The Dark Side: Still some room for improvement

I told Austin I would try to be the offsetting voice of concern when he posts a mainly positive post about the basketball team. However, after yesterday's win, I have to admit my task is much more difficult. Yet, with that disclosure plainly stated, I'll try to point out just a few areas where the Cats must improve.

I guess I'll start with Eric Bledsoe. This guy has a tremendous amount of talent, but his maturity is still very much a work in progress. On numerous occasions, he sped by his defenders but instead of dishing to the open man, he took out of control shots or turned it over. Eric finished with a team high 5 turnovers and only shot the ball 3 for 10 from the floor. Of course, he's a freshman and the maturity will come with experience, but at times, he's a bit of a loose cannon.

Still a source of concern is play from the bench. Of course, this could improve when (and if) Dodson and Liggins are once again cleared to play by Coach Cal. For now, the bench is sorta shallow. With the exception of Daniel Orton, there's a significant drop off of production when the reserves hit the floor. Cal has proven that Jon Hood and Ramon Harris are going to get minutes, and the two must begin producing some offense. Both have struggled to shoot the ball so far this season, and always seem to be a step behind on defense. In games against deeper, more talented teams, more minutes will be needed from the bench, and these guys will need to step up. Luckily, Daniel Orton performs well so if Cuz continues to get in early foul trouble, we at least have a very reliable back up.

And yes, the Cats were finally able to stop their opponent's three point efforts, but they struggled there themselves, only managing to hit 4 of 16 for a very poor 25% overall from behind the arc. While this poor shooting did not cost the Cats against Rider, we have to believe there will be games where that kind of shooting from outside might prove to be the difference in the game.

Again, this is mainly nitpicky stuff, and I was very satisfied with their performance overall, but I wouldn't be Darth Vader if I didn't find some areas to point out that still need some improvement.