Takeaways, after I took a few deep breaths

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » December 5th, 2020, 10:35 pm

So, elephant in the room: it hurt to lose, esp. to BYU-Provo. However, a lot of people on the boards thought that we'd get blown out. Notably, we did not. It was a really close game, both teams fought hard, and we didn't have our head coach. Some of my thoughts from the game now that I've cooled down:

- Our defense was great. We locked down on D a number of times, from many of our players. We did a lot better on keeping them from shooting threes (my biggest fear after those games in South Dakota), and our players were active all game. I really look forward to more of this going forward.

- Marco Anthony was not billed as a great offensive player, but this is two games in a row where he's shown himself as an offensive weapon. Even if outliers, he's been great with movement, handles, and poise. Not a great FT shooter, but that's also something that we knew. Very excited about the role he's stepping into.

- Rollie Worster. Yeah, I've seen some people give him some (I can't express myself without swearing) about his % tonight, and that's fair. However, he's been collected, making big plays, and looking much better than he has any right to as a true freshman. Did he have a few bad plays? Yes. Is there a lot of room for improvement? Also yes. But Rollie's the real deal.

- Queta was great, though I wish he'd completed more of those hook shots. I'm not here to talk smack on Queta; he's the best player on the team, and the only reason this was such a contested game. He locked down the paint defensively, and there's a reason why we kept going to him possession after possession. Did BYU do a great job defending him? They sure did. Haarms is a great defensive player. But did Queta still have a killer night? His points and rebounds indicate yes. The biggest problem for Queta is there's not a constant threat besides him. We need to develop that.

- Queta again... Man, he had gas in the tank. They kept throwing player after player at him, and he battled through. Mostly, BYU is lucky they have a handful of really good bigs to throw at him. That was well coached and a great strategy.

- Bean had a tough offensive night, mostly due to the attention he was given. Lohner is a heck of a player, esp. for a freshman.

slcagg · Post by **slcagg** » December 5th, 2020, 10:37 pm

Very well said rla

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » December 5th, 2020, 10:37 pm

slcagg wrote: ↑
December 5th, 2020, 10:37 pm
Very well said rla

Thanks. I'm disappointed we lost, but I know we're only 4 games into the season. This was a tight game, but a big one in a lot of ways. We'll rebound back and look to make some noise when conference play is here.

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » December 5th, 2020, 10:40 pm

Not sure where the shooting is going to come from, but the effort was there.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » December 5th, 2020, 10:43 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
December 5th, 2020, 10:35 pm
So, elephant in the room: it hurt to lose, esp. to BYU-Provo. However, a lot of people on the boards thought that we'd get blown out. Notably, we did not. It was a really close game, both teams fought hard, and we didn't have our head coach. Some of my thoughts from the game now that I've cooled down:

- Our defense was great. We locked down on D a number of times, from many of our players. We did a lot better on keeping them from shooting threes (my biggest fear after those games in South Dakota), and our players were active all game. I really look forward to more of this going forward.

- Marco Anthony was not billed as a great offensive player, but this is two games in a row where he's shown himself as an offensive weapon. Even if outliers, he's been great with movement, handles, and poise. Not a great FT shooter, but that's also something that we knew. Very excited about the role he's stepping into.

- Rollie Worster. Yeah, I've seen some people give him some (I can't express myself without swearing) about his % tonight, and that's fair. However, he's been collected, making big plays, and looking much better than he has any right to as a true freshman. Did he have a few bad plays? Yes. Is there a lot of room for improvement? Also yes. But Rollie's the real deal.

- Queta was great, though I wish he'd completed more of those hook shots. I'm not here to talk smack on Queta; he's the best player on the team, and the only reason this was such a contested game. He locked down the paint defensively, and there's a reason why we kept going to him possession after possession. Did BYU do a great job defending him? They sure did. Haarms is a great defensive player. But did Queta still have a killer night? His points and rebounds indicate yes. The biggest problem for Queta is there's not a constant threat besides him. We need to develop that.

- Queta again... Man, he had gas in the tank. They kept throwing player after player at him, and he battled through. Mostly, BYU is lucky they have a handful of really good bigs to throw at him. That was well coached and a great strategy.

- Bean had a tough offensive night, mostly due to the attention he was given. Lohner is a heck of a player, esp. for a freshman.

great points. i love the fire and effort from the team tonight, they did not back down. we will get it together and be decent in conference.

