Alright, let's just hop right into this one. It wasn't the trip to the Caymans last week that the Panthers wanted. They went 2-1, sure. But they definitely wanted to win the dang thing.
Losing in the opening round of the Cayman Islands Classic, as I highlighted last week, wasn't debilitating in any real significant way to the season's outlook. Maybe not getting the opportunity to play Boston College and Boise State hurts the Strength of Schedule to point where, if High Point wins the Big South tournament, their seeding could be impacted.
But to quote my least favorite quote: "It is what it is." Bad shooting nights happen and I'm not putting too much stock into the record. What I AM putting stock into is how this team is looking. Quite frankly, it's a whole lot of "meh" right now.
According to Bart Torvik, High Point played their three worst games of the season this past week in Grand Cayman. As someone who has watched every minute of the season so far, I'm not surprised. We already highlighted the Panthers rebounding woes but the Panthers also spent most of the week looking like they were playing defense in quicksand.
In their second game of the tournament last Monday High Point forced just 8 turnovers against Old Dominion, in a 73-67 win. The Panthers followed that up with an-almost-impossible 3 forced turnovers against Hampton in a 76-73 win. Both of those turnover rates were season bests (and it wasn't even close) for High Point's opponents.
But the Panthers did win the final two. Mainly due to some timely shooting and converting from the free throw line; as well as the overall quality of their opponents. (ODU and Hampton rank 308th and 293rd in Bart Torvik, respectively.) So they left the Caymans at least with their record relatively in tact.
Later that week, the Panthers returned to the Old North State and took on Pfeiffer in essentially a buy-game/exhibition on Saturday and we basically saw the same type of pedestrian performance we saw in the Caymans.
There were SOME bright spots.
Bobby Pettiford returned to the lineup and he's a legit baller. In four games last week he tallied 13 assists in less than 20 minutes a game. He added 11 of 13 from the field and scored a critical basket late against Hampton to help the Panthers secure "fifth place" in the Caymans.
More importantly I just love the energy Pettiford brings to this team. It's effort in action, not in bravado or words. He won the "Hussle Chain" this past Monday and I'm not surprised, the effort on offense, defense and rebounding was there all last week for Pettiford. He's the kind of player that would be the first pick if we were running 5s on the pick-up court.
The other positive is that Kezza and D'Maurian continue to get points and are about as reliable an offensive duo as there is in the Big South. They had 48 and 39 points respectively in three games in the Caymans and both continue to show consistency and efficiency.
So what's not working? Well the Panthers are currently lacking three things: rebounding, defensive effort, and offensive balance. I wrote a whole article on rebounding last week, so not going to harp on that again.
The Panthers defensive issues, in my opinion, are all effort right now. Completely fixable with some time off and refocus. I think the team just got into a bit of comfort zone in the Cayman Islands. This team is capable of playing good defense, it's already been shown this year. So they just have to get back to fundamentals and maximum effort on every play.
The offensive balance though is becoming a concern. Juslin Bodo Bodo is averaging just 4 points a game. Josh Ibukunoluwa, just 3.1 points a game. Chase Johnston is either taking 11 shots in a game or is basically non-existent.
When I watch this team my concern is the offense is getting stale at times; relying on one-on-one matchups over good offense centered on motion and ball movement. Basically it feels like we are standing around a lot, leaning way too much on Kezza, D'Maur and Mani making plays off the dribble and our shooters, including those guys, are not playing, catching and shooting in rhythm.
A big part of this has been the inconsistency in lineups. It's difficult to run set plays and get good inside touches when lineups are being shifted around; so there ends up being a lot of 2-man or individual actions being ran instead. High Point's perimeter players are doing a good job finishing at the rim, for the most part, but I would really like to see the offense get into more of a rhythm over the next month and see some things kind of balance out.
All of this being said, I'm not down at all on this team. It's very talented and still looks like a good group of guys that enjoys playing together. Teams go through bumps (see UCONN in Maui) in November/December that often aren't indicative of what kind of team or season they will have. Huss is now 0 for 4 in tournament settings at High Point. As a competitor I'm sure this grinds at him. It's going to take a lot of improvement and adjustment over the next few months to ensure he doesn't end the month of March 0 for 5. But it's all completely doable.
Speaking of challenges, the big tests start this week; with a game tonight just up the road at UNC Greensboro (3-4, 167th in KenPom). Most metrics makers and bet takers have the Spartans pulling this one out over the Panthers. For the first time this season the Panthers will have the chance to win a game that the majority of people really don't expect them to. The game will be played in the umm "cozy" confines of Fleming Gymnasium, not the Coliseum, and UNCG is billing it as as a "white out."
Side note, I love that the UNCG game is back. I think the HPU/UNCG rivalry should be played every year. I know High Point probably sees itself more in the Elon/Davidson category of North Carolina schools, but games like Tuesday night are what make college basketball special. UNCG/HPU could become the UNC/Duke of mid-majors if the two sides stick to playing each other and stay on their current trajectories.
After the Panthers take on UNC Greensboro, they will get arguably their best opponent all season in the Qubein Center on Friday night when they take on North Texas at 8pm. The Mean Green are 66th in the nation in KenPom and have already knocked off Minnesota and Oregon State to open the season. They are a defensive juggernaut that will test High Point's offense better than anyone else they will play in the regular season. So get to the Qubein Center Center early (the women also play at 5PM!) and help the Panthers on to victory.
As always, Go Panthers!
Panthers Update:
Record:
8-1, (0-0)
Rankings:
10th in Mid-Major Poll
136th KenPom (123rd last Monday)
Games this week:
Tuesday December 3rd, @ UNCG 7pm (Fleming Gymn, ESPN+) KenPom projects L 69-70
Friday December 6th, vs. North Texas 8pm (Qubein Center, ESPN+) KenPom projects L 63-67
Injuries:
Hildebrandt still out, everyone else back or working day-to-day
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