The Horns cruised easily on Tuesday night, as was to be expected. But what was more important for many fans at the game was getting an idea of what the new kids could do and how the team would gel. But before we get into the analysis, a quick aside about the requisite Halloween costumes. I had planned on wearing a Satan outfit with a blue t-shirt, and adding “KANSAS” and Darrell Arthur’s number to the front of it in white paint. I needed it to be cheap, so that unfortunately meant a trip to Wal-Mart on the morning of the game. I have a problem with Wal-Mart. I understand that they have low prices. And the little old people who greet you are so friendly that you can’t help but smile back at them. But once you enter the store, it feels like you have to lower your IQ to 37 to fit in with many of the customers. I experienced one example of the apparent retardation of Wal-Mart customers in the restroom. I walked past a giant framed reprint of Vince Young on the cover of SI after the Rose Bowl (a nice touch) and then was greeted by the worst stench of shit I’d ever experienced in my life. Not “somebody forgot to wipe.” Not “Grandma forgot her Depends today.” No, this was more along the lines of “somebody just wiped a shit-filled diaper across every single air vent.” I think I still have residual poop smell hanging on me two days later. In the end, my foray into the College Station of stores turned out to be worthless, as they did not have a single plain blue t-shirt for sale. But thankfully, the costumes in the O-Zone easily made up for it. A rundown of the top five: 5: Goose from “Top Gun” As for the game, there was a lot to be excited about, and a few things to be concerned with. Fortunately, concerns can be addressed and fixed, and in this case the season hasn’t even started yet. Kevin Durant started the game off really tight. His shots weren’t falling and you could tell he was just pushing too much from the nerves. He is certainly a freak of nature, and his long arms make it painfully easy for him to get his shot from anywhere on the floor. He finished with 16 points in barely over a half of play. When his shot is on from the start, it’s going to be bad news for our opponents. Damion James also really impressed me. On a night where the team looked like it didn’t want to rebound a single ball, James led the way with 12 boards. He also was the only player with a double-double. I wouldn’t call him the next P.J. Tucker but compared to the rest of the team, he is clearly going to be our physical man. Offensively, the Horns liked to dribble penetrate and kick the ball outside the arc. And as well as some of our players were shooting the three, it was a great gameplan. A.J. Abrams was 4-for-8 from 3-point range and looks to be a scoring threat again this year. The kid shoots the ball faster than anybody I’ve seen, yet he still has the form and the touch. I was impressed by the strides Connor Atchley made on the offensive side of the ball. He no longer looks scared to take a shot, and in fact ended up shooting 3-of-6 from behind the arc. He still needs work defensively (and DJ Augustin had to tell him to move on offense a few times) but with Atchley getting more substantial minutes this year I have to think he will only get better in these areas. Matt Hill looks like he’s going to be a real hard-nosed player. He fought for rebounds underneath, corralling five in only fourteen minutes. He also was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, with many of his FT opportunities coming after he’d shown a ton of hustle in the lane. I’m looking forward to good things from this guy. D.J. Augustin looks like he’s going to be a great floor general for this team. He ended the night with seven assists and only one turnover. In fact, the team as a whole only had five turnovers all night. After the problems we had protecting the ball at times last season — the nightmarish Tennessee game comes to mind immediately — I am incredibly happy to have Augustin running the show. Dexter Pittman and Harrison Smith hardly saw the floor, and Big Dex picked up fouls quickly. He had three of them in only six minutes, and I think I remember two of them coming within forty-five seconds of each other. One really great note on Big Dex is that he’s lost a ton of weight. He’s still a big boy, but the difference is incredible. I believe reports have him dropping between 60 and 70 pounds since the team started him on a weight-loss plan. Watching Craig Winder play defense reminded me of Royal Ivey at times, but I quickly discarded those thoughts. Other than a similar stance and wingspan, they are quite different, most notably in talent level. Winder still hustles all over the place, but sometimes it just reminds me of 4- and 5-year old soccer teams; he gets too into the moment and the ball rather than thinking about the team aspect of the game. I’m glad to have his athleticism on our bench, but I’m not sure what role he’s really going to fill on this squad. The box score tells me that J.D. Lewis played nine minutes, but I’ll be damned if I can remember him doing anything. He’s listed with eight points, so I must’ve been napping. Or eating candy. All told, I’m happy with what I saw on Tuesday night. We still need to work on establishing rebounding position, and Lenoir-Rhyne’s quick ball movement on the wings seemed to present a problem for our defenders flashing out. But the best thing about exhibitions is that they are two months before conference play. And I have this odd hunch that Coach Barnes might look at those issues well before January. |
