Ohio State 100, Alcorn State 60: Of the four ranked teams to play last night, the Buckeyes were the only guys that looked crisp, especially on the offensive end. I think it is safe to say that the Evan-Turner-at-the-point experiment has started out pretty well for Thad Matta. Turner did nothing to quell the rumblings that he is the best all-around player in the country, as he turned in just the second triple double in Ohio State history, going for 14 points, 17 boards (6 offensive), 10 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. When this guy adds a consistent three point jumper, he is going to be scary good (as if to say he isn't already).
Evan Turner posted the second triple-double in OSU history.(photo credit: cleveland.com)
Part of what makes Turner so dangerous is his ability to rebound the ball on the defensive end. Since he runs the point as well, Turner is able to get out and lead the break without using an outlet pass. While this will sometimes slow down the Buckeyes if Turner grabs a rebound in traffic, he showed excellent vision down court, hitting a couple guys on long passes in transition for easy lay-ups.
There were a couple of other very good signs for the Buckeyes. First off, David Lighty, the athletic, 6'5" swingman who is coming off of a broken foot which ended his season in December last year, looked like he was ready to play. He finished with just 8 points in 22 minutes, but he also had 8 assists, threw down a nice dunk in traffic, and all-in-all looked explosive putting the ball on the floor.
Then there was Jon Diebler and William Buford. Everyone knew coming in that Diebler was a shooter, and he showed it, knocking down six threes en route to 22 points. But Buford is a guy that had question marks regarding his ability to consistently shoot it from deep. He's excellent at reading screens offensively and scoring in the mid-range game, but he didn't show consistent range last season. Last night he was 3-7 from deep, and scored 19 points. With Buford and Diebler hitting threes on the wings, it opens up that much more space for Turner to create.
Three last notes: Jeremie Simmons, the Buckeyes back-up PG, looked solid, scoring 12 points on 5-8 shooting, hitting 2 threes, and not turning the ball over. The Buckeyes need Dallas Lauderdale to get healthy. Their three bigs combined to go for 14 points, 10 boards, and 1 block in 48 combined minutes. Club Trillion author Mark Titus played three minutes, grabbing a single rebound.
North Carolina 88, Florida International 72: The Tar Heels handily beat FIU in Isiah Thomas's debut as a college coach, jumping out to an early double digit lead and never looking back. But don't be fooled by the score - the Tar Heels did not look impressive.
For starters, the Panthers simply out worked the Tar Heels. Their scrappy brand of defense forced 26 UNC turnovers and allowed them to keep the game at least moderately interesting in the second half. UNC won because of their size advantage. The Panthers had no answer for Deon Thompson or Ed Davis inside, who combined to go for 33 points, 21 boards, 4 blocks, and 4 steals as both notched double-doubles.
Loved the throwback jerseys UNC wore last night.(photo credit: Charlotte Observer)
One positive sign for UNC is that Larry Drew II looked like he could be an adequate replacement for Ty Lawson. Much quicker than I remembered him being, Drew II pushed the ball up the floor and had a couple really pretty passes in transition. There were a couple instances where he was forced to pick up his dribble in a bad spot, and he also did over-dribble a few times, but all-in-all it was a positive start for Drew.
The same can't be said for the UNC freshmen. None played more than 12 minutes, and not one looked overly impressive in their time on the floor. Dexter Strickland had five turnovers and four fouls in 11 minutes. Leslie McDonald was 1-4 from the floor and looked lost offensively. The Wear twins played hard and look like they can provide quality effort defensively and on the glass, but don't look like impact players at this point. John Henson looked promising because of his length, but he really needs to add weight to his frame and skills to his tools, so to speak. His only two baskets were on dunks, and given his size and athleticism, he really didn't do much to fill the stat sheet like you would expect.
One nice aspect to this game was the play of Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves on the wing. Despite a slow release, Ginyard knocked down a few threes (which no one on UNC can really do) looked healthy (he had a dunk in the first half where he really got up). Graves didn't impress offensively, but played strong defense, grabbed some rebounds, and didn't turn the ball over.
The bottom line is this: UNC is far from a finished product, but that should be expected. Every single player on this team is UNC team has an expanded role compared to last season. There are a number of newcomers, and three returners that missed most or all of last season due to injuries or suspension. There are a lot of parts here that need to learn how to play with and off of each other. This is not a top 10 basketball team right now, but don't be surprised if the Heels gel and make some noise at the end of the season.
Syracuse 75, Albany 43: The Orange were absolutely dominant on the defensive end against Albany as Jim Boeheim joined the ranks of the 800 win club. They forced 32 Great Dane turnovers and held them to just 27.3% shooting from the floor. As expected, Wesley Johnson is an absolute terror on the defensive end. While his scoring numbers weren't quite up to expectations, Johnson played a great floor game and showed how valuable of a player he can be - 12 points, 8 boards, 6 steals, and 4 assists. Shawn Marion, anyone?
