The atmosphere was electric this past Saturday on HPU’s campus for Homecoming and the results on the court gave the over 5,000 alumni, students, and fans in attendance plenty more to celebrate. The Panthers topped Averett 85 to 57 in a pretty-much-expected result on an evening that felt like a celebratory commencement for a season that has lofty expectations. There were parties in and around campus all day, rally towels on seats, a phenomenal home crowd and all the usual suspects, from the band to the dance and cheer teams, were on their A-game helping everyone welcome in the start of basketball season.
Averett, who hails from Danville, VA and plays in the D3 ODAC conference, put up a good fight and did test the Panthers at times, especially with their offense. The Cougars had 23 bench points and shot a respectable 9 of 24 from three-point land, but in the end Averett struggled to defend HPU one-on-one and was no match for the Panther's fire power.
While the atmosphere and the score were exciting, it was a pretty much a pedestrian, workman-like performance on the court. HPU pulled away early with a 23-point half time lead, and used the second half to give minutes to some of the depth pieces on the bench.
There were some noteworthy performances. D’Maurian Williams led the team with 25 points and had the whole tool kit on display on the offensive end. Bodo Bodo had a monster alley-oop in the second half and Trae Benham hit a couple nice three pointers. Titas Sargiunas looked comfortable running a good amount of time at PG with Pettiford out and Braden Hausen continues to make a name for himself (more on that later).
So rather than focus on this game itself, let's look at we've learned about the Panthers through two exhibition games. HPU has had the unique opportunity to play two completely different caliber of opponents and there have been a couple things that have stood out.
Depth/Lineups
A major story line of the offseason was the depth created by High Point’s roster additions. So far that depth has definitely been on display with HPU playing nine guys for 15+ minutes in both the ETSU and Averett games. Compare that to last season when only six players averaged more than 15 minutes a game and it’s obvious HPU is going to spreading the quality minutes around more generously this season.
What that really has meant on the court is fresher legs and a more balanced offensive attack for all 40 minutes. No player has averaged more than 25 minutes a game so far, compared too least season when five different guys averaged more than 27 minutes a game. Yes, Kezza, Mani and Bodo played very close to their prior season minute averages in the exhibition at ETSU. But that was their AVERAGE for last year. In a competitive game like ETSU it would not have been uncommon for those guys to play well above their average minutes last season.
Just as importantly, HPU is mixing players in and out of lineups effectively. By my estimate, HPU has played roughly 36 different 5-man lineup combinations at least 1 minute in the exhibition matchups. Of those 36 lineups, 27 have a points +/- of 0 or better and only 4 had a +/- of -4 or worse. So basically, there hasn’t been many, if any, lineups that seemed to create a drop off in production so far this year for the Panthers.
Of course there have been lineups that have worked better. The starting lineup has the best +/- of any group at +15 for the season. But of the 15 lineups with a +2 differential or better, 11 of them have at least two bench players. That’s a solid sign for the Panthers that both their starting lineup and their bench are contributing in an efficient manner.
All of this is without transfer forwards Terry Anderson and Simon Hildebrandt as well as freshman forward Josh Ibukunoluwa who missed the exhibitions due to injury. All three guys figure to be key contributors when they return. Does this mean that the Panthers could legitimately go 12, 13 or 14 deep in most games? I don’t know. But it is looking more and more like Huss has the options that he was hoping for this season.
Shooting
I mean it goes without saying but High Point can absolutely light it up. The Panthers shot basically the same 42% from 3 in both of their exhibition matchups, a stat which would have had them leading the country in three-point percentage last year. D’Maurian Williams and Chase Johnston have added to the arsenal of shooters that HPU brought back from a year ago. By my count, I think 8 different guys have already hit a triple and four different guys have had 3+ threes in at least one of the exhibitions? That’s a good indication for the rest of the season that HPU will have a number of guys they can rely on any given night to hit shots.
Braden Hausen
Apologies for burying the lead, but the absolute biggest story so far through two games is the freshman, Braden Hausen. He’s the only guy to score double digits (10 and 18) in both exhibition games for the Panthers and he led the team in overall points +/- for both games at +46 in total.
The 6’7 freshman has held his own so far playing just about any position in the front court but mostly at the 5 and 4 spots. He’s shot 10 of 15 from the field, including 6 of 11 from three, and his given Huss a real stretch-forward option off the bench.
I’ve been impressed with how comfortable he looks in Huss’s offense and the knack he seems to have for being in the right spot. He’s been especially effective when paired with Kimani Hamilton, probably because Hamilton’s rebounding/defensive abilities are complimentary to Hausen’s strengths/weaknesses.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how his development plays out over the season. Great college basketball teams always seem to have a freshman that contributes in unexpected ways and hopefully Hausen can be that for the Panthers.
Next Up
The Panthers do not play on Monday, the opening day of college basketball, instead they get a few days off before hosting the Coppin State Eagles, of the MEAC, in the Qubein Center on Wednesday night. Because of the offseason hype, High Point will begin this season, unlike last, with a target on their back in every game. So they better be ready to bring their best effort from the tip. See you all in the Qubein Center Wednesday night!
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