Things I saw Georgia State

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Defense, defense and more defense. Man, this group gets after you on defense. Georgia State can guard too and we experienced a less than stellar offensive night, but or defense was air tight on the perimeter. 

Also, rebounding was improved. The posts still have to pick it up, Smith and Spencer combined for 5! But thankfully almost every wing player had 5 each with Heron leading the team with 8. 

Dunnans was back to his old self, filling in the gaps, a few of everything.  That was good to see and a good sign going forward  

Speaking of good signs going forward, Harper does not play like a freshman. He took over a portion of each half when it was needed and played great defense as well. 

Brown and Heron never really got in rhythm, but Purifoy had a solid game and didn't just settle for jumpers. 

Spencer and Smith both stayed out of foul trouble for the most part and we had a comfortable win over a likely NCAA tourney team. 

This was not a display of clean offense, or high level execution, but it was a display of this groups grit and composure. Scoring 80 on an off night and playing that kind of defense is a great recipe.

 

Harper was the best player on the floor tonight. McLemore quietly had a nice game. While Heron didn't finish on a few drives, it is still good to see his aggressiveness towards the rim. Also want to give the backup PG some credit, Johnson provided quality depth behind Harper. 

Did I mention the perimeter defense was good?

I like this team. This will be a fun season. 

 

 

[AU64 10,122]

Thanks for the analysis. I had heard about our defensive deficiencies in previous discussions but I thought the defense did okay .

The shooting was a bit disappointing as everyone seemed off but the team looks pretty sharp for an early season game as far as ballhandling and such . They looked a little ragtag at times but overall I thought it was a good performance other than some fouls.

[jared52 4,354]

The shooting was off because AU took a lot of tough shots, and deep shots, that weren't good decisions. They hit plenty when they had decent looks. What I liked the most was that we seem to truely have 3-4 guys who can put up big points on any night. We've seen Brown, now Harper. I expect Purifoy to get big numbers occasionally as well. It just depend S on the match up. 

Lastly, just to be the grammar Nazi, Dunans last name has 2 N's, not 3. Seems a lot of folks here think that.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Our sloppiness and poor shooting percentage was due in part to the defense that Ga St played. They get after it on defense. I knew they would be on us early, and our youth would show, the question coming into this match upwas what would our intensity look like. This group answered the bell. Harper and Johnson really impressed, and Purifoy was one free throw away from a 20 point night. 

One additional thought, Brown needs more shot attempts. Shooters need shots, there's no way around it. Many of our wings, who slash to the basket, don't need 10 attempts, but Brown does. 

[Tiger 8,818]

We played pretty well. One complaint I have is that sometimes we don't run a set against a zone and there seems to be a lot of confusion and just dribbling in place with everyone standing around while the shot clock dwindles leading into a bad shot. It's not as common as it was the last few years though.

 

Jared Harper is going to lead our team to some massive success IMO. He may never put up huge stats but I like the way he's running our team.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Tiger

[gravejd 3,270]

Really great win, hard to say how good these teams are early in the season but like North FL I expect GA State to win more games then they lose this year. They have some talented players and play really hard for their coach. I won't be able to watch the second half until tonight but one thing that stood out to me in the first half was a couple of really good inside moves made by Spencer that he scored on. I'm pretty sure he followed up those good moves and scores by missing a wide open dunk...but never the less it shows he is making some improvements on his inside game and that is awesome to see. Looking forward to watching the second half tonight and seeing how we pulled away. The fact that we shot so badly in the first half and still had the lead is very encouraging. Trying to stay grounded but starting to really like this team!

[gravejd 3,270]

on a side note, i really hope the fans start showing up better. I know it was a late Monday night game but arena was maybe half full. 

[AU64 10,122]

16 minutes ago, gravejd said:

on a side note, i really hope the fans start showing up better. I know it was a late Monday night game but arena was maybe half full. 

It was announced as a sellout .....all the tickets sold.....so guess that meant that fans who don't live close to AU just watched on TV.....late game, working night, etc....Weekend games should be better.

[JFDTiger80 790]

I just read through the game thread and feel free to correct me, but it seems like we are a very poor free throw shooting team. Hope they get better. That may kill us in important games. 

[AU64 10,122]

45 minutes ago, JFDTiger80 said:

I just read through the game thread and feel free to correct me, but it seems like we are a very poor free throw shooting team. Hope they get better. That may kill us in important games. 

Hey man.....that's Auburn.....can't remember when we had a team that could shoot as much as 70 % as a team.   And as you note, over the years that has cost us a large number of close games.    BUT....we can hope for better.  

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Some stats from the Game

Matchup
FG Made-Attempted	22-60	25-53
Field Goal %	36.7	47.2
3PT Made-Attempted	5-23	7-21
Three Point %	21.7	33.3
FT Made-Attempted	16-24	26-39
Free Throw %	66.7	66.7
Total Rebounds	35	39
Offensive Rebounds	12	10
Defensive Rebounds	23	29
Assists	9	13
Steals	8	7
Blocks	3	6
Total Turnovers	18	16
Personal Fouls	31	23
Technical Fouls	0	0

Our FT's sucked in first half but as players warmed up we actually shot a good percentage in second half. There were points where other team got O rebounds in a group but on the whole we held our own.  Actually had a slight lead on Georgia State in Rebounds. We got blocked shots from Spencer , Smith , and Dunans and we had a lot of altered shots. We played at a frenetic pace as did Georgia State which led to Turnovers on both sides. With our lack of size we have to play this way and take the good with the bad.

Harper was great ball handling, find the open man, and hit key 3 point shots when we really needed them. Danjel got in foul trouble in 1st half and looked disjointed he was a totally different player in second half. Scoring, rebounding, playing great D he was a different player. Dunans as described above did a little bit of everything and he did them all well. D, Slam Dunks behind the back assist to Spencer for a Dunk, blocked shots.  

This team is going to be fun how good I don't know but with the kind of effort I saw across the board I am looking forward to the rest of the season.          

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by AuburnNTexas

[gravejd 3,270]

1 hour ago, JFDTiger80 said:

I just read through the game thread and feel free to correct me, but it seems like we are a very poor free throw shooting team. Hope they get better. That may kill us in important games. 

We aren't good at it that is for sure. What gets me are the guys that are good at shooting that still seem to struggle with free throws. BUT i'm thinking THIS is the year where we start to hit them. LaRon is the only weak link in that area that i see on the team. Spencer actually looked pretty good shooting a couple in the first half. It is kinda funny how no matter the coach, players, or building we always struggle with free throws

 

[mustache eagle 2,397]

I was a little surprised by the stats.

they were not necessarily stellar across the board, but there really isn't a horrific stat either.  We outrebounded them even though they had the size.  Shooting percentages were ok.  We "won" the turnover and foul battle.  Nobody fouled out.  We almost had 10 guys with double figure minutes.  Mclemore had 5 boards in 8 minutes.  I thought he was the most aggressive going after rebounds in his limited time.  The dude has some hops.

i also like Harper, but johnson had 5 assists in only 13 minutes with only 1 TO.  Will be interesting if pearl ever plays johnson and Harper at the same time. 

btw, I see Harper listed on ESPN as 5'10" and johnson at 6' ... that can't possibly be accurate can it?

Edited November 15, 2016 by mustache eagle

[AU64 10,122]

1 minute ago, mustache eagle said:

I was a little surprised by the stats.

they were not necessarily stellar across the board, but there really isn't a horrific stat either.  We outrebounded them even though they had the size.  Shooting percentages were ok.  We "won" the turnover and foul battle.  Nobody fouled out.  We almost had 10 guys with double figure minutes.  Mclemore had 5 boards in 8 minutes.  I thought he was the most aggressive going after rebounds in his limited time.  The dude has some hops.

i also like Harper, but johnson had 5 assists in only 13 minutes with only 1 TO.  Will be interesting if pearl ever plays johnson and Harper at the same time. 

btw, I see Harper listed on ESPN as 5'10" and johnson at 6' ... that can't possibly be accurate can it?

Harper could be as tall as 5'10 .     ......quick little dude with a basketball.....good PG already.

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

1 hour ago, gravejd said:

We aren't good at it that is for sure. What gets me are the guys that are good at shooting that still seem to struggle with free throws. BUT i'm thinking THIS is the year where we start to hit them. LaRon is the only weak link in that area that i see on the team. Spencer actually looked pretty good shooting a couple in the first half. It is kinda funny how no matter the coach, players, or building we always struggle with free throws

 

While we only shot  FT's 67% for the game we hit over 80% in the second half.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

31 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

I was a little surprised by the stats.

they were not necessarily stellar across the board, but there really isn't a horrific stat either.  We outrebounded them even though they had the size.  Shooting percentages were ok.  We "won" the turnover and foul battle.  Nobody fouled out.  We almost had 10 guys with double figure minutes.  Mclemore had 5 boards in 8 minutes.  I thought he was the most aggressive going after rebounds in his limited time.  The dude has some hops.

i also like Harper, but johnson had 5 assists in only 13 minutes with only 1 TO.  Will be interesting if pearl ever plays johnson and Harper at the same time. 

btw, I see Harper listed on ESPN as 5'10" and johnson at 6' ... that can't possibly be accurate can it?

