BTO’s Texas A&M Postgame Report

#1

bleedingTNorange

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#1
1. A 14pt road win on the road in SEC play, you beat the spread, and yet know we played far from our best game...I’ll gladly take it. A&M shot better than normal from 3 and the FT line, they also got too many ORB’s, and again we won by 14...our defense, especially first shot defense was REALLY good.

2. Anyone thinking Vescovi’s minutes would decline is sorely mistaken, he may play more off ball (more on that coming up), but his outside shooting and as we saw some too his midrange game is elite, he gets his feet set on kick out 3’s and I bet he’s over 50% on the year. So do you slide him off the ball and allow Springer to primarily run point? I do think Springer had phenomenal vision, provides scoring on his drives which also opens the kickoffs or dropoffs, however he had 6to’s today too, so little bit of a double edged sword. I think you continue to run Vescovi & Springer at PG if you’re Barnes and see if Springer can get better in the turnover department, having 6 of the teams 11 total isn’t going to work.

3. Announcers mentioned it, and I’m not sure if Fulky has some injuries going on, but we need offensive production to be better from those 2 guys. They don’t need to force things but Fulk & Pons combined for 8/13 from the field, they need to get a few more looks, I will say A&M is always a tough matchup for Fulk as they run physical guys at him and typically double him.

4. Bailey’s worst all around game as a Vol, missed his kind of shots which only took 5 so not a huge problem, but also got lost defensively a few times which put him right in the bench. It was good to see him still involved in the game and in good spirits afterwards, need him to bounce back and shake that off, continue to improve defensively.

5. Need James to find offensive consistency, coming off probably one of his better games as a Vol he kind of lays a dud...doesn’t have to bring 17 a night but would be nice if we could count on him for about 10 a night. Was great to see Johnson hit a 3 ball, hopefully that’ll give him some confidence and that will only open things up for him on drives which is obviously his strength.

6. Move to 9-1(3-1) hopefully our game against South Carolina upcoming happens, another road game but we would be favored, then heavy favorites at home against Vanderbilt before heading to Florida which should be a good test against a Gators team playing pretty well.


GBO!!!
 
#2
#2
I think today's starting line up should be the one we stick with, with Keon the first off the bench. Vescovi needs to get up at least 5 3s a game. I hope ON can starting getting more minutes. Good win, not expected the USC game to happen but hope it does
 
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#4
#4
Watched the entire game and hardest looking 14 point win i have ever seen! I never was sure of who would win but the guys mostly showed up. Still think Fulkys hand is bothering him more than he lets on. Springer is going to be a great one but he needs another year or so to get in a defensive mindset that Barnes will build. Vescovi is basically the glue along with triple J! Most physical game i remember in the league in a while and we needed it and it showed. Bailey must have stayed out late because he stunk it up. Another road win and we flat out won it. JMHO as always!
 
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#5
#5
Feels like our guys are inconsistent. They'll go off one game and look bad the next. Part of that is normal and part of it is matchups, but I'd really live yves, jjj and Santiago to be more consistent. VJ too.
 
#6
#6
I think JJj got out of the flow of the game by picking up his second with 12-13 minutes left in the first half.

I thought we moved the ball a lot better than we have recently. Guys didn’t seem to hold it as long and instead knew where they wanted to go with it prior to catching it.

More and more I’m thinking who’s the designated PG doesn’t matter much with this team. Multiple guys seem capable of running it. Wouldn’t be surprised if we see a rotation of Santi/Springer/JJJ from possession to possession if their on the court at the same time together.
 
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#7
#7
SV leads in minutes played at 35, leads in points at 23, tied for lead with 5 rebounds, and has 3 assists. Pretty obvious who was stirring the UT drink today.

VJ and JJJ sort of disappeared today. I would think JJJ especially would thrive in such a physical game?

Good energy, but too many bone headed errors (lazy inbound passes by seniors, missed dunks, several reach in fouls, etc) allowed a&m to hang around. This team has to bear down mentally to reach their high potential. Clearly not there yet, but they are one of the top 10 most talented teams. Can CRB get them t reach that potential come tourney time as we are all hoping?
 
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#8
#8
Feels like our guys are inconsistent. They'll go off one game and look bad the next. Part of that is normal and part of it is matchups, but I'd really live yves, jjj and Santiago to be more consistent. VJ too.
Well, that's almost every team, still, imo, UT has looked good in 9 games and bad in only one game and I will take that
 
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#9
#9
1. A 14pt road win on the road in SEC play, you beat the spread, and yet know we played far from our best game...I’ll gladly take it. A&M shot better than normal from 3 and the FT line, they also got too many ORB’s, and again we won by 14...our defense, especially first shot defense was REALLY good.

