Since the team played awful the 1st half and much better the 2nd half. The question is who was on the court when we were successful, and who was on the court when we struggled. Here's the +/-.
The Mikulic stat was surprising because he did a lot of good things, but he also turned the ball over a lot. But what I found most interesting was who ended the game. At the 9:48 mark of the 2nd half, we were down 8. From that point, we played the following 5 players most to the time, and they turned a 8 point deficit into a 2 point win:
Wade Needham Gilbert Barrow Matthews
And Marcus Gilbert and Mo Barrow played the entire time since the 11:46 mark. That certainly shows the confidence that Sydney has in Gilbert. Its also a line-up that really improves our rebounding. It will be interesting to see if this unit continues to get time.
Great to hear that Marcus Gilbert is getting some QT. And that Mikulic looked good, despite turnovers and his -8 stat. But the small lineup that worked at the end of the Bridgeport game is not going to be very effective against our Division 1 opponents. Maybe if we are pressing full court, we can get way with that lineup. But then I would expect that one of our best defenders, Nickerson, to be in the game at that point. We have two 7 footers (well one really) and a 6'8" PF that have to step up if we are going to be competitive, particularly in the MAAC. SJ might not have any choice though, if we can't get these guys in the front court healthy.
I would also agree that Nickerson is a key performer on this year’s team. It’s my understanding that our high amount of turnovers were due to Bridgeport’s quick hands and aggressiveness. Bridgeport also feasted on the o-boards by being quicker to the jump by their wing type players . That sounds like Bridgeport was playing with a bunch of Nickerson type players. We need that same type of play out of Nickerson.
It also did not help that both Barrow and Matthews were in foul trouble the 1st half and only played 4 minutes together during the first 29 minutes of this game
I would not underestimate what Gilbert can bring to the Boards and defensive end at the SF position. And I agree that the trio of Barrow-Matthews-Gilbert might not work against tall/talented teams, but that’s why will start the Mikulic/Amadou. The Mikudou combo ended with 11pts, 8 rebs, 5 blocks, 1 assist, 1steal and 5-10 shooting. However, in many cases it’s who finishes the game is what’s more important.
On the improved play in the second half and feeding off a good defensive effort:
“We stopped turning the ball over – we had 14 in the first half and six in the second, so we gave ourselves chances at the rim. Thankfully we made some timely shots and I think we stopped giving them extra possessions and that helped out.”
FRESHMEN FOLLIES: Four of the five freshmen with the Stags this season saw game action on Friday night.
Coleman Johnson did not dress for the game and is expected to be out until the second round of the preseason NIT with a minor knee problem.
“It’s a really good freshmen class, but they need time and they are going to make mistakes,” Coach Johnson said after the game.
Seven-foot forward Josip Mikulic, who started, played 18 minutes (14 in first half) with eight rebounds, four points, four blocks and six turnovers: “Josef had eight rebounds in the first half, but he had some balls that were knocked out of his hands and he needs to be tougher,” Johnson said.
Amadou Sidibe, who played 13 minutes, finished with seven points, one assist, one block and one steal. Sidibe started the second half and helped the Stags get back into the game after trailing 33-19 at the half. “Amadou I didn’t think was very good in the first half, but in the second half he came back and was terrific with some effort plays,” Johnson said.
Forward Marcus Gilbert came off the bench with log 18 minutes and finished with six points. He hit a bigger 3-pointer in each half and was 2-for-3 shooting overall.
Guard Justin Jenkins also came off the bench and logged 10 minutes with no points, one assist and one steal. He was 0-for-4 from the field, but did set Sidibe up for a layup in the first half with a nice pass.
