Caleb Gilbert has been covering games for us. He was at USCU Saturday, but I watched on TV and have done so for most of the games. I'll get up to Timmons Arena again soon, but Greenville is more accessible for Caleb and I expect most of the time I'm up it will be on weekends. Caleb is really enjoying himself. His photos are fantastic, and I'm happy to keep things going smoothly at both the FurmanATT.com and LaurensCountySports.com sites.
All that having been said, I think if the Paladins shoot well, they can play with anyone, and if they don't, they can lose to a lot of teams. I enjoy watching them and remain optimistic.
I was struck by how important Slawson has become because his loss was so apparent when he got hurt against the Spartans. The game was never in doubt. The final score raised some alarms that I think are unwarranted. I hope Slawson is back quickly.
If Bothwell isn't hitting, I think he gets a bit frantic and forces the action too much. He's athletic enough to be able to get away with it most of the time, but I as the season develops, I hope he will be able to play the same game regardless of his personal fortunes. Mainly I think it's because he burns with competitiveness. He aspires to greatness, and I want him to achieve it, but sometimes I think it gets the best of him.
Garrison could hardly impress me more. Pegues, I think, is going to be a really good player. Foster has impressed me.
It's a fine team, but it's a tough schedule and a tough conference. It's a good team searching for greatness and finding it from time to time.
-- MD