1. The media was not given a box score so there will be no +/- posted here.
2. Great tribute before the game to Pep Saul's passing.
3. When Powell went down at the game's beginning as he was limping off the court he screamed an obscenity as he was clearly upset. Knew at that time we weren't going to see him again, at least not in the game. Not sure why he was prevented from coming to the bench later when he was able.
4. The players noted that Powell spoke to the team at halftime to encourage them. That's what a leader does.
5. I thought Willard did not do a very good job substituting in the first half. He again went early with mass substitutions all at once and then seemed to sub a player in and out at most every stoppage of play causing a loss of offensive cohesion.
I was not the only person who felt that way as Willard himself voiced the very same opinion in the post game re the first half.
Fortunately IMO he did a much better job in the second half giving his best player more minutes while also finding a few spots to give them a rest.
6. The loss of offensive cohesion was exacerbated by poor shot selection, settling for long jump shots and poor ball movement resulting in too much one on one play.
7. To a man in the post game all 4 players (Gill, Q, Mamu and Reynolds) noted they were stunned when told that Powell wasn't coming back in and it took them the rest of the half to calm down and learn to play without their leader.
8. I didn't notice it but Willard said that Obiagu was bothered by his ankle injury from the previous game. Take that as you wish.
9. Rhoden again played better than Cale, although he still plays a little too fast making a couple of questionable decisions. You live with that though because his game is getting better before our very eyes. The result, Cale 18 minutes, Rhoden 27.
10. Asked Reynolds how does it feel to start off as a walk on in year 1, become a spot player and defensive specialist in year 2 and now become a quality rotational player in year 3. His response was a simple one, hard work and a belief in himself that he can play at this level.
I then asked him how much his playing in the summer league helped and he said a lot. The competition allowed him to work on individual facets of his game and helped his confidence.
11. How important was the last minute of the first half for the Hall? Very if you ask me.
SHU was reeling as Stony Brook hit 3 shots in a row to take their biggest lead of the game, 33-27. Then in the final 54 seconds the Hall scored 4 points including a buzzer beating slam by Mamu off of an inbound feed. A beautifully set up inbound play by Willard as Mamu faked setting a screen and instead went hard to the basket to accept the inbound pass.
12. The game was still in doubt when Q hit what I believe was the biggest shot of the game, a three pointer from the arc giving the Hall a semi comfortable 7 point lead. From there the Pirates stayed in control eventually pulling out the 17 point victory.
13. Staying with McKnight. I asked him if he felt that he had to lead the team down the stretch with Powell out and was that on his mind. He said "100%. I got a rest around the 8-9 minute mark and I was thinking on the bench when I came back I was going to do whatever it took to win the game. That's why I was so aggressive on offense."
14. Love Mamu. He does so much for the team, but he still has periods where he has to be more aggressive. When you're 6-10 and a couple of feet from the bucket go up strong, don't look to pass it 2 feet to a teammate. He did and the result was a steal and wasted offensive possession.
Unselfishness is fine to a degree. But I would rather see the eye of the tiger in situations like that.
Reminded me of the game winning shot from Reynolds last season vs SJU. Yeah it worked out, but remember, Mamu had a simple layup going to the hole against 6-1 Shamorie Ponds.
15. Major kudos to the crowd. That was as loud as I remember it in the Raft years.
Also nice touch by the students with their Moncreiffe cheer. It got a rise from the Canadian who smiled and waved to the crowd.
16. Back to reality. After Obiagu was perfect from the line Wed he went 0-2 yesterday and looked very bad doing it. 2 knuckleballs.
17. Gill played a superb second half, probably his best prolonged play of his SHU career. Secured his first double/double while being an intimidating defensive force when on the court in the final stanza.
18. With that thought in mind I asked Mamu about playing help defense when Gill roamed and he said that Willard made that a point of emphasis the last couple of days telling Sandro that he wasn't always in the right position to help out against Wagner.
19. To those that still think that Q might be a better fit off the bench for the Pirates, 10 assists to 1 turnover in 2 games, with 4-9 from the arc, 12PPG and his usual stellar defense.
Q is the least of the Hall's concerns and in fact to date it can be reasonably pointed out that Reynolds has clearly outplayed Nelson at the backup PG spot.
