My confidence hasn't been shaken

[Malastein]

I know 90% of the posters here seem to be quite doom and gloom. I'm not entirely sure why. There have been many great Zags who took a portion of the season before the really took off. And even some of the guys who played well out of the gate had their off games. I still think this team has the players to get it done, and I foresee a much more focused coaching effort in tonight's game. Why would the coaches put all the cards on the table for WSU? I know that they asked people to take video of the scrimmage down, and I think we'll see a team closer to that tomorrow.

[bostonzagfan]

I really just had the strangest feeling that GU is going to win by 15+. I don't know why. Maybe because I took WSU +12.

[Baldwinzag]

Buying time 'til tipoff so...

Just watched EWU replay for a 3rd time.

Its not nearly as bad as some have accentuated following Friday's game.

I've posted to death today, so 3 things after the latest viewing:

1. Pangos played so darn well for his 1st game out. He may have accumulated 1 assist, but Carter, Gary Bell, and Mike Hart all missed transition lay-ups or shots off a Pangos pass. His transition awareness in the best on the team, hands down. Stockton should be next in line to lead the break. Carter is just too focused on his handle to be effective in transition; he should be streaking to the hoop or setting up for the open shot.

2. Eastern played with a killer instinct and fearless. Give credit to their Coach, players, and team effort. They were constantly pushing, pulling, hands up, sprinting, hustling, and determined. They were FIRED up. During every whistle, timeout, or dead ball, their players were flexing, yelling, hitting each other. EWU went "all in" to beat the Zags. Unlike anything I've seen from a mid-level type team in the Kennel. No quit. Some of their efforts were futile given the size differential in the post, but they fought and never backed down. Good on 'em. They deserve all the credit and respect for their performance the other night.

3. Our starting lineup played the first 4 minutes of the 1st half w/o a substitution and the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half w/o substitution. This was some of our least effective minutes in terms of productivity. Some will point to the lead increasing to start the 2nd half, yet it was literally ALL Elias Harris making things happen. A put-back off a missed shot, an offensive rebound and foul, a dunk. Outside of "E" during the starting-5's 9 minutes together, it was rough as a group.

Also, Marquise Carter received much credit for drawing fouls and its deserved, but the dude was pretty selfish on his dribble-drives. He received many "bail-outs" on some of those drives. I counted at least 3 drives where the defense collapsed on him and Kevin Pangos was completely wide-open for an open shot. Another time Elias and Rob were open on the weak side of the paint for a dunk or lay-up and Carter missed them again. Its great to be aggressive as a guard and draw fouls, yet he ain't gonna attempt 18 FT's again and rec a foul every time he takes it to the hoop as he did on Friday. He must learn to realize when 3 defenders collapse on your drive, someone else is wide-open. Again, props to him for putting pressure on the defense, yet he missed every single dribble-drive attempt and was given a gift on a few of those calls. I cringed every time he missed the open man for an even better/higher % shot.

Overall, our guard play needs to improve and play with better execution. Our bigs need to be just as aggressive at setting up position in the post. We need to close-out better on shooters and actually switch when asked too -- Elias is especially guilty of this. We need to knock down shots.

My confidence in this team remains high, especially since it can only IMPROVE from here on out -- once obvious talents such as Gary Bell come into his own -- look out! We need him on the floor, b/c he might very well be our best perimeter defender from what I've seen thus far.

Should be a great game and match-up tonight.

[snebzag]

Mal,
My confidence wasn't shaken, but it was stirred.
I guess like alot of others I expected more domination and I got lost in this and could not see the positive things that happened. I am guilty of "Gut reactions" Not statistical data. I am also guilty of saying "Less Hart minutes" As were others, but you cannot compare his minutes to others who got NO minutes. So tonight I would like to see a little MM a little MK and a little Spang and a little MH just to get some data. I would also like to see a huge lopsided win by the Zags, cause these close games so early in the season "Stir" my confidence, but I know in the end it will be a great season played out by a bunch of great kids and great coaches.

[Zag4Hire]

I really just had the strangest feeling that GU is going to win by 15+. I don't know why. Maybe because I took WSU +12.

Ha Kiss of Death. I took GU -12 but I had to buy down the hook. As I previously posted, I think GU wins by 13 or 14 pts.

[UberZagFan]

Agree with comment above..not sure it's so much about confidence about what GU can do but what staff did with minutes in game 1. Just threw everyone off. And well, it should have--a top 25 team playing two walkons for that amount of time raises some eyebrows....especially considering what returned and what was brought in.

Also, everyone expects a romp going into the EWU game but that's not that realistic...just look at what happen to AZ or the struggle UW had to some degree yesterday. Both those opponents are lesser than EWU.