UW-Long Beach State thoughts

Good test to open the season, nice to see the kids put through a tight game right off the bat. Long Beach was more competitive than just about any Minnesota team Dan Monson ever brought to the Kohl Center.

Thought the defense could have been much tighter -- they shot 48% -- but Long Beach had some pretty athletic players and we stiffened up down the stretch. We'll see more, of course. Perhaps the lack of a seven-foot shot blocker will be a liability for us against teams like that, even if they don't have bona fide post players.

-Like Marcus Landry's shaved head look (this picture is from last year). His old haircut was kind of dorky. His game looked as good as ever, though, as he scored in a variety of ways and at clutch times. Three blocks, too. He played with a lot of emotion and looked like a senior eager to make this team his.


-Because Long Beach wasn't that tall we went with a lineup of four perimeter players quite a bit, with Landry as the only true post. It didn't go all that well. There wasn't sufficient movement, just a lot of truncated drives, and the spacing made the guys easy to guard. Too many possessions ending with rushed shots at the end of the shot clock.


-Krabby's shot looks different, at least that first 3-pointer he hit looked different.


-Jon Leuer does look like he's filled out in a good way. Early on he showed a nice shot fake and penetration, with a good pass to Nankivil, who had it stripped. He also showed a good crossover early in the second half, leading to a layup.


-Jordan Taylor's first 3-point attempt came from way beyond the arc. Not an inappropriate shot, though. He's got a solid build, sort of reminds me of Pop. His second shot, a runner off the backboard, was sort of lucky but he made a really nice move to split the defense and get open. His alley-oop to Landry was just beautiful. Judging from his play Sunday, we shouldn't be nervous when he comes in to spell Pop.



-The Big Ten Network's sideline reporter noted early on that Bo was getting on the team for not fouling enough. The Badgers ended with nine fouls. It's an interesting point; my dad used to tell me that when I'd end a game with one foul that I wasn't playing aggressively enough, and that's what Bo was getting at here.



-Rob Wilson sure wasn't shy about shooting when he got in the game, I like that out of a freshman. Very athletic. Can't see him getting a ton of playing time once Big Ten play starts, though.

-Tim Jarmusz played 19 quiet minutes but seemed to be around the ball on the offensive glass a lot.

-The five on the floor for the finish: Krabby, Landry, Jarmusz, J-Bo, and Pop.

-Andy and I sat a few rows in front of Howard Moore and Greg Gard at the football game Saturday. Didn't seem like there were any recruits with them.



-This new business of the college game having two 3-point lines, one for the dudes and one for the chicks, could potentially be confusing. And imagine what an NBA arena might look like. J-Bo hit a long shot that would have been a 3-pointer last year but was worth one point less Sunday, and took a dribble back to get to the spot. I wonder if that was where he wanted that shot, or if he mistakenly thought it was a 3-pointer. Long Beach's last points came on a shot that would have counted for three points last year