Ironic

       I like what I have seen in Coach Beard so far. The program has an enthusiasm it has lacked for a while, and it looks like Beard insists on a solid brand of basketball. It was time for a coaching change, and I have supported the change.
       However, it is ironic to me that a large portion of the enthusiasm at the announcement of the new coach appeared to be because it was assumed he would bring in a more wide-open, high-scoring offense than what had been seen under Steve Shields. I do not yet know about the wide-open part, but the high-scoring part has yet to be seen (and, of course, that is OK with me, being the reactionary curmudgeon that I am). Through five games, we are averaging 67.6 points per game, and two of those games were against non-D1 teams. In twelve seasons under Shields, the Trojans averaged at least 67.6 ppg four times, and barely missed it another. And what is more to the point, in our three games against D1 opponents so far this year, we have averaged 55.7 ppg., well below our lowest average (61.9) under Shields. Even against Tulsa, when we shot lights out, we only scored 64 points. Furthermore, the totals this year are under the new 30 second clock instead of 35 as in the Shields era, which means this team should have a few more possessions in which to score.
       There are come caveats here. The team is learning a new system and it is logical to assume that we will get better at it as we go, and our scoring will go up as a result. Second, half of the pace of a game is controlled by the opposition, and it is entirely possible that one of the reasons for the lower scoring is that the small sample of opponents so far just play at a slower pace, and that our average will come up as we go further into the season.
       We may play a more exciting offensive style now than we did under Coach Shields. We certainly are starting off winning games. Excitement about the program has taken a sharp uptick over previous years. All that is true and is reason for real optimism. However, at least so far, whatever positive vibes there are about the program this year are not because we immediately began scoring at a vastly higher rate.