Five Takeaways: Smoky Hill versus GW
A matchup of two top 10 teams took place at Smoky Hill on Wednesday night as George Washington came in looking to come away with a win. It was a battle of supremely athletic teams, but, both teams took a while to get started before putting some points up on the board. The Patriots fell 61-52 to the Buffaloes and moved to 4-2 on the season. Here’s my five takeaways from the game.
Patriots schedule is strong
After Wednesday’s loss, the Patriots sit at 4-2 which isn’t the record they were hoping for but by taking a closer look at their schedule, it’s a good start. Through six games, the Patriots have faced off against three teams in the preseason top 10 rankings in the state and Rampart just missed the cut. They have a tough schedule and it only gets tougher as they head to Las Vegas for the Tarkanian Classic. The Patriots must continue their play as of late and use the Smoky Hill loss as motivation heading forward.
Smoky Hill playing big
In Smoky Hill’s win, there were only 3 three-pointers made by the Buffaloes but they managed to still put up 61 points. All this says is; they’re into the paint. They’re playing aggressive and getting to the free-throw line. They have a stout group and are a bigger team than what the state is accustomed to. If it wasn’t 6’8” John Harge it was 6’9” William Becker, if it wasn’t Becker it was 6’6” Kyle Cabs. The Buffaloes are a large group that uses their size to the best of their ability. When shots aren’t falling, they definitely have the personnel to go inside and mix it up.
Smoky Hill bench play
Not only does Smoky Hill have size, but they are a deep team. At any given time, the Buffaloes are able to make a change and mix and match different line-ups depending on what they’re up against. If you want speed, they have that, if you want shooting, they have that, if you admire size, they’re as big as they get. They have it all and are set up to make a deep run in a variety of ways. Outside of their starting five, they have players they can go to confidently without a significant drop-off in Seniors Eric Williams and Mue Muwwakkil
Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers
This wasn’t a great game as far as execution and efficiency are concerned. The first half was very sloppy, there were some questionable calls by officials and the game was called tight as far as common fouls, technical fouls and delay of game warnings. But, the thing that stood out most was the high rate that both teams turned the ball over. This is two of the top teams in the state so you expect to see it be highly competitive, both teams spent the bulk of the game in a matchup zone and caused plenty of turnovers but neither team got out and scored as a result of the sloppy play which made it a back and forth affair with not many memorable plays. We’ll attribute the bad play to an off day with both teams taking longer than expected to get a feel for eachother. I’m sure Coach Hardin and Hammonds will get their players back into the feel of taking care of the basketball and making the right plays like they have been prior to Wednesdays game.
Under-The-Radar Senior To Watch
One of the things that I’ll start doing is finding one under-the-radar guy to look at in each game. Despite losing, a player that stood out to me was Mohammed (Mo) Diallo of George Washington. The 6’6” do it all power forward got it going on the defensive end and was a presence on the boards and changing shots. Smoky Hill forces teams to go big due to their size and Patriots countered it with Diallo. He has good size and a progressing interior game. He’s a slasher that’s looks as if he’s improving on his post moves, but has tons of mobility and athleticism to him that’ll for sure be needed at the next level. He finished with 10 points but was really efficient and effective. Name to track this season.