This will only be posted for games I see live.
In no particular order
1. Not buying it.
Sha said he had little reaction to the crowd cheering his name as he took the court as he was so focused he hardly heard them.
2. Not buying it part 2.
In the post game Sha said the St Peter's contest Saturday is no different than any other game to him.
3. The death of isolation ball, Willard style.
To that I can only say thank the lord. Excellent ball and player movement with no particular player being the focus.
4. More NJ games?
Sha noted that why should we bring in out of the area lower tier teams to the Rock when we can play NJ mid majors?
5. Loved the way we started.
Got the ball inside to Samuel twice for easy buckets but then we went away from that. Possibly because Monmouth swarmed inside when the ball was thrown in the paint and possibly because Samuel didn't remain aggressive. A point that Holloway made in the post game when he said he needs Samuel to be more of a force inside.
6. Was he as bad as his stats seemed to indicate.
Well, yes and no. Ndefo struggled mightily on offense. In part according to Holloway because he has been injured and is working himself back into an offensive grove. But if you watched the game closely on the other side of the court he was a menace. Playing with intensity and disrupting the Monmouth offense, including a couple of reaching behind the back of a dribbler deflecting the ball to other Pirates.
7. Flag salute.
New Flag Man. A sophomore who now is running around the cheerleaders with a significantly lighter flag. He had one small issue, there were two cameramen in his way forcing him to alter his route.
8. Wire to wire.
First game and had the lead for 39:19 minutes.
9. Technical difficulties.
The scoreboard was screwed up most of the first half. That delayed the game for about 10 minutes before the refs decided to play on as at least the shot clock was working. That eventually became the reason for the blowout as Monmouth quickly scored when play resumed cutting the SHU lead to 20-15. With Monmouth underneath their own basket and about to make a layup to cut the lead to 3, Richmond stripped the ball from the shooter and that led to 15 straight SHU points. Game, set and match.
10. Where was the big guy?
On the bench in street clothes. Last night despite the final score Myles Foster gave the Hall fits in the paint with his offensive rebounding. He was a thorn in the Hall's side all game long despite having the worst +/- of anyone on the court (-29). Anyone think that the equally physical Alex Yetna wasn't needed to stop the Monmouth big man?
11. They're called FREE throws for a reason.
23-39. Are you kidding me?
12. Staring lineup.
Anyone have Jamir Harris on the court for the opening tip? I certainly didn't.
13. The refs or the Hall?
Probably a little of both. Lots of whistles that slowed down the game. But how much did the intense touch and grab defense by the Hall play into that? I love the defensive intensity but eventually the roster will have to play a little smarter and cut down on the foolish fouls as the schedule revs up.
14. A touch of Tae.
Certainly not in the first half as two quick fouls sent him to the bench. But then the precocious frosh showed his wares in the second period finishing with a near double double in just 16 minutes of play. Just needs to be more efficient from the free throw line and value the ball a little better.
15. Run and gun.
Sure they often were out of control as 20 turnovers will attest to that. But clearly the pace will quicken under Sha as he wants to play fast due to his quality depth and athleticism. Hell, seems like whomever gets the defensive rebound, big men or small, will take the ball up court quickly either by head-manning the pass or dribbling it up court.
16 Respect.
Monmouth's coach King Rice is intense and has his detractors, but don't count Shaheen Holloway among them as he professed his admiration for Rice after the game calling him a big brother.
17. The go to guys?
Eventually in a tight game ideally you want to go to one or two players that you trust late. We might have multiple players who fit that role with the question being is that a good thing or a bad one.
18, Where's the weave?
Probably in Maryland as we saw a far more moderated version of that during the game with a focus of using it to an offensive advantage by cutting back door or feeding the paint instead of just passing it around the perimeter wasting precious time off the shot clock.
19. Backcourt pressure.
Wears out the opposing guards. Causes turnovers. Take a lot of time off the shot clock. SHU's version of 40 minutes of hell.
20. You might call it ugly.
I would use a different word. Ragged but entertaining in the sense that you see the potential down the road.
One W in the books.
