EternalOptimist

I'm trying to find some positive in that 1st half. The only thing I can find is according to the stats, we only have 7 turnovers. I think that's very generous of the stat keeper, but its an improvement from the other day

We are on pace to give up 112 points... defense is bad, and offense is bad. Tough to watch

To me is looks like they are struggling offensively to get good shots (27 turnovers is an indicator they are having some issues). A lot of the 3s are either at the end of the shot clock, or look like they are relieved there is no pressure so they take the shot. We also miss a TON of post attempts.

Well - they must have played together at some point. I do know they know each other well.

Heh... I don't know Wes personally, but why would Chavez wait this long to renew? I can kind of buy into the idea that he didn't want to pull the plug last year with all the other coaching changes, but he is either going to renew, or not renew. Waiting only means there may be some contingent in his head, like possibly having a good year. OR... he has begun his search already.

Were they actually AAU teammates or did the Curtis twins and A3 play a year ahead of Moore. They all played for the same AAU organization, but I don't think they played on the same team. To my knowledge, A3 and Moore play the same position.

It might be... and I certainly could be wrong. I agree that both of them (as well as A3) have a lot of growing to do. But that said, the coaches seem very high on them, so they will get ample opportunity to figure a few things out. Here is how it plays out: 1) UND finishes 7th-9th and possibly loses a play-in game (which I think is very probable) 2) Coach doesn't get a renewed contract - UND AD takes some time to get someone causes uncertainty 3) Several guys leave due to being out of eligibility 4) Several others leave to make more $$ 5) A few leave because they are not playing 6) Everyone in their circle has told them how great they are and it's someone else to blame for the losing, they could shine elsewhere 7) They will get offered more $ than UND will be able to give them to convince them to stay. Again - this is baseless, and has no factual info in it - just my opinion and prediction.

For this year... my hunch is with the $$ around, you may see these guys and the twins bolt after this year.

I don't know what he got from X, but the sum floated was close to $700k. My guess is the broken toe has something to do with him not playing, much like BJ Omot, injuries have hampered his progress.

27% shooting with 18.5% from 3 along 27 turnovers. It's a miracle the game wasnt a 30pt blowout. This one was ugly.

Showing some grit! Hope this is something to build on. The freshman show some great things, but they are still freshman. Went down 12 with 3 freshman in. Pulled them out and we grinded our way back. Greyson is the real deal.

I like this lineup and you are onto something in my opinion. If you look at this lineup, and our team, our strength is dribble penetration. What you have here 1-4 is a solid dribble penetration lineup. Uelmen and Anderson can shoot, and so can Kraft which goes well with dribble penetration. IF Jones can truly control the paint and the boards and be strong, he can be a decent big. Unfortunately, he hasn't done that consistently. He also has slow feet on defense and a tendency to foul (been in foul trouble or fouled out most games). In addition, neither Guga or Jones have exactly cleaned up the glass, so we don't have that going for us (our defense contributes a little to this as well). I don't see Guga, Bothun, or Erikson in an 8 man rotation, but I would really like to see us change up our big man philosophy as an experiment. Build off our strength, and get our big out of the lane offensively and allow the others to do what they do best - drive or drive and kick. So find your best shooting big (Guga, Bothun, or Erikson) and let them pull the big out of the lane - if the big doesn't leave - let them take the open 3. I've been waiting for this to happen, and at times the big leaves the paint to set a screen, but quickly returns - get him out of there - unless Jones is going to control the paint and the ball flows through him.

HA - some AAU clubs have a track record of getting kids "offers" from big time programs. These offers are not legit offers. He played for an AAU club that is notorious for it. Of course I could be wrong and he actually visited Baylor, Illinois, Gophers, and UND and said - I think UND the best choice. You be the judge.

12 pts last night

Good summary - I think we will see some lineup changes. Not only for the reason you mentioned, but per "sources" (GoodGood should love that), stomach illness has affected several. Not sure who will come out of it in time, or who might yet come down with it, but it's a bummer for sure.

