The People Have Spoken: Opening Week Recap
Billy Ricci on who Friartown was most impressed with versus Columbia, as well as his impressions of the Friars in the opener
Friartown, let’s be honest, you’re never been shy (especially on X) and I love you for that. That is one of the main reasons we have one of the best home crowds in all of college basketball, and Jeff Goodman is still paying for calling the Friars lucky.
After Opening Night, I was reflecting on the game and thought to myself, “I wonder who the fans thought was most impressive in game one?” And you all did not disappoint, with over 300 responses, you chose (in order) Ticket Gaines as most impressive with 46% of the vote, Rafael Castro in second with 29% of the vote, Devin Carter taking the bronze at 18% of the vote, and lastly, Bryce Hopkins rounding things out with 7%. I also can’t forget to mention Garwey Dual received one write-in vote via DM.
When breaking this down, I didn’t intend to start with an “I told you so”, but if you read my article last week on Ticket Gaines that 46% should come as no surprise. I talked about Gaines’ motor, which we saw on full display in Game 1 diving for loose balls, getting into position for boards, and showing off a clean release and shooting form from three. It did, however, come as a little bit of a surprise that Gaines started for the Friars versus Columbia Monday Night, but interestingly enough, it worked well. Gaines looked low maintenance on offense opposite Hopkins and Carter, and provided a clear veteran presence on the floor that was felt all the way up into the rafters.
Another surprise was Rafael Castro, and it makes you wonder, Friartown, what took so long for us to see Castro in the Columbia game, and in general? With some nice finishes at the rim on consecutive plays, I forgot Will McNair even came to PC, if I’m being honest. In an up-tempo style of play, compared to Ed Cooley’s former grind-it-out type playbook, I think there is a clear role for Castro to be an up-tempo 4/5 on the floor who gets out in transition and can tire out opposing bigs. Remember when Kalif Young would run the floor and beat defenders on the break? I can see Castro doing that, and more, in transition for a team that looks to continue to use their athleticism to their advantage all season long.
Then there is Devin Carter. My analysis on Carter is simple, he looked focused and comfortable out there on opening night. Frank Martin, in an interview with Nathan Mook of Rhody Vault over the summer, called Carter one of the toughest players he’s ever coached, and that really is saying something. Carter clearly had a mismatch in terms of lateral speed against his defenders on opening night, and he took full advantage of that, including that double pump dunk which was NBA-esque. It was a great sign to see how comfortable he was playing in Kim English’s new schemes on opening night, and how, for him, his poise is that of a graduate level senior, especially when playing at home. You can tell it means something to Carter to defend his home court night in and night out.
And then there was Bryce Hopkins. Hopkins looked uncomfortable and unsure of his shot selection at times, but still managed a double double and some good moments in the second half. I think we can tie that together with it being the first game of the year, and a lot of expectation on him this year in this new system. Friartown, Hopkins, in my opinion, is as special of a talent as we have seen suit up since Kris Dunn, but I do think English’s system is going to take some time for him to adjust into — being more out on the perimeter more. I enjoyed seeing Hopkins in the mid-range and with his back to the basket last year, but understand this year will be both a good move for his NBA aspirations, and obviously English’s system.
We hope everyone enjoyed our first live podcast and livestream on YouTube at 110 Grill last week. We will be back again on Saturday pregame, and we appreciate everyone's patience as we work to find our best audio and visual components of the stream.
On to Milwaukee!