With so many questions heading into this season’s
campaign, at least a few were somewhat answered against the EA
Sports all-stars. Can there be a second scoring option to take
some of the load off of Casey? Yes. Josh Childress hopefully
showed a glimpse of what he can become by scoring 22 points in 22
minutes in Stanford’s 114-65 win over EA Sports. It
wasn’t just how many points he scored, but how he was able
to get his points. Whether it was gliding through the air to
finish an alley-oop or hitting an open three, the Josh Childress
Show was in full-effect Monday. While true his defender was
considerably worse than many he will face in the regular season,
it was certainly an encouraging sign.
Casey had a slow game but was able to constantly put pressure
on the defense by driving to the basket and was able to go 10-10
from the foul line. He ended up with 21 points and was 3-8 from
beyond the arc. He made two very long and tough threes, but
uncharacteristically missed some wide-open looks. Casey truly was
a man of his word this offseason as he really improved his game
and it was evident in this game. He has tremendously improved his
passing with his seven assists to zero turnovers against EA, as
well as his defense, which was highly scrutinized with the
outbursts of Marvin O’Connor and Juan Dixon last March.
As expected, the game was a blowout from the start, as
Stanford had a 10-point lead less than five minutes in and never
looked back. The lead swelled to 28 at halftime and the rout was
on. For about 35 minutes this game was garbage time, and I
can’t imagine Montgomery got a good feel of his team from
this game. Some little things that went well last game were:
- Curtis went through his 2nd starting test and
showed no ill effects of his two-foot surgeries, as well
as chipping in 8 points.
- Julius Barnes chipped in 13 points off the bench, often
pushing the ball and getting a lot of transition points.
Albeit most of his points came when the game was over, he
still looked impressive.
- Joe Kirchofer and Justin Davis looked more aggressive on
offense, each grabbing two offensive rebounds and hitting
for 10 points. Once again, though, six of Davis’
points came on dunks, and his post-up moves still seem
rather raw.
- Rob Little was once again very aggressive, often giving
good energy. He did foul out in very limited minutes but
played very effectively in his time by scoring nine
points and grabbing five boards. Through two games he has
most likely earned himself some consistent minutes off
the bench
Not everything did go well for Stanford, as their rebounding
was very subpar. EA Sports grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and had
their hands on many more. This rebounding can’t happen as
the competition will get much better and the rebounds will be
tougher to come by. This was EA Sports though, and not much in
this game, good or bad, can be looked at too closely. Still, I am
sure the team will take a 49-point victory anytime.
Comments? Email Simon Sez at Stanfordfinal4@hotmail.com