Tipoff: Wednesday, 4PM @ Toso. TV: WCCNetwork Line: Torvik doesn’t do analysis for non D-1. Not sure if there’s a Vegas line, if there is it will probably be 20+.
Menlo College:
NAIA school. In general, I’d say NAIA ball is somewhere between DIII and DII caliber.
The Oaks are 6-2 on the season mostly against other NAIA’s. Not going to spend a ton of time on them…
Corey Le’aupepe, brother of LMU’s Leaupepe is a starter and one of their best players.
Not much size on the squad…frontcourt is mostly 6-6, 6-7 guys. Broncos need to dominate the glass and interior.
For the Broncos, hopefully this is a get healthy game, keep the starters minutes well under 30 and get more PT for the young cohort off the bench. Maybe experiment with some different lineup combinations. The only way this is close is if they hit a barrage of 3’s or if we’re sloppy with turnovers or not blocking out. Just take care of all this basic stuff and it should be a comfortable win.
3-14 from the field. These are 2020-21 shooting numbers for the Broncos. But at that time, I assumed they were the result of being constantly shuffled around to Santa Cruz, etc. And maybe they were. Not sure how a team of so many shooters struggles so thoroughly.
This game is like watching paint dry. SLOW moving offense - no off the ball pick/screen action. This team does not play with a sense of urgency. Maybe 1 or 2 kids hustling - that is about it.
I’m hoping we can simply chalk up this game to post Bahamas let down, lingering jet lag, etc.
Uninspired is the most gentle way I can describe what I’ve been watching.
Can we target Le’auppe for grad transfer for next season??? He’s as good as his brother, Keli, not sure how he ended up at NAIA Menlo while his brother went D1, but he’d compliment our program, potentially start but at a minimum would be heavy minutes off the bench.
I GIVE UP! I cannot figure this out for the LIFE OF ME! I know Cam is my kid. But HE just came into the game and his hustle and defensive hedging and help D just got us our largest lead. (FYI - we went on a 15-2 run with Cam in there playing D). Offensively, he helps create opportunities for his teammates to score. He boxes out and rebounds. He hauls a-- down the floor. And then out he goes. AND YES - Parker was FANTASTIC for consistency and smart ball. JB doing a good job with him too. Keyshawn comeback was nice to see.
Whatever. The computers don’t care about this one, so I will try not to either. If this game continues the Keshawn Justice comeback and puts a little urgency in the Broncos to not take nights off, then I’ll (happily) forget about this game pretty quickly.
Agree, not going to lose any sleep over this less than impressive game.
Random observations:
Agree on Justice, 5/9 from 3 is great to see and definitely needed for the Broncos to be successful going forward.
Podziemski rebounding is impressive for a 6-5 guy with above average but not elite athleticism.
Feels like Stewart has replaced Justice as the player who’s in a funk. 0/6 from 3, 0 assists, 2 turnovers in 25 mins. Knapper has played better over the last few games, tonight had 5 assists and two made 3’s and played 25mins as well. If Stewart continues to struggle we may see them share the PT at pt guard.
No Akametu tonight unfortunately. Didn’t hear any word on him from the announcers, maybe I missed it. I assume he’s under the weather or some sort of minor injury.
Very disappointing and have to hope it was a result of Jet Lag as others suggested. Beating a D3 team by 13 does not show progression. If coach played all non starters then maybe ok result. Playing starters and having this result is not a good indication of things to come. The rest of the league is doing well so at this point we need a lot of soul searching and improvement from the players and coaches.
Post Bahamas Blues, Pre-Triptophan coma, or precursor for the remainder of the season? I’m not enthused no matter what the answer (as if that matters anyway).
Best of Turducken, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce to all Broncos.