Welcome to a new feature we’re pretty excited about—let us know if you like it, and we’ll keep doing it. The idea is to give a little bit of in-depth analysis of how every player who got playing time did in a game, after a little reflection and a second look at the game film.
The Starting Five
#2: Eugene Phelps
Phelps was the guy who got the most lip service from his coaches about offseason improvement, and he showed it…on the offensive side of the ball, at least. He was very aggressive inside early, and he finished 5-5 from the field, including a thunderous dunk that brought the house down. The over/under on that for the rest of the year is officially set at ten.
Defensively, he certainly wasn’t what you’d expect out of a guy starting as your paint defender. He got in foul trouble early, and often (and fouled out in the second half); he may have been more effective offensively if he’d been able to stay on the floor longer (at 11 minutes he got half the floor time as the next lowest starter). One of the fouls was ticky-tack, but some were just sloppy; the foul that sent him out of the game was bad, he hooked a Wolf with his knee pretty blatantly. Couldn’t handle Malcolm Campbell, Alaska’s center, in the second half at all. He also failed to close to the perimeter in the second half, something that was obviously an emphasis for the team’s defense. Only pulled down one rebound in the game.
Showed definite improvement overall, though—the effort was there, particularly on offense. As for his defensive struggles, coach Dan Monson said: “Some of that is to be expected because of his height. He’s 6-6, if that, and he’s playing against centers.” Goes to show: you can improve your shot, your rebounding mentality, and your footwork—but you just can’t get taller.
#15: T.J. Robinson
Wondering why T.J. didn’t get pre-season All Big West honors? Or win Freshman of the Year last season? Because he’s a workman who doesn’t dazzle you. In the first half, I jotted down, “Having a quiet game”…for a guy who was leading the team in scoring, with ten first-half points. But it’s true—Robinson isn’t a tomahawk-dunk type, like Phelps, or a player who will hit a fallaway over three defenders, like Anderson—he just goes to his spot and does his work.
He got things started off right by winning the tip, and set the defensive tone early by closing to the three-point line extremely well. Nobody in his jurisdiction even attempted a three in the first half. Seemed more physically tough inside, and did a great job drawing fouls—he converted seven of eleven FTs. Shot just 40% from the field, and had ten of his eleven total points in the first half. That he attempted just two shots in fourteen minutes on the floor in the second half is a good indication of how undisciplined things got—the more T.J. gets the ball, the more you can assume the team is running Monson’s offense (he had 8 shots in the first, with the next-highest Niner taking 5). Did a great job rebounding aggressively, pulling down eleven boards, five of them on offense.
In other words: he showed up, he did his job, he didn’t blow anyone away, but he didn’t make any big mistakes either. He’s T.J. Robinson—it’s what he does.
#21: Larry Anderson
Anderson clearly seems to be settling into his role as a leader on the team—he does the press conference, he talks in the huddle, he directs traffic on the floor. He’s a sophomore, but he’s clearly attacking “leadership” as a skill to improve on like any other basketball ability.
He finished as the team’s leader in points, assists, and steals, and that stat line doesn’t lie. Offensively, his jump shot does look improved, he was 5-8 and 2-3 beyond the arc, including a quick-release with the shot-clock expiring. He knew when to be aggressive, and when to pull up, and only turned the ball over once despite touching it as often as anyone on the team (the team committed 19). Facilitating his teammates, he looked very poised—halfway through the first quarter, he had an open three, but made a great pass to Robinson, who made the bucket and drew a foul from the late defender. On defense, he and Ware’s backcourt pressure was athletic and hassling. His one-on-one pressure at one point forced a Wolf to step back and put his foot out of bounds, turning the ball over.
Anderson was on the floor for 35 minutes, and ran point when Ware was sitting—it’s obvious he’s one of the centerpieces of the team, and it was also obvious why. Was very impressed with his all-business demeanor after the game. Obviously listening to his coach about how crucial it is to play a complete second half, even in a blowout.
#22: Casper Ware
“Casper had one of his better games,” Monson said of his sophomore point guard. “He played a solid floor game overall.” Thanks for doing my work for me, coach.
In all seriousness, the diminutive hustler (who is obviously becoming a fan favorite), did have one of his better games. He got 16 points off of eight shots, knocked down three-of-four beyond the arc, and had six assists and four steals.
Was very aggressive on defense, in the backcourt especially—his athleticism could be a real weapon for the Niners on defense. If you’re wondering whether or not Ware hustled tonight, realize that he pulled down four rebounds (tied for third most on the team with Richardson who’s a foot taller than him), two of them pulled away mid-air from taller Alaska players. His jump shot was a great way to get Alaska off-balance, and his 3-4 three-point shooting is encouraging. Monson didn’t like two of his decisions on the break towards the end of the game, and would probably like to see him commit less than five turnovers from here on out.
#33: Stephan Gilling
Gilling didn’t get off to a good start at all, getting beat inside when he was on defense, and missing his first shots—he appeared to still be something of a streaky shooter. Along with Robinson, though, his ability to close to the perimeter on defense appeared greatly improved. Generally, he made up for not-great shooting (2-6 from three-point line, worst percentage of the four guys who attempted at least three) with great effort. Dove for a ball going out of bounds, drew a foul on a hard Alaska screen—gutty little plays like that, which can really turn a game against a better opponent than LBSU had in their opener.
