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Message
Men’s basketball exhibition vs UCF
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:22 am
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:22 am
Did anyone catch the game that has some insight? I only saw parts of it and the highlights. Robert miller and Ron zipper were unavailable.
7
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:23 am to Mats86
Dedan Thomas is legit.
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:24 am to Mats86
We won by 7
Wchoko or whatever looked good
Reed is back
Not optimistic due to past but McMiz gets this year do or die
Wchoko or whatever looked good
Reed is back
Not optimistic due to past but McMiz gets this year do or die
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:28 am to Mats86
I thought the new PG looked like an obvious improvement over what we've had, although small sample size. I was impressed with Nwoko, as well. He was physical and more polished than I expected. The question for us will be the wings. If you had another Cam Carter on this team with the bigs and PG, I think you'd have something. I'm not sure we'll be able to score with the better teams in conference. Hopefully, I'm wrong!
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:45 am to LsuEndo
Thomas was great. Legit PG. 16pts 9 assists and only 2 TO. Nwoko impressed me also. Showed more offensive ability than I had heard he had. LSU hit 6-10 from 3 point line in second half. Shooting will be better this year and held UCF to no FG last 6 minutes of the game. Sutton and Mkinney showed good shooting form. I also think the Bball IQ on the team is higher and they showed good chemistry considering it was the first exhibition game. Reed still has a ways to go but they also won without Robert Miller who will be their best post player this year, Tampas and King also got PT and contributed,Lots to be positive about even though it was only UCF but was a power 4 school. LSU had 15 TO but only 5 in second half. Expect that to get better as everyone gets used to playing with each other. Only issue is backup PG is freshman so will need to grow up quickly in order to contribute when Thomas sits.
Posted on 10/27/25 at 11:57 am to LsuEndo
quote:
I thought the new PG looked like an obvious improvement over what we've had
That’s what I saw. He was probably the best player of the floor in that game.
It seemed to me that nwoko is an aggressive offensive rebounder, but I do have some concerns about the team defensive rebounding. Miller was out and Reed was seeing his first live action, so they might be ok.
I’m not sure what we do for scoring when Thomas isn’t on the floor. Reece seems to be a decent distributor, but it didn’t appear he is making things happen yet.
King and Sutton both had good moments. King plays more like a guard, and Sutton can shoot the 3 and rebounds pretty well.
I like pablo tamba. He plays hard on both ends, has a good motor and isn’t afraid to get dirty. But he does seem limited offensively.
I am concerned mackinnon may be a bit of a liability against some teams. He is a good set shooter. And may be ok on the cut, but his defense and athleticism may be a problem in conference play.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 4:33 pm to mcspufftiger7
Watched the game and here is my honest assessments. Take into consideration it’s early.
The good:
Thomas is a legit pg.Contrary to what ppl think we needed, he’s actually a pass first point guard who can see the floor as good as anyone in the country many believed we needed a high scoring pg, but his vision is elite. Don’t get me wrong, he can also score at a high level of needed, but I’d take a guy who can get around 16-20 points and 6-9 assist.Nwoko is great find, I liked him at miss st, his rebounding and energy is something that’s invaluable and he also seemed to protect the rim really well.im not sure if id call his points really a reflection of offensive ability being that 2-3 of his baskets were from lob passes, but the chemistry between him and Thomas is HUGE, that’s free when they connect with those lobs passes. McKinnon impressed me, he looks like he’s capable of have big scoring games if he heats up. Sutton also looks like a scorer who can contribute big n any given night. As a whole, the team played well in the second half, and shot it well, in the second half. It’s still early but we looked like we may be able to compete this year. We have are a big team and have a lot of size, which is also something I really liked.
The bad:
If you watched the first half we looked abysmal. Shot the three terrible, turnovers out the arse, and let them get way too many offensive rebounds. But the worst part as out transition defense, I think some guy hit like 4-5 threes on us and got wide looks cause our transition defense broke down. Now, Reed, man he looked bad, I know he’s got some rust from the injury so I’m gonna give him the benifit of the doubt, but he looked slow, turned it over, and just didn’t seem to lobe well at all. So basically the first have was bad, but it was our first game, but the second half looked 100 percent better so I’m gonna chalk it up to nerves, rust, and it’s these guys first time playing together.
