Sutherland recap... Illawarra preview...

Sutherland game: it was a blowout. the pilots were just too big and too strong. not sure of the stats but i'm sure they outrebounded sutherland by at least 10. the pilots really shot the lights out though. if they started slow yesterday they definitely didnt today. in the first half coach rev asked jason brough what they were shooting from the 3 pt line and the reply was "about 70%." stohl hit 3 straight very quickly. these guys dont really have the luxury of a scouting report so they did it pretty tough.

coach rev went to a few small lineups for a few minutes with ethan in the 4 at one point, and BJ in the 4 at another point. he really mixed up the lineups and everyone played decent minutes. robin was moving well even after his knee issues.

the pilots were pretty solid throughout. no real bad mistakes. a few silly passes and freshman mistakes by waterford but pretty solid overall.

there were a few sweet plays:
1. BJ went baseline and dropped it off to Jasonn who dunked it through the middle (good to see him throw his weight around)
2. TJ dropped 2 dimes round his back on consecutive plays which made the crowd go "oooooooh" (that guy is so smooth to watch in person)
3. coach rev went out on the floor and mopped up the sweat with a towel himself. big cheers from the crowd. lol

let me know if you want to know anything specific. i was a little in awe that the pilots were playing in australia.

I took some pictures (very poorly) so when i get around to it i'll upload them somewhere and let everybody know.

now... the illawarra game tomorrow...

i will be playing against the pilots tomorrow. so this will be very interesting. and i'm not exactly sure of who i'll be playing with. i know there will be a few guys who have played college bball at different levels. but i dont really have any idea. hopefully there are some other big guys. or i'm gonna be in foul trouble early lol.

i should have an interesting perspective on the game tomorrow. so stay tuned.

ps. i wont try to hurt anybody. i promise. lol

It'll be fun to get your perspective Chris! Are the games more of a "pick-up ball" sort of game, or are there set offensive plays and tough defense being played?

Awesome that you get to play! I look forward to more of your thoughts.

The final score was UP 127, Sutherland 60. Be sure to check out the Australia blog here for more details on the game from Jason Brough... there is some funny stuff there.

Oh man, Chris... THANK YOU so much!!! So awesome to have your input!

Great win for the Pilots... in case you missed it from Jason Brough's blog, this team beat UNLV last year and is the two-time defending champ of the second-division league in Australia. Not sure if the team has the same players as last year or not, but still... it's not like we just blew out a bunch of stiffs.

Looks like our outside shooting was killer, and Jasonn again had a nice game. I'm really pleased by that, since I always got the feeling during the season like he was ready to break out a bit but could just never quite do it. I know he has had lots of moments in practice where he has looked like a real handful but it just didn't translate to games. I'm sure he's just feasting on smaller guys right now, but I'm really happy for him to have an opportunity to get some buckets and boards and gain some confidence in his play. With Hegarty gone, we'll need him next year.

What a game. Pints up for cjacks! Thanks for the recap.

I definitely raise a pint of Foster's (Or whatever it is you ACTUALLY drink down under) to the nice recap! I'm glad the TJ appreciation spans down there too, gotta love the 6 to 1 Ast/TO ratio!!

Its really good to hear Jasonn (or should I say Julius??) get an opportunity to put together what he's been working so hard on in practice. Any confidence is definitely a good thing, hopefully this will help him provide a bigger contribution spelling Kramer and Robin at the 5 spot on both ends of the floor (And now that our big man depth has been cut down, it's gonna be REALLY important...)

jasonn was good. it was the first time i've really seen him use his size. he posted up hard and made a few nice hook shots. i think his touch around the bucket is improving.

the games are definitely real games. referees, shot clock, etc etc. the guys are adjusting a bit to the fiba rules (24 sec clock, wide lane, a few other small differences) but they are definitely real games, not just scrimmages. the pilots were running presses, testing out defenses, running plays. it was serious. i dont think rev would let them have it any other way.

to be honest i'm not looking forward to banging with all the big guys for a full 40 mins tonight. i'm not sure what big guys we'll have and the pilots are big! credit to the strength and conditioning guys. the pilots are looking tough.

i'll keep you guys posted on tonights game. i'll try to make it tough for the big guys!