2. Anyone thinking Vescovi’s minutes would decline is sorely mistaken, he may play more off ball (more on that coming up), but his outside shooting and as we saw some too his midrange game is elite, he gets his feet set on kick out 3’s and I bet he’s over 50% on the year. So do you slide him off the ball and allow Springer to primarily run point? I do think Springer had phenomenal vision, provides scoring on his drives which also opens the kickoffs or dropoffs, however he had 6to’s today too, so little bit of a double edged sword. I think you continue to run Vescovi & Springer at PG if you’re Barnes and see if Springer can get better in the turnover department, having 6 of the teams 11 total isn’t going to work.

3. Announcers mentioned it, and I’m not sure if Fulky has some injuries going on, but we need offensive production to be better from those 2 guys. They don’t need to force things but Fulk & Pons combined for 8/13 from the field, they need to get a few more looks, I will say A&M is always a tough matchup for Fulk as they run physical guys at him and typically double him.

4. Bailey’s worst all around game as a Vol, missed his kind of shots which only took 5 so not a huge problem, but also got lost defensively a few times which put him right in the bench. It was good to see him still involved in the game and in good spirits afterwards, need him to bounce back and shake that off, continue to improve defensively.

5. Need James to find offensive consistency, coming off probably one of his better games as a Vol he kind of lays a dud...doesn’t have to bring 17 a night but would be nice if we could count on him for about 10 a night. Was great to see Johnson hit a 3 ball, hopefully that’ll give him some confidence and that will only open things up for him on drives which is obviously his strength.

6. Move to 9-1(3-1) hopefully our game against South Carolina upcoming happens, another road game but we would be favored, then heavy favorites at home against Vanderbilt before heading to Florida which should be a good test against a Gators team playing pretty well.


GBO!!!
We own Florida.
 
#11
#11
Nice write up BTO and solid win for the Vols. Anyone else getting tired of the “Cool stuff in our office” BS from the commentators? Jimmy Dykes was rambling about that crap too long. It was good to see SV bounce back today.

Jimmy and Ravi are among the best in college basketball. Just an off night for them
 
#13
#13
Nice write up BTO and solid win for the Vols. Anyone else getting tired of the “Cool stuff in our office” BS from the commentators? Jimmy Dykes was rambling about that crap too long. It was good to see SV bounce back today.

They can talk incessantly, but I was more annoyed that the video missed game moments. A good tv crew does not allow that.
 
#15
#15
SV showed up, was great to see him bounce back like that after a subpar game.
I hate to see Bailey continue to struggle defensively because he’s a big time scorer, but I believe his mins will continue to decrease unless he catches up some defensively.

We got to see some more of them playing with a 4 guard lineup tonight, with either Fulky or Pons in the game. I absolutely love it, esp with Pons for defensive purposes. Fulky can’t switch off on guards and guard like Pons can. But there’s so many options to explore, the drive and dish options, pick and roll options, and isolating Johnson and Springer at the elbows or the block on weak defenders is something I think we could seriously take advantage off.
I think the D was even better with the 4 guard lineup also, they created 2 or 3 turnovers in consecutive possessions
 
#17
#17
ORN should get more minutes imo he has been productive or am I missing something? Hes got great length and Rebounding has been better. Maybe let him play through some Defensive mistakes
I agree. I think we need to manage fulky and pons minutes a bit. They’re generally playing 30+ unless they’re in foul trouble. Would like to see them in the 25-27ish range to keep them fresh as we get later on the season and to get Olivier some additional PT.
 
#21
#21
1. A 14pt road win on the road in SEC play, you beat the spread, and yet know we played far from our best game...I’ll gladly take it. A&M shot better than normal from 3 and the FT line, they also got too many ORB’s, and again we won by 14...our defense, especially first shot defense was REALLY good.

2. Anyone thinking Vescovi’s minutes would decline is sorely mistaken, he may play more off ball (more on that coming up), but his outside shooting and as we saw some too his midrange game is elite, he gets his feet set on kick out 3’s and I bet he’s over 50% on the year. So do you slide him off the ball and allow Springer to primarily run point? I do think Springer had phenomenal vision, provides scoring on his drives which also opens the kickoffs or dropoffs, however he had 6to’s today too, so little bit of a double edged sword. I think you continue to run Vescovi & Springer at PG if you’re Barnes and see if Springer can get better in the turnover department, having 6 of the teams 11 total isn’t going to work.

3. Announcers mentioned it, and I’m not sure if Fulky has some injuries going on, but we need offensive production to be better from those 2 guys. They don’t need to force things but Fulk & Pons combined for 8/13 from the field, they need to get a few more looks, I will say A&M is always a tough matchup for Fulk as they run physical guys at him and typically double him.

4. Bailey’s worst all around game as a Vol, missed his kind of shots which only took 5 so not a huge problem, but also got lost defensively a few times which put him right in the bench. It was good to see him still involved in the game and in good spirits afterwards, need him to bounce back and shake that off, continue to improve defensively.

5. Need James to find offensive consistency, coming off probably one of his better games as a Vol he kind of lays a dud...doesn’t have to bring 17 a night but would be nice if we could count on him for about 10 a night. Was great to see Johnson hit a 3 ball, hopefully that’ll give him some confidence and that will only open things up for him on drives which is obviously his strength.

6. Move to 9-1(3-1) hopefully our game against South Carolina upcoming happens, another road game but we would be favored, then heavy favorites at home against Vanderbilt before heading to Florida which should be a good test against a Gators team playing pretty well.


GBO!!!
Great analysis. I believe Vescovi is much better in a defensive minded, half court game. His sloppy play comes against athletic, fast paced teams who press
 
#22
#22
If each individual on this squad would play consistently at the end of this year we would be dangerous. Whether we get there or not is the question.

A&M made us play ugly and we did enough to make it comfortable but this isn’t a very good Aggies squad. Winning 9 out of 10 is very good record wise, but we need to see cumulative signs of improvement to make an impact come tourney time. Enjoying the process, as we still have upside with this squad. Our ball movement today was very nice, but wanted to us attack them more offensively. Only had 9 FTA.

Vescovi has a smooth perimeter shot and when he is efficient from the 3 pt line, we are a much better offensive team. Springer, is a gifted offensive player, and needs more shots. He made some great passes today mostly off wing position, but still should hunt his shot more often. Bailey was bothered by the physical play and was too passive. Getting lost on inbound plays will cut his minutes if that doesn’t improve. Keon was impactful despite only getting 18 minutes. I thought James started off great with the short baseline jumper, but didn’t do anything else offensively the rest of the game. We need double figures from him, at least, every game. He does everything else well enough. It doesn’t even seem we run anything for Pons in the half court. Fulkerson, isn’t himself. We need the Fulky from 2nd half of last year to be very good. The physical play bothered him a lot too. He needs to learn “again” that his strength against physical teams is his mobility, movement without the ball, and quickness. Anytime he tries to bang bodies with opponents, it isn’t to his favor. We are not using him at all where he should be playing....at the elbow and the high post.

Overall a win on the road against an inferior team, was expected. Hopefully the game on Tuesday happens.
 
#23
#23
The announcers aren't in the arenas - most are in their living rooms getting the same view of the game as us. Probably if they were present and had 20k fans screaming around them they'd be more invested in the game.
Yes i agree...I hardly ever watch with the audio up but occasionally do. I'm hard on journalist (yes these guys are sports journalist too) but the environment of being off site and trying to catch things you would normally see courtside must be very difficult. I DID hear the segment on the cool office thing and agree...the programming director blew that one and IT became, just for an awkward moment, the show and not the game. To be in the arena and feeding off the crowd affects the play by players as much as anyone. And I personally think Jimmy does about as good as anyone around these days. A little overdramatic at times maybe but is very knowledgeable.
 
#24
#24
Thank you BTO for the game recaps. This type stuff is what I enjoy and keeps me coming here because you have a handful of guys who have taken over the football forum and sound like screaming, running, out of control children and its hard to get any real information there anymore. Basketball forum is usually done with thought and understanding of the game and minus the foolish immaturity and name calling. Thanks again!!
 
#25
#25
I agree. I think we need to manage fulky and pons minutes a bit. They’re generally playing 30+ unless they’re in foul trouble. Would like to see them in the 25-27ish range to keep them fresh as we get later on the season and to get Olivier some additional PT.

Anosike and Nkamhoub need to play at least 10 minutes each to give Fulkerson and Pons adequate breaks and if they play defense and rebound the guards can handle the scoring load.

Vescovi was the player of the game today and James played a solid floor game.

Johnson and Springer have shown flashes of taking over a game and Springer is a terrific passer.

Nice win at a tough road venue.
 

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