Lost in the angst over the way this game ended were some very valuable minutes played by Zapala. I thought he had some nice minutes tonight. I was surprised to see him get important minutes.

Also overall I thought Odom coached a good game as well. I think he needs to ride the ref a little more when you have Bennett on the other end riding the refs nonstop.

nswaggie wrote: ↑

December 2nd, 2021, 10:12 pm

Lost in the angst over the way this game ended were some very valuable minutes played by Zapala. I thought he had some nice minutes tonight. I was surprised to see him get important minutes.

Also overall I thought Odom coached a good game as well. I think he needs to ride the ref a little more when you have Bennett on the other end riding the refs nonstop.

Yep. If you're not on the refs in equal amounts as the opposing coach, the refs get the impression that if you're satisfied and the other coach is irate, they must be calling an unbalanced game. Human nature.

Nice callout on zapala. Overall we
Got some good mins from our bench tonight.

slcagg wrote: ↑

December 2nd, 2021, 10:21 pm

Nice callout on zapala. Overall we
Got some good mins from our bench tonight.

If Zapala keeps improving, Ashworth can be the spark like he has last couple games and Bairstow gets up to speed should have good bench. Zee usually provides some good minutes, he just needs to get stronger. Was able to get by his man just not strong enough to finish yet

Zapala played really good defense tonight in the 2nd half. I was happy with his performance.

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑

December 2nd, 2021, 11:15 pm

Zapala played really good defense tonight in the 2nd half. I was happy with his performance.

He seemed to be the only one that could bother Fotu.

Zapala made some pretty big stops for us defensively. The Zapala-Bean-Horvath lineup was interesting to watch. I'm not sure if it was because it allowed us to spread out defensively or if it was because it coincided with a switch to man defense, but SMC stopped getting wide open corner 3's every time we put Zapala in.

Also, I got a pretty good laugh when Zapala slowly pushed his man from the paint out to the 3-point arc without expending any effort. The way he just kind of walked him back to his own bench was like watching a parent putting their toddler in "the timeout corner" until they're ready to play nice with the other kids.

CodingAggieBlue wrote: ↑

December 2nd, 2021, 11:24 pm

Zapala made some pretty big stops for us defensively. The Zapala-Bean-Horvath lineup was interesting to watch. I'm not sure if it was because it allowed us to spread out defensively or if it was because it coincided with a switch to man defense, but SMC stopped getting wide open corner 3's every time we put Zapala in.

Also, I got a pretty good laugh when Zapala slowly pushed his man from the paint out to the 3-point arc without expending any effort. The way he just kind of walked him back to his own bench was like watching a parent putting their toddler in "the timeout corner" until they're ready to play nice with the other kids.

I didn't see that bit... I'll have to watch the replay. Maybe.

I was worried when Zapala came in but he killed it out there. Very good minutes compared to my expectations.

I liked that Zapala got some minutes and responded by doing a good job. He has great hands and runs the floor well for a big man. On offense he has a good touch and I feel that overall he has more to offer than Dorius. Hope he continues to get minutes.

Good game by Zapala. He needs to learn not to foul though. Gave away 3 cheap fouls. Queta was like that early on.

Pleasantly surprised at Zapala so far this year. Still not NBA ready but that just means he won't declare early... at least not this year. He has made huge improvement over last year and between him and Dorius i think we have serviceable backups at a true 5 position.

This was the first time I have watched him with extended minutes against good competition. One thing that really impressed me was his footwork and positioning on the defensive end. He seems to have really listened to all the coaching he has been given and is putting it to use. I have no idea what his offensive game is but I'm encouraged by his future.

GoldcoastAggie wrote: ↑

December 3rd, 2021, 5:40 pm

This was the first time I have watched him with extended minutes against good competition. One thing that really impressed me was his footwork and positioning on the defensive end. He seems to have really listened to all the coaching he has been given and is putting it to use. I have no idea what his offensive game is but I'm encouraged by his future.

He has really good hands and passing. There is some potential there on offense.

Just a friendly reminder that he is essentially still a freshman with the covid year. I think he could be really good. Already making good progress.

SpectrumMagic wrote: ↑

December 2nd, 2021, 10:24 pm

slcagg wrote: ↑

December 2nd, 2021, 10:21 pm

Nice callout on zapala. Overall we
Got some good mins from our bench tonight.

If Zapala keeps improving, Ashworth can be the spark like he has last couple games and Bairstow gets up to speed should have good bench. Zee usually provides some good minutes, he just needs to get stronger. Was able to get by his man just not strong enough to finish yet

See definitely needs to hit the weights. From my vantage point up on row 30 it looked like he was floating. Skinniest legs I’ve ever seen. Feed the boy, he’s gonna be a beast.

Odom wants to be able to move Horvath out of the 5 position, so its important that one of our two centers act like they know what to do. Zapala brings such tremendous energy to the floor when he’s out there, and he’s got somewhat of a clue about what to do offensively. Darius is a good defensive presence but he’s offering us nothing on offense but an occasional dunk. I really think Zapala is the answer at the five going forward, be it as a substitute or longer-term option.

Blitz79 wrote: ↑

December 3rd, 2021, 5:22 pm

Good game by Zapala. He needs to learn not to foul though. Gave away 3 cheap fouls. Queta was like that early on.

I didn't like the fouls at the time, and after the game I realized that if he'd had one fewer, St. Mary's wouldn't have had the 1-and-1 FTs at the end of the game.

Not blaming the loss on Zapala at all. I thought he gave some good minutes, and you can look at any of the other fouls in the 2nd half. I just thought it was ironic that we did fairly well to stay out of foul trouble throughout the 2nd half and the first time they were in the bonus was on Bean's last foul.

AggiesForever wrote: ↑

December 5th, 2021, 8:50 pm

Odom wants to be able to move Horvath out of the 5 position, so its important that one of our two centers act like they know what to do. Zapala brings such tremendous energy to the floor when he’s out there, and he’s got somewhat of a clue about what to do offensively. Darius is a good defensive presence but he’s offering us nothing on offense but an occasional dunk. I really think Zapala is the answer at the five going forward, be it as a substitute or longer-term option.

I agree. Zapala has a much higher ceiling. I'm ready to give him all of Dorius' minutes right now.