Furman basketball is back! The game may not have counted, but the fans definitely didn’t care and showed out for the grand reopening of Timmons Arena. Some students were lined up 5 hours before tipoff in…not the warmest of weather. Exhibitions are time for adjustments and experimenting with lineups, but the most important thing is we got to see the Dins on the court.
Here are 10 Takeaways from Furman’s exhibition loss to Alabama:
Furman is Deep. Coach Richey played an eleven man rotation tonight. That may tighten up, but it’s likely it will only shrink to ten if the injury to Davis Molnar is longterm.
Nearly everyone on the court can shoot it, and it appears for the exhibition that everyone, even the freshmen, has the green light to shoot when they want. Threes should come a little easier when Furman isn’t playing an SEC defense in the first game of the year. Only 25% tonight.
The score may not reflect it but the defense was there in stretches. The 1-3-1 zone made an appearance and Ben VanderWal starred with 5 steals and 2 drawn charges.
Free throws!
Collin O’Neal is legit. Showed up defensively, drove to the rim, and drew fouls. He has a college ready build and played 1 through 3 tonight. He did not seem bothered by pressure while bringing the ball up.
Alex Wilkins: Also legit. It was baptism by fire. He showed his abilities in flashes, looking comfortable against pressure and getting to his spots. He didn’t seem out of place on the court with the Alabama guards. Fouls killed any momentum he would build, limiting him to 15 minutes. Just something a freshmen will have to improve, he won’t play any guards better than Philon this year.
Free throws! (Yes, again).
Charles Johnston has arrived. He played inconsistent minutes limited by injury last season. Coach Richey raved about him all offseason and he put up 14 points and 12 rebounds against a sizable Alabama front court. It will be exciting to see what he can do in SoCon play, Furman could have an All-Conference level front court pair.
Cooper Bowser dunks everything. Anything Cooper got near the rim was jammed with authority. He fought through the size of Sherrell and Bol Bowen, shooting 6-of-7 with two blocks.
Free throws! This time, I’ll expand on that. The only way to stay in the game against a better team is by making free throws. Even shooting 75% would have made the game tight at halftime. The Dins finished at 40% from the line with 15 missed free throws.
It was an enjoyable night at Timmons, the student turnout was great and there was palpable excitement even outside the newly renovated building. There really isn’t a bad seat in the house. This was the final tune-up for Furman before they open the season with the Field of 68 marathon on November 3rd.
Uh, what was the score? That's a pretty glaring oversight.