It is, indeed, the most wonderful time of the year. The kids may not be jingle-belling anymore, but for fans who love the importance of conference play, this might as well be college basketball Christmas. While it’s too soon to say for sure what is likely to happen in the ASUN, it’s not too early for two early observations.
1. The Flames can’t coast.
This is always a good thing, though. Coasting will build bad habits and lead to close calls, leaving the men unprepared for tournament time. As of this week, the Flames are middle of the ASUN in almost every major stat besides field goal (47.9 percent) and three-point percentage (37.4 percent) (per ESPN). Tuesday night’s competition against North Florida showed that turnovers come from complacency and a lack of crisp intentionality. Coach McKay recognized this and made sure the fans knew he had some…fun in store for the guys at their next practice. Someone has to pay for all of those turnovers (17 in total). Still, the Flames composed themselves and handled North Florida, sealing the double-digit victory, much like they did at Stetson.
2. The Flames roster is deeper than expected.
Need a three? Put in Jonathan Jackson. Want to generate some scoring opportunities? Get out of Darius’ way or give Peebles a chance to get crafty and create. The Flames are showing their wide range of options from starters, well into the bench.
It’s no secret that Micaiah Abii is getting some more playing time (seeing around 11 minutes a game). Warfield is serving as a great second-string on-ball defender, limiting drop-off when Venzant needs to rest. While a number of the Flames are still in the developmental stage of offensive weaponry, the number of players that can play the pack-line defense and contribute (even if it’s just a few points) is better than the original narrative was suggesting. Thankfully, the guys are rallying around Darius’ offensive performance and picking their spots well instead of just watching and hoping his 36-foot three-pointers can consistently connect.
Ultimately, the Flames can remain confident that they are still the ASUN favorites if they continue to play like they have in the last two games. As always, practice makes perfect, and the guys will only get more cohesive and experienced with each conference challenge, beginning Saturday night at FGCU.
