Jackets hold home-court against UVA

Nice job by the Jackets, beating UVA at home 75-57 . Here are some of my comments:

1. Starting Line-up - Hewitt decided to shake things up, which I thought was great. He started Bynum, Moore and Isma'il and sat McHenry, Elder and Lewis. I think it worked well getting us off quickly at the start of the game.

2. Officiating - The officiating flat out sucked. Pitiful. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't terribly in the favor of either team. But there were at least 4 charging fouls and not one was called all night (including one by Isma'il). Luke got a couple of solid forearm shivers with no call. And Bynum got mugged going to the hoop and no foul was called. But don't make an illegal block, because you would get whistled all game long - both teams. I am really getting sick of ACC officiating.

3. Defense - MUCH better job this game in the paint. Now, Elton Brown is no Sean May, but the Jackets did a much better job rotating to help in the paint. However the went through some long stretches in the 2nd half with the lead where they went back into the mode of the last 2 games. They collapsed on the guy with the ball. This was more of what we saw in games against UConn and Texas Tech. The aggresive defense forced 21 UVA turnovers. This is the team that leads the ACC with the fewest per game, so nice job here. UVA did have a number of open three's all game long. They hit everything in the 1st half and nothing in the 2nd. Live by the 3, die by the 3.

4. Offense - Shot 46%. Not a bad outing. The team did a great job in the 1st half slashing to the basket and didn't completely rely on the 3-pt shot. Lewis led with 17 on 6-9 (3-6 from 3pt) and had 5 boards. Elder had 16 on 4-11 shooting (1-4 from 3pt) with 4 boards. Isma'il had 13 points (6-6)ALL in the 1st half. Jack finished with 12 (5-8), had 7 assists and 2 to's, 2 boards. Good outing.

5. Rebounding - Outrebounded UVA 36-33, an overall decent effort.

6. Free throws - once again a bit weak!! Ended 16-25. We have to do better. Isma'il goes 1-5 from the line. Hear me now - this WILL cost us some games as the season progresses.

Here are some comments on individual performances

1. Luke S - really a nice game, even though he missed a lot of shots on the inside. Finished with 7 points (2-8), 9 boards, 2 blocks, 4 assists, 1 steal and only 2 to's. Luke was more aggressive than we have seen him. He battled for some rebounds and made the right decisions when he got the ball in the post. Had some nice moves in the post, even though he missed a number of the shots. On one play he outbattled 3 UVA players for an offensive rebound and tried to put it back up and was fouled. C.Moore was so pumped at his effort he starting pounding on Luke. I mean punching. Hit him twice in the arm, once in the chest, then smacked him on the back of the head. Evidently Moore has really been getting on Luke in practices about being more aggressive. I guess Luke is his personal "project". Just a nice overall effort by Luke.

2. BJ Elder - another off-shooting night. The shots he hit there was nobody in his face (mostly). The ones he missed he had a guy's hand in his grill. I know he hits a lot of those, but tonight wasn't the night. Did the fact that he didn't start make a difference? I doubt it, but you never know. In the end he was 4-11 and had an average game.

3. J.Jack - another outstanding game. Made good decisions and the only 2 turnovers he had occurred in the first 3 minutes of the game. After that it was smooth. 7 assists, 12 points. Handled the ball well, made good decisions, was aggressive going to the hoop. Definitely in the top group of ACC PG's. One point about Jack. He got 32 minutes tonight, similar to all the minutes before Bynum was eligible. He seems to play better when he does not sit for long stretches.

4. C.Moore - another do-it-all game. Six points (2-6), 6 boards, 1 block, 1 assist, 2 steals, a lot of motivation and leadership and I love having this guy on the team. He just cares about the game.

5. Marvin Lewis - nice game at home. I just wish he would have some of these type games on the road. He seems to shoot 60% at home and 30% on the road. Just made up those numbers, but it would be interesting to see his career numbers at home versus away. Probably not a lot different.

6. Isma'il - AWESOME in the 1st half. Shot 6-6. He can absolutely take anyone off the dribble. And he had two great dunks. One was another for his highlight reel. Just fantastic. 2nd half he disappeared. Was it cramps? He was stretching a lot on the sidelines. Was it defensive focus? I'm not sure. But he was all 1st-half.

7. Will Bynum - Played 21 minutes, but didn't do much. Didn't make any mistakes (no to's) but didn't do anything exciting. Shot 1-4 (4 points) had no assists, no boards and 1 steal. Did have 4 fouls. Just not his night.

8. Tarver - did not look as crisp as he did against UNC. He played like I expected him to against UNC. Only ended with 9 minutes, 2 boards, no points.

Overall we needed the W and we got it. Hewitt seemed to fix some of the problems that have plagued us the last 2 games. However, UVA is not the same quality inside as some of the teams we will face. We will have some real battles on our hands. Maryland on Saturday. We need another W.

GO JACKETS!!!!!!