Jim Boeheim won his 800th game last night.(photo credit: Syracuse Post-Standard)
Sophomore Kris Joseph, another tall and long combo forward, looked excellent as well. Playing 27 minutes off the bench, Joseph went for 12 points, 5 boards, and 2 steals. If Joseph plays with energy this season, especially on the defesive end, it will allow Jim Boeheim to go with two very different looks. He can play Rick Jackson and Arizne Onuaku together, going big on the inside, or he can have Joseph and Johnson playing the wings on the backline of the Orange's 2-3 zone. The length and athleticism that those two give Syracuse will make it so difficult for opposing zones to shoot over and pass through the zone.
More on Onuaku and Jackson - they looked very good on the interior, albeit against a much smaller Great Dane front line. They combined to go 10-11 from the floor and really carried the Orange offense in the early going. Boeheim is going to need those two to be consistent inside this year. Onuaku still looks troubled at the line, going 2-5 with an airball.
The biggest issue for the Orange was on the offensive end, especially in transition. I can't tell you how many times Syracuse blew a golden opportunity for a easy basket by turning the ball over on a break (if I had to guess, I would put the number at eight). Point guard play is going to be an issue all season long. Freshman Brandon Triche did not impress. He seemed to be forcing the issue, as he tried pinpoint passes that all-to-often did not reach their intended target. He had six turnovers and just three assists. Scoop Jardine looked much better. He was 5-7 from the floor had four assists and just one turnover, and seemed to be playing at a much more comfortable and controlled pace. Far from the dynamic play maker of a Jonny Flynn, Jardine (and Triche) won't be asked to do that. As long as they can lead a break, run an offense, score when the opportunity presents itself, and get guys like Johnson, Onuaku, and Jackson the ball where they can be dangerous without turning the ball over, the Cuse will be alright. Jardine did that much better than Triche last night.
Andy Rautins struggled offensively last night, but he is too good of a shooter for his stroke not to come around. More importantly, he looked to be more of a complete player this year. He was active on the defensive end, had a couple nice passes, and rebounded the ball (5 boards, 5 dimes, 4 steals). When his jumper is on, hopefully he will still remain a complete player. Of note, he did roll an ankle early in the second half.
All told, Syracuse looked to be in much the same position as UNC. With a number of new players and guys in new and expanded roles, its only fitting that the Orange looked a bit tentative and, well, bad offensively. But as long as they keep playing defense, the offense will come around. Syracuse fans shouldn't be too worried about this performance (or the Le Moyne loss).
Cal 75, Murray State 70: The Bears played by far the toughest opponent last night in a game Murray State team. But given the expectations put on Cal this year, this was not the performance you like to see from a team predicted to win the Pac 10.
Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher looked out of sync all game long. Randle especially, who just never seemed to find a rhythm offensively. But those two are going to have to learn to play against defenses keyed on slowing them down. They aren't going to sneak up on anyone this year. Both Randle and Christopher are expected to be all-Pac 10 players, and with those expectations come the focus of an opponent's defensive scheme.
Patrick Christopher and Cal were disappointing in their debut.(photo credit: WaPo)
The key may end up being the development of Jamal Boykin and Markuri Sanders-Frison as scoring threats up front. What Cal really likes to do offensively is run a high screen for Randle with one of the bigs. As the big guy rolled to the rim, Theo Robertson would curl back to the top of the key with Christopher would spot up in the same side corner. Last night, the Racers were doubling that screen, forcing Randle to go wide off of it and get rid of the ball. What would eventually happen, then, is that the ball would end up in the hands of a Robertson or Jorge Gutierrez, neither of whom are the kind of play maker that Randle or Christopher is.
To be fair, Boykin was active most of the game, and grabbed a couple of offensive boards, getting easy putbacks. Sanders-Frison had a couple nice post moves as well. If he can become a legitimate scoring threat with his back to the basket, it will add a nice dimension to their team. 7'3" Max Zhang played five first half minutes, but didn't grab a board. He still may not be ready to compete at this level.
But that wasn't the biggest problem that the Bears faced. The Racers were able to hit threes, score in transition, and most importantly compete on the offensive glass. Until Cal proves that they can be a good rebounding and defensive team, you have to consider Washington to be the favorite out west.
Overall, Cal just looked complacent tonight. They came out of the gates flat, and after building an 18 point second half lead, they allowed the Racers to claw their way back in it, making this a two possession game down the stretch. Playing as the favorite is different than playing as the underdog. Cal seems like they may have bought into their hype. Hopefully, this was a wake-up call for them.
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