Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
Saint Mary’s, and their all-White starting five (and significant bench players), is still undefeated after knocking off nearly completely diverse Vanderbilt by 10 last night, 75-65.
for Vandy, the lonely oppressor was Minnesota transfer Liam Robbins, who played very well off the bench: 13 points (6-8 shooting) and 6 rebounds.
the Gaels had a trio of players who i want to single out for recognition. the offense runs through Mitchell Saxen, a 6-foot-10 junior who averaged a mere 7 minutes per game last year, in the post and Logan Johnson, a fiery scoring guard, on the perimeter. Saxen has turned into the team’s leading scorer and rebounder after a couple of years developing on the sidelines, while Johnson is capable of exploding on the scoreboard (or by losing his cool). Saxen finished with 19 (9-15 shooting) and 5 rebounds, while Johnson had 19 (7-10 shooting), 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.
the third player that really stood out to me on the offensive end is freshman point guard Aidan Mahaney. a long lead guard with as pure a stroke as you’re likely to find, Mahaney runs the offense with composure surprising in such a young athlete. he’s also incredibly smooth creating for himself or others off the dribble. he’s an early favorite to win WCC freshman of the year, in my mind. he led all scorers with 20 points (on 7-10 shooting) and hauled in 6 rebounds.
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Whitesconsin, er, Wisconsin has a defense that is out of this world. too bad they struggle to score. in their overtime loss to #3 Kansas, the Badgers overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to behind the superb effort of 6-foot-9 wing Tyler Wahl (23 and 9). at one point down the stretch, Wahl scored (i think) 11 straight to take the lead. freshman combo guard Connor Essegian looks like the real deal, too. and transfer Max Klesmit is a lockdown defender. sadly, the head coach loves black point guard Chucky Hepburn (who i can’t stand), who monopolizes the ball so much that it kills their offensive flow.
for the majority of the second half and overtime, Whitesconsin had 4 overachievers on the court at a time, and had 5 for a long stretch (when they made a big run).
unfortunately, Kansas got lucky when an air balled, desperation 3-point heave as time ran out was snagged under the backboard and slung up at the rim for a buzzer beating reverse layup by a guy who hadn’t scored the whole game, otherwise Whitesconsin fans would have an even happier Thanksgiving to celebrate. as it is, they’re CLEARLY better than the “experts” (who picked them to come in ninth in the Big Ten) think.
for Vandy, the lonely oppressor was Minnesota transfer Liam Robbins, who played very well off the bench: 13 points (6-8 shooting) and 6 rebounds.
the Gaels had a trio of players who i want to single out for recognition. the offense runs through Mitchell Saxen, a 6-foot-10 junior who averaged a mere 7 minutes per game last year, in the post and Logan Johnson, a fiery scoring guard, on the perimeter. Saxen has turned into the team’s leading scorer and rebounder after a couple of years developing on the sidelines, while Johnson is capable of exploding on the scoreboard (or by losing his cool). Saxen finished with 19 (9-15 shooting) and 5 rebounds, while Johnson had 19 (7-10 shooting), 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.
the third player that really stood out to me on the offensive end is freshman point guard Aidan Mahaney. a long lead guard with as pure a stroke as you’re likely to find, Mahaney runs the offense with composure surprising in such a young athlete. he’s also incredibly smooth creating for himself or others off the dribble. he’s an early favorite to win WCC freshman of the year, in my mind. he led all scorers with 20 points (on 7-10 shooting) and hauled in 6 rebounds.
**********
Whitesconsin, er, Wisconsin has a defense that is out of this world. too bad they struggle to score. in their overtime loss to #3 Kansas, the Badgers overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to behind the superb effort of 6-foot-9 wing Tyler Wahl (23 and 9). at one point down the stretch, Wahl scored (i think) 11 straight to take the lead. freshman combo guard Connor Essegian looks like the real deal, too. and transfer Max Klesmit is a lockdown defender. sadly, the head coach loves black point guard Chucky Hepburn (who i can’t stand), who monopolizes the ball so much that it kills their offensive flow.
for the majority of the second half and overtime, Whitesconsin had 4 overachievers on the court at a time, and had 5 for a long stretch (when they made a big run).
unfortunately, Kansas got lucky when an air balled, desperation 3-point heave as time ran out was snagged under the backboard and slung up at the rim for a buzzer beating reverse layup by a guy who hadn’t scored the whole game, otherwise Whitesconsin fans would have an even happier Thanksgiving to celebrate. as it is, they’re CLEARLY better than the “experts” (who picked them to come in ninth in the Big Ten) think.
