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Looking back at the UTSA win

Washington State's 91-71 win over Texas San-Antonio on Saturday was insightful, but not indicative.

The Cougars are likely to win every game in which they shoot 60 percent on 3-point attempts and they are unlikely to come close to that success rate very often, so there's not a whole lot to be gleaned from yesterday's shooting performance other than that DaVonte Lacy appears to have found his shot and the team is shooting with more confidence.

But there is still a lot to dissect from yesterday's game and we'll do just that, and pass along the game book, after the jump.



-- It will be interesting to see if Jordan Railey can use yesterday's game as a springboard. His monster dunk was obviously the highlight, but more important going forward were the other three shots he made around the basket. He showed both athleticism and feel that we hadn't yet seen from him and if he can start giving WSU a solid 15 or 20 minutes while chipping in, say, 8 points and 6 rebounds it will make the Cougars a significantly better team.

-- Ernie Kent isn't being shy about calling out underperforming players and that he's expected more from freshman guards Jackie Davis and Trevor Dunbar. Well, both played on Saturday and Dunbar in particular appeared to get more comfortable on the court, even as the Roadrunners began a three-quarter court press.

Dunbar has a tight handle and made a slick behind-the-back pass to Dexter Kernich-Drew for an open 3-pointer. He still appears too focused on the defender immediately in front of him but that should subside as he plays more.
"He's probably, along with Jackie Davis, the two players that have struggled the most in our program so it's nice to see both of them get on the floor and it's nice to see Trevor have some success and have some fun," Kent said. "Because this game is all about fun when it's all said and done, and maybe now more energy comes, more focus comes and we can play him more."

-- That press-break play, though. That was a problem. The play involved two guards to bring the ball up the court at about the same level (ideally, the player without the ball should be a bit behind the ball handler) and with a third player (usually Dexter Kernich-Drew) stationed a few feet beyond the half-court line near the middle.

Because Kernich-Drew's man was helping to press the ball-handler should ideally dribble hard up his side of the court, drawing both players to him before kicking it to the open Kernich-Drew. If the other guard's man cheats or tries to jump that pass, kick it to the other guard (that's why he should be slightly behind the ball-handler's level). The near post can also flash up to help out.

Rarely, did it work out that way.  Often the two guards would pass it back and forth and came close to violating the 10-second rule before one of the two would cross the half-court line and face an immediate double team.

When the pass did go to the man in the middle it was often difficult to corral or Kernich-Drew's pass would be off target as he tried to fire it to the opposite guard as he crossed the line, resulting in a team-leading four turnovers.

"They did a good job of just pressuring the ball but for the most part I think we were just beating ourselves up with turnovers and sloppy passes," Ike Ireogbu said. "So that's stuff that we've got to clean up for the next game."

-- Obviously Lacy's scoring output was the most notable, but how about Iroegbu hitting 4 of 5 3-point attempts, or Ny Redding making 2 of 3? Iroegbu really seems to be coming into his own now that Kent has moved him off the ball. Kernich-Drew only attempted two 3-pointers and made one, but still scoring 12 points. Lacy's early shooting allowed the other guards to get into a groove, but if they can continue to score it will make things a lot easier for Lacy.

-- I thought this observation was worth passing along.
 



Jacob Thorpe
Jacob Thorpe joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the Sports Desk covering Washington State University athletics.

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