TheLine
Professor
Posts: 5597
Age: 60
Reg: 07-07-09
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12-23-18 12:51 PM - Post#269967
Overall the team didn't have its best performance, was missing one of the 7 rotation regulars... and still won by 10. UNM isn't a good team but they're not pushovers and The Pit is a difficult place to play. As P38 said, this is the type of game that good Penn teams over the past 40 years have stumbled over.
Brodeur was the best player on the court and played like it. Has Brodeur improved? Yes. Just not at the FT line, where he looks lost.
Part of Brodeur's improvement is due to Mike Wang. Mike is a handful on both ends of the court. He was taking a beating out there and kept coming back for more. This season would be lost without him. He's a special player.
Dev wasn't at his best but that was the type of gritty, gutty performance we needed. Only 2 TOs despite constant harassment.
Washington came through when needed. Like Wang, Bryce has athleticism and basketball IQ that shines through even when his shot isn't falling.
Jake Silpe was challenged with tough assignments on the defensive end and hung in there despite being physically overmatched. On a day when Woods didn't have it, Jake needed to step up and did.
Simmons and Donahue put in effective cameos. Simmons added physicality and rebounding when it was needed. Nice job. Jarrod did pick up 2 quick fouls but I thought one was a weak call and I'm not willing to give that officiating crew the benefit of the doubt.
The coaching mismatch was the biggest reason we won. Weir is an awful coach who helped take his team out of the game. In the after game presser Weir said his team doesn't play well as the favorite. The Albuquerque Journal writer pointed out that Penn was the favorite and UNM was the dog. Weir blamed his pre-half tirade on his belief that he understands every possession is important while his team doesn't. Way to throw your team under the bus after mind-boggling substitution patterns, coach. Weir was more passive after that tirade, meanwhile Donahue got more aggressive - he wasn't going to see his team pushed around.
On to a tough matchup with Toledo, which is going to be a good measuring stick. Hope Max can give it a go.
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Mike Porter
Postdoc
Posts: 3618
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
Reg: 11-21-04
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12-28-18 01:53 AM - Post#270227
In response to TheLine
Holiday family fun has kept me busy this last week but still did want to comment here on the New Mexico game.
First off, their coach was a world class jacka$$, so that made it even better to gut out the win! Also just really impressed how well Mike Wang and Bryce Washington fit in as frosh.
Agree with your comments here and I’d add that even Eddie Scott came in for 3 or 4 mins end of first half to help with foul trouble and I thought he defended well (don’t remember any negatives) and even got a nice steal. Still think he can help us later on, maybe even as early as later this year.
What most impressed me is that frankly the team didn’t play it’s best, we had some foul trouble, super hostile environment, but still pulled out the win. Love that every time it looked like NM was going to make a run, we had a quick answer.
My last thought is that we definitely missed Max on defense and hope he can play on Saturday.
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weinhauers_ghost
Postdoc
Posts: 2137
Age: 64
Loc: New York City
Reg: 12-14-09
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12-28-18 11:10 AM - Post#270245
In response to Mike Porter
Looking at Penn's game notes for tomorrow, Max is listed as a probable starter. That's good news. Toledo starts a couple of brutes on the front line.
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10Q
Professor
Posts: 23360
Loc: Suburban Philly
Reg: 11-21-04
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12-28-18 11:18 AM - Post#270247
In response to weinhauers_ghost
Klinger?
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3584
Reg: 02-15-15
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12-28-18 01:02 PM - Post#270254
In response to weinhauers_ghost
Looking at Penn's game notes for tomorrow, Max is listed as a probable starter. That's good news. Toledo starts a couple of brutes on the front line.
I am guessing that's wrong based on comments made publicly. I would be surprised if Max played. I think Mike Wang gets his second start tomorrow
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Mike Porter
Postdoc
Posts: 3618
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
Reg: 11-21-04
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12-28-18 01:27 PM - Post#270256
In response to PennFan10
If so, I understand saving Max for league games. Know Mike will bring a lot to the table and hope that Jarrod and Eddie can step up to help fill the gap off the bench defensively.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3584
Reg: 02-15-15
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12-28-18 02:14 PM - Post#270260
In response to Mike Porter
Eddie (and probably Jarrod) is going to have to play well tomorrow for us to have a chance.
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Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1896
Reg: 11-29-04
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12-29-18 01:34 AM - Post#270288
In response to PennFan10
While Mike Wang is not a shutdown defender for a mobile wing, he showed vast improvement in the UNM game. He made an effort to move his feet, had some physical rebounds, and was a willing help defender who blocked/altered some shots. He went from bad to capable as a defender quite quickly.
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LyleGold
PhD Student
Posts: 1712
Reg: 11-22-04
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12-29-18 08:22 AM - Post#270290
In response to Penndemonium
Maybe, but he still gets beaten badly by quick baseline moves. He needs to cheat on that side and force the action to the lane where there is help available.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3770
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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12-29-18 10:30 AM - Post#270291
In response to LyleGold
Mike is obviously smart, very athletic and is a hard worker. I expect he’ll become an outstanding defender. Just a matter of time.
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