Conclusion:
It was a tale of two halves but the potential is there, these players SHOULD compete for spot in the tourney but it’s on coach to get them there. Having Robert miller back is gonna help also. I was disappointed in not seeing Gilhool play, cause like I’ve mentioned in past post, out of all our recruits I’ve watched in high school, I feel like he can co tribute the most and right away.
The good:
Thomas is a legit pg.Contrary to what ppl think we needed, he’s actually a pass first point guard who can see the floor as good as anyone in the country many believed we needed a high scoring pg, but his vision is elite. Don’t get me wrong, he can also score at a high level of needed, but I’d take a guy who can get around 16-20 points and 6-9 assist.Nwoko is great find, I liked him at miss st, his rebounding and energy is something that’s invaluable and he also seemed to protect the rim really well.im not sure if id call his points really a reflection of offensive ability being that 2-3 of his baskets were from lob passes, but the chemistry between him and Thomas is HUGE, that’s free when they connect with those lobs passes. McKinnon impressed me, he looks like he’s capable of have big scoring games if he heats up. Sutton also looks like a scorer who can contribute big n any given night. As a whole, the team played well in the second half, and shot it well, in the second half. It’s still early but we looked like we may be able to compete this year. We have are a big team and have a lot of size, which is also something I really liked.
The bad:
If you watched the first half we looked abysmal. Shot the three terrible, turnovers out the arse, and let them get way too many offensive rebounds. But the worst part as out transition defense, I think some guy hit like 4-5 threes on us and got wide looks cause our transition defense broke down. Now, Reed, man he looked bad, I know he’s got some rust from the injury so I’m gonna give him the benifit of the doubt, but he looked slow, turned it over, and just didn’t seem to lobe well at all. So basically the first have was bad, but it was our first game, but the second half looked 100 percent better so I’m gonna chalk it up to nerves, rust, and it’s these guys first time playing together.
Conclusion:
It was a tale of two halves but the potential is there, these players SHOULD compete for spot in the tourney but it’s on coach to get them there. Having Robert miller back is gonna help also. I was disappointed in not seeing Gilhool play, cause like I’ve mentioned in past post, out of all our recruits I’ve watched in high school, I feel like he can co tribute the most and right away.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 4:57 pm to Primeminister337
quote:
Contrary to what ppl think we needed, he’s actually a pass first point guard
That 100% was this case in what I saw.
I also agree that Thomas and nwoko have good chemistry. I will say that McMahon talked about it in an interview that they would be looking for the lob frequently. So that’s clearly something they focused on.
quote:
McKinnon impressed me, he looks like he’s capable of have big scoring games if he heats up
I agree that he seems capable of going on a heater from 3, but I’m not sure he moves well on the perimeter off ball. And he did appear to be a bit of a liability as a defender. He just isn’t much of an athlete it would appear.
quote:
Reed, man he looked bad
Agreed. I have always been high on Reed, but something he has always done is turn the ball over. And that continued. I will say I liked his cut and replace action. If he can hit 3’s from that like he did once this game, it will help keep the defense moving. Which I think will matter with a 3 point competent team, which this one seems capable.
I can’t make any assumptions about how good this team will be. I don’t think UCF was very good. They do like to push the pace and we saw LSU struggle a little bit defending it, but that is UCF’s identity. What I am looking for is to see what we do when Thomas is in foul trouble or injured. We didn’t look like a top tier sort of team, but I would like to see what we look like with miller and zipper.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 5:22 pm to Mats86
I’m with ya on reed’s cut and replace action, most people on here tend to rave about his ball handling skills for his size, I just don’t see it, I much rather the way he moves without the ball
Oh and I think we are right on McKinnon being able to go on a heater, I saw last year he had a 43 point game, and a few 27, 29, 24 point games.And if I’m not mistaken he shite 40% from three last year
Oh and I think we are right on McKinnon being able to go on a heater, I saw last year he had a 43 point game, and a few 27, 29, 24 point games.And if I’m not mistaken he shite 40% from three last year
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 5:32 pm
Posted on 10/28/25 at 5:30 pm to Mats86
The best thing I liked is the size and that everyone 1-3 is a capable shooter. No more 4 guard lineups. Our starting lineup sb 6'1", 6'5", 6'9", 6'10" and 6'10" with size off the bench.
