Maybe it’s just one game but this kid is really making me feel better about our reserves this year. It will be extremely tough for teams to cover us on D for 40 minutes with guys like Custer, Williamson, Townes ams Kaifus lurking on the outside with Krutwig down low.

My grades for the night

Custer: B-
Townes: B
Krutwig: A-
Aguak: B
Williamson: B+
Kaifes: A+
Bujdoso: B
Negron: A-
Skokna: B-
Agunanne: B-

Also, Krutwig dunked!

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Great game, very encouraging. We learned a lot about the new players. And we're 1-0.

I was very happy with our play. UMKC's game is to force turnovers and use their speed. They did that successfully against us last year, leading at halftime and causing a lot of worry. But we are a much better team than we were this time last year. But we played great defense and good enough offense to win by 30.

The crowd was fantastic. It was about 93% full, which is great for a weeknight. Several hundred students were lined up an hour before the game outside the entrance. The banner raising was OK, but the opening video before introducing the players was awesome. Custer, Townes, and Krutwig mimicked iconic NCAA Tournament video clips in the empty Gentile Arena edited and interspersed with the real shots. Excellent.

Pat Schultz was back doing the announcing.... Great, as usual, but why the sturm und drang?

The breaks are now being handled by charming students as emcees. Good so far, but has the potential to be great.

I sat next to Stephond Robinson for most of the game. He had some great NCAA Tournament stories and insights on the players.

Need more concession help and a couple extra temporary stands set up.

Couldn’t have stated it all any better, and yes they definitely need more help with the concessions. They seem to have enough people but only one register per stand is idiotic.

I hope I'm wrong, but it looked to me like Negron hurt his leg at the end of the game. Porter substituted for him and he seemed to be walking gingerly and to be in some pain.

I saw that as well. It looked like he came down on it weird on a block attempt.

Agree with JCT's assessment. I walked in about 20 minutes before tip and saw long lines for concessions. The banner raising was fine, except, uh, the lights were off and you couldn't see the team or the banner? Can we get a spotlight?

Great to have B back at the mic.

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On the freshmen:

Cooper is already a fan favorite. Student section was chanting "WE WANT COOPER" in the second half.

Bujdoso was the first freshman player in the game and definitely appeared to have some nerves. Had a few bad TOs in his first run on the court. Then settled down and played OK. I think he can develop into a solid possession PG this year with good defense. Doesn't seem like a shooter.

Big Frank is a mad man down low going for rebounds and blocks. I think he will be the one to end the "no player fouling out" streak carried over from last year (although Negron almost did tonight). But he will be great relief for Krutwig and could lead the team in rebounding--really excited to see him develop.


Overall, WAY too many TOs and the free throw shooting was atrocious (though UMKC somehow shot worse from the line--they had possibly one of the worst free throw shooting nights I have ever seen).

Crowd was electric. Custer had a great 2nd half. Townes showed great aggression going to the hoop. Krutwig looked better getting rebounds (think it was the weight cut) but still had his great footwork down low. Uguak showed flashes but still may be a bit raw. Negron looks like he can be something really special. Williamson played some great defense as expected--not a great offensive night for him though.

This team looks a lot better than last year's team did in the opener. Can't wait to see them grow throughout the season--could be special.

ESPN.com showed attendance of about 3,700 out of 4,400 capacity. That's a pretty solid number coming out for the season opener against a lackluster name on the other side of the scoreboard.

I can't believe the amount of students that turned out and I hope it continues. From watching it on TV, what was most impressive was that they seemed into the game all the way to the final buzzer. The only thing that's disappointing is you never get to see the student section on TV during the game.

at 4400 capacity, I hope we sell out more than three games. This team is going to be exciting to watch, and they are only going to get better as the season goes on.