Chalk Talk: RyderStoolie Breaks Down Some Of His Favorite Clips In The Yuggernauts Blowout Win On Wednesday

The Yuggernauts kept things rolling tonight, improving to 2-0 with another strong showing in a 59-16 win on Wednesday night. There were plenty of highlights to go around. There were a ton of clips I could've picked for this breakdown, but I wanted to spotlight a few guys who have really caught my eye through the first two games. It's been fun watching these guys get off to a strong start, and I'm glad to see them keep the momentum going!

1st clip: 2nd offensive possession of the game

Yuggernauts running their zone offense. Nice fake from EBo to shift the zone where he can get Dana an easy paint touch in the middle. Then Dana does a great job of reacting to pressure and kicking it out to Reed for an easy knockdown 2. Although we would like to see Reed be aware of where he’s at and make it a 3 in the future. 2-0 Yugs.

2nd clip: Another great play from Beers here when he catches the ball at the elbow. Gets his man to bite on a little fake. Drives around him with his left and now the defense has to choose whether or not they want to give him a layup or crash hard. They choose to crash leaving Rick wide open in the middle of the paint for an easy jumper. 4-0 Yugs.

3rd clip: Off the Rick made jumper, we get to see the Yugs set up in their man defense. They try to set a high ball screen on Rick, but the screen is weak. He fights through it and forces his man into a tough shot in the paint which Rick denies and grabs. Would like to see them push the pace here, but I understand trying to slow it down and get the best shot possible. Another incredible read from Dana leads to a wide open Nicky Smokes three-point attempt that he can’t finish, but it was beautiful and ethical hoops. 

4th clip: Rick’s turn to run the high man in the zone offense. He gets the ball and Doitche does a great job of sealing off his man down low and gets an easy 2 for his first points of the game and extending the lead to 6-0.

5th clip: Turning defense into offense. Before Reed steals it, the Yugs do a good job of heavy pressure and calling out screens to set up this long possession. Finally, Reed gets on teh ground and finds Cheah who pushes it up to Scoof. He gives it back to Cheah who gets fouled and goes to the line and makes one. Really good effort here from Reed and good chemistry from Connor and Cheah who showed up late to the game after going to the wrong address. 9-0 Yugs.

6th Clip: I thought Connor Griffin came into the game and made a huge impact instantly. He was calling things out on defense and communicating well. You’ll see him get a big time rebound here and even have to head to the sideline real quick to hand Coach Moore his chain. Doitche and Dana run a good 1-2 game and Beers scores the layup to bust the game open to 11-0.

7th Clip: Again, really good pressure defensively here as Reed sticks his hands out and gets a deflection for a steal. You love to see practice pay off. Connor Griffin was ridiculed for not shooting in the first game of the year, he posted a clip to X of him knocking down 3’s getting ready for the game tonight and his first opportunity he gets, he makes the most of it. 14-0 Yugs. Then he immediately gets a steal and goes coast to coast for a left handed finish. 16-0 and a dream start. He’d make a floater off an inbounds play a few possessions later to extend it to 18-0 and have 7 quick points off the bench.

8th Clip: I know we have seen a lot of offense, but after watching this team last year compared to what we’ve seen through 2 games this season, it’s hard not to be amazed by how smooth things look out there. All five guys get a touch here. Great read from Rick to Scoof on the dive and another easy basket for the Yugs to extend it to 20-3 with 8 minutes left in the 1st half.

9th Clip: Scoof commits a turnover. Hustles back on defense to get a steal. EBo pushes the pace and they’re able to find a cutting Smokes for an and-one layup. Really good way to keep the positive vibes rolling. 

10th Clip: Our first negative clip of the 1st half. Kody… yes that Kody who doesn’t know which foot to jump off of on a left handed layup gets to check into the game and immediately fumbles a pass leading to a fast break possession. Kudos to him though for coming down with a rebound off the miss.  But not a great first impression in meaningful minutes.

28-8 Yuggernauts at halftime.

11th Clip: Isn’t basketball beautiful when things work out the way they’re supposed to? Instead of losing faith in a guy who had a bad turnover in the first half. Coach Moore goes to Kody on the first possession on the second half and he knocks down this 3 after an elevator screen gets him open. Good for the kid. Love to see the bench energy, too. That goes such a long ways. 

12th Clip: You saw a lot more dribble drive offense from the Yugs in the second half. I think this will really help open up Smokes’ game as the season goes on. You can tell how easy it is for him to get downhill and finishes with a nice floater. 33-9 Yugs. 

13th Clip: Smokes gets a long rebound and uses his speed to go coast to coast the other way to finish an easy layup. When his headspace is right, he’s going to be one of the better players in this league. 

14th Clip: Nice job from Reed to pass up a good shot for a great shot. Kody knocks it down again! The kid is on fire and might have proven he can play real minutes if Coach Moore needs him to late in the season!

15th Clip: Our last clip of the night is for Reed. He’s the best player on this team and I think he’s shown over the last two games when he can get to that midrange jumper, he is lethal. Good to see him get to an open spot in the paint and stop and pop a little jumper to extend the lead to 49-11.

It was nice to see the guards be aggressive in this game. They all did a better job of moving the offense a little quicker this time. Not as much dribbling and passing. They knew what they wanted to do on that side of the ball. Reed and Smokes did a nice job of getting to the basket a couple of times. EBo looked much more comfortable in the 2nd game. 

Frankly, this was an ass kicking by the Yugs. There’s not a lot of negatives you can put on tonight’s game. I’ll leave that up to Coach Moore to break the film down a little better than I did and see where they can improve on things. However, I thought the effort was really good on both ends of the floor for a team who didn’t practice all week and had no film sessions. This team is a breath of fresh air compared to where they were last year at this time. I know there's not a lot of defensive clips, but you always know the frontcourt of Beers, Doitche, WBR, and Cheah are going to show up and be phsyical on both ends of the floor.

It’s easy to get off track in a blowout game, but I thought the energy was good for the second game of the season. Playing in front of your GM/Owner is never an easy task, but these guys have embraced their roles, bought into this system from Tate, and now they’re 2-0 to prove that. 

Let’s keep this thing rolling!

Go Yugs!