UW vs #16 Baylor Game Review and Grades

[IStillLoveTheMs]

#LONGLIVEASTRODAWG

https://baylorbears.com/boxscore.aspx?i ... ath=mbball

WHAT A HUGE WIN BABY.

These are the wins that matter. It might not seem like it now, but in March this win will show up as a Quad 1 win and will do wonders for our NCAA tourney chances and seeding. This is a game that is going to look really fucking good and I can't think of a better way to start a year. It's also a huge momentum builder to come back down double digits with less than 10 minutes to go against a top-tier, B12 team... just has to do wonders for the confidence of these guys going forward.

First Half:

The game was super ugly for the Dawgs in the first half. It was turnovers galore... I believe as many as 15 turnovers in the half? Truth be told, all the Dawgs looked totally nervous in the first 20 minutes of the ballgame... understandable I guess as a lot of guys this was their first real action as "starters" of a big college basketball team in their careers. Really... our youth showed for a good majority of this game. There was a lot of stationary dribbling on the exterior of paint... a lot 1-on-1 dribbling that led to a lot of travels, offensive fouls and steals in favor of Baylor. A lot of travels told me the guys were just nervous because they were moving their feet before the dribble... It just seemed like there was a lot of overthinking... not much natural basketball being played and a lot of indecision on offense. They made an adjustment to get the ball inside to the bigs and it kept the Dawgs in the half. Baylor only had 5 fouls in the first half... that tells you UW wasn't aggressive, they didn't attempt any free throws and weren't doing enough driving to the hoop. Naz Carter was also huge from outside, we'll get to that later.

On defense it seemed like the intensity wasn't really there in the beginning. Baylor was out-hustling us on the boards and it led to a lot of open Baylor shooters on the perimeter. Baylor's first 12 points came off wide open 3-pointers where either the defender didn't close out or a guy ended up being wide open after the Dawgs found themselves out of position. Thankfully Baylor didn't have much of answer for the gap that we leave in our zone at the free-throw line... because if they had a capable mid-range shooter it might have gotten ugly. There was a bunch of hesitation from Baylor when they got the ball to the high-post... it led to some klanks from short distance and some blocks on the interior for UW. The Dawgs also made some adjustments in their perimeter D before the half was over... Hamier Wright had 3 blocks in the half and I believe 2 of them were on jump shots outside.

Second Half:

The freshman + Naz took over and their was a noticeable change in the intent and direction of the offense. 6 turnovers compared to 15 tells me the Dawgs were a lot more comfortable and had gotten over the initial goosebumps. There was a noted effort to drive the ball or get it inside to Stewart where he either tried to take his man or made a nice pass outside that led to a 3 or a free line to drive to the basket. It never seemed easy for the Dawgs on O... but when they were able to consistently get shots near the basket it completely changed the flow. The Dawgs got Baylor into immediate foul trouble in the second half by taking it to the bucket and thanks to Jaden McDaniels, hit some big free throws that kept them in the game when it was teetering on Baylor running away with it. Stewart, Jaden and Naz were 12-20 in the 2nd half... that's a good recipe for beating most teams.

For most of the 2nd half it seemed like the Dawgs would get within 7 points or so and Baylor would have a loose ball fall right in their hands for an easy bucket and it makes their offensive rebound total in the second half look inflated because there were a lot of klanks. There was a noted effort on the glass in the second half on both ends of the court for the Dawgs... you could tell Hop wasn't pleased and we were fighting for possessions off every miss. That said, the Dawg D continued to look a little hesitant until about the 8 minute mark in the game... and then it was like a rabid animal was unleashed. The energy shifted, all of a sudden the Dawgs were clogging passing lanes, deflecting passes, flustering Baylor, creating turnovers that led to transition buckets (forced 17 turnovers for Baylor) and man... IT WAS A BLOCK PARTY BABY. I counted as many as 9 blocks in the final 8 minutes of the game (the box score only counted 6, but I don't buy it)... Stewart and Hamier had 5 on their own and completely dominated the Baylor interior that had looked comfortable for a lot of the game. The change in passion and intensity on D changed the game and ultimately led to the win. If the Dawgs can play D like they did in the final 8 minutes of this game... holy God, we're going to be really, really good. This D has the potential to be the best in the country... we have so much length and Baylor was noticeably afraid to shoot when we picked it up. Baylor scored 105 pts in their first game... just 64 tonight... that says something.

