mumuskie87 wrote:O'Mara, Gaston and Jones combined to play 40 minutes against UNI in Orlando.
They combined for 10 pts and 13 boards. Not a bad overall line.
But I could Gates playing a 5 if Chris wants to go a smaller quicker line up.
The great thing about X is having big guards like Ed, Malcolm and JP that all can rebound effectively.
Actually, the bigs had 16 points combined,with, along with 13 boards, produced a decent cumulative line. However, zero blocks. I think Jones playing time is only going to increase. He grabbed almost half the rebounds for the center position, playing 11 minutes. He is foul prone, but that's not unexpected for an aggressive big. He's very athletic, and will only get better. I didn't expect him to play this well this early, so X hasn't played any juggenauts.
O'Mara is a solid low post scorer, as expected. He does struggle defensively, b/c he is just slow afoot. He cannot guard in space at all. Gaston seems overwhelmed at this level offensively, but has been solid defensively, and a very good rebounder. Hops said a few mos ago his range was within 2 feet, and that has been the case through six games. He has missed a lot of close shots in the lane already. Hopefully, the game will slow down for him, but he is a fifth year senior.
Looking at their stats:
Minutes Points Rebounds Blocks
O'Mara 102 45 19 1
Gaston 105 36 37 6
Jones 71 28 16 4
Cumulatively, they are avg: 16 pts., 14 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. Startling to see Gaston's 2:1 rebounding edge on O'Mara, whom I expected to be a 5 rebound a game guy. On the surface, as a whole, the overall post play looks good, when compared to the Farr & Reynold's stats from last year: 20 pts., 14 reb.s, 1.5 blocks. However, X's competition to date has been subpar, and Farr-Reynold's stats included games against the likes of UC, USC, & Wake, as well as the BE. Starting next Saturday, the competition stiffens considerably, so we'll have a better idea of the post play and team as a whole.
Jones is the wild card here. O'Mara and Gaston's effectiveness will largely be predicated on matchups. Jone's effectiveness is only limited by how quickly he acclimates to the increasing caliber of competition. He has the size, athelticism, and skillset to be a very good center.