after watching the highlights of last nights game

[chinngiskhaan]

There are a few things that seem clear to me.

1. Carlson has become the best version of his college basketball self. He did things I have never seen him do, and he did them with strength and confidence. Contested threes, pick and roll, driving for a dunk, strong post-ups, and even slipping screens for dunks.

2. Trading Battin for Lovering was HUGE. Lovering isn’t great, but he isn’t useless, and Battin was oftentimes completely useless. Having Lovering out there is a big help to Carlson.

3. The amount of experience on this team means a lot. Last year this team would have fallen apart down 10 and away from home.

[FtheY]

Was the second game I’ve watched this year. I don’t think I caught a single game since Rylan Jones helped beat BYU his freshman season. Was tired of the endless Coach K transfers and poor development of good recruits. Smith has come in, which I was optimistic for, but I just couldn’t get behind yet another rebuild. Also, I’ve gone all in on football as sports consumes so much time and I just don’t have that anymore.

However. I might be watching some more basketball this year. We play with effort. We have some guys that can pick up scoring of Carlson is off. But man, Carlson had himself a game last night. Dude looked the part, and I agree, did so with confidence.

Best part about Carlson last night? He went up strong for his dunks. You’re the big man, get up there with strength because you’re going to get fouled. That’s more than Gobert ever did for the Jazz, which was my biggest complaint about him – and I’m a Gobert fan.

Really enjoyed the game last night.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Good observations chin and FtheY. I’m with you. After being a huge Ute BB fan for 30 years I lost interest and quit watching. Past teams seem lost on offense and play like robots. No confidence and continuity.

Last night I saw a team that wanted to win. Carlson took charge and led them to victory. This team has experience and leadership. They look more like a team with roles instead of individuals. I can’t wait for the Houston game today at 2:30 to see how they stack up with future conference foes.

[Staples]

Smith also made some excellent adjustments at half-time, particularly on defense. Wake Forest torched us in the first half so he switched things up and went with a variety of zone looks. Completely took Wake out of their offensive flow. They still hit some shots but nothing was coming easy.

[Omaha]

^^^^^THIS.

I can’t remember the last time when I felt like we outcoached an opponent! Granted the players made it happen, but Wake struggled mightily when they had to initiate their offense near half court each possession.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I agree with coaching. Coach K never made adjustments and the players never knew what their roles were. That’s what made Majerus so good. Lots of in game adjustments and every player on the team knew exactly what their role was.

[utefansince79]

Most of the Deacon 3-pt attempts after halftime were rushed to avoid the oncoming defender or well beyond NBA range. Made the difference.