Player Grades

Isaiah Stewart: A
15 PTS...7-13 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, 2 assists, 7 boards, 3 offensive rebounds, 4 defensive rebounds, 3 blocks

There's a stat stuffer for ya. Guys... Isaiah Stewart is a fucking dude. He is an animal on the post. His ability to back his guy down and use tremendous footwork is amazing. Super good feel for a mini sky hook that he hit with both hands. Had a thunder dunk where he just adulted his guy on the post. The Huskies are going to need to rely on him producing from the post... it's a totally different, and welcomed style away from what we had in Dickerson. He's physical down there and it's a thrill to watch. He had 2 assists and is showed a great feel for passing out of the post which is going to lead to open J's down the road. He had 4 turnovers... most came from indecision and getting the ball out of position when the O was out of wack... but man he was just a BEAST on O. He was a little soft on his man for a good portion of the game... Baylor's center hit some jumpers over him. Then he completely changed... seemed like he got fed up and had 4 blocks in about 3 minutes and wasn't giving anyone an inch. He was a catalyst on D in that big second half charge.

Jaden McDaniels: A
18 PTS... 5-10 FG, 1-2 3PT, 7-8 FT, 2 assists, 7 boards, 1 offensive rebound, 6 defensive rebounds, 1 steal

It seemed like early on Jaden was a little hesitant to get going... second guessing... a lot of passing away from his opportunities. Second half he seemed more apt to look for his shot and definitely took the ball to the bucket more. I want to see him drive a bit more because he's got the chance to be a creator on this O for a lot of guys. So why does he get an A? Honestly, in the flow of the game he didn't do anything extremely special, he hit an open 3... had a nice crossover fadeaway jumper that fell... but he won the Huskies this game with his second half free-throw shooting. He hit 3x front ends of 1-1's when Baylor held 6-8 point leads in the game. He kept us in it by making those free throws. He misses those front ends... we lose. Simple as that. SO CLUTCH from a frosh. Tells you a lot about him internally.

Naz Carter: B+
23 PTS... 8-15 FG, 4-6 3PT, 3-6 FT, 7 boards, 1 offensive rebound, 6 defensive rebounds, 3 steals

If Naz Carter can shoot 3's as well as he did tonight... lordy... look out. Looking at his stroke compared to his first couple years as a Dawg, you could definitely see better rotation... less hook spin that he would sometimes create with a little bit of loop in his form. It's clear he's worked on this aspect of his game. Naz will be the first to tell you he was maybe a little out of control with the ball in his hands driving to the hoop this game. He had 4 turnovers... was off balance a lot in the paint leading to some charges... ball handling suffered... he got blocked a few times close to the bucket... he's going to need to clean that stuff up because it's clear he's going to be our primary offensive weapon and we can't have that. He was a menace on D and crashed the boards hard... his length an athleticism were on full display and he looks like he's ready to take the reigns as the next Husky great!

Jamal Bey: B+
3 PTS... 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2 assists, 1 defensive rebound, 2 steals

Seems like kind of a boring stat line right? Well... he only played 19 minutes... but I really loved the energy and hustle he brought to the defensive end of the court. It only showed up in the box score that he had 2 steals... but I swear he at least deflected 5 passes that ended in steals or denied an entry pass. I said it before the season that I thought he had the potential to be Mattise-like on D... I think he's earned more playing time going forward and I was thrilled with the energy and poise he played with.

Hamier Wright C+
6 PTs... 2-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1 assist, 4 boards, 4 defensive rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 turnovers

Oh Hamier. What do we do with you? How do you win Gatorade POY in New York without the ability to dribble, drive or control your body? Guys he's a total liability with the ball in his hands... so lets just take it out. He had 4 turnovers and frankly it looked worse than it was. He just has no feel for driving the line... he's off balance... it's all bad. So what do we need him to be? We need him to hit 3's and play defense. He should not be allowed to drive into the paint going forward... either he shoots from the outside or he passes the ball. PLEASE. On defense he was nuts. 5 blocks... can't beat that and that's why you can't take him off the floor. His offensive ability is just woeful.

Quade Green C+
2 PTS... 1-7 FG, 0-2 3PT, 9 assists, 3 turnovers

Quade had one saving grace... his 9 assists. But if the coach pulls you late in the second half in favor of an all forward rotation you know your defense was rough and your offense wasn't good enough to save it. He looked lost shooting the basketball... aside from one nice jumper it was friggin' rough out there. He facilitated the offense for the most part when he was out there but he has to be significantly better shooting to justify 32 minutes as the PG. Frankly he was a liability in the zone... has to get better.