Not his most efficient game offensively, but a solid hustle effort from him on defense after adjustments took him out of a mismatch—Gilling has great defensive ability, though, and we didn’t get to see much in the opener, mostly because it wasn’t needed.
The Reserves
#3: Greg Plater
Plater didn’t have a great game—not many players off the bench did, combining for just 12 of the team’s 86 points. Plater had eight of the twelve bench points, but he also had five turnovers—it’s obvious Monson likes his defensive intensity, especially around the perimeter, since Plater got 23 minutes, which is starter-esque.
But he wasn’t really in rhythm; despite hitting his first shot, a three, he fumbled the ball out of bounds a minute later. Forced a jump ball early in the second half by tying up an Alaska player in the backcourt. Had eight points on seven shots (3-7 shooting), and three assists.
He certainly displayed his potential on defense, and on offense with the two three’s he did hit, but Plater will need a little more concrete results from that hustle in the future.
#10: Arturas Lazdauskas
Did not have a good game. Fouled out in ten minutes of play, grabbed just two rebounds (both on offense), and couldn’t stop Campbell in the paint. Couldn’t stop him when he was facing the rim, couldn’t stop him with his back to it—not the way he wanted to kick the season off. His first two fouls came from being overly aggressive on pass defense, leaning over an Alaska player to try and deflect a ball. His lone bucket was a nice tip-back of a Gilling miss. Was really a liability defensively—as Monson rightly brought up after, you’d want to see a team defend better against an Alaska squad whose big men don’t exactly match up with some of the teams they’ll be playing in their nonconference schedule.
“Arturas and Gene had, what, ten fouls in twenty minutes?” he asked after the game. “Arturas just never got into the flow.”
#14: Mike Vantrimpont
Here’s Vantrimpont’s line: zero shots, zero rebounds, zero assists, and zero blocks in four minutes of garbage time. But, nonetheless, we’re devoting a paragraph to his performance, and, nonetheless, he appeared to already have a fan following. Why is this? This is because Vantrimpont is seven-foot, and seven-foot tall basketball players have this effect on college students.
Was actually surprised by how well he ran—he moved pretty quickly up and down the court, and looked natural moving around. If you’ve seen a lot of seven-foot tall players, you know that’s a big first step. However, posted up in the middle against Campbell and the other Alaska interior players, Vantrimpont looked like seaweek in an aquarium exhibit—he was just swaying back and forth in whatever direction the water was moving. He’s still not strong enough to plant his feet and hold firm—but that’s why he was a redshirt last year, because he’s a project (and at his height, one with a promising upside).
#20: Jerramy King
You can tell how hungry a player is for playing time by the way they act when they’re put on the floor with four minutes left in a blowout. If Saturday was any indication, the freshman King is starving—he didn’t stop sprinting even during timeouts, it seemed. The effort didn’t yield much, he missed his only shot (a long jumper), grabbed one rebound, and committed a foul. He turned the ball over once, then sprinted down the court and stole the ball back. Seems like a guy who pushes everyone else in practice, and can probably be counted on to always burn the rubber off his shoes when he gets in—even if it’s just for a few minutes of garbage time.
#34: Kyle Richardson
If this were ordered by importance, or storyline, or shock factors: Kyle Richardson would be at the top of the list. Monson had talked before the season about the possibility of redshirting him, but because of a lack of depth at the center position, and because of Richardson’s quick development, he opted to put him in the rotation. And boy, did it seem like he was glad he did.
“He did a few nice things down there,” Monson said. “And he’s just gonna get better and better—I do wish we could have redshirted him, because his best basketball is going to be two or three years from now.”
He didn’t look at all comfortable on offense, going 1-5 with the lone conversion a dunk—he attempted a long, ill-advised jump shot that I imagine Monson won’t encourage him to continue trying.
But on defense, he may prove with some quickness to be the answer they need inside—he was the only Niner defender who played with consistency in the paint, against Campbell and the rest of the Wolves. Grabbed four rebounds, and had a great steal (a reacharound grab of an incoming bounce pass) that he then outletted it to Plater downcourt for an easy layup—great play from the freshman.
His presence alone was impressive—when he was in, Alaska stopped trying to go inside. The Wolves fouled him once as he was rebounding. Tremendous upside, and showed on Saturday that the road there might not be all that long.
#50: Andrew Fleming
Fleming was Fleming—five rebounds, three blocks and no points in nine minutes of play. His increased size (he is as buffed up as advertised) was a real bonus, as he drew a foul while rebounding solely because of his width. However, after the foul, he bricked both free throws (that remained a weakness of the team, as they went 17-29). Looked lost on offense, and still kind of jumpy on D—he may be adjusting still to his new weight-room inspired superpowers.
“He played good on defense, but he has to settle down,” said Monson. “But he’s a fifth year player, so you can’t wait for him to do it.”