20. It was ugly, as you would expect with Powell going down, but Grant Billmeier's words of the offense being ahead of the defense this early proved false as clearly the defense won this particular game.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
2. Great tribute before the game to Pep Saul's passing.
3. When Powell went down at the game's beginning as he was limping off the court he screamed an obscenity as he was clearly upset. Knew at that time we weren't going to see him again, at least not in the game. Not sure why he was prevented from coming to the bench later when he was able.
4. The players noted that Powell spoke to the team at halftime to encourage them. That's what a leader does.
5. I thought Willard did not do a very good job substituting in the first half. He again went early with mass substitutions all at once and then seemed to sub a player in and out at most every stoppage of play causing a loss of offensive cohesion.
I was not the only person who felt that way as Willard himself voiced the very same opinion in the post game re the first half.
Fortunately IMO he did a much better job in the second half giving his best player more minutes while also finding a few spots to give them a rest.
6. The loss of offensive cohesion was exacerbated by poor shot selection, settling for long jump shots and poor ball movement resulting in too much one on one play.
7. To a man in the post game all 4 players (Gill, Q, Mamu and Reynolds) noted they were stunned when told that Powell wasn't coming back in and it took them the rest of the half to calm down and learn to play without their leader.
8. I didn't notice it but Willard said that Obiagu was bothered by his ankle injury from the previous game. Take that as you wish.
9. Rhoden again played better than Cale, although he still plays a little too fast making a couple of questionable decisions. You live with that though because his game is getting better before our very eyes. The result, Cale 18 minutes, Rhoden 27.
10. Asked Reynolds how does it feel to start off as a walk on in year 1, become a spot player and defensive specialist in year 2 and now become a quality rotational player in year 3. His response was a simple one, hard work and a belief in himself that he can play at this level.
I then asked him how much his playing in the summer league helped and he said a lot. The competition allowed him to work on individual facets of his game and helped his confidence.
11. How important was the last minute of the first half for the Hall? Very if you ask me.
SHU was reeling as Stony Brook hit 3 shots in a row to take their biggest lead of the game, 33-27. Then in the final 54 seconds the Hall scored 4 points including a buzzer beating slam by Mamu off of an inbound feed. A beautifully set up inbound play by Willard as Mamu faked setting a screen and instead went hard to the basket to accept the inbound pass.
12. The game was still in doubt when Q hit what I believe was the biggest shot of the game, a three pointer from the arc giving the Hall a semi comfortable 7 point lead. From there the Pirates stayed in control eventually pulling out the 17 point victory.
13. Staying with McKnight. I asked him if he felt that he had to lead the team down the stretch with Powell out and was that on his mind. He said "100%. I got a rest around the 8-9 minute mark and I was thinking on the bench when I came back I was going to do whatever it took to win the game. That's why I was so aggressive on offense."
14. Love Mamu. He does so much for the team, but he still has periods where he has to be more aggressive. When you're 6-10 and a couple of feet from the bucket go up strong, don't look to pass it 2 feet to a teammate. He did and the result was a steal and wasted offensive possession.
Unselfishness is fine to a degree. But I would rather see the eye of the tiger in situations like that.
Reminded me of the game winning shot from Reynolds last season vs SJU. Yeah it worked out, but remember, Mamu had a simple layup going to the hole against 6-1 Shamorie Ponds.
15. Major kudos to the crowd. That was as loud as I remember it in the Raft years.
Also nice touch by the students with their Moncreiffe cheer. It got a rise from the Canadian who smiled and waved to the crowd.
16. Back to reality. After Obiagu was perfect from the line Wed he went 0-2 yesterday and looked very bad doing it. 2 knuckleballs.
17. Gill played a superb second half, probably his best prolonged play of his SHU career. Secured his first double/double while being an intimidating defensive force when on the court in the final stanza.
18. With that thought in mind I asked Mamu about playing help defense when Gill roamed and he said that Willard made that a point of emphasis the last couple of days telling Sandro that he wasn't always in the right position to help out against Wagner.
19. To those that still think that Q might be a better fit off the bench for the Pirates, 10 assists to 1 turnover in 2 games, with 4-9 from the arc, 12PPG and his usual stellar defense.
Q is the least of the Hall's concerns and in fact to date it can be reasonably pointed out that Reynolds has clearly outplayed Nelson at the backup PG spot.
20. It was ugly, as you would expect with Powell going down, but Grant Billmeier's words of the offense being ahead of the defense this early proved false as clearly the defense won this particular game.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