Others: Sam Timmins played for 2 minutes, Elijah Hardy played for 11... both made some decent plays in their time but not enough to go off of to give grades.

Final Thoughts: I'm a little surprised the Dawgs only went with what was basically a 6-7 man rotation. This will change as we play less talented teams in the non-conference... but I feel like Nate Roberts, BPJ and RaeQuan Battle are going to be vital depth pieces as the season progresses and I would have at least liked to see them get a bit more playing time.

Nate/BPJ are going to be big spelling Isaiah... This team NEEDS RaeQuan to hit some 3's because Naz is our only real threat.

GO DAWGS.

[57reasons]

Great review. couldnt agree more on the 2 big frosh. both really showed out. Green was key starting out when everyone else seemed nervous in the first 10 minutes, then regressed, but i think we'll see better out of him - we'll definitely need his ballhandling which i think may be the team's biggest weakness other than just plain youth. either that or Hardy emerges. Bey looks so much faster this year, and more confident clearly. Block party indeed - outrageous that last 6 minutes.

[DavidGee24]

How in the world are the Huskies not already in the top 25 when they're so loaded with talent? In this day and age where the best players declare for the draft early you'd think "experience" wouldnt be much of a factor. This team is going to shred the Pac-12.

[57reasons]

because talent alone doesnt always get it done in hoops - team chemistry and cohesion in a disciplined system such as the storied Princeton offense can often make up for a talent deficiency. and defense likewise with the proper rotations and spacing - things that carry individual statistics. Thats what was so encouraging last night - Hop has these guys playing together already. said afterward that their D spacing got better in 2nd half, and their offense obviously did as well putting up 42 versus 24 in the first 20 minute turnover fest. but agreed, i too was surprised that they werent higher ranked with those two signees. Had Green's waiver been granted sooner they likely would have. but no sleeping on them now.

[D-train]

#LONGLIVEASTRODAWG

https://baylorbears.com/boxscore.aspx?i ... ath=mbball

WHAT A HUGE WIN BABY.

These are the wins that matter. It might not seem like it now, but in March this win will show up as a Quad 1 win and will do wonders for our NCAA tourney chances and seeding. This is a game that is going to look really fucking good and I can't think of a better way to start a year. It's also a huge momentum builder to come back down double digits with less than 10 minutes to go against a top-tier, B12 team... just has to do wonders for the confidence of these guys going forward.

First Half:

The game was super ugly for the Dawgs in the first half. It was turnovers galore... I believe as many as 15 turnovers in the half? Truth be told, all the Dawgs looked totally nervous in the first 20 minutes of the ballgame... understandable I guess as a lot of guys this was their first real action as "starters" of a big college basketball team in their careers. Really... our youth showed for a good majority of this game. There was a lot of stationary dribbling on the exterior of paint... a lot 1-on-1 dribbling that led to a lot of travels, offensive fouls and steals in favor of Baylor. A lot of travels told me the guys were just nervous because they were moving their feet before the dribble... It just seemed like there was a lot of overthinking... not much natural basketball being played and a lot of indecision on offense. They made an adjustment to get the ball inside to the bigs and it kept the Dawgs in the half. Baylor only had 5 fouls in the first half... that tells you UW wasn't aggressive, they didn't attempt any free throws and weren't doing enough driving to the hoop. Naz Carter was also huge from outside, we'll get to that later.

On defense it seemed like the intensity wasn't really there in the beginning. Baylor was out-hustling us on the boards and it led to a lot of open Baylor shooters on the perimeter. Baylor's first 12 points came off wide open 3-pointers where either the defender didn't close out or a guy ended up being wide open after the Dawgs found themselves out of position. Thankfully Baylor didn't have much of answer for the gap that we leave in our zone at the free-throw line... because if they had a capable mid-range shooter it might have gotten ugly. There was a bunch of hesitation from Baylor when they got the ball to the high-post... it led to some klanks from short distance and some blocks on the interior for UW. The Dawgs also made some adjustments in their perimeter D before the half was over... Hamier Wright had 3 blocks in the half and I believe 2 of them were on jump shots outside.

