After the Buzzer: Miami

Quick Hitters

-Ah, a win. Was it perfect? No, but it was a win. One that this team and fanbase needed. Although it wasn’t perfect, there were certainly some positives, so let’s dive into some of them and then have film review.

-Let me just start with the Jordan Nwora assist/turnover ratio counter, because it was GREAT! Jordan had four assists and only one turnover. The four assists were his most all season and tied a career high. It could have easily been five if Dwayne Sutton had converted his open layup on the backdoor pass from Nwora. But that’s how these stats go. Sometimes you should have more assists, sometimes you are credited with a turnover that isn’t all your fault. Either way, 4:1 is fantastic for Nwora and his season totals are now 21 assists and 36 turnovers.

-Speaking of assists, Darius Perry now has 61 on the season, which is already a career high. He had 54 as a freshman and 50 as a sophomore. Of course, he has the ball in his hands a lot more to create plays now, which makes it even more impressive that he only has 28 turnovers on the season, an average of 1.9 per game.

-Steven Enoch had good numbers with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but he was only 4-12 from the field. I think that he was catching the ball a little far out and settling for a longer jump hook than we would like to see. I also think he may have been settling for it because there were times where he worked really hard to get the ball, and he never got it. Then there are times that the guys tried too hard to get it to him and turned the ball over. He is at his best when the Cards are playing the high-low game and he can establish his position before he gets the ball. Then he catches it within three feet of the basket and has a dunk or a hook with either hand.

-I thought Samuell Williamson did some good things while he was in there. He only played nine minutes, but he had six points and one rebound. The negatives are he also turned the ball over twice and had three fouls, including one on a three-point shooter. So like I said before, you have to take the good and the bad with freshmen. He looks great in transition and seems like that is his comfort zone. But there are two ends of the floor, and that other one is where mistakes are being made. He still shows a lot of promise and I am excited to see him “get it” and really become a big contributor.

-Louisville didn’t seem to have a sense of urgency on offense for a large portion of the game. They can’t pick and choose when to play or they will end up in the middle of the ACC this season. There’s too much talent for that.

-Score was 53-48 at the under eight-minute timeout. After “Joker and the Thief” plays, the Cards end the game on a 21-10 run. Good work.

-Dwyane Sutton: 9 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Do it all, big fella.

-Happy to see Ryan McMahon knock down a huge three down the stretch.

-I thought Darius Perry willed this team to the victory in the last few minutes.

-Fresh Kimble’s stat line isn’t great: 0 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals in 21 minutes. But you know what else he had none of? Turnovers. Even if he doesn’t necessarily have a good game in the box score, he isn’t going to hurt you. He still brings really good defense, stability with the ball, and leadership. Don’t let the numbers tell you the whole story. They rarely do.

-The step-back three that Jordan Nwora hit in the first half was nothing short of a pro move. We (or I) often take his scoring for granted because I am always focused on his defense and how else he is impacting the game. But I have to still acknowledge how good he is at scoring.

-Alright, let’s see what this team is made of. The next three are on the road. You go to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Duke. We know our history of close games with the Irish. If you remember when Pittsburgh was here, you know how physical they are and going into their house won’t be easy. And Duke may be the best team in the country. These next three will tell a lot.

-As always, thanks for reading. Go Cards!

Film Review