Game Thread: IU vs FGCU - 11/7 @ 6:30 on BTN

[Crimson and Cream]

Really impressive debuts for Ware and Cupps. Ware especially impressed me with his passing on offense and his active hands on defense.

[sweetpain]

Of note:  Mgbako did not have a good night and sat almost the whole second half.
Who was the first guy on the court congratulating the players out there?
Mgbako.

Yes, be interested if anyone asks him in press conference. Hope so.

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[FortWayneHoosier]

2 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Pat Chambers is a good coach. No way he stays at FGCU much longer if they have a good year.

I could see this team playing in the tournament and giving some teams some fits from the 3

[RaceToTheTop]

Just now, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Galloway: 16 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assts

Reneau: 15 pts, 1 reb, 2 assts

Ware: 13 pts, 12 rebs, 4 assts, 3 blks

Johnson: 14 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst

Good and bad from all of them, but would say that Ware's only bad was a lack of shots put up.  I don't think MM will have many performances like he did tonight.

Defensively, have to close out on shooters.  Reneau was really weak on that.  He was good offensively but didn't block out or play well defensively.

Ware is a much better passer than I imagined and defensively was very, very good.....not just on the interior but also was probably the best player we had on closing out shooters.

[kreigh8]

Woodson may still want to start big with MM, MR and Ware, but it's going to be hard to keep Cupps out of there. May have to help him more on defense but like Galloway, he just makes the right plays

[HinnyHoosier]

I didn't get to see all of the game. But Ware is going to be a problem for many opponents. 

[DChoosier]

First game with a lot of new pieces and without the primary focuses of our offense last year. It will take a little while.

I was pleasantly surprised with Ware. Cupps is going to play a lot. Nice to see Gallo with 16. Malik was bad down the stretch but had 15 with some really nice footwork/moves.

I hope I’m wrong but later this year Gunn and Banks might be calling Tamar and JG to discuss the portal process.

[Hovadipo]

7 minutes ago, str8baller said:

People are a little tough on Reneau. He’s never going to be great guarding on the perimeter. But he brought offense and some nice passing and was part of our best defensive lineup

Also just about the closest thing we had to a “routine bucket” to these eyes. 

[Whoozhers]

We would have BLOWN them out if Trey wouldn’t have thrown the ball away.

He had a real good game other than that huge momentum killer.

[DChoosier]

2 minutes ago, kreigh8 said:

Woodson may still want to start big with MM, MR and Ware, but it's going to be hard to keep Cupps out of there. May have to help him more on defense but like Galloway, he just makes the right plays

I actually thought it was good to see how well Cupps could stay in front of his guy on D.

[IU - Kaulie]

I will take the ‘W’ at the end of the day.  Outside of Cupps our bench was really bad. We need Sparks back.  

[kreigh8]

Just now, DChoosier said:

I actually thought it was good to see how well Cupps could stay in front of his guy on D.

He had one moment in the first half, but I didn't notice anything of note in the second. I thought he was a little gassed in the second, but first game and Woodson was riding him due to his solid play

[Home Jersey]

Whew that game was a trip. I'll take a win no matter how we get it. 

Obviously so much to improve on... not even worth listing it all right now. I'll focus on the positives for the moment... 

--Ware. Does anything need to be said? A double double in his debut. Can't ask for much more than that. 

--Gabe Cupps. I probably wouldn't have believed you before the exhibitions if you told me the most impactful freshman/one who would be playing at the end of the game with the outcome on the line, would be him instead of Mgbako. But this kid clearly has such a work ethic. It's fun to root him on.  

--We all wanted to see more from Galloway... He wasn't perfect tonight by any means but I think its pretty clear he's improved again during the offseason. XJ also was frustrating at times and can play a lot better. But I'm encouraged at how he was able to take over when we needed him to. 

So much to clean up.. but it's game one with a very new roster. We need to build chemistry and learn the defense ASAP. But there is plenty of talent here. We have the ingredients for a very fun season and competitive team. 

As we've basically all said... it's going to take time. Not always going to be pretty. But its all about peaking at the right time in this game. 

[TheWatShot]

7 bench points tonight. I guess it only took one game for the "this team is crazy deep" talk to age horribly. 

[cthomas]

Cupps is who I hoped he would be. Always going to give the effort and can hit shots when needed. And he will get better as the season progresses. Ware is gaining confidence and getting comfortable. Bad news for our opponents. Overall, a rough game that is a character builder.

[Josh]

9 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Galloway: 16 pts, 4 rebs, 2 assts

Reneau: 15 pts, 1 reb, 2 assts

Ware: 13 pts, 12 rebs, 4 assts, 3 blks

Johnson: 14 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asst

Lies!  I never would have guessed Galloway led us in scoring.  A very quiet 16

[rcbowla]

1) Ware was awesome
2) MM hopefully learned what it'll take to be out there at closing time
3) So. Gabe Cupps > Fr. Boogie Fland

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[Redcamaro]

1 minute ago, cthomas said:

Cupps is who I hoped he would be. Always going to give the effort and can hit shots when needed. And he will get better as the season progresses. Ware is gaining confidence and getting comfortable. Bad news for our opponents. Overall, a rough game that is a character builder.

Man, UCONN sure comes early lol!

[cappymo14]

If some random goes for a career high next game, I’m gonna freak out.  Thought we were past the random career high curse…

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

4 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

1) Ware was awesome
2) MM hopefully learned what it'll take to be out there at closing time
3) So. Gabe Cupps > Fr. Boogie Fland

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I mean a backcourt of Cupps/Fland would have been pretty good.