Aggie19 · Post by **Aggie19** » December 5th, 2020, 10:43 pm

Real Life Aggie wrote: ↑
December 5th, 2020, 10:35 pm
So, elephant in the room: it hurt to lose, esp. to BYU-Provo. However, a lot of people on the boards thought that we'd get blown out. Notably, we did not. It was a really close game, both teams fought hard, and we didn't have our head coach. Some of my thoughts from the game now that I've cooled down:

- Our defense was great. We locked down on D a number of times, from many of our players. We did a lot better on keeping them from shooting threes (my biggest fear after those games in South Dakota), and our players were active all game. I really look forward to more of this going forward.

- Marco Anthony was not billed as a great offensive player, but this is two games in a row where he's shown himself as an offensive weapon. Even if outliers, he's been great with movement, handles, and poise. Not a great FT shooter, but that's also something that we knew. Very excited about the role he's stepping into.

- Rollie Worster. Yeah, I've seen some people give him some (I can't express myself without swearing) about his % tonight, and that's fair. However, he's been collected, making big plays, and looking much better than he has any right to as a true freshman. Did he have a few bad plays? Yes. Is there a lot of room for improvement? Also yes. But Rollie's the real deal.

- Queta was great, though I wish he'd completed more of those hook shots. I'm not here to talk smack on Queta; he's the best player on the team, and the only reason this was such a contested game. He locked down the paint defensively, and there's a reason why we kept going to him possession after possession. Did BYU do a great job defending him? They sure did. Haarms is a great defensive player. But did Queta still have a killer night? His points and rebounds indicate yes. The biggest problem for Queta is there's not a constant threat besides him. We need to develop that.

- Queta again... Man, he had gas in the tank. They kept throwing player after player at him, and he battled through. Mostly, BYU is lucky they have a handful of really good bigs to throw at him. That was well coached and a great strategy.

- Bean had a tough offensive night, mostly due to the attention he was given. Lohner is a heck of a player, esp. for a freshman.

Everytime he'd pop on the screen all I could think about was baby Hercules

AggieFBObsession · Post by **AggieFBObsession** » December 5th, 2020, 11:08 pm

It's a coaching mistake to not play more of the bench on the home court. It's early in the season and the coaches should be finding out who's going to be in the rotation by how they're competing in the game. Regardless I still believe in this team. You can't give up early on a young team.

AGGIEinIOWA · Post by **AGGIEinIOWA** » December 5th, 2020, 11:17 pm

We’ll see more of the bench in the next couple games. Our starters are pretty established but need to figure out who is going to provide the depth. I was expecting to see some Shulga tonight but seems Bairstow got more of his minutes.

OrangeCountyAggie · Post by **OrangeCountyAggie** » December 6th, 2020, 12:21 am

AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑
December 5th, 2020, 11:17 pm
We’ll see more of the bench in the next couple games. Our starters are pretty established but need to figure out who is going to provide the depth. I was expecting to see some Shulga tonight but seems Bairstow got more of his minutes.

Bairstow, man, he needs to figure out his role and start being good at something. He shows flashes (at times) of being able to handle, drive to the rim, be a good defender and rebounder. But most of the time he looks timid and scattered. Sill, I'm glad to see him get more of Miller's minutes.

What's puzzling is with a few guys struggling, our coaching staff decided to shorten the rotation four games in, doing so without giving

Max Shulga
Szymon Zapala
Liam McChesney
Karson Stastny
Zahar Vedischev
Trevin Dorius or
Kuba Karwowski

the opportunity to show if they can contribute. And why do we have so many bigs on the roster if we're not going to play big? If this is going to be the rotation by the end of the season, then we have a lot of wasted scholarships.

SpectrumMagic · Post by **SpectrumMagic** » December 6th, 2020, 12:24 am

I thought Bairstow played a good 2nd half and didn’t force things and played good D. He has a good looking outside shot and just came up short on the 3 late. I hope he can build off the game and get confidence. His brother really came on his Junior and Senior year if I remember.

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » December 6th, 2020, 2:01 am

Bairstow's length was great on D. But, I believe I've mentioned a few times that I want to see more of Max/Zahar. I know they had limited practice time because they arrived late, but I hope that they'll break into rotation soon.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » December 6th, 2020, 2:48 am

They called a foul on a rebound in Bairstow that should have been a foul on BYU. Bairstow had position and the Cougar came through him because Bairstow wasn't strong enough to hold him off. Then Bairstow got knocked down and in doing so grabbed at the other guy. Lack of toughness cost Bairstow a rebound and a foul.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » December 6th, 2020, 2:50 am

The defense was good enough to win the game. The offense was bad enough to lose it.

