I'll start with Saint Mary's is a pretty good team. Ford and Fitts are real nice players and the badgers held Fitts in check until late in the game and then he hurt them. They have some good size and shooters too. Solid effort from UW to open the season, fought back to piss it away at the end of second half and OT. St. Mary's was prepared for that last play at the end of the second half. That's been a staple under Gard in those situations and to an extent under Bo. They defended it well when they hadn't the whole second half so credit to them.
Trice - played solid in first half despite not scoring. Believe he had 3 assists in first half. Hit some big shots to get badgers back in it in the second half. Couple threes and a nice jumper. I don't recall any bad turnovers or drives. Would like to see a bit more consistency from him on offense as he might have to hunt his shot at times.
Davison - think he ended with 16, but some maddening moments per the usual with him. A few out of control drives to the hoop and that foul in OT was a bone headed play. Tried his best defending Ford and overall I thought he played him fairly well, but Ford couldn't miss and could get his shot off on anyone.
King - promising start to the game and then he regressed. They really need him to play consistent and with this being his third season, I hope he becomes consistent. He disappears too much or makes bad plays like dribbling into the corner and turning it over in OT. Anyone else notice Pritzl in the last several minutes to end the 2nd half over king?
Ford - looks to have some promise this year. He looks stronger. Outside shot wasnt falling and showed he can take it off the dribble. Would like to see him do that more to hopefully get him going and get his outside shot falling. He did have a charge in the second half on a nice drive, later on similar situation and he stopped and kicked it out. That was encouraging.
Ruevers - Not much to say. Best player on the team. Good overall game after a slow start offensively missing a few inside and a wide open 10 footer that he probably will usually make.
Wahl - looks the part. Didn't get a lot of minutes, but he didn't look lost defending and switching on the perimeter. His basketball IQ has been discussed a lot coming into the program and I thought it was easy to see. Should be a lot better by seasons end. He looked to settle down a bit in the second half like the game was already starting to slow down for him which is encouraging. Adding strength in coming years should help him with rebounding.
Pritzl - Another frustrating player at times. When he is playing a good all around game the offense and defense seem to click. Didn't look great in first half, but had a nice second half and that's why he was on the floor in second half. Played tough D and boxes out and seems to always stick his nose in there for a couple tough rebounds. His struggle has typically been on offense. He needs to let 3-4 3 pointers rip a game. He's a good shooter. Two 3s a game from him would be a huge lift off the bench with his all around solid play.
Anderson - i don't think he adds much. Just looks limited athletically. Good player to have in a pinch and overall can handle the ball but a low ceiling unless he starts getting open looks from 3 and buries them. I'm fine with him getting no more than 5 minutes a game.
Hedstrom - didn't look terrible in his 30 second or minute stretch. Looked to move ok and better than I expected based on what I've read. Might develop to be a decent big defensively before he leaves UW.
Potter - due to the NCAA being incompetent, we have no idea. Hopefully gets a waiver granted soon, but he should help.
Overall I'm excited to watch the team this year post Happ. Will probably have a few games they win that surprise us and drop a few they shouldn't, including tonight. They should've been able to close the game out.
Would like to hear others thoughts.
Trice - played solid in first half despite not scoring. Believe he had 3 assists in first half. Hit some big shots to get badgers back in it in the second half. Couple threes and a nice jumper. I don't recall any bad turnovers or drives. Would like to see a bit more consistency from him on offense as he might have to hunt his shot at times.
Davison - think he ended with 16, but some maddening moments per the usual with him. A few out of control drives to the hoop and that foul in OT was a bone headed play. Tried his best defending Ford and overall I thought he played him fairly well, but Ford couldn't miss and could get his shot off on anyone.
King - promising start to the game and then he regressed. They really need him to play consistent and with this being his third season, I hope he becomes consistent. He disappears too much or makes bad plays like dribbling into the corner and turning it over in OT. Anyone else notice Pritzl in the last several minutes to end the 2nd half over king?
Ford - looks to have some promise this year. He looks stronger. Outside shot wasnt falling and showed he can take it off the dribble. Would like to see him do that more to hopefully get him going and get his outside shot falling. He did have a charge in the second half on a nice drive, later on similar situation and he stopped and kicked it out. That was encouraging.
Ruevers - Not much to say. Best player on the team. Good overall game after a slow start offensively missing a few inside and a wide open 10 footer that he probably will usually make.
Wahl - looks the part. Didn't get a lot of minutes, but he didn't look lost defending and switching on the perimeter. His basketball IQ has been discussed a lot coming into the program and I thought it was easy to see. Should be a lot better by seasons end. He looked to settle down a bit in the second half like the game was already starting to slow down for him which is encouraging. Adding strength in coming years should help him with rebounding.
Pritzl - Another frustrating player at times. When he is playing a good all around game the offense and defense seem to click. Didn't look great in first half, but had a nice second half and that's why he was on the floor in second half. Played tough D and boxes out and seems to always stick his nose in there for a couple tough rebounds. His struggle has typically been on offense. He needs to let 3-4 3 pointers rip a game. He's a good shooter. Two 3s a game from him would be a huge lift off the bench with his all around solid play.
Anderson - i don't think he adds much. Just looks limited athletically. Good player to have in a pinch and overall can handle the ball but a low ceiling unless he starts getting open looks from 3 and buries them. I'm fine with him getting no more than 5 minutes a game.
Hedstrom - didn't look terrible in his 30 second or minute stretch. Looked to move ok and better than I expected based on what I've read. Might develop to be a decent big defensively before he leaves UW.
Potter - due to the NCAA being incompetent, we have no idea. Hopefully gets a waiver granted soon, but he should help.
Overall I'm excited to watch the team this year post Happ. Will probably have a few games they win that surprise us and drop a few they shouldn't, including tonight. They should've been able to close the game out.
Would like to hear others thoughts.
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