NSU Wolves Basketball

[Swisher]

Where is James Glenn tonight? Tobi needs to stop shooting 3 pointers.

[Thunder]

The grading curve is going to have to be different for this season of NSU basketball than what most Wolves fans would like. The goal will be improvement, and after game 1 we have the baseline. Right now this team is really bad defensively and can’t rebound. NSU got the game a little closer late when we switched to a zone that OBU didn’t handle particularly well. Wilber is going to have to be creative to keep teams under 90.

The Wolves need more from the bigs. Neither Obiora or Rogers played well and neither should be allowed to shoot from outside. They didn’t provide much for rim protection and struggled to rebound. I think Obiora’s playing time will decrease significantly as the season progresses.

Mercadel and Smith will drive the offense. They can both make shots and create for themselves and others. HOWEVER, they might drive Wilber absolutely insane with some of their decision making and shot selection. If they can refine that and maintain their playmaking and shot making they both have a chance to be very good.

I think this team is much better than last season. I think this team will improve throughout the season. I also think this team will struggle to win 10 games. NSU fans will need to be patient, and I think most will be…this year.

[Thunder]

Where is James Glenn tonight? Tobi needs to stop shooting 3 pointers.

Completely forgot about him until I saw your comment. He will add another weapon on offense. Unfortunately, he will not help much defensively. Not sure where he was tonight but there were not many guys on the bench. Makes we wonder about some that are still listed on the roster.

[Thunder]

I guess Rogers did have 17 pts 7 reb tonight so maybe he played a little better than I gave him credit for, but I think those numbers are better than what I saw on the court.

[NSU4LIFE]

I know the GAC isn't a powerhouse conference, but Jamestown and NSU held their own against their top two teams and neither us or the Jimmies will be near the top of the conference by the end, so that can be a little encouraging. I wasn't really understanding why when we sre down seven with 44 seconds to go we weren't fouling, regardless how unlikely a comeback is.

I still feel like Wilber is an OKG, and over time will built us to at minimum a consistent, relevant team. You can see little flashes in this team, but they need to be better at rebounding and much better with shot selection. Know your limitations and exceed expectations on your skill set.

Glenn not playing Akena got hurt, that is concerning long term, if serious.

In the end we have much more talent overall than last year and theae guys will take time to become familiar with each other. Continuity is crucial.

[Thunder]

I would like to hear LukeMcConnell1 thoughts, I think he was on the call for the games today, but could be wrong. I would think OBU is a mid-tier NSIC team. I was quite surprised to see the Jims competitive with SNU as well. The NSU-OBU game wasn’t terribly close for most of the second half, but I wouldn’t say the top of the GAC was very impressive today.

[LukeMcConnell1]

I would like to hear LukeMcConnell1 thoughts, I think he was on the call for the games today, but could be wrong. I would think OBU is a mid-tier NSIC team. I was quite surprised to see the Jims competitive with SNU as well. The NSU-OBU game wasn’t terribly close for most of the second half, but I wouldn’t say the top of the GAC was very impressive today.

Thought Jamestowne was really good. Well-coached, played hard, have some good weapons. They'll make some noise this year for sure. SNU is great, but needs to find their GUY offensively. Bracey found it eventually down the stretch, scoring the last six points prior to the clinching free throws. He won't go 4-of-16 every game, so not too worried about that. They'll be elite defensively again so they'll be fine. Offense will take some time. Missing one of their better offensive options and another is getting back in the flow from offseason knee procedure.

NSU will take some time to gel, but loved Mercadel. Smith's an athlete, but gonna have to grow in discipline. They've got nothing inside right now, though. Gonna need to figure that out or figure out a way to hide that deficiency. Rogers was solid; didn't feel he was a negative last night. Bowen and Book have to be at least average shooters for the offense to not get all plugged up. Think they'll get there and be a tough out later in the year.

Thought UMary was the worst of the three NSIC schools by FAR. Could be another rough year for the Marauders. The freshman, Andre Austin, could be solid as he grows. Thought he was pretty good.

[NSU4LIFE]

The officiating to end this game has been so atrocious. Im not one to ever call out homecoming, but my word this has been bad down the stretch

[Thunder]

I only had the NSU-SNU game on a second screen and missed a good portion of the second half last night, but was pleasantly surprised with the competitive nature of the game. The defense did seem much better and the zone is going to have to be a part of the scheme. To my unsophisticated eye it doesn’t seem like a great defense, but it is definitely better than their man to man defense. My fear is once we get into the season a little further teams will be much better vs the zone. I thought Bowen was better, but the Wolves will need more from Book to win many games. Rogers should be the main post player with Obiora only getting limited minutes. The rotation was short without Glenn and Akena this weekend. I’m assuming Glenn will be back soon, hopefully Akena’s injury is not long term. Overall, not a terrible weekend. Improvement is what we are a looking for and hopefully a few Ws will follow.

[NSU4LIFE]

According to pregame, Glenn has been out due to his wife having a child, sounds like he'll be back

[NSU4LIFE]

Wolves lead 41-30 at the half. Not playing great but hitting some shots tonight. Jamestown is not very good...

Mercadel is a lot of fun to watch and even though Glenn hasn't shot great in his first game back, very valuable to have him back.

we are getting out and running tonight, which is great to see. A lot of possessions were run, pull up with a forced shot. Since them theyve had quite a few where the ball rotation has actually looked good. That will come the more they play together. Hoping they can finish this one out.

[NSU4LIFE]

Got sketchy down the stretch, but Wolves with a "W".

It was nice to see some bright spots. Smith is incredibly athletic but just needs to get it under control a bit. Tobi didnt play half bad down low, but Jamestown didnt have much in the post.

It was a game for growth and that was nice to see.

[Thunder]

I didn't really see anything regarding the game Saturday in Chadron, but according to the box score Rogers and Obiora did not play. Not sure what that is about, but it leaves the Wolves with a very short team on the court.

[NSU4LIFE]

I didn't really see anything regarding the game Saturday in Chadron, but according to the box score Rogers and Obiora did not play. Not sure what that is about, but it leaves the Wolves with a very short team on the court.

Get some back and lose some others. It'd sure be nice to get them all playing together. I really do think they can be a decent team, not lofty expectations good, but good. Basketball is a lot of about timing and unless they can be on the court together, chemistry is tough to develop.

[Thunder]

I have no idea if this NSU team is any good and I still think they will still struggle to win 10 games, but they are undoubtedly more fun to watch than the past 2 seasons. It’s out of necessity because of injuries, but I’m intrigued by the 5 guard lineup Wilber is playing now. Mary is not good so it is hard to tell how good that lineup is, but 15 3PTs is always good. Bowen and Akena will have to be the de facto “big men”. I have no idea how long Rogers and Obiora will be out, but NSU will need more size against the better teams in the league. Glenn was great on the offensive side and if he can continue to shoot like this, the Wolves will be in games. Smith is a ridiculous athlete and will make some highlights this year.