The first half of A-10 play is clouded by both disappointment and luck for the Dukes. It's disappointing in the sense that they allowed two home games where they were in a position to win slip away. It's lucky in the sense that even though they didn't close out a couple of wins, they're still right where I hoped they'd be. I said before league play, that I'd be happy with 8-8 and I stick by it. As far as the rest of the league goes, no one has really taken control either, so in spite of a couple of disappointing results the Dukes are still lucky to be right in it, even for a bye.
I'd like to grade out a few players for their first half performance.
TJ McConnell - A - Clearly the MVP of the first half of A-10 play, he proved to be consistent and is absolutely killing it from the 3 point line.
Sean Johnson B+ - Some up, some down. He was the catalyst for the near win against St Joe's, but at the same time he struggled against St Louis and still turns it over too much. He should not be getting benched like he did in the second half of the Dayton game.
Jerry Jones B+ - Really developing into a strong bench option who could turn into a very good starter next year. Still needs help with shot selection and defense, but does a great job getting open off the ball.
Eric Evans B- - I'd like to see him score little more but overall he's been strong on the ball and from the FT line. Defensively, he is underrated and is one of the few capable Dukes defenders.
BJ Motiero B- - Hand injury limited him to just 5 games. He had a good one last night against Dayton, a pretty good one against UMass and the rest have been fair. I feel like he is off his normal game a little. Need more from him in the second half.
Andre Marhold B- - Second half performances against Andrew Nicholson and Matt Kavanaugh enough to get him the B- here. He's been ok since earning his starting job back and really hasn't hurt the team.
Mike Talley C+ - Not taking the steps I expected him to take but he had his best game of the season last night against Dayton. Hope he is able to build on it.
There is room for improvement from a lot of players in the second half in particular from BJ and Evans. If the seniors begin playing that way every night, we could be surprising in the second half.
