No one talking about it yet but we do have our first men’s basketball game tonight against San Jose State at 7PM in the Hunty. (our previous games were exhibition)
Hope to see a lot of us there to open the Alex Jensen era.
And the crowd of 9 went wild! Joking aside, good luck to Alex and the runnin’ utes. I think Dawes is the only one I recognize from last year - whole new team. Could be top 10! Could be NIT! Could be CBI! All the possibilities!
You forgot to mention could be a very bumpy ride!
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I expect Utah to struggle mightily. But I think they will put off a surprise or two. And I have no doubt they will play hard.
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Judging from first few exhibitions (3 point home loss to Nevada and blown out at Oregon), more athleticism than in the past, not a lot of height, and turnover prone.
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This team is going to struggle mightily in conference play. Obviously, they’re going to get better, but watching tonight—yikes.
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What happened to Jahki Howard?
Rough impressions on the beginning of the Jensen era:
- Traore has the green light from 3, looks like a nice SF at 6-6 / 220, well rounded. Best player tonight.
- Guards McHenry and Brown are proven scorers at the D1 level. Seem to compliment each other. 6-2 and 6-3, versatile, Brown has serious bounce.
- Patrick can shoot from deep.
- Sanders at 6-8 / 230 is a true FR, but looks committed to being a frontcourt workhorse.
First game, a few guys have emerged, need others to find their roles. Long way to go, hope with coaching they can avoid being in the bottom fourth of the league.
Always great to start with a win!
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Yeah, maybe I was a bit harsh earlier. Seemed like SJSU was getting to the rim with ease and Utah was turning the ball over every other possession. Things got cleaned up a bit.
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Looked ragged early, I think we’ll see more of that against teams with scheme and good coaching, especially if Jensen is trying to get even remotely close to the level of detail Majerus taught.
Sanders’ apparent acceptance of a banger role is a good early sign, IMO. He plays bigger than 6-8, love the potential.
Keep them together, coach em like crazy, if we overachieve we could be ok, middle of the pack.
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I hope there is no paywall for this. It’s a good box score.
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Im always a big fan of guys who fill out the box score in other ways than scoring, so I gotta give a shout out to TB’s 8 assists, Don McHenry, all 6’2, 155 of him, and his 9 rebounds, seydou with his 6 Stocks (steals + blocks), and Sanders with his 3 stocks.
Getting James Okonkwo and eventually Ibi Traore will help the depth in the front court. Hopefully Jakhi can play soon.
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In looking at the box score posted above, 50% from the field, 40% from 3, both great stats, and 63%(!) from the line. From those who saw, do we have another team that has trouble at the line?
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Hopefully there are some big bodies who will be able to help at some point. Right now the small guards get pushed down low & or get beat off the dribble & there is no one to guard the rim. And rebounding is a problem.
Just a thought but perhaps the athletic department’s hard at work marketing department could have produced a single sheet of paper or maybe even a poster with the names & numbers )& it might be asking too much), pictures of the players.
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Was at the game last night with my grandson and I, too, was encouraged. The only reason I renewed my tix this year is to see if Alex can turn the mess around. It will take a while but I’m encouraged. Pretty solid man to man D for the most part and unselfish play (18 assists on 31 FGs). It was nice to see a lot of the basics again.
Oh, and the PA during time outs was about 85db, or 5db below what they hit us with at RES. Can we get a petition to get them both down to 80 so we can talk to the person in the seat next to us?
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11 turnovers given up and 6 steals. Need to reduce those numbers so that the total is around 11.
18 assists on 31 makes shows good ball movement.
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I’m actually good with any TO total under 10 given the last, oh 20 years or so, we’d have that by halftime more often than I care to count.
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I saw this on another site: Howard went 1-16 and 0-11 on 3s in the two exhibition games. He is struggling in practice.
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At least he’s consistent. haha
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So here we are. The guy who looked like our best prospect for stardom on paper is “struggling in practice” and didn’t even touch the floor in the opener. Meanwhile, a transfer who used to cameo for a solid Big Ten program suddenly looks like the star of the show, bailing us out when things got wobbly.
The veteran guards seem crafty, unselfish, can score or dish depending on the moment. Effective guard line being indispensable in college ball.
The freshmen might be an early-impact surprise. The international pro can shoot and looks like he’s been around the block already.
Our lone returner did exactly what he does — another near double-double while throwing his weight around in a contact sport.
San Jose State is not a formidable program. But a perfect opening game. Experienced coach and a DI program that pushed back.
Better than a mixed bag — a bag with some real upside rattling inside. There’s reason to hope. Que sera, sera. Such is life in November hoops.
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