Takeaways from Pocatello at Preston
On January 10, 2019 Pocatello traveled to Preston for a meeting of the two Great Basin Conference foes. Preston jumped out early with an 11-2 lead with 4:43 left in the first quarter. Preston did a good job of moving…
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Continue ReadingOn January 10, 2019 Pocatello traveled to Preston for a meeting of the two Great Basin Conference foes. Preston jumped out early with an 11-2 lead with 4:43 left in the first quarter. Preston did a good job of moving the ball around and working it inside to 6’6″ Ty Hyde (2020). As Pocatello began to collapse on the inside Preston was able to kick it out to Cooper Hobson (2020) who hit 3 three pointers in the first quarter. The first quarter ended with Preston leading 21-13.
Pocatello was able to fight their way back into the game in the second quarter. They began to pressure Preston with a full court press and had success in creating offense from turnovers. Isaac Brown (2020) scored 12 points in the second quarter to help Pocatello get to within 2 points at halftime making the score Preston 34 and Pocatello 32.
Preston continued to struggle with the pressure Pocatello was putting on them with their press for the first part of the third quarter. With 4:50 to go in the third quarter Preston lead Pocatello 38-33. The second half of the third quarter, Preston started to press Pocatello with a man to man full court press and did a better job of breaking Pocatello’s press. Preston was also able to get back to getting the ball inside. Preston’s post players are very good at interior passing and hitting the guards as they slash to the basket. At the end of the third quarter Preston lead by a score of 50-40.
In the fourth quarter both teams continued to pressure each other. The game was a physical one with lots of contact and players hitting the floor after loose balls. The physical play benefited Preston who was bigger inside. Over time Preston’s size was more than Pocatello could over come. Preston ended up winning the game 69-61.
TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GAME:
Luke Smellie (2020) can get vertical
At 6’2″ Smellie isn’t the tallest player on the court. But he is definitely one of the best jumpers. In this game he had two impressive dunks. The first came in the 3 qt off a steal on the perimeter. Smellie was able to breakaway and show his vertical with a powerful two handed dunk. His second dunk was even more impressive. It came in the 4th qt as he caught the ball cutting to the basket and threw it down with one hand in traffic.
Pocatello is a scrappy team that doesn’t quit
At different times in this game Pocatello could have given up and let Preston run away with it. But each time Pocatello would dig in and make a run and get back to within a few points. They pressured Preston all night long and caused them to make some mistakes. Right up to the final buzzer Pocatello was trapping and trying to create turnovers. They also did well against the bigger post players of Preston. They weren’t afraid to body up on Preston and be physical with them.
Preston is a young and talented
As Preston continues to improve, they are going to be a hard team to beat. They can score in many different ways. They are good at pushing the ball up the court quickly after defensive rebounds to score in transition. They can slow it down and run a half court set, moving the ball around until the defense gets out of position. If teams collapse on the post they are good at kicking it out to the guards who are able to hit 3’s. They adjust to whatever the other team does. With only 2 seniors on the team the bulk of their team are Juniors who will be back next year.
Preston’s Student Body is energetic
Preston has one of the best introductions around. They turn off all the lights and use a spotlight for the introductions of their team. The student section reminds me of the student section at Utah State. They were engaged through the whole game and stayed loud and full of energy until the very end. It is very similar to a college atmosphere.