AggieSox · Post by **AggieSox** » December 6th, 2020, 8:05 am

Yossarian wrote: ↑
December 6th, 2020, 2:50 am
The defense was good enough to win the game. The offense was bad enough to lose it.

Totally Agree. We had 2-3 wide open shots when the game was tied in the final 2-5 minutes and nobody could make a shot and 1/2 on Free throws by Anthony/Worster, on your home court in a instate game is not good enough.

Just feels like we don't have anyone who can step up and make a shot when it's needed. Even Queta got the ball thrown to him 3-5 feet from basket and was hoping he could just put it in the hoop and didn't happen.

That was a golden chance to get a win, Oh well. Impressed how well we played without Craig there.

DCAggie24 · Post by **DCAggie24** » December 6th, 2020, 1:00 pm

AggieSox wrote: ↑
December 6th, 2020, 8:05 am

Yossarian wrote: ↑
December 6th, 2020, 2:50 am
The defense was good enough to win the game. The offense was bad enough to lose it.
Totally Agree. We had 2-3 wide open shots when the game was tied in the final 2-5 minutes and nobody could make a shot and 1/2 on Free throws by Anthony/Worster, on your home court in a instate game is not good enough.

Just feels like we don't have anyone who can step up and make a shot when it's needed. Even Queta got the ball thrown to him 3-5 feet from basket and was hoping he could just put it in the hoop and didn't happen.

That was a golden chance to get a win, Oh well. Impressed how well we played without Craig there.

It stings because it was probably one of the weaker BYU teams we have played recently on paper. Hopefully it builds character, resiliency and propels the younger guys to new heights.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » December 6th, 2020, 2:50 pm

Aggies scored 4 points in the final 4:53 if the game. Here are the final possessions in that time:

Anthony- 2 missed free throws
Bairstow - missed 3-point attempt
Worster- missed 3-point attempt
Queta - 1/2 free throws
Queta - missed layup
Worster - 2/2 free throws
Worster - missed jumper (offensive rebound)
Worster - 1/2 free throws
Worster - missed 3-point attempt

aggiesdotcom · Post by **aggiesdotcom** » December 6th, 2020, 3:58 pm

Yossarian wrote: ↑
December 6th, 2020, 2:50 pm
Aggies scored 4 points in the final 4:53 if the game. Here are the final possessions in that time:

Anthony- 2 missed free throws
Bairstow - missed 3-point attempt
Worster- missed 3-point attempt
Queta - 1/2 free throws
Queta - missed layup
Worster - 2/2 free throws
Worster - missed jumper (offensive rebound)
Worster - 1/2 free throws
Worster - missed 3-point attempt

Yeah, no made FGs in the final 5 minutes of a close rivalry game isn't gonna get it done most of the time.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » December 7th, 2020, 1:33 pm

aggiesdotcom wrote: ↑
December 6th, 2020, 3:58 pm

Yossarian wrote: ↑
December 6th, 2020, 2:50 pm
Aggies scored 4 points in the final 4:53 if the game. Here are the final possessions in that time:

Anthony- 2 missed free throws
Bairstow - missed 3-point attempt
Worster- missed 3-point attempt
Queta - 1/2 free throws
Queta - missed layup
Worster - 2/2 free throws
Worster - missed jumper (offensive rebound)
Worster - 1/2 free throws
Worster - missed 3-point attempt
Yeah, no made FGs in the final 5 minutes of a close rivalry game isn't gonna get it done most of the time.

The sad part - this is quickly not becoming a rivalry game. After 9 straight losses, it is becoming the equivalent of BYU playing SUU. It is an in-state game that has local interest, but the result is pretty much as most people expect. The "rivalry" aspect is only on one side. This must be addressed by USU coaches.

AggieFBObsession · Post by **AggieFBObsession** » December 7th, 2020, 4:31 pm

The Utah State coaches have made a mistake by not working Shulga into the rotation more. Why? Who else is going to consistently or potentially consistently knock down threes? Not Anthony. Not necessarily Miller. Not necessarily anyone else.

Dkdavis · Post by **Dkdavis** » December 7th, 2020, 4:35 pm

AggieFBObsession wrote: ↑
December 7th, 2020, 4:31 pm
The Utah State coaches have made a mistake by not working Shulga into the rotation more. Why? Who else is going to consistently or potentially consistently knock down threes? Not Anthony. Not necessarily Miller. Not necessarily anyone else.

I'm hoping they work him and ashworth in more the rest of the month since we don't have any real quality opponents besides maybe weber?

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