Second Half:

The freshman + Naz took over and their was a noticeable change in the intent and direction of the offense. 6 turnovers compared to 15 tells me the Dawgs were a lot more comfortable and had gotten over the initial goosebumps. There was a noted effort to drive the ball or get it inside to Stewart where he either tried to take his man or made a nice pass outside that led to a 3 or a free line to drive to the basket. It never seemed easy for the Dawgs on O... but when they were able to consistently get shots near the basket it completely changed the flow. The Dawgs got Baylor into immediate foul trouble in the second half by taking it to the bucket and thanks to Jaden McDaniels, hit some big free throws that kept them in the game when it was teetering on Baylor running away with it. Stewart, Jaden and Naz were 12-20 in the 2nd half... that's a good recipe for beating most teams.

For most of the 2nd half it seemed like the Dawgs would get within 7 points or so and Baylor would have a loose ball fall right in their hands for an easy bucket and it makes their offensive rebound total in the second half look inflated because there were a lot of klanks. There was a noted effort on the glass in the second half on both ends of the court for the Dawgs... you could tell Hop wasn't pleased and we were fighting for possessions off every miss. That said, the Dawg D continued to look a little hesitant until about the 8 minute mark in the game... and then it was like a rabid animal was unleashed. The energy shifted, all of a sudden the Dawgs were clogging passing lanes, deflecting passes, flustering Baylor, creating turnovers that led to transition buckets (forced 17 turnovers for Baylor) and man... IT WAS A BLOCK PARTY BABY. I counted as many as 9 blocks in the final 8 minutes of the game (the box score only counted 6, but I don't buy it)... Stewart and Hamier had 5 on their own and completely dominated the Baylor interior that had looked comfortable for a lot of the game. The change in passion and intensity on D changed the game and ultimately led to the win. If the Dawgs can play D like they did in the final 8 minutes of this game... holy God, we're going to be really, really good. This D has the potential to be the best in the country... we have so much length and Baylor was noticeably afraid to shoot when we picked it up. Baylor scored 105 pts in their first game... just 64 tonight... that says something.

Player Grades

Isaiah Stewart: A
15 PTS...7-13 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, 2 assists, 7 boards, 3 offensive rebounds, 4 defensive rebounds, 3 blocks

There's a stat stuffer for ya. Guys... Isaiah Stewart is a fucking dude. He is an animal on the post. His ability to back his guy down and use tremendous footwork is amazing. Super good feel for a mini sky hook that he hit with both hands. Had a thunder dunk where he just adulted his guy on the post. The Huskies are going to need to rely on him producing from the post... it's a totally different, and welcomed style away from what we had in Dickerson. He's physical down there and it's a thrill to watch. He had 2 assists and is showed a great feel for passing out of the post which is going to lead to open J's down the road. He had 4 turnovers... most came from indecision and getting the ball out of position when the O was out of wack... but man he was just a BEAST on O. He was a little soft on his man for a good portion of the game... Baylor's center hit some jumpers over him. Then he completely changed... seemed like he got fed up and had 4 blocks in about 3 minutes and wasn't giving anyone an inch. He was a catalyst on D in that big second half charge.

Jaden McDaniels: A
18 PTS... 5-10 FG, 1-2 3PT, 7-8 FT, 2 assists, 7 boards, 1 offensive rebound, 6 defensive rebounds, 1 steal

It seemed like early on Jaden was a little hesitant to get going... second guessing... a lot of passing away from his opportunities. Second half he seemed more apt to look for his shot and definitely took the ball to the bucket more. I want to see him drive a bit more because he's got the chance to be a creator on this O for a lot of guys. So why does he get an A? Honestly, in the flow of the game he didn't do anything extremely special, he hit an open 3... had a nice crossover fadeaway jumper that fell... but he won the Huskies this game with his second half free-throw shooting. He hit 3x front ends of 1-1's when Baylor held 6-8 point leads in the game. He kept us in it by making those free throws. He misses those front ends... we lose. Simple as that. SO CLUTCH from a frosh. Tells you a lot about him internally.

