ToledoRambler wrote:
My post-game thoughts:
1. Before anyone freaks out too hard - go back and look at the Michigan State and Auburn highlights on YouTube. This team is perfectly capable of playing with big boys at a high level. They’re just in a mid season slump right now - and despite that - they keep winning. 3-20 from three is not what this team is. Had they been just 6 for 20, it still would have been bad but they would have had a lead and forced Valpo not to run the clock. They will clean it up.
2. Veteran leadership saves the day again. Amazing job by Braden to have the confidence to knock down big shots in the overtime.
3. Wow, did Valpo players implode. I’m blown away at all the mistakes they made down the stretch in regulation.
4. Drew - please stop starting Hutson. He’s a project with potential but we are obviously better off with a smaller Knight. If we keep having these slow starts and don’t change anything, it’s concerning. We need to get our offense going out-of-the gate, and Hutson stifles our ability to do that. I don’t care if we give up points early if we are also scoring points early, and Knight gives us a far better chance at doing that. If you don’t trust Hutty in the second half, why do you put so much faith in him in the first half??? Bring him off the bench for relief minutes and take the pressure off of him.
5. To Keith Clemons - Loyola fans are behind you! If you start playing more - great! If things don’t get better for you this season - you’ve still been an awesome part of this program. I hope we see you have a break out game soon.
Right on the money on everything. This team will be fine…not many teams win games shooting 3/20 no matter who you play and we got it done. Valpo is top-heavy, but they’ve got some solid top level talent.
And completely agree about Hutty. Knight just makes us so much better right now on both ends. Bring Hutty off the bench for relief minutes, especially against bigger teams. He’s still so young, and coming off the bench may relieve some pressure off of him. Still think we may need to look to the transfer portal for a third big next year with Knight graduating and no incoming freshman bigs, but that’s a question for another day.
The whole Clemons situation is so weird…you have to think it’s still the lingering injury especially after tonight. We shoot so poorly and our guys are obviously tired, and he still hardly plays. Just doesn’t make sense without the injury explanation. But as you said, Rambler Nation is behind him 110%! He’s meant so much to this program these past few years and has been a class act all the way.