bad, and some ugly to start the year as everyone becomes comfortable in these roles.

There is no doubt we have a talented roster but it just remains to be seen how quick they come together in game form and how good that result will be. My gut says that early on it will be pretty erratic but by the time the conference season comes along this team will be pretty darn tough to beat. They will be fun to watch due to their overall athleticism and depth of the bench. These will truly be the running rabbits!

I never get too worried about anything basketball related until the football season is over. It takes them a while to get their "sea legs" on so to speak. The event at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls will be a real good look into where we are at as that will be some very good competition and three days in three games will give them things to work on every day.

Bottom line I think this is going to be a really exciting season.

SUPERBUNNY

Lots of points I agree with there, especially the one about how D2/NAIA games almost always feel like a "moral loss". They very rarely live up to expectations, even last night with a top-25 level WBB team.

I hope we get our injured PG back soon. I've heard a lot of good things about him and can't wait to see what he can do.

[SoDakJack]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

Exhibition is all about getting guys actual minutes. The score is irrelevant. I'm more concerned that the players and coaches learn each other's tendencies that you can't simulate in practice.

None of these games matter in the big picture other than playing time. Save your criticism of this team until they play together for awhile and we get into the conference season.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: SD SMT exhibition



Just kidding! I'm optimistic about this year's team. Historically, the team who has the POY has the best shot at the regular and conference tourney championships, so I like our chances. IMO, if Telly plays up to potential we could have 2 POY caliber players on this team. I like our chances.

There will be bumps in the road.

I am skeptical that Gentry will make a huge difference, but time will tell. George and Deondre were both 6'1 and they looked undersized. IMO, at 5'10" Gentry is small for a DI basketball player, length and height can make up for a lot of mistakes on a basketball court. One reason Daum is so good is that he can scratch his kneecaps without bending over - he has to have some of the longest arms in the conference.

It is super annoying that longstanding ticket holders keep getting pushed back for check writers that show up for 2-3 games a year. Financially, its awesome for the Athletic Department, as it creates an arms race type of scenario where people have to max out donations to get the best seat they can afford. I suspect the larger donations required for club seats in the football stadium have dramatically impacted priority points for basketball tickets. I would guess there are some people who realized they were pot-committed after making football donations, so bought basketballs season tickets because they figured out they could get pretty good seats for not a lot more money, relatively speaking. I'm making a lot of assumptions, but it seems logical.

[OldHare]

Re: SD SMT exhibition

I would withhold some judgement about Gentry's height. There have been many D1 players that were not tall enough. The first one I saw was in 1988 regionals in Lincoln when Kansas had Danny Manning bring the ball up court because the 5'6" type guard kept stealing the ball from the Kansas guards. The short guy can create the mistakes. Also, the comparison to Parks and Marshall might also include that Gentry could be another scoring threat from deep. Overall, it appears there is a fair collection of talent on this team and it is early enough for everyone to be optimistic about the coming year.
I have been getting to the games a bit earlier since it takes more time to get all the way up to my seat. I like the idea that we could gather some priority points for attendance. That would be a way for the guys who only get to a few games to gift those good seats to someone that does not normally attend or he would be pushed up.