Furman took a big wake up call Monday night, trailing by as many as 32 in the second half before taking a 97-71 loss in Rock Hill. High Point is an extremely deep team and is widely regarded as one of the best mid-majors in the country. Regardless, it never should have gotten this out of hand, but Furman is an extremely young team with a lot to learn. This experience can be valuable for lowering expectations in the short-term to reach their goals in the long-term. It will all depend on how this team learns from a big blow in the first game of the season.
Let’s jump into some things we can take away from the game:
The learning curve: Furman’s ball handlers and decision makers are young, and this translates to a steep learning curve, especially early in the season. Playing a team like High Point, with high expectations and a frenetic defense can translate to way too many turnovers.
Turnovers are a killer. This is no surprise, but the major run made by High Point was kickstarted by Furman handing them the ball on fast breaks. There were way too many cross court or last second passes that may have been possible in high school but won’t be at the Divison 1 level.
The defense looked rough. During the exhibition against Alabama, Furman’s defense looked solid at times, whereas tonight it looked flimsy. High Point’s guards found their way to the rim whenever they wanted, and the bigs did what they liked under the basket. Communication on switches was lacking, and four or five times led to both defenders turning and running away from the guy with the ball, leading to wide open layups.
High Point is a level above what we’ll see in the SoCon, but many teams will have the same makeup. The SoCon is built on those experienced guards that can score from anywhere. This can be an extremely helpful jumping off point for young guys to know what to expect come conference play.
Let’s think positive, because there were some positives despite the final score. Ben Vanderwal was comfortable. Ben did what Ben does, drawing charges, diving towards the rim, and defending at all positions. He is the senior leader, and it seems like the team will be able to lean on him consistently doing the hard work.
Charles Johnston with a double-double. His threes weren’t falling at the rate he’d like, but Johnston put up 16 points and 12 rebounds, on 6 of 12 shooting. Johnston was the top rebounder in the game including 4 on the offensive end.
Collin O’Neal backup point guard. This was evident against Alabama, but Collin O’Neal looks comfortable ball handling and bringing the ball up against pressure. He came in the backup point guard role, while Eddrin Bronson seemed to be at the 2. O’Neal looks good on the defensive end which is going to earn him minutes with the way the defense played last night.
Bob Richey specifically mentioned Abijah Franklin in his post game press conference. He said that originally Franklin was not going to play tonight, but he had an impact and ended with a -5 plus minus in a game the Dins lost by 28. Positive impact, even without shooting the ball.
Free throws! It’s a one game sample size but free throws looked much improved from the Alabama exhibition. Furman finished at 74% from the line.
Asa Thomas off the bench today. He and Tom swapping places in the starting lineup may happen a lot based on what goes on in practice. There were not a lot of open shots available for either of them, but Asa was 2-3 from beyond the arc tonight.
There’s no need to panic, remember it’s only game one. A freshman heavy rotation means they will need time to figure it out. As the young guys lean on the senior leaders Johnston and Vanderwal, they’ll be able to get more comfortable. Alex Wilkins struggled with turnovers, but there’s just something about him. I think Furman fans are going to love him as he gets into the swing of Division 1 basketball, cutting out some of the reckless passes and making plays within the offense. There is a lot to improve on, but that’s why we trust the track record of Coach Richey. Let’s see what adjustments are evident on Friday for the home opener.
Final stats below, via ESPN:
