GOOD
1. Milestone: Coach Ben Fletcher getting his 1st win as a Head Coach - congratulations coach
2. Disciplinarian: Coach Fletcher made Reynolds sit out this game and benched of Jayden Reid in the 2nd half, even if it meant USF would play without a PG. Coach Fletcher seems fully engaged in coaching this team and by benching 2 starters(1 for the entire game, and 1 for a large portion shows he is about the business of correcting and winning.) I like it and if they had loss, then the players have no one to blame but themselves.
3. The Veterans: Knox, Stroud, and Jennings played pretty well overall and were tough when the team needed them the most. Each scored in double digits and combined for only 4 turnovers. I know Jayden Reid is supposed to be the default team leader, but he' is not ready for that role just yet. More on him later.
4. The Students: What a turnaround the student section has made. The SoFlo Rodeo will turn up and turn out. If USF can get things rolling in the AAC, count on the SoFlo Rodeo making things very tough on opposing teams. CAAR would be proud of them.
BAD
1. Little Private: Jayden Reid has not not been the "Little General" he was hyped up to be just yet. He is supposed to be the new face of USF men Basketball and made preseason 3rd team AAC. Reid is really struggling shooting and making the right decisions on the court. As we know the PG position is the most important spot that determines wins and losses on a basketball team. USF is struggling to find consistency because Reid is struggling to find his own consistency. Reid came in shooting a horrific 28% from the field(20% on threes), 10 turnovers, and 7 asst. Tonight against one of the worst D1 teams in CBB, Jayden shot 16% from the field(25% on threes), and had 3 more turnovers. Reid has to vastly improve not only for USF to get better, but to keep freshman CJ Brown behind him.
2. Need a B12 shot: Once again USF is not improving after halftime. USF finished even with UAPB 35-35 in the second half tonight and has been outscored by 30 points in the previous two games. USF is having a hard time maintaining intensity and is lacking a game plan on how to attack on offense and defend on defense once the opposing teams switch things up. It happened again tonight when UAPB started playing with desperation, USF took too long to give back a proper response. There can be several factors for this happening. Coaching, lack of killer instinct, searching for a guy that can make the money plays to halt another teams charge and close out games better. I believe this can be fixed as CBF gets more comfortable and true leadership emerges from a player or multiple guys on the team.
UGLY
Baby cause I'm a thug: UAPB's Zach "Trick Daddy' Reinhart! As the Joker would say, "why so serious?' Reinhart's behavior might have riled up the Bulls' fans, but it also robbed us all of seeing more CJ Brown and Jimmie Williams develop into the players that they can be, at least this night. The USF coaches failing to hold back Brown and Williams from charging on the court was probably more ugly. Last season it was Coach Fletcher's job to take care of that for CAAR and he did many times, especially when Pryor would be in an heated exchange with opposing players. Somebody has to have CBF back on this.