Nwoko looked athletic and in touch with Thomas. Many are criticizing Reed who was forcing some drives but he was moving very well for a guy less than 12 months from tearing his ACL. Clearly he put in the work.
Reece was the only freshman we saw, but I thought he looked OK for his first college game. I think he will need to give us important minutes at pg so I expect him to get fed 10+ minutes each over the next several games.
The team overall probably needs to pick up the intensity on defense, but with all that length they have the tools to get it done.
And Tamba looked good. Played taller than his 6'7", which isnt a bad height for a small forward.
Nwoko looked athletic and in touch with Thomas. Many are criticizing Reed who was forcing some drives but he was moving very well for a guy less than 12 months from tearing his ACL. Clearly he put in the work.
Reece was the only freshman we saw, but I thought he looked OK for his first college game. I think he will need to give us important minutes at pg so I expect him to get fed 10+ minutes each over the next several games.
The team overall probably needs to pick up the intensity on defense, but with all that length they have the tools to get it done.
And Tamba looked good. Played taller than his 6'7", which isnt a bad height for a small forward.
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 5:33 pm
Posted on 10/28/25 at 5:39 pm to Primeminister337
So I didn’t know coach talked about an increased lob frequency in an interview. I take it as a good sign and growth as a coach when you say you’re gonna do something and he actually does it so full credit to McMahon on that. I know many ppl here aren’t basketball guru’s , but Coach K going into his 3rd or 4th season, I forget which one, but was about to be fired by Duke but managed to turn it around in that year. I’m not saying McMahon can do that, but it has been done before lol
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 5:40 pm
Posted on 10/28/25 at 5:44 pm to mmcgrath
Mmcgrath, ya I’m only criticizing Reed for his play in one game that means nothing and is only exhibition, I think we can all agree it’s just one worthless game and he should get the benifit of the doubt due to his circumstances
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 5:45 pm
Posted on 10/28/25 at 5:55 pm to mmcgrath
Btw kudos to everyone here for actually discussing what we saw in game and our opinions and not turning this thread into a McMahon sucks or McMahon is great discussion. One thing we can all agree on is we just wanna be be in the tourney during March, a seat at the table! Regardless who our coach is
Posted on 10/28/25 at 9:40 pm to Mats86
Watched highlights tonight. And yes we have a pass first pg, super excited about his play. suprised by the McKinnon kid, solid shooter who is strong enough to play 3. Reed, miller, and Sutton are long but could put on some weight. The center is solid, is it nwoku. Saw some bad rebounding, perimeter defense, and lack of spacing. Hoped to see more of Reece, carter, and gillhool but it’s still early. Looks like king and tambda will battle for key minutes.
Overall I’m excited for a new year. Want to see the team vs a press because I would press Thomas 40 minutes not seeing anyone else with handling offense setup. Hence I expect reece or even Mosley get more experience once season starts. Geaux tigers.
Overall I’m excited for a new year. Want to see the team vs a press because I would press Thomas 40 minutes not seeing anyone else with handling offense setup. Hence I expect reece or even Mosley get more experience once season starts. Geaux tigers.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 9:58 pm to CWILKS3
Only watched 2nd half. Best point guard since Waters. And he’s taller. McKinnon hit a couple 3s in 2nd half. Nwoko is massive.
Defense in transition wasn’t great. Rebounding was ok. Let a couple get away.
Defense in transition wasn’t great. Rebounding was ok. Let a couple get away.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 10:07 pm to Mats86
Posted on 10/28/25 at 10:21 pm to Ryan3232
How the Israeli dude look?
Posted on 10/28/25 at 10:23 pm to CWILKS3
DJ Thomas 
Posted on 10/28/25 at 10:25 pm to IntenseKid
we finally have a white guy that will play meaningful minutes and not just show up during garbage time.
Posted on 10/28/25 at 11:15 pm to Scientist Rocket
quote:Zipper didn’t play.
How the Israeli dude look?
Not sure why he, Mosley, and Gilhool didn’t play considering it was an exhibition game. Robert Miller was resting with a mild injury.
This post was edited on 10/28/25 at 11:17 pm
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