Good analysis and thoughts, I’d add that Dan and whoever our captains are need to convey to the team that no dumb taunting Technicals. This game could be close, and might come down to a few possessions. We have gotten way too many dumb celebration techs as of late, and tonight is not the night to do that. GO BEACH!!!
Beating UCI and whiny Russ and annoying Crockrell and outrageously annoying Nerd fans was super awesome and I'll never forget it.
Now onto Davis. Teams split the season series each winning on the road. Davis got the latest win capitalizing on a capsizing Beach squad. UCD played smart and let the Beach eat sand from their own hands. Tonight will be different.
Like last night, I'll be at the Myd cheering on LB to beat Hawaii in MVB. Never in my dreams did I think we'd get to the finals. I could change my plans but why jinx it? Win or lose, I'll enjoy the game stream later.
What will it take to win against a very good Aggie squad led by POY and bulldog with the sweet stroke Pepper? I thought our only chance v UCI was to trap full court more often than we did v UCR...knowing UCI was fresh but also knowing that seems to fire up the Beach, give them focus. Instead they never trapped full court, saving it for stingy half court pressure that kept UCI just enough off balance.
Will there be any full court press tonight? Doubtful. Maybe just a dash. Thankfully Davis didn't have an easy game late last night. Beach will be tired and probably happy to work this suddenly, kind of connected half court offense led by assist machine Aboubacar Traore. 20 assists in the first two games of the BWT. And finally, he's trying to mix in the random mid range or 3 pt shot. All have looked great in form, bad in execution except one sweet swish from 15 feet last night.
I think the Beach may have hit on something. With Tsohonis nursing a tweaked groin, he just can't ball dominate, and UCI even played keep away from Marcus on defense. Kind of dumb, seeing our main on ball weapon is now ATraore. Aboubacar has hit next level initiating offense the last two games. His connection with brah Lassina is becoming instinctual. Aboubacar will initiate offense, but Marcus should get his chances too and his passing can be high grade...but his scoring has been hot so he could be used just for that, spot up scoring, occasional iso on mismatches. Could be a mini nightmare for Davis if it works.
So will UCD trap Aboubacar? That would be interesting if they tried. How would the Beach respond? I'd do everything I could to deny him the ball, but good luck with that. The way our offense is run, any 3 guys on the court can initiate, and if you take Aboubacar out of that with some great denial d, fine he'll just camp out near the baseline for offensive rebounds.
Other keys for Beach
Stroud: amazingly great game for him last night. Made one big turnover on a fast break because he musta been told to find someone else to dribble the ball and he picked it up midstride and traveled. Other than that, he was out hustling UCI, making tough shots, blocking, rebounding, doing dirty work, keying the 1-3-1 at the top. Expect a lot of offense for defense switching in and out with Marcus that worked well last night.
Jadon: finally came to life. Hit some 3s. 9 rebounds. Gritty defense. Pretty sure he'll be asked to deal with Pepper. No need to shut him down, just deny him anything easy. He'll still get 20+ but make him work
AJ: struggled shooting but keep taking any wide open 3s and keep being aggressive on offense.
Messiah / Isa / Hart, the so called pg trio: If just one of you really shows up tonight, that goes a long way for this team. Know your lanes and do your best stuff.
Dan: whatever you been doing, keep doing it. I still believe your non renewal agreement released a lot of pressure on the team including the coaches. It was the elephant in the room. Now use it to your advantage. No pressure at all. Let the team feel your confidence. They will follow. Cheerlead in the huddles. These guys know what to do, they just need focusing sometimes.
All of this assumes UCD will lay down and play dead. They won't. Les is a good coach but another whiner deluxe. Pepper isn't a one man crew either. Ty Johnson is like Crockrell and can eat us alive. Maybe the so called pg trio, anytime Ty is on the floor, one of them is on the floor and instructed to stick like glue and deny Ty. Deny Ty. Deny Ty. Deny Ty. A mantra if you please.
Kane Milling has to be guarded closely as well. Aboubacars guy to stop.
Davis does not have a stellar big. One capable one in Nico Rocak, 5 pts 5 rebounds. There is some size, but its not high quality or worrisome at all. We can pound inside to soften up their weakness, and stray a bit and throw some traps and blocks on Pepper and Ty etc.
Davis is about a 2-3 pt favorite.
Davis will come out with the same game plan as a week ago.
With Pepper and Ty, they won't be rattled unless their bigs have to handle the ball too much. Deny Ty! Deny Ty! Deny Ty!
Fatigue will be a factor. Stroud looks rested and might be a big factor. The so called pg trio is rested and should do some heavy lifting on defense. Lassina seems to conserve energy decently. Aboubacar should be dead tired but always finds a deep strain of relentless energy to tap into. Marcus will need to pick and pop his spots and get subbed for defense when possible. AJ has been working hard and may need some breathers. Jadon too. I could see Chayce getting spot minutes, same with Varick. Please V, do not, do not, do not come in and immediately jack up a 3 unless its in the flow.
Beach can win this one. And MVB can sweep again tonight if they clean up serve receive. GO BEACH!!!
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