UO vs. UP

I thought it was a pretty game tonight, especially the first half. In a game that I thought would be a blow out I thought we had some pretty good signs. Oregon is a pretty good team. I don't know if they live up to the ranking that they've currently got but I'm sure there's better people to address that then me.

I'm pretty happy with the game. Not the outcome, of course, but with the way the team played, especially the freshmen. Rev has these guys going in the right direction. Considering this is their 4th D1 game and the ducks are 11th in the country, I think we'll be fine.


I think this is going to be a nice year to watch basketball.

I thought they played good the first half.The three point and free throw was terrible.Too bad Stohl could'nt get in but I think he probably would have been physically overmatched trying to play defense against the Ducks. The pilots sure could have used his offense. What happened to Thompson, did he take just one three pointer?
I missed the first ten minutes courtesy of Stretchnet.What did the team look like in person. Were they really as Tired as Rev said they were in the 2nd half?
Well It looks like they will be competitive in the WCC(At least at home) this year. Especially as they grow and mature during the season.

Go Pilots

yeah stohl has a sweet stroke, but he def needs to hit the weightroom.........

nice to see another arizonan on the board

The Pilots were very gassed in the second half. Knutsen especially looked like he was out of breath a lot.

They were very active in the first stanza, so it's not so surprising. The big guys aren't big lumbering dudes like we've had in the past. They are all active and quick. they can get up and down the floor and have quick hands. I was really impressed with how much better they performed than that WOU game. These guys are learning Fast!

They're not afraid to go toe to toe with anybody, either. Sikma especially, held his own with the best the Ducks had. He showed a lot of poise tonight, I thought. As active as he was, he only had 2 fouls until the last couple minutes, when they fouled on purpose.

Yea, the pilots did look pretty winded in the second half. I can understand it, they hustled like crazy in the first half. I don't know how many second chance points they had in first half but it was a pretty sizable number i would think. They just couldn't keep the pace they had up for the whole game.

Plenty of good signs though.

The Pilots are developing an inside game under Reveno. Now they need some consistent scoring from the outside. The first half was great. Great intensity, great defense--they had the Ducks addled a few times. This young team just couldn't keep up with the more experienced Ducks in the second half. I'm hopeful for a better-than-expected season. Sikma's composure out there was good to see.

Being in the pep band gives you the privilage of taking great photos from your seat...I'll share a few once I'm done sifting through them.

Look at that black background! I can't wait to see it in person.

Yeah, it looks great in person and on-camera - those jerseys really pop! Did anyone at the game see the lobby's new paint job? It's pretty nice! I didn't get to take more than a passing glance at it (that drumset is heavy!).

Replay is on Comcast SportsNet right now!

From a couple of posts I wonder if they check the Sunday paper to see the box score, etc.
Stohl did indeed play, scored five pts. on a three pointer and a twopointer.
Thompson played did not score on zero for three, enough said.

Stoney, how quick is Porter and Hairston. Read like frosh Kam Brown ran the point well in his first start. Did Oregon play full-court pressure or trap? Man or Zone?

MJ... I will post a scouting report on your board. I've been meaning to do that but have been a bit busy this weekend!

Posted on the blog...

http://blog.oregonlive.com/pilots/

"As for the men's basketball team... boy did they look for real in the first half of that game. Oregon eventually pulled away at the end, but I think everyone at the gym and watching it live on TV saw something in the Pilots. The great thing about it for me was the UP wasn't getting it done in the first half with the normal "upset recipe" of hot outside shooting for the underdog and ice cold shooting from the favorite. Nope. UP shot 37% in the first half while the Ducks shot 50%. No, the Pilots were getting it done by outworking Oregon, getting offensive rebounds and second chance points and forcing turnovers. Luke Sikma and Kramer Knutson, the freshmen big guys, both simply know how to play down in the paint and I think are both going to continue to improve as the season goes on. Sikma, especially, seems to have star potential. Just watching him play... his instincts are tremendous. Great passes and court vision, great rebounding positionining, an ability to anticipate on defense and collect blocks and steals... wow. He really has tremendous talent. The one thing I would like to see more is him being a little more selfish on offense and taking more shots because this team is not going to light up the scoreboard every night and we need people to step up and get some buckets.

Taishi Ito had a great game too, even though is still struggling with his outside shot. His defense on Tajuan Porter was outstanding and he had a few great assists and some nice drives to the hoop as well. I think he feels an urgency to score points and make something happen on the offensive end, which is probably contributing to his poor shooting. But once some other guys step up a bit and take that pressure off of him, I think Taishi will settle into his role a bit better. I love the way he lays it all out there on the floor and I always feel comfortable when the ball is in his hands.

Sherrard Watson had flashes where he looked unstoppable attacking the hoop, but he also had way too many turnovers. Nik Raivio made some nice plays too but must have had grease or something on the bottom of his shoes because it seemed like he was slip-sliding all over the gym! I really like his game, though, and I still think that he will emerge as one of the team's top offensive threats. Robin Smeulders did some good things on the offensive end and there's no question in my mind that for this team to succeed they need him to be a consistent scoring threat.

Anyway, overall I'd say that there are definitely some positive things to take away from that game, especially the first half. Heck, even with five minutes to go the Pilots were only down by 10 or 11... it was really only the final five minutes that the game really got away from them. If they can improve the outside shooting (3-21 from three... yuck) and the free throw shooting (10--19... what was that all about?) I think they can easily battle for the middle-of-the-pack in the WCC. This team is going to surprise some people."