Well… how much as changed in 48 hours.
After a disappointing loss against Dixie State, UND perhaps put together their best game of this early season, giving the Gophers all they could handle before losing 76-67 and falling to 0-3. While I am not personally a moral victory person, this is certainly a nice step in the right direction for a team looking to develop some continuity.
My thoughts below
As I stated it was the best game of the year so far, they played the Gophers tough and looked more like a team coming together. They still have moments where they were sloppy with the ball and the offense was a bit clunky, but they played well for the most part. They lead for most of the 1st half and they battled hard until the Gach dagger with a minute to go. This effort would have beaten Dixie by double digits, but this is something that will hopefully get UND going in the right direction.
-2nd game in a row that UND did not have DAE. We will see if he is ready to go for Thursday during the Dakota Showcase. He certainly would be a nice shot in the arm for UND to bring in his unique skillset back into the fold.
-Rebraca finally had his first big game of the season, dropping 23 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. An important thing that I saw that was Rebraca was stepping out and taking some 3’s. In his freshman season, he did knock in about 35% of his 3’s (albeit a very small sample size, 10-28). He only took 9 attempts last year. He certainly have the capability of stepping out and knocking that open 3 down. This will only help him going forward to expand his game. We know what he can do down low, this will only make him better.
-The more I watch Tyree Ihenacho, the more impressed that I am with this true freshman point guard. This is something that UND did not have last year, another ball handler that can be trusted to run the show. He was able to attack the basket and score. He also showed his prowess in getting steals, getting 3 of them. The fact that he is playing decently at the point guard spot has allowed Nero to slide over to the 2 spot. He will have his bumps in the road and he hasn’t attempted a 3 yet, but there is reason to be excited about the freshman from Prior Lake.
-Better 3 point shooting and free throw shooting. What I loved that UND was making that extra pass and getting a better shot. That was quite consistent the entire night. Brady Danielson got a lot of his assists that way.
-Sims and G had tough nights. Both got saddled with foul trouble (G only played 4 minutes). Sims only had 18 minutes but still grabbed a few rebounds and nailed a 3. Think it was just a tough matchup dealing with Both Gach and Brandon Johnson for Sims. G needs to do his best to not pick up quick fouls. Given that they are short handed without DAE, it is important to stay out of the court.
-Ethan Igbanugo is continuing to carve a role for himself in the rotation. He starting playing more towards the end of last year when UND was looking for another guard and has rewarded to coaches with solid play. He has been knocking down the outside shots, but he also looked to be aggressive in driving the ball to the hoop. If he can keep knocking down the outside shot, he will continue to find those minutes.
-Caleb Nero had another solid night, going 3-4 from downtown and scoring 16 points on 5-10 shooting. He made some good plays in passing the ball, but he also tried to force things a couple of times. He is certainly knocking off the rust and he is playing very well with Tyree.
-Sueker was a little cold with the shot but certainly not afraid to fire it up and be aggressive. Grabbed 6 rebounds. Once he gets accustomed to the speed of D1 play, he will be fine. Certainly showing flashes that he can be very solid at this level.
After 3 games, I can see that the depth of this team is certainly improved than it was last year. A rotation of Ihenacho, Nero, DAE, Sueker, Rebraca, Sims, Shockey, Igbanugo, G, and Danielson will be a solid improvement from the squad last year. They just need to keep gelling and getting game reps.
Now, the Dakota Showcase await, a chance to see where UND stacks up early on with the Dakota Schools. While the Gopher game was certainly nice, the bottom line is that UND does need to start putting up some wins up before conference play. They will have some chances next week, then potentially when they head to SIU the following week.