Early (9 minutes left) thoughts....

Who knows what will happen in the last 9 minutes, but since they have Jankowitz in, we've already dialed it back, right? Oh wait, nobody went nuts when he made that 3...so I guess he's no longer a walkon scrub.

Pettiford is playing like an animal. Love it. Just hope he can stay healthy throwing his body around like that.

The transfer from Tech is a good get. Very happy with what he's doing.

Grady's impressive, but I'm calling "fool's gold" on him for now. He's listed at 6'8", 205lbs, but he looks more like 180. Don't get me wrong, I love literally everything he's done tonight, but I just don't see him reaching his potential until he's packing another 20 pounds of ballast on him. Wishing Hudy was still here, but liteally any good trainer who gives him a diet/weight program that he can follow can get him to his potential. I guess what I'm saying that a.) he won't be entering the draft this year, and b.) he'll have some great games this year, but will struggle against physical opponents, and 3.) he'll be a ton of fun to see as a before/after picture this time next season. If he can maintain his skills, retain his deep basketball IQ for 12 months, and add 20 pounds of muscle to his frame, he'll be gone after next year. So I guess I'm saying I'm happy we get him as a skinny kid this season.

Anyway, a lot of great stuff to see here, but probably not a great indicator of what will happen.

I do think that coming out slow in the last 2 games and having to stage a 15+ point comeback is NOT the kind of thing I want to see. I know that 2 games don't make a trend, but I hope that they correct that (despite the good outcomes in both cases).

Quick note on Grady. He needs to do a better job on the defensive end. He was caught ball watching several times letting his man get easy buckets. Definitely agree that Bobby P played well. My concern is that Jalen W. was rarely a good 1st half scorer. The team needs someone to start the scoring off early and I have no idea who that will be. We will find out in the next few months.

Maybe I don't have the critical eye that youse guys do, but due to another commitment that prevented me from watching the game live I was able to read these comments prior to watching the game so I decided to watch Grady like a Hawk (se what I did there?)

I encourage both of you to go back and watch it again because, well frankly, I saw a kid that played well at both ends of the court. I looked for times when his guy got an easy look (never saw a single one) and times when he failed to switch (again, not one). Plus I saw a great defensive stop and steal. I think you guys were watching the wrong game

edit: PS, I think if he continues to play like he did tonight (and get better as a talented freshman who gets a lot of minutes should do), I think there IS a chance ho goes league next year.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy with how he played. There were some typical freshman mistakes, but nothing that can't be adjusted very easily/quickly as he adapts to the faster and more intense play at this level, and not always being the best player on the court.

My main comment about him is that he'll be REALLY good once he fills out a little more. To be a successful 3 point shooter, you also need to be able to go to the hoop occasionally as he did last night. Just not sure he'll be able to do that as easily against guys who have a couple more years in college weight rooms when we start playing better teams.

Last night was clearly a breakout evening for him, but I'm not sure how much weight to put behind a 'breakout evening' when the opponent is PSU.