RMU played their best game of the year and came away with a dominating 71-54 win over UL-Monroe. Thoughts:
-UL-Monroe... not a bad team. Beat a good UAB team and took Florida to over time. I was surprised by how well RMU handled them. The zone created a ton of havoc and the Warhawks never really had an answer for it. RMU forced 12 steals and 15 total turnovers.
-The Colonials brought a lot of energy into the game. Why? How about a completely new starting five to try and send a message to some of the guys. For the first time all year, Elijah Minnie and Lucky Jones did not start. The starting 5 was: Kavon-Reed-Appolon-Tate-Bennett and they played well. They forced a ton of turnovers and it propelled RMU to an early lead.
-The bench responded too. Lucky didn't shoot too well but still finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds. He's rebounding really well.
-Rodney Pryor, who started yesterday, ruined some dude's thanksgivings by grilling three's in everybody's face. He was unreal. He had 16 second half points and 22 overall on 8-9 shooting and 4-4 from three. The nice thing about Rodney is his length and the way he uses it. He doesn't have the quickest release ever but at 6-5 (with a wingspan higher than that) he has a high release point that allows him to hit tough shots.
-Overall the ball moved just a lot better today. EXAMPLE: The first possession of the game saw a lot of weaves, set screens, off ball movement, etc. Bennett has the ball on the wing, hands it off to Marcquise Reed and sets a screen. No one stepped up on Reed and he drained a three. RMU finally looked like a team that is gelling.
-Speaking of Bennett, he had an... odd game. I liked a lot of the things he's done the past two games but he will also do a few things that makes you scratch your head. He's shown a nice baby hook at the rim and is rebounding well. Then, he'll take 15 foot baseline fadeaway jumpers and you just scratch your head a bit. Anyway, a step in the right direction for sure.
-Kavon played much more settled today and hit a three! In fact, it was the only shot he hit (1-4 shooting).
-RMU has one of the best steal percentages in basketball. I love the zone. We are seeing how effective it can be when they make shots and get set in the base defense.
-That's really all I have for now. Hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend and happy thanksgiving!
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella
-UL-Monroe... not a bad team. Beat a good UAB team and took Florida to over time. I was surprised by how well RMU handled them. The zone created a ton of havoc and the Warhawks never really had an answer for it. RMU forced 12 steals and 15 total turnovers.
-The Colonials brought a lot of energy into the game. Why? How about a completely new starting five to try and send a message to some of the guys. For the first time all year, Elijah Minnie and Lucky Jones did not start. The starting 5 was: Kavon-Reed-Appolon-Tate-Bennett and they played well. They forced a ton of turnovers and it propelled RMU to an early lead.
-The bench responded too. Lucky didn't shoot too well but still finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds. He's rebounding really well.
-Rodney Pryor, who started yesterday, ruined some dude's thanksgivings by grilling three's in everybody's face. He was unreal. He had 16 second half points and 22 overall on 8-9 shooting and 4-4 from three. The nice thing about Rodney is his length and the way he uses it. He doesn't have the quickest release ever but at 6-5 (with a wingspan higher than that) he has a high release point that allows him to hit tough shots.
-Overall the ball moved just a lot better today. EXAMPLE: The first possession of the game saw a lot of weaves, set screens, off ball movement, etc. Bennett has the ball on the wing, hands it off to Marcquise Reed and sets a screen. No one stepped up on Reed and he drained a three. RMU finally looked like a team that is gelling.
-Speaking of Bennett, he had an... odd game. I liked a lot of the things he's done the past two games but he will also do a few things that makes you scratch your head. He's shown a nice baby hook at the rim and is rebounding well. Then, he'll take 15 foot baseline fadeaway jumpers and you just scratch your head a bit. Anyway, a step in the right direction for sure.
-Kavon played much more settled today and hit a three! In fact, it was the only shot he hit (1-4 shooting).
-RMU has one of the best steal percentages in basketball. I love the zone. We are seeing how effective it can be when they make shots and get set in the base defense.
-That's really all I have for now. Hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend and happy thanksgiving!
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella
