First, the update you're all going to be asking for. I saw Ken Horton on my way out of the building. He was with his family, and it was way too early medically speaking for any substantive answer, but I can report that he was standing fine and in as good of a spirit as you can be in after that loss and that fall.
It wouldn't shock me if he misses a game, but I would doubt that he misses significant time if any at all.
Then again, I'm not a doctor, so I'll let you know if I hear anything different on that. He could wake up in the morning feeling much differently.
Now, about the game. As I said in the story, this was actually an encouraging day. Central played hard and reasonably well. No, the shots weren't falling, but the rebounding was there and the team showed the kind of grit and determination that was sorely lacking for much of the last few weeks. Maybe Wednesday was a wakeup call. If you're rooting for the Blue Devils, you hope it's not too late.
That said, like I mentioned in the story, it was also a crushing loss because you just can't have your offense go that badly. It just can't happen. Your best player can't be 3-for-18 without more than one person picking up the slack and expect to win. Part of it is luck...I think Malcolm McMillan's shot is still on the rim... but 1-for-20 is never good. That's what Central was over the last 10 minutes.
Now, with all that said, I could see this game going one of two ways. First, the Blue Devils could use this as the beginning of a turnaround, go no worse than 2-2 the rest of the way and get a decent seed in the tournament. Or, this could be the gut-wrencher that breaks their spirit, they lose out and don't make it. I think it's option A, but I've been wrong before.
Let's go man-to-man:
David Simmons: Only 4 minutes, so tough to gauge. Others stepped up in his spot.
Ken Horton: I got the sense that before the game he decided he was going to put the team on his back and get them out of this funk. So, since I've been asking him to do that all year, that's an encouraging sign. The execution of that plan was not good, however. I have a feeling he's putting too much pressure on himself these days and pressing. All that said, however, 3-for-18 just isn't good enough from the player of the year.
Kyle Vinales: He showed up and tried to carry the offense. It was an odd role reversal where I thought he should have shot more.
Malcolm McMillan: Not a bad game at all. A good drive, seven rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. He's going to be a good one.
Robby Ptacek: 3-for-11 from the other veteran leader is no good, either. He didn't get to the line, and he didn't much else to make up for his lack of scoring like he often does.
Adonis Burbage: Changed the course of the game late in the first half and stopped Quinnipiac from blowing it open (the six missed FTs from the Bobcats helped, too). I'm not sure he's ever a stat guy, but he'll grow into at least a sixth man.
Shelton Mickell: His time will come.
Joe Efese: I don't think I've been as perplexed by a player in my seven or so years on this beat as I am by Joe Efese. Some nights he seems like he's not even there, and some nights he's fantastic, like he was today. He always fouls too much, but everything else was terrific today. If they could ever bottle "Good Joe", Central would have something.
Terrell Allen: Made CCSU's only shot in the last 10 minutes. Holy cow. Played well the rest of the way as well, especially with Horton on the bench with foul trouble
No comments:
Post a Comment