Naz Carter: B+
23 PTS... 8-15 FG, 4-6 3PT, 3-6 FT, 7 boards, 1 offensive rebound, 6 defensive rebounds, 3 steals

If Naz Carter can shoot 3's as well as he did tonight... lordy... look out. Looking at his stroke compared to his first couple years as a Dawg, you could definitely see better rotation... less hook spin that he would sometimes create with a little bit of loop in his form. It's clear he's worked on this aspect of his game. Naz will be the first to tell you he was maybe a little out of control with the ball in his hands driving to the hoop this game. He had 4 turnovers... was off balance a lot in the paint leading to some charges... ball handling suffered... he got blocked a few times close to the bucket... he's going to need to clean that stuff up because it's clear he's going to be our primary offensive weapon and we can't have that. He was a menace on D and crashed the boards hard... his length an athleticism were on full display and he looks like he's ready to take the reigns as the next Husky great!

Jamal Bey: B+
3 PTS... 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2 assists, 1 defensive rebound, 2 steals

Seems like kind of a boring stat line right? Well... he only played 19 minutes... but I really loved the energy and hustle he brought to the defensive end of the court. It only showed up in the box score that he had 2 steals... but I swear he at least deflected 5 passes that ended in steals or denied an entry pass. I said it before the season that I thought he had the potential to be Mattise-like on D... I think he's earned more playing time going forward and I was thrilled with the energy and poise he played with.

Hamier Wright C+
6 PTs... 2-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1 assist, 4 boards, 4 defensive rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 turnovers

Oh Hamier. What do we do with you? How do you win Gatorade POY in New York without the ability to dribble, drive or control your body? Guys he's a total liability with the ball in his hands... so lets just take it out. He had 4 turnovers and frankly it looked worse than it was. He just has no feel for driving the line... he's off balance... it's all bad. So what do we need him to be? We need him to hit 3's and play defense. He should not be allowed to drive into the paint going forward... either he shoots from the outside or he passes the ball. PLEASE. On defense he was nuts. 5 blocks... can't beat that and that's why you can't take him off the floor. His offensive ability is just woeful.

Quade Green C+
2 PTS... 1-7 FG, 0-2 3PT, 9 assists, 3 turnovers

Quade had one saving grace... his 9 assists. But if the coach pulls you late in the second half in favor of an all forward rotation you know your defense was rough and your offense wasn't good enough to save it. He looked lost shooting the basketball... aside from one nice jumper it was friggin' rough out there. He facilitated the offense for the most part when he was out there but he has to be significantly better shooting to justify 32 minutes as the PG. Frankly he was a liability in the zone... has to get better.

Others: Sam Timmins played for 2 minutes, Elijah Hardy played for 11... both made some decent plays in their time but not enough to go off of to give grades.

Final Thoughts: I'm a little surprised the Dawgs only went with what was basically a 6-7 man rotation. This will change as we play less talented teams in the non-conference... but I feel like Nate Roberts, BPJ and RaeQuan Battle are going to be vital depth pieces as the season progresses and I would have at least liked to see them get a bit more playing time.

Nate/BPJ are going to be big spelling Isaiah... This team NEEDS RaeQuan to hit some 3's because Naz is our only real threat.

GO DAWGS.

Great write-up brother. What an awesome win to start this next era of husky hoops

[Sibelius Hindemith]

#LONGLIVEASTRODAWG

So you were Astrodawg ------> then DawgSaturday ------> and now IStillLoveTheMs?

[D-train]

#LONGLIVEASTRODAWG

So you were Astrodawg ------> then DawgSaturday ------> and now IStillLoveTheMs?

I don't remember Astro Dog but I knew he was dog Saturday.

[IStillLoveTheMs]

#LONGLIVEASTRODAWG

So you were Astrodawg ------> then DawgSaturday ------> and now IStillLoveTheMs?

[57reasons]

Cool, was wondering whatever happened to DawgSat as i was always impressed with your scouting reports, particularly for potential recruits. makes a lot of sense now.

[DavidGee24]

because talent alone doesnt always get it done in hoops - team chemistry and cohesion in a disciplined system such as the storied Princeton offense can often make up for a talent deficiency. and defense likewise with the proper rotations and spacing - things that carry individual statistics. Thats what was so encouraging last night - Hop has these guys playing together already. said afterward that their D spacing got better in 2nd half, and their offense obviously did as well putting up 42 versus 24 in the first 20 minute turnover fest. but agreed, i too was surprised that they werent higher ranked with those two signees. Had Green's waiver been granted sooner they likely would have. but no sleeping on them now.

Except that the media has seen what Hop can do with the leftovers from the Romar Era and lost recruits. You would think the media would be thinking wow, Hop's got his guys now, look out! Unless they've got him mixed up with the other UW coach.