Slipping by the WonderBoys

Well that was interesting, now wasn’t it? For those that missed it, Drake won a tight one at the Knapp yesterday, 57-51, over Arkansas……… Tech. No, we’re not talking about the Razorbacks of the SEC, we’re talking about the Wonderboys of the Gulf South Conference. I’m pretty sure their mascot is named after a late 90’s Tenacious D song.

To put it lightly, Drake looked bad. The offense did not generate anything, they shot the ball poorly (35.6% overall for the game, 2-11 from 3PT in the first half), they gave up too many easy buckets on the other end, and at numerous times during the game they just flat out didn’t look like the better team. This is against a D-2 team picked to finish sixth in their division.

Now, while I’m sure many people are ready to light buildings on fire and start looting liquor stores, I’m going to maintain a bit of an even keel here. Drake obviously looked bad, as Phelps said such in his post-game comments:

"We need improvement across the board for Butler," Phelps added. "We really didn't play well today.”

But, here’s why I’m not ready to throw a sweet Molotov right through the front window of Drugtown:

• Josh Young looked quick, and he showed his inside/outside abilities both driving and pulling up. He scored 14 points on 6-14 shooting.
• Templeton looks like he could be the real deal. I missed the first game, but my buddy Ben (with whom I decided to get season tix with this year) was less than impressed with his performance against Truman. He certainly improved on that by showing some ability to put the ball on the floor (8 free throw attempts) and some long range shooting (2-4 from 3PT). This is exactly what we need to replace Korver.
• We have options. While I’m not sold on Stanley, he looked like he offers quickness and penetration, exactly what this team needs. Parker and Baryenbruch could step up as viable options if Stanley can’t get it done. Bill Eaddy and John Michael Hall can step in if Templeton struggles. There are numerous options on this team… it might take time to find the right combo, but they are there.

Most importantly, sometimes it takes good coaches in new situations to get their team playing right, particularly when they make a big change. Two great examples come to mind from last year. Billie Gillespie’s Kentucky Wildcats lost very early in the season to a bad Gardner-Webb team, and they were an afterthought in the SEC until they pulled it together down the stretch and received a tournament berth. Todd Lickliter and the Iowa Hawkeyes had some embarrassing losses early last year but pulled it together to be reasonably competitive in the Big 10, despite a roster devoid of Big 10 talent. Both of these squads were awful at the beginning of the season, but got it together and turned their season around. I think Phelps can do the exact same, as once he can actually get his system installed and the players buying into it – there’s just too much talent to be playing like this all year.

You could tell at the game – the players looked tentative and are still learning the system. For me, I’m going to let them get better and not rush to make any rash judgements until the guy has worked here for more than just three weeks. If they can get some of those shots going Saturday night, there’s no telling what might hit Butler. Breakdown of that game to come later in the week…