In the first matchup he was mostly playing center, expended a lot of energy defending inside which took a toll on him offensively and then he got into foul trouble. In this one he was mostly playing the four but still struggled to get open looks. His defender played up on him and he wasn’t able to get by him. He did have a few good looks off of ball movement which he missed. I have to think that defending a bigger player again wore him down and affected his shooting, but that’s just speculation. Against most teams he can shoot over his defender any time he wants, but it’s different when UNC is always playing two 6’10 guys and Matt isn’t quick enough to take them off the dribble. I will say that I thought he rebounded pretty well (don’t know what his numbers are, just my feeling from watching the game).
Have to disagree with you on this one. I thought Williams had a great game going against that giant front line, he was the lone bright spot for me (though Steward played well in spots too). He didn’t just score on lobs, he had a nice back to the basket spin move early on, sealed Bacot and received a tough entry pass for a dunk and one shortly after, and had another post move in garbage time. Those are just the plays that I can remember (to the extent that I want to even think about this game). He also hit his free throws which was a huge problem in the GT game. He certainly needs to improve defensively but I was really encouraged by his play as it gave me something to look forward to next season.
As I watched this game the skill and sloppiness our players had just didn't look like we had starters out on the court.No toughness or leadership stood out.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
We had trouble against every opponent that was big and physical, and tonight’s opponent certainly qualified. I wonder if Hurt’s draft stock dropped this game. He was matched up with someone he couldn’t easily shoot over pretty much all night long, and he proved he couldn’t drive on them effectively, either. Every defender he might face in the NBA, will be his size or larger with a lot more lateral quickness. Matt can shoot in the open or when loosely guarded, but not otherwise. I just wonder who would risk that his overall skill set translates.
Hard way to have to end a frustrating regular season. The only game we haven’t been competitive in in acc play. Not really looking forward to acc tourney. Not even sure we will beat BC, but I am sure of one thing. I am gonna pull like crazy for our Bluedevils next week. One game at a time. I’ve seen a lot of crazy things happen before.
We are a baseball school.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide