D1 Minnesota 73 Howard Pulley 52: Five Things to Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was great to see [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] and [program_tooltip program_id='2455790' first='Howard' last='Pulley'] go head to head in a game that was close for a half, but [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota']'s edge of active size all over the court led them to a 73-52 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>One. Few Items to Know</strong>. This was a game that is great for Pulley to get ready for their EYCL games down in North Augusta and for [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] to get ready for their 3SSB games out in California. If the 17s from these programs have played before, it's been a long time. A really long time. With Northern Sun coaches watching, it was good for the players that will be D2 kids to be seen in front of them, and some made a nice impression. Also, D1 was without NDSU committed [player_tooltip player_id='1560739' first='Max' last='Iversen'], and [program_tooltip program_id='2455790' first='Howard' last='Pulley'] was without nationally ranked [player_tooltip player_id='2126446' first='Mustafa' last='Mohamed']. As good as Max is, the absence of the 6'10 Mohamed was far more important as he is the lone frontcourt center size that the Panthers have.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two. Gamebreaker One</strong>. The game was close for about a half but once the 6'7/6'8 [player_tooltip player_id='1560778' first='Nolen' last='Anderson'] got hot, the game broke wide open. [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] does such an outstanding job of moving the basketball and Anderson was already looking over the top of his man with every touch, and when you add in great ball movement forcing the defense a step or two behind, Anderson had open looks to drain throughout the second half. Nolen hit four threes scoring 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting and I truly think we are on the verge of Anderson getting division one opportunity. With his size, IQ and touch matching the modern high major game, it's the right match. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three. Gamebreaker Two</strong>. The [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] defense. The item that makes [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] a top team in the nation as opposed to just a top team in the area, is their team having so many hard working, willing defenders. When you put (approximately) 6'1 on 5'11, 6'4 on 6'0, 6'5 on 6'1, 6'7 on 6'3 and 6'9 on 6'5, and all of that size is playing in active and aggressive defensive way, it causes problems. And it caused the Panthers a lot of problems. The lasting image I will have is [player_tooltip player_id='1560867' first='Christian' last='Wiggins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2126467' first='Baboucarr' last='Ann'] defending with lateral aggression at the arc with relentless effort. Both players had four buckets but I would say their defense helped take at least four buckets away each as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Four. [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt']</strong>. When [program_tooltip program_id='2455790' first='Howard' last='Pulley'] was leading/keeping pace in a one score game, it was [player_tooltip player_id='2118449' first='Mason' last='Witt'] making contested threes, or really deep threes that were tough to contest. As we mentioned in the earlier article today, Witt was a 46+ percent three point shooter last winter and he has a beautiful, confident release. We saw that against D1 when he scored 19 points highlighted by five threes. [player_tooltip player_id='1560741' first='Will' last='Kirsch'] was the other Panther in double figures as he had ten points making half of his eight attempts. A few NSIC schools got their first chance to see them play 17u and both made a good Saturday impression. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Five. Talented Depth</strong>. [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] is the bigger team, they were better defensively, they faced a Pulley team without their center, and Anderson, Wiggins, and Ann all played well. I think that is what we have covered so far. To add to that, [player_tooltip player_id='1560740' first='Dothan' last='Ijadimbola'] had a seven point run of his own that helped take a three score game a 59-40 lead. Also, [player_tooltip player_id='1560867' first='Christian' last='Wiggins'] had an all around game of 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists taking only six shots, Jaidyn Coon had a dozen points and six boards on seven attempts, and [player_tooltip player_id='1560882' first='Cedric' last='Tomes'] had ten points and four assists taking six shots. [program_tooltip program_id='2075431' first='D1' last='Minnesota'] just had more talent at just about every spot which led to the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->