A Closer Look at the Box Score...

I just took a closer look at the Montana box score, and there were some interesting things:

http://www.portlandpilots.com/assets/sports/mbball/07pormbb09.htm

One, Walter only played 2 minutes.
Two, Hannibal played 13.
Three, Smeulders really got into foul trouble.
Four, we were outscored in the second half again.

As for point one... I have the feeling that Stohl's play - though somewhat inconsistent - while Ito was out has put him ahead of Walt on the depth chart. I'm a big believer in Stohl's ability to shoot and I think he's a bit less streaky than Thompson, less of a liability on defense, and a better ball handler. I know that he's still got some work to do on the defensive end, but honestly I think from this point on we are going to see more of Jared and less of Walt.

Point two is related to point three... Jasonn probably wouldn't have gotten those kinds of minutes if Robin could have avoided the fouls, but it looks like he did an OK job out there. Of course I don't like the 0-3 from the field or 0-2 from the line, but grabbing three offensive boards and picking up only one foul is pretty good. I'm not sure if he's ready for the big time yet, but quite honestly I'm pretty surprised that Hannibal is even able to contribute that much based on the reports I heard about him from the summer. He still has a long way to go, but he is improving, which is definitely an encouraging sign.

Point four... this has been coming up several times this year. On the year, we are outscoring opponents 274-273 (yeah!) in the first half but are trailing 359-310 in the second half. I'm not really sure what to take from this... my first instinct is to say that it's a sign of our inexperience, but I think it also speaks to the fact that our team is clearly pretty prepared for its opponents. Now maybe they don't adjust as well as the game goes on based on their youth, but I would say that it's pretty impressive that the coaches have been able to prepare this team well despite our youth.

Not sure what to say about 1-3, but I've got a comment about point 4.

I've made the observation about our men over the last several years that we can keep pace for 36 minutes of the game. We always run out of gas around the last media timeout of the game. That's when we end up down and the other team keeps increasing the point difference.

My first thought on point 4:

We have consistently been outsized (muscle -wise) over the recent past. You lookk at other teams compared to ours, and they just have more muscle mass than our guys do. I think this can wear you down. I really hope that as our guys mature more, they put in some serious time in the weight room. I am a huge believer that you can make up for a ton of athletic limitations by being stronger than the man and the team that you are playing. And when you get a guy who is athletic, and combine strangth with that, you get a great talent.

I'll second that on the muscle take, I mean honestly if you look back since post chavez era exodus the only "post presences" we have had are Coky,maybe you could count the toughness of Dustin Geddis , and I might throw in Vance/Jones just because they had the talent( OK and for good measure I might throw in Tiny and Kirkwood just because I can't resist at least a bi-annual Kirkwood plug) But of those Geddis and Coky were by far the most effective, both coincidentally being JUCO transfers. I don't know it just goes to show the inability to recruit and develop solid post players (sorry but field and sullivan were a bit too interested in the extracurriculars and not really ever that dedicated to the game to even garner consideration).

It just strikes me that a post presence is paramount in grinding out close victories, by drawing fouls and giving a good way to manufacture buckets when the jumpers aren't falling. And at the end of the game that can be key. The fact that coop and pooh were able to have such great careers without the help of a good post presence says a lot about their talent and competitive fire. I am really excited to see if reveno is able to work his big man magic on the bluff, I know big talent is premium, but with studs like sikma to develop I can see this second half deficit for sure narrowing over the next several years.

P.S. Rochin54, I have 4 different kinds of microbrews in my fridge right now... jealous??

I hate you....that is all.

Hmmm... so does that mean you hate me for having lunch today at the Belmont Station, where they feature over 1,000 varieties of domestic and imported beers?

Ah Portland....

1,000!!

That's a beer menu that I need to keep working through...

Has anyone checked out that new-ish bottle shop on NE Fremont and 13th? I think its called La Bodega...?

How I will get through the winter without a true winter ale or nice strong IPA is beyond me.

Has anyone checked out that new-ish bottle shop on NE Fremont and 13th? I think its called La Bodega...?

Ya sure.. My impression is they are mostly into wines, and have a good selection from local wineries.
They do, however have a few exotic beers most places don't carry.

Rochin54, I have what is left of an awesome twelve-pack of Bud Select, so there!

Man, I have to drive about 12 miles to go to Publix just to get some decent beer, but at least they have Bridgeport.