NJIT II

[yotemeal]

Well, we're on the eve of a Highlander visit to the Dome. Revenge is on the mind. We managed to go ice cold to end our last showdown out east (0 for 8 in the final 1:41), resulting in a 76-68 loss. To NJIT's credit, they've won 11 of their last 13 games and come in a hair over .500.

How will boxscores compare?

Will Westbrook again give us 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field (including 6 of 6 from the ft line)?

Will Andreotti be limited to 10 minutes of play despite only two fouls?

Will Louie warm up from a frigidly cold 0-9 performance from the field, including 0-6 from long range? Similarly, will Jake improve on somewhat pedestrian numbers (4-11, 3-9)?

Will Cutler give us another solid performance? (13 pts, 7 boards, 6 assists)

Will Gruis be more involved offensively?

Will we have defensive answers for Wilson and Flores, who combined for 49 points on 18 of 30 from the field, including 7 of 12 from behind the arc?

Despite our ups and downs, I like us down the stretch, and I'm calling an inspired USD win of 12-15 points.

[pierreyote]

N, Y, Y, N, Y, Y, Y

[yotemeal]

Feb 23, 2011 10:47:53 GMT -6 @pierreyote said:

N, Y, Y, N, Y, Y, Y

Answer me honestly. Did you travel into the future and buy a sports almanac? Marty!

[usdlaw]

I disagree with your 4th N, Louie won't go 0-9 again. And Andreotte plays 18 minutes, 4 fouls.

I'll guess Louie leads with 21, Westbrook 20, Thomas with 17 (going 4-6 from long range), Gruis with 14 points, 10 rebounds. Andreotti 3 points, 8 rebounds. Boots 3 points. Cutler 8 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, but 4 turnovers. Bouie 2 points, 4 rebounds. Tecker 4 points.

Wilson and Flores score 40 of the 80 though.

Coyotes win 92 -80.

[Yote 53]

Thomas won't have that many points. He hasn't been shooting at that good of a clip. Gruis will have more than 14 and will be more of a force.

[usdlaw]

I agree Yote 53, just hoping for a late season rally out of him.

[Coyote Fan]

When it comes to the rest of the season it's going to come down to the team as a collective until more than the sum of it's parts. We all know these guys have serious game if they put their mind and heart to it. All I can say is that Gruis is too good to not get the ball a ton. Everything should go through him and work it's way out. These guys have to commit to being great together. They need to really work on passing the ball around more and finding the open guy. If someone is open I don't care where the shot comes from as long as it's not between the three point line and 3 feet in front of it. I would like to see this team make a run at the end of the season. The thing that scares me most is that the Yotes haven't always been the best post season team over the past several years.

[Yote 53]

Nice showing by the Yotes tonight. Came out in the second half went on a run and never looked back.

Looking forward to Saturday night.

[youthbballcoach]

Very solid victory tonight for The Yotes. There were contributors all-around. They established an inside presence early by getting Gruis consistent touches or driving inside. As NJIT began to collapse inside, The Yotes used very crisp and unselfish ball movement. This led to guys getting shots in rhythm. Several USD players moved the ball well tonight. I have to commend Jake Thomas. Not only did he along with Westbrook lead the team in rebounding (9 each), he also led the team in assist with 8. Rather than take forced shots, he decided to hit the open man and did so with glowing results. Cutler, Gruis, Tecker and Krogman also contributed in this way.

Defensively their man-to-man defense was very active and aggressive. They were better able to contest NJIT's perimeter shooters in this defense. Their activity on defense led to a very strong rebounding game. They still need to improve on keeping the ball out of the paint because they haven't anyone to protect the rim. Cutler, Westbrook, Krogman and Tecker did a very solid job of this. All in all the effort was there. As they continue to improve and get a little tougher defensively, they will be as complete as any of the other teams in The GWC.

Boots, Tecker and Andreotti all made positive contributions off the bench. Andreotti picked up so many fouls in such limited time on the court, he kind of ruined his chances for a big game.
The main thing that I saw tonight that needed addressing was understanding time and score situations. They were up 20 with I guess about 4:00 left and were just throwing lobs and rushing up shots, maybe due to NJIT's pressure, but they didn't need to rush. They would've been shooting freethrows the remainder of the game becase NJIT would've been fouling.

All in all I would give The Yotes an A- on this performance. Their insensity matched their talent tonight. A few areas need to be sharpened up, but they played with consistent effort on both ends tonight. If they continue that, they will have to be reckoned with. Good win!

[Coyote Fan]

Passing and rebounding were both very good tonight. USD did what they have been forgetting about for awhile now. Basketball is a much more simply game than it is complicated. USD did a good job on the boards which is a good indication that had their heads and hearts into the game tonight.

Now lets keep this going. Tonights type of performance will hopefully be a trend and not the exception or not an every other game occurance. NJIT has not be dismantled like they were tonight by anyone in the conference to this point. USD may have struggled at times this year but they are still going to take all comers into the dome and spit them out with a "L" on their chest.

OK Yotes lets take mental notes and learn by it as far as what it takes to play good winning basketball.

[yotemeal]

Feb 23, 2011 10:40:26 GMT -6 yotemeal said:

Despite our ups and downs, I like us down the stretch, and I'm calling an inspired USD win of 12-15 points.

So we won 99-84 .

You can call me "Yotemeal the Greek" from now on.

Also props to usdlaw on the 92-80 prediction.

[Charlie]

Overall, it was a fun game to watch. The Yotes played with a lot of heart and didn't get down when NJIT tried to make runs. Louie was able to get to the basket which opened stuff up for others. Thomas had a lot better shot selection which led to some great passes underneath for layups plus he was a monster on the boards.
And how nice was it to see the student section get into the game in the second half. It was fun to see that kind of excitement from the students.

[usdlaw]

Thanks Yotemeal the Greek

And I wasn't too far off on my scoring predictions. I guessed
Louie 21 actual 19
Westbrook 20 actual 19
Cutler 8 actual 9
Gruis 14 actual 19
Tecker 4 actual 8
Boots 3 actual 9
Andreotte 3 actual 7, but I was right on foul trouble
Bouie 2 actual 0

Considering 5 did better than I expected and the other three were within two points of what I expected, that means I know absolutely nothing except lucky guesses.

In all seriousness, I was happy to see Thomas have a good all around game. It was also nice to see Tecker and Gruis contribute offensively more than normal. Gruis is really developing to be solid contributor. I like his upside.

[coachk]

I can say that Guris will wind up a more prosperous scorer/player than Cain.

First off he shoots better at the line than Tyler, so over four years that alone will get him 150+ pts more than Tyler.

He will never block more shots than Tyler, but rebounding will be very close by end of their careers.

Trevor shot structure is very very Good. He has great follow thru & form. He gets desperation from the defender & his shot is true.

He is a very good big man for our level of DI and he will only get better with time. We are lucky to have his talents.

[Coyote Fan]

Gruis is a good player no doubt. I would say that Gruis is having a better freshman year than Cain. I am not quite ready to annoint Gruis as a player that will be better than Cain. On the other hand I am also not going to say that Gruis can't be as good or better than Tyler either. Cain was such a force on defense. He actually changed the whole way that teams had to game plan on offense. He was the intimidating force on D that really made the whole team better because he was out there. Isn't it great though that we can put Gruis in the discussion because Cain was a special player. I tend to really favor defense and that is why I liked Cain so much.