Drayton Leads Balanced Towson Past Wesley

[mat1992 2,235]

https://towsontigers.com/news/2018/11/11/mens-basketball-drayton-leads-balanced-towson-past-wesley.aspx

[TSU88 1,073]

A few random observations from watching this game in person:

- was surprised to read Howard had 6 assists. He strikes me as a shoot 1st guy. Hoisted up a lot of shots early. That’s fine...if he’s hitting them.  Dottin on on the other hand doesn’t look like he’s going to contribute much on the offensive end. Let’s face it, recruiting a good PG has been Skerry’s achilles heel since he’s been here. 

- I like Timberlake, notwithstanding his somewhat unorthodox shooting form. He could be a good one next year & beyond

- I like Betrand’s athletisim. He’s a little rough around the edges now, but another kid who’s best days are ahead of him

- very impressed with Solomon U. Showed the ability to get to the rim and a nice touch from the foul line (a rarity on this squad). I temper this with the level of competition he played against today, but he could be one of these kids who takes a big leap between his freshman and sophomore years

- Sanders has some skills around the basket. He’s going to struggle mightily at the foul line though. In close games, I don’t see how you can play him towards the end of the game. Reminds me in that regard of the guy who played at Hofstra, Gustas

- I’m resigned to a 2-3ppg season from Alex Thomas. I guess the best we can hope for is 4-5 boards a game, & solid D, until he inevitably gets in foul trouble

- kudos to Drayton for a very productive game tonight. I need to see him do it against better competition though

- The more I see of Fobbs, the more I like. I could see him averaging 10-12ppg

- I think we’re something like 28 of 54 from the foul line after 2 games. Will we wind up as one of, if not the worst foul shooting teams in the country?

- anxious to see us play some comparable mid-majors, with McNeill & Tunstall in the lineup (I hope Tunstall’s injury isn’t going to be a nagging issue all season). UVA was above our pay grade & Wesley was too far below it (even though we made one of their players look like Steph Curry). 

 

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

Drayton had a great game. Came out of nowhere.  He can shoot but had some nice drives and looked confident. Let’s just hope he isn’t Jordan McNeal 2.0

[TSU88 1,073]

Biggest surprise of the game for me was seeing Thomas dunk. Honestly, that’s the 1st time in 4 seasons I remember him dunking.

[mat1992 2,235]

Drayton's game definitely came out of nowhere. He shoots it much better than Jordan (when he first started) but his defense is nowhere near as good. Now if he can come on and at least be adequate and continue to get better on offense, he might develop into a sixth-man type. Not a great ballhandler but it was nice to see him score off the dribble. When Jordan comes back likely in the Bahamas, I see Betrand as seeing very little minutes if any. He just doesn't show enough awareness when bringing up the ball and trying to dribble through the entire defense. Drayton may have moved past him after that performance and improvements in practice.

Howard will be fine. He threw some nice outlet passes in transition. That's where he got most of his assists. He is a score-first lead guard but can also create for others. I'd like to see him set up guys more in the halfcourt, especially Fobbs. Now let's face it. This was a smallish D3 team (guards were pretty good) and everybody they could get their stats. Too much individual stuff but you can't beat good teams that way. It's an odd start to go from a huge, and very strong UVa top 5 team (ok, more like top 15 maybe) to a D3 squad. This was part of the Bahamas Trny so I guess we had no choice but to play them. I'd rather play a team like Mt. St. Mary's or Navy than a D3 squad before going to the Bahamas.

Dottin is ok. Let's not give up on him after his second game. He has to realize he's a driver and a drive and dish guy. Set guys up. He's not a great athlete but he's very strong. Have to use that. Remember, just a freshman along with Betrand and Solomon. I don't think Yagi projects to do a lot this year because he has a long ways to go. Has to overcome the quickness part and adjust to all the athletes. That and the language barrier.

Solomon can rebound. The defensive part is where he might struggle. He looked lost at times against Virginia, but they had some pros up front. He practically dominated the smaller Wesley team. Hopefully he improves. Sanders is a big guy that showed some good movement. Also seemed tired at times. Again, too much dribbling but like the way he runs the court. He really should be playing center with Tunstall at power forward but Dennis keeps getting nagging injuries. Now he has a hamstring injury that limited him in the second half as he didn't play at all. That's why you saw so much Solomon and Thomas played a ton. You need big Al against good big man but when you are going up against a small team, his minutes need to be limited. That wasn't his first dunk but he may have a handful in 3+ years.

Timberlake has to use those hops. I like the fact that he's driving and he's very fast so get him out on the break. Don't just rely on that odd-looking jumper. But not sure about his defense yet. He got taken of the dribble several times today, which is not a good sign. That's why you want guys like Tunstall or Thomas back there to protect the young guys from freshman defensive mistakes. Sanders can also block shots (1.1bpg at Duquesne), though he hasn't shown it yet.

 

[mat1992 2,235]