I watched the game, and I came away with a lot of respect for FAU. Yeah, it's F-A-freaking-U but they are well above the par for low grade Florida teams we normally schedule at this early point of the season. I expect they are going to turn a few heads and get a lot of fins if they maintain that intensity, and that insane 3pt % (not a player, THE TEAM). Respect.
On our side, we are piecing together a portal team. Castleton proved he is a BEAST, and will be counted on throughout the season. Lofton was a good add, to provide experienced ball control. The others...leftovers or imported from elsewhere, they still need to figure some things out. So does the coach, as there was no adjustment to the 3pt screens. Ever. Coach did adjust second half to the 2-man game of Lofton-Castleton, and while it works, it wasn't enough in this game and won't be in others. He essentially left 3 defenders and relied on the 2-man game, and those boys gave all they had...the others just took up space and hoped for rebounds. Kowacie came on strong, but too late, needs to be hot from the opening tip. Richard did well closing out the game - fighting for rebounds and feeding others instead of trying to do it himself. Bah, reminds me of the opening 8min = too many players driving 1 on 3-4 and missing, like they thought they were playing against air..nope, sorry, other team showed up today. Too wild through the opening of the game, too limited (2-man) down the stretch. We need more TEAM play on both ends. This is to say there is room to grow, to coach and learn. I'd expect that 3 games into the season.