Hoops Strenghts and Weaknesses Post Rockhurst

Granted, this was not a quality opponent, but I think there were some encouraging things to take away from tonight’s game.

Strengths

1. Bam Bam looked really good. He appeared to be a natural, smooth low post scorer, and he was a very aggressive rebounder.

2.Tory Jackson looked very comfortable playing college basketball. He did not show the timidity I expected to see from a freshmen point guard. He is very athletic and played very under control.

3. Russell Carter’s ball-hawking defense. At several point in the first half, he attempted to jump a pass, and he was successful in disrupting the offenses rhythm. Then, he finally swiped one in the second half and threw down a dunk.

4. Defensive fundamentals! The Irish did a good job, particularly in the first ten minutes, of moving their feet and using their hands to disrupt passing lanes. For once, ND looked like a well disciplined team.

5. The Irish rebounded very aggressively, particularly Rob Kurz and Bam Bam.

6. KMac and Tory Jackson pushed the ball up the court. Aggressive point guard play has been lacking for awhile now.

Weaknesses

1. I noticed several concentration lapses tonight. At times they came in the form of lazy passes and poor shot selection, but most notably was Carter’s five second violation.

2. On several occasions, ND lost the open man against their zone defense. The man-to-man looked very good, but the zone needs some work. I expect to see this be an area of focus against Belarmine.

3. According to Jack Nolan, ESPN’s contract with the Big East will only allow ND to broadcast one non-televised, non-conference game via the internet this year. This is yet another reason that conference affiliations suck. They force schools to forfeit their media sovereignty.