General Observations

[william_brasky]

I really like what I saw yesterday in the Norfolk St. game. It seems to me that Capel takes a much more cerebral approach to the game than his predecessor.

The team looks confident and loose on the offensive side of the ball. If KS were here, a true freshman wouldn't even consider jacking up a 3 on the secondary break (Moose). LL was attacking on the offensive side with a square up and jab step. Wow. Carter looked confident when shooting 10-15 ft jumpers. AJ looked alot more loose and confident handling the ball and shooting.

We had a few defensive breakdowns, and just from habit I was expecting a timeout to be called. None were to be found. El Capel let 'em continue to play. He allows his players to play and lets the flow of the game continue. I like that very much.

Capel's a cool cat. No jumping up and down on the sideline. No blow ups on players.

Folks, we're gonna be damn good with Jeff at the helm. I'm looking forward to the ride. This year will be up and down, but 3-4 years from now, we're going to be a powerhouse with a real shot at winning the whole enchilada.

Book it.

[OUSKINS]

My thoughts from section N5, Row L, Seat 2:

--I really have to temper my observations from three reasons:
a. It's Norfolk State
b. It's the first game of the season
c. It's Norfolk State
So, with that in mind, here's what I saw:

--I love the tempo of the team. When your small and somewhat thin, you've got to do whatever you can to turn the game into a full-court battle. You do this in two ways: forcing the issue on defense (which we did brilliantly last night) and giving your players freedom on offense (which we also did well). I think Capel realizes that the WORST thing for this team would be to have these kids afraid to shoot the ball. The minute we start playing passive, passing up shots, and playing "keep-away," is the minute this team will sink. This style will certainly translate into some big losses, but I also think it will pay dividends in the longrun and create a more fun team to watch.

--It's pretty clear that Crocker and Clark are the keys. If those two guys exceed expectations and deliver in their first year, then we can have a really nice season. I have a feeling that our fortunes will ride heavily from night to night based on what those two contribute.

--Lots of pressure on Longar. Being so small, we showed signs even last night of getting beat on the boards. He's really going to have to stay on the floor this year, hit the glass, and shoot a high percentage. I hate having him as the only true viable option down low right now, but it is what it is.

--Like I said, kind of a hard night to make any firm judgements-- probably won't be able to do that until Hawaii, but for what it was, you'd have to grade it out as an A+. Lots of intensity, great tempo, stellar pressure defense, and the team was unselfish and took good shots. But NSU was quite horrendous, that should not be lost in all of this excitement over the first game.

5 Things I Observed That I Probably Shouldn't Have:

1. Anyone else think Castiglione was trying to get to third base with Bruce Drake's wife? He was all over her!
2. Picking up your season tickets at will call before the opening game isn't a good idea. I spent 10 minutes struggling to get those stupid tickets torn away from the massive sheets. I was clogging the entry and making a fool of myself.
3. Life would be much easier for Bob Barry Sr. if everyone followed Longar's lead. On the drive home, Bob butchered a few names.
4. My wife and I were the only people between the ages of 25-65 at the game. Everyone was either a current student or an alum from the 1920's.
5. Norfolk State isn't going to the Final Four.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

i think we had more dunks in that one game than we had in some seasons under sampson. there is no way he would let them continue to try to flush it after they missed two...

[william_brasky]

i think we had more dunks in that one game than we had in some seasons under sampson. there is no way he would let them continue to try to flush it after they missed two...

That's true. Capel lets 'em play. KS was a bit of a control freak.

[stoopified]

AJ looks to be healthyand showed what kind of player he CAN be.Walker loks like he can actually play a little ball.Taylor and L2 l as a duo remind me of Bron and Book,although I get the feeling L2 is a much harder worker than Brown.Taylor seems to have that Book mindset that he doen;t mind being in the background doing the dirty work,I.E. setting picks,screens,blocking out on the boards(even if it means someone else gets thr carom.),hard -nosed player .Clark has good range,is a good ball handler but IMHO needs to wrk on rebounding and D.He may be a better player away rom the rim but because we are thin on size he will need ti play as a BIG MAN some to help out. Crocker looks to be better than advertised to me,athleic and smooth shot.Hopefully that athletic smoothness will trnslate to good D.Godbold looked much as he did last year,doing a little bit of everything.Can't help wondering if Kellen will get any real pt this year,kid has some game.Carter looks more comfortable up-tempo(I guess that is true of all the returnees though)and more at home in the close-in and midrange then he did on the perimeter last year.

Curious to see how the chemistry changes when Neal comes back.Also curious wether injury eill set Maze back far enough that he will be a redshirt or a second semester contributor.Speaking of 2nd semester contributors has anyone heard any further rumors of football players joining for spring semester?