by Wall St. Nole
The Noles have hobbled into December with a 6-4 record. At times it's not too pretty for the Noles as they are without their starting point guard in Devon Bookert, and leading scorer Aaron Thomas has missed time as well. Although there have been flashes of real solid play the Noles aren't turning heads and they appear to be "rebuilding" yet again. Here are a few quick takes as FSU preps for December and a schedule that will show little mercy.
Repetition. We did a blog post earlier in the year that I could easily repeat. The 3 point defense is horrific. What happened to the Junkyard D? With fresh faces and constant lineup changes, the Noles will have to develop consistency on the defensive end to have a chance at keeping up come conference play.
Bigs Improving. I like the idea of BoJo in the starting lineup. He can be a bit flakey at times but he is consistent around the rim and the guys love feeding him. OJO and J Smith continue to improve, and you have to like the athleticism from the freshman Cofer.
AT, X-Man and MB. Yes I know everyone calls him XRM, but not us. X-man is way cooler. Back to the topic at hand. If anyone can get us back on track it has to be a combo of these 3 guys. Aaron Thomas looks a bit rusty coming back from his dehydration issues and XRM has been handling the point well but shooting very inconsistently. The bright spot is Montay Brandon, who had a career high with 23 points against UCF and as discussed before, looks like a completely different player this year. We need to define roles for these 3 guys, set expectations and work on rhythm and timing. This is a really good trio but we have to pay attention to detail to start getting W's on the board.
The Noles will be in action this Saturday night when they take on Notre Dame in South Bend. You can catch that game at 8:00 on ESPN 2.
Comments? Questions? Kudos?