Arizona vs NAU: Player grades

What a game last night. For everyone that wondered how the team would come off of a long layoff, well the answer is HOT. I almost started feeling bad for NAU as the second half wore on, but then I was so happy with how we were playing that I got over it pretty quick. Before I head into the player grades I want to go into some team stats that really stood out to me. We shot 57.7% from the floor and 12-21 from behind the 3pt arc. Those are some impressive numbers. The one that really stands out to me though is 22 assists on 30 made baskets. We out rebounded NAU by 11 rebounds and only had 11 turnovers. Now that we have some of those stats out of the way lets look at the player grades (just so you know I am going to have to get pretty picky on these grades today).

Solomon Hill: A- Hill came out and set the mood pretty early in the game. In 25 minutes he had 17 points on 5-7 shooting. The only reason I gave him an A- is for his 4-7 from the free throw line.

Brandon Ashley: B- By now we expect some big things out of Ashley, and the 11 rebounds were great to see. However, 2 points on 1-4 shooting is pretty poor from a player of his talents. The only thing that got him to the B- is the fact he had 3 blocks and 3 assists to go with his rebounds.

Kaleb Tarczewski: C+ Kaleb's numbers never really seem to reflect the impact he has on the game. He causes all sorts of defensive and offensive challenges for the other team. His 2-6 shooting is pretty poor from an inside man who had a big size advantage. However, he caused their inside big men tons of issues when they tried to score down low. He really causes other teams to change their shots when they get low.

Mark Lyons: B+ This is a really difficult grade to give out. According to his stats he really should be around an A grade, however if you watched the game he made a lot of silly mistakes and was out of control at times. He led the team with 3 turnovers. On the plus side though in 24 minutes he had 18 points on 5-8 shooting and 3-4 from behind the arc. I still wish we could get a few more assists out of Lyons.

Nick Johnson: A+ His stats were amazing, however to me Nick was the player of the game. He came out and scored all his field goals in the first few minutes. Nick really filled up the stat sheet though with 7 assists 4 steals and 3 rebounds. To me though his defense was just amazing. How many passes did he deflect? He reminds me of Fogg on the defensive end last year. He really took some notes, and I am sure Miller will use him on the other teams best guards throughout the season.

Kevin Parrom: B+ If Parrom is going to come off the bench, add length, and shoot that well from the 3pt line then he will be a huge weapon for us. Kevin went 2-3 from behind the arc and 3-4 from the field today. He is playing very efficient on the offensive end for us.

Jordin Mayes: B Jordin came in and seemed to run the offense much better than he has earlier this season. Plus shooting 2-4 from the 3pt line is always a plus.

Angelo Chol: A- I really liked Angelo's energy tonight. Actually I like his energy any night. He really seems to enjoy playing, and today showed some amazingly soft hands on some of those interior passes. Not only did he go 3-4 from the field but 4-5 from the free throw line. Finishing with 10 points and 4 rebounds is always a plus. Seriously thought we need a cool nickname for him. Personally every time I see him I think of a Predator cause of his hair, but that name maybe over used. Let me know what you would like to call him.

Grant Jerrett: C- Grant really seemed a bit awkward tonight. He shot well from withing the arc, but was 0-3 outside of it. I just don't remember much of Grant from last night.

Gabe York: A- Gabe didn't play a ton, but I can't give him to bad of a grade when in his 10 minutes he went 2-2 for 6 points, and at the end of the game he tried to set up his bench team mates to try and get them some points. That's being an unselfish team mate, and you always get extra credit for that.

I won't go into the guys who got in only for a few minutes at the end, but I hope you all enjoy the grades. Feel free to let me know all the grades I got wrong. :)