No illusions of superiority this game or anytime soon.
Terrence Jennings and Mike Marra sitting, watching, absorbing on the bench as the game begins. Whether they learned anything remains to be seen. This was Gardiner-Webb after all, a program with few highlights in its basketball history.
- Jennings in at 13:34 of the first half, Marra in a minute later.
- Gorgui Dieng, five rebounds in first five minutes, 10 at the half. Someone in the front line who actually goes after missed shots.
- Preston Knowles taking good shots, making most of them in a no-pressure game.
- Kyle Kuric the calming presence, letting the game come to him.
- Russ Smith nice addition. Needs more elastic or someone going to be embarrassed.
- Elisha Justice, always hustling, rarely making mistakes, but losing playing time.
A yawn-inspiring, boring game. Not much to be learned from any vantage point, whether in the stands, out on the floor or warming the bench. But definitely something to think about for the starters.
If the light doesn’t go on for TJ his NBA will be Not Balling Anymore.
Did anyone else notice when Pitino pulled Jennings out the game, sat him on the bench, then went over and knelt right in front of him. Rick then began gesturing–teaching, presumably–eyeball to eyeball. But Jennings barely looked at him. He kept looking up at the scoreboard or something. Not paying attention to the coach who is doing his best to reach you is a sad state of affairs. Very telling. What a waste.
Saw that John. We can just about write this one off until Jennings see the light. The odds of that happening are pretty remote.
I did not see that as I had to watch on ESPN3. But I distinctly recall some of the last Denny Crum teams where the ENTIRE starting five would stare into the crowd during a timeout. They were doing what hey wanted regardless of what the team needed or the coach wanted. I knew that was the beginning of the end for Coach Crum. Living now in Durham, NC the contrast between that and the intensity the Duke players stare into Coach K’s eyes during a timeout is dramatic. It tells a lot about why Jennings just doesn’t seem to improve. He has his only game plan (NBA related no doubt)that is not in sync with Pitino.
I really liked the quickness that Russ Smith showed tonight. Very aggressive with the ball, quick first step, excellent floor vision, and some very quick passes down low. I thought Siva was that quick penetrating floor general we always needed but Smith may be even quicker. And his fine shooting from the perimeter didn’t hurt any either!