We out rebounded them, but they were similar in size to us. Also, one of their primary post players was in foul trouble most of the game. Spencer and Smith have to be better. Often times attempting to block a shot takes them out of rebounding position. Have to improve this here. 

 

I doubt we see see much of shaper and Johnson at the same time considering how deep we are at the wings. 

Johnson is a quality back up, but Harper showed that he can switch gears from fasciltator to scorer if needed. 

By the way, this is the first time Bruce has been 2-0 at Auburn, and like the first time we have been 2-0 in six years I think. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

17 minutes ago, JwgreDeux said:

We out rebounded them, but they were similar in size to us. Also, one of their primary post players was in foul trouble most of the game. Spencer and Smith have to be better. Often times attempting to block a shot takes them out of rebounding position. Have to improve this here. 

 

I doubt we see see much of shaper and Johnson at the same time considering how deep we are at the wings. 

Johnson is a quality back up, but Harper showed that he can switch gears from fasciltator to scorer if needed. 

By the way, this is the first time Bruce has been 2-0 at Auburn, and like the first time we have been 2-0 in six years I think. 

Going from having no real PG last year to having Harper this year with a really solid Johnson as a backup makes us a much better team than last year. That is not counting the new players like Herron, Purifoy, and McLemore.  The one player I miss the most from last year is Harris as we could use him at PF and play the other players at their ideal positions.

[tombigbeetiger 223]

8 hours ago, Tiger said:

We played pretty well. One complaint I have is that sometimes we don't run a set against a zone and there seems to be a lot of confusion and just dribbling in place with everyone standing around while the shot clock dwindles leading into a bad shot. It's not as common as it was the last few years though.

 

Jared Harper is going to lead our team to some massive success IMO. He may never put up huge stats but I like the way he's running our team.

with harper,brown,purifoy, and lang, won't be many teams stick to a zone for long

[WeagleAU 594]

5 hours ago, JFDTiger80 said:

I just read through the game thread and feel free to correct me, but it seems like we are a very poor free throw shooting team. Hope they get better. That may kill us in important games. 

I was at the game and yes from what I saw much work needs to be done at the free throw line.  You're right, we won't be able to win many close games down to the wire without making free throws.

[mustache eagle 2,397]

2 hours ago, JwgreDeux said:

We out rebounded them, but they were similar in size to us. Also, one of their primary post players was in foul trouble most of the game. Spencer and Smith have to be better. Often times attempting to block a shot takes them out of rebounding position. Have to improve this here. 

 

I doubt we see see much of shaper and Johnson at the same time considering how deep we are at the wings. 

Johnson is a quality back up, but Harper showed that he can switch gears from fasciltator to scorer if needed. 

By the way, this is the first time Bruce has been 2-0 at Auburn, and like the first time we have been 2-0 in six years I think. 

I did not look at their lineup but thought someone mentioned they had 2 guys bigger than us down low.  My prediction was we would get their guys in foul trouble with our drives to the basket by our forwards.  I think that is where the early fouls came from, but I could be wrong.

i agree with the fouls on the blocks.  All we have to do is block the shot, not hit it to Opelika.

my comment about the 2 PGs was simply Harper shooting like a shooting guard and johnson providing all the dishes.

harper was great in d

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Our wings did attack and cause some fouls, but their bigs picked up a couple of bad fouls on a moving screen and while trying to post up. Our wings attacking will need to be a tactic we use to combat the other teams size all season. 

Regarding the zone offense. I actually prefer Pearls approach to let them have a more free flow to the offense. It will improve game by game with chemistry. Running a set, allows the zone to get setup and that is when it is most effective. I believe we will see some zone in almost every game as few teams are deep enough to guard all of our wings in man for a full game. 

I understand the thought of putting Johnson in with Harper, but Harper would not be as effective of a scorer from the 2 spot. Different skill set, movement without the ball, guarded by a bigger man, more confined options. Both are true points, we are in good shape there. 

[tigeraddikt 1,600]

Anybody notice how refs are cracking down on travelling so far this season in NCAAB? Tons of travelling violations called in the games I have watched so far, not just AU games.

[AU64 10,122]

6 hours ago, tigeraddikt said:

Anybody notice how refs are cracking down on travelling so far this season in NCAAB? Tons of travelling violations called in the games I have watched so far, not just AU games.

Last night.....comment during the Duke vs Kansas game.....and some calls on guys taking a quick first step.....

Seems all the way around, we are going to see either more offense....or more foul shooting.   No more of the slap and grab defense we saw a few years ago.....and one talking head questioned the wisdom of playing man to man defenses as being a good way to get into foul trouble.