I think Tsotne Tsartsidze plays somewhere in Europe

That's a great summary, and spot on. The frontcourt is a question. From what I've seen - and it's just my opinion. Jones is the biggest body we have. He can bang around in the paint, but lacks shooting ability, and is quite slow on his feet. Guga, is a tweener - he doesn't really shoot very well, and had ok size and strength. I haven't really seen him post up with authority yet. Both Jones and Guga seem to struggle with fouls. Bothun doesn't have the size to bang with other solid bigs (he is listed at 220 lbs). In the limited time he has gotten, it seems like he has decent footwork and can put the ball on the floor if needed. He also hit a few threes last year, and one in a previous game - the word is he is a decent shooter. Erickson is closer to Jones in my opinion, other than Erickson is a little better shooter - not great, but better than Jones. My guess is we will see a revolving door of frontcourt guys for a while. Again - only my opinion, but this team seems to have a makeup to drive and shoot. Greyson, the Curtis Twins, A3, Anderson, and King all seem to be most comfortable trying to get the the basket. Kraft is a shooter (others shoot as well). I guess I'd like to see us play to that and use a frontcourt that has the ability to drag the opposing big out of the paint. We don't seem to have anyone that is going to dominate the paint, so try and get a big who can hit a 3 here and there, and make a pass from the perimeter to drag that opposing big out to open the lane for others to drive. If the help comes - kick to a shooter. Again - just my opinion

This is a neat idea... Predictions on # of attendees?

Being bumped completely from the radio for the football game when they use different radio stations often during the basketball season is a bummer for many who can't make the games. It also screams, we are not willing to give basketball a priority. (Don't get me wrong, football should be on the radio and it is football season, but this is D1 - we can use a different station). Then to not have the stats posted, just confirms the pecking order. Even at the game, no hype video, which I get its the 1st exhibition game, but nothing at all? Should have at least had a "get to know your 25/26 Hawks". I talked to a friend who was at the NDSU vs Gopher game last Thursday, and he said they had the band playing like it was mid-season. We don't even have the digital basketball program working on the UND app yet. There is room for improvement

1) We Looked nervous to begin - better in the 2nd 2) Defense has changed and has potential, but still TBD 3) Freshmen & newbies played pretty well, but will have some freshman mistakes 4) We will not win a lot of games.

I was at the game. It was fun to get back into basketball at the Betty, and even though I believe the wins are going to be tough to come by this year, I enjoy watching and taking it all in. A couple of takes from my perspective. In general, I thought we looked a bit nervous in the 1st half. In addition to that, Jamestown shot pretty well in the 1st half. The second half, it appeared we looked a bit more at ease with the game. (Note: I'm not saying this because I think it was a half-time speech or adjustments, I say it because we have several on the team who haven't seen a lot of minutes at the D1 level and it seemed to take a bit to settle). As far as the positives go, we didn't chuck up a bunch of contested 3s. The 3s we shot, were decent looks. I also think we moved the ball pretty well. It didn't seem to get sticky, nor were we looking for 1 or 2 guys specifically to score. Much more balance that way in my opinion. The defense has a new look, with more ball pressure and some trapping. This looked a little disjointed at times in the 1st half, but looked much better in the 2nd half. Still TBD to see how this plays out vs better opponents. As for the negatives, the defense, if broken, will be prone to the open look, which might cause problems vs good shooting teams. In addition, often times our big is doing the trapping on the perimeter (due to the offensive big setting the high pick). If the defense works, it causes a lot of chaos - which we saw some nice steals and dunks from it. If the pass gets through the trap, it leaves us with less rebounding abilities - which we may see rebounding as an issue. Also, this defense needs to have mobile bigs in order to set traps and get back if they didn't work. I think the freshmen will contribute, but I also think we will see some freshman tendencies that might get hard to stomach from time to time. They will also provide some highlights. All in all, it was fun to see. I wins may be a challenge, but there are some bright spots and a lot of potential bright spots. It's only 1 game though. The Gophers and Alabama will bring a different level of physicality and length. It may get ugly - but, it's better than playing some D3 college.

All teams deal with minor injuries, you just don't normally hear about it unless it's major - UND isn't any different. These guys are practicing and lifting every day, minor strains and twists are bound to happen. Often players play through it during the season, but sometimes they miss a practice or a lift to rest it.

Knee issue - he will be fine.

Like someone has already mentioned, I don't think much stock should be taken from who starts this 1st exhibition game, there will most likely be changes along the way. I would be surprised if we see King even play - it's really not worth it to push recovery. There are a couple others that are nursing injuries as well. No need to risk anything further.

Agreed! And if I were forced to put money on it, I'd bet he may be our leading scorer this year (if he stays healthy).