Game Grades: Game #1 - Le Moyne Dolphins

Game #1 - Le Moyne

And we’re off! The Hoyas 23-24 season starts with an encouraging blowout win against the Dolphins of Le Moyne. All caveats considered, the Hoyas did exactly what you hoped they would do. They dominated wire-to-wire in all facets. Let’s dive in.

Drew Fielder - B+

11pts, 4-10 40% FG, 1-6 16% 3PT, 2-4 FT, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 0 TO, 19 MIN

He looked extremely confident in his first college game. Showed no hesitation in knocking down his first three and the first basket of the Hoyas’ season. I was a little surprised that he went 0-5 from three after that. He looks a legit 6’10, which is huge for a Hoyas team that is thin on the front line. The offense had him both on the wing and playing in the dunker spot on the baseline - he looked comfortable in both. His foot speed on closeouts looks like it is an area to improve on, but the sky is the limit for him, and it was nice to see him get the starting nod in place of the injured Ish Massoud. Also, this was cool…from everyone involved:

Supreme Cook - A-

19pts, 8-9 88% FG, 3-7 FT, 13 REB, 2 ST, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 27 MIN

One game, one double-double. Get used to it. Supreme is going to rack them up this year. His motor is legit, and he is basically never more than 5 feet from the basket. If he gets a shot up, it’s probably going in (see: 88% shooting). That number doesn’t capture the times he got stripped or lost the ball going up. He does have a habit of bringing the ball down, and I am not sure I would spend too many possessions trying to get him the ball in the post, but hard to argue with his line. He is going to be an anchor for the Hoyas this year and needs to be.

Dontrez Styes - A-

15pts, 6-13 46% FG, 2-5 40% 3PT, 1-2 FT, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 4 TO, 31 MIN

Count me a little surprised that Trez was in the starting lineup, but it was clearly the right call. I was a little so-so on him coming out of Kenner, but it seems I was wrong. I wouldn’t expect him to shoot 40% from three, but his shot looked good, and I didn’t mind his selection. He had a couple of nice possessions where he got his own shot, including a really nice spin into a pull-up mid-ranger that I did not know he had - he showed me. I really liked his activity more than anything, and if he keeps that up, he’s only going to get better. Great first game.

Rowan Brumbaugh - A

13pts, 5-7 71% FG, 3-5 60% 3PT, 6 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 2 TO, 24 MIN

If you’re looking for tempered optimism for Rowan Brumbaugh, look elsewhere. I personally will be shocked, SHOCKED if Rowan gets lower than a B from me all year. I’m all in. I was really happy to see Rowan in the starting lineup and even happier to see him running the point. We know that Jay Heath has been hurt, and it’s possible that one of Rowan or Trez is filling in for him while he gets back to speed. But I sort of hope not. I really like Rowan running the point with Epps off ball and Heath coming off the bench. Look, Rowan was excellent. Yes, yes, it’s Le Moyne, but he looked comfortable running the team, knocked down shots when they came (especially from three) and was in total control. He also rebounds really well from the guard spot and looks to push. Can he hang defensively with bigger and better competition, time will tell, but also, yes, yes, he can.

Jayden Epps - B-

5pts, 2-4 50% FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, 1 REB, 11 AST, 1 BLK, 5 TO, 30 MIN

Kind of a weird game for Epps, including a technical and some…choice…words for a Dolphin. He also only took four shots, which you have to think is not going to be the norm this year. It looked to me like he was actively looking not to shoot. He made a lot of extra passes, which were great, but there are some of those that you’d assume he’d look to shoot. 11 assists speaks for itself. And outside of a few minutes where he sort of lost the plot, he just looked in total control to me. I’m not sure he even broke a sweat. He can score. He will score.

Jay Heath - A-

15pts, 6-12 50% FG, 2-6 33% 3PT, 1-1 FT, 1 REB, 4 AST, 1 TO, 24 MIN

I know Heath has missed a lot of time leading up to the year and is probably still working his way back. I am not sure if Coach intends on him starting as he gets more comfortable. I would ride with this rotation, at least for a while. I really like the scoring punch and intensity Jay brings off the bench. Le Moyne had just settled into the game and looked like they found at least a small foothold, and then Heath came on and just ramped up the pace and sparked an immediate Georgetown run. I could see that happening a lot this year. I want Jay on the floor more often than not, especially if he continues to defend and go to the rim the way he did in this one, but I like the confidence he brings off the bench. This team needs it.

Wayne Bristol - B+

5pts, 2-4 50% FG, 1-2 50% 3PT, 0-1 FT, 10 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 1 TO, 20 MIN

I am a WBJ stan. We should all be WBJ stans. He had arguably one of the coolest plays of the game at the end of the first half when he sprinted by two Dolphins to pick up a loose ball at half-court and finished a layup. He looked like the Freeze. He’s gonna be great on D, and he’s going to rebound. The only question is, can he develop into a legit shooter? I would stick him on the wing and just drill him on catch-and-shoot or attacking closeouts. If he is able to do that consistently, he is going to be tough to take off the floor.

Ryan Mutombo - INC

4pts, 1-1 100% FG, 2-3 FT, 3 REB, 6 MINS

Not enough on tape to really grade Ryan. Would like to see him be a little more active. Some of that is his teammates. Some of that is his footspeed.

Cameron Bacote - INC

4pts, 2-2 100% FG, 1 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, 9 MIN

Welcome to the Hilltop!

Donovan Grant - INC

3pts, 1-2 50% FG, 1-2 50% 3PT, 1 REB, 8 MIN

I liked Donovan in Kenner; he did many of the same things in his 8 minutes in this one. Knocked down a three, got on the floor for loose balls, connected the offense, and didn’t make a lot of mistakes.

Other Grades

Coaching - A

Look, it’s game one, and it’s the Le Moyne Dolphins, but it’s hard not to be encouraged by what we saw from this one. I really liked the starting lineup and the rotations. I like how he used Heath and Rowan. He handled the Epps thing really well, and they looked like a team that was well-prepared

Offense - A

94 is 94, even against Le Moyne. Loved the movement and purpose of their offense. 23 assists, with quite a few left on the table due to missed shots. 62% assist percentage (assists per made field goals) would be about 15% higher than the past two years. I’m not going to dwell on the previous regime, but it’s pretty clear that they look different, and that’s a great thing

Defense - B+

I’m looking at the overall defense and the details. Both were WAY better. But there is room for improvement. They had a defensive rating of 102.6, according to Kenpom, which puts them about at D-1 average. I expect that to improve even though the talent will improve as well. They just looked so much better on that end. No weird doubles or leaving three-point shooters. They had a clear plan on switches and knew what they were doing - a few were sloppy, but you feel pretty confident that they can clean that up. And they were much better on ball. There is room to improve, but a great first start.

Students - A+

Great showing from the students. By all accounts, it was a great environment. The highest attendance for an opener since the pandemic.