Mark Wise

Bonus) Next week, some upcoming questions about the SEC. Follow along.

2OT) Lastly, the competitive spirit was through the roof good. Our game is still as old as it has ever been so that makes getting easy baskets very hard to do. With roster turnover, I think defenses are ahead of offenses right now.

OT) Overall, the most disappointing thing was the shooting. Yes, Florida shot poorly but they had company. The teams combined to shoot 29% from deep. Only one of the 8 shot 35% or better. Congrats Baylor. Disappointing? Yes. Concerned? Not yet.

5) So many practice fouls. What do I mean? Every coach was his/her team to be physical. So they practice that way. Over and over. It is allowed in practice. Then in the game, the stripes, rightly so, called those fouls. Practice fouls.

4) The games averaged 44.7 fouls per. They could have easily called 20 more in each game. Did not see one foul on the initial meet and greet with the bigs. Chucking a cutter has been eliminated (good thing) but holding off the ball is bad.

3) Coaches treated the exhibitions as real games. They simply coached to win. I have not seen a lot of experimenting with either personnel or schemes. Coaches worked the refs non stop, nothing new there.

2) I was not focused on outcomes. Others can overreact about those. I wanted to look for trends, both playing and officiating. Did teams play faster? Not as much as I thought. Was there a better flow to games? No. Were players intense? Absolutely.

1) The teams that I have seen include Vandy, Virginia, Auburn, FSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida, and Baylor. The outdoor vibe was awesome in Charleston, the Ballin’ in Boutwell has a unique intense setting, and Jax had a great crowd.

#hoopjunkies The Wednesday 5 has been on the exhibition tour prepping for the soon to be here upcoming season. Some thoughts from what I have seen. Follow along.

Bonus) Next week, what are some questions that need to be answered in SEC hoops this season. Follow along.

3OT) With Gonzaga moving to the PAC 12 (still getting used to saying that) and St Mary’s with a coaching change, can the WCC still be a multiple bid league. A tough one. Somewhat Likely?

2OT) Will NCAAT expansion hurt the product? Will there be a drop in interest or ratings? Definitely Doubtful. Seems like a thing George Carlin would say.

OT) Can the Big East have a bounce back year with regular season success and more NCAAT bids? Highly Likely.

5) I think there will be a great battle at the top in the A10 with St Louis and VCU. Can another team get on that tier? Doubtful.

4) Lot’s of great storylines from last year, including not only the regular season but the NCAAT run by Nebraska. Can the Huskers make it back to back for the first time since the early 90s? Likely.

3) Will the SEC have the most NCAAT bids come March? Likely.

2) With another year of emphasis on cleaning up “freedom of movement”, will that hold through, let’s say, the end of January? Highly Doubtful.

1) I am not legally versed in the court battles for eligibility, but I ask this question. Will the roster uncertainty continue into the start of the season? Seems Likely.

Might be early on the calendar, but never too early to start my exhibition tour for the upcoming season. Outdoor hoops from Charleston! Vandy vs Virginia.