FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Coaches love their sayings, but the timing has to be right on which one to use in a given moment.
Niko Medved had one ready for Tuesday night at Moby Arena, with his team struggling early against Nevada, especially on the defensive end. Not only that, the bench was short, with Adam Thistlewood and John Tonje out. More was going to be expected of some others.
James Moors knew as much, but his readiness became even more key when Dischon Thomas was in foul trouble early in the second half.
"A lot of these guys stayed ready. I told them after the game there's an old saying, when opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare," Medved said. "A guy like James Moors, who started last year for us and hasn't played as many minutes, but the fact that he has such a great attitude and stays prepared … We don't win the game without his defense. His defense was phenomenal, guarding the ball screen, physicality. Dischon was in foul trouble and he stepped up big time."
Moors helped the Rams shut down the paint, especially in the second half as the Rams went on a 12-0 run late to pull away for a 77-66 victory which pushes the team to 16-1 – the best start for the program – and 6-1 in Mountain West play.
In a 40 minute game, rarely will a team play all of them pretty.
Colorado State's men's basketball team certainly didn't in the contest. Some of them were lackluster, especially those in the beginning, and Medved told his team as much. The Rams were down seven to Nevada at the break, with the Wolf Pack getting some way-too-easy points in the paint.
Nevada is a team which can score. And they did, spending most of the evening shooting better than 50 percent. Grant Sherfield was good, scoring 16. Desmond Cambridge Jr. was pretty good, too, scoring 23. Most of the night, they kept hitting the tough shots, the big shots to stop a CSU surge or create one of their own.
Even with Colorado State was struggling – shooting just a shade beyond 30 percent the first 20 minutes – they filled much of the game with gritty minutes. The Wolf Pack led by 10 in the final minute of the first half, but the Rams never allowed them to run away.
Then came the surge to start the second half. The energy was back, and soon the game was tied.
With 6:03 remaining, the game was knotted at 63. But for the next 5:11, the Wolf Pack never came off that number. Moors played in tandem with Thomas down the stretch, with Moors handling the bulk of the defensive chores.
"I just had to be really locked in on my scout, knowing (Will Baker) will go left, get the post blitz ready and be on the ball screens," Moors said. "That's all I was focusing on, getting one stop at a time."
Runs don't happen without work on the defensive end. Moors is great at that in practice every day, and he was particularly needed in the second half, especially with the way Nevada plays.
Offensively, they like to work off ball screens, and Moors does a great job of shutting them down. He was ready, and Medved counted on as much.
"James is a terrific defensive player," Medved said. "He's really good that way, and he's really good defending ball screens, and this is a team that sets a lot of ball screens. He does a great job with that and plays with a lot of physicality."
He gave his team some points, too, eight to be precise and grabbed four rebounds. He did it all in a season-best 26 minutes, just shy of his court time the past three games combined.
Kendle Moore, who has struggled offensively this year, gave the Rams nine points (for the second consecutive game) and his normally strong defense, particularly on Sherfield, who was 6-of-15 from the floor and just 2-of-7 from deep, held below his season average.
Again, David Roddy was good with 18 points and eight rebounds, and his six assists were better than the combined total of the two point guards on the floor. Isiah Stevens started slow, but hit a hot streak and finished with 16. But Roddy knows the really good stuff is the performances that Moors, Moore and even Isaiah Rivera delivered on the night.
"It's awesome," he said. "The guys building up confidence, James stepping up huge on the defensive end, as well as making winning plays like he always does. Again, it could be anybody's night. We just all had to be ready and be mentally and emotionally tough."
Medved knows it's hard, especially for young players, to be ready when the moment calls. It requires believe and persistence, and those can sometimes be found in short supply on the bench. It's too late to play catch up when called upon.
He tells his team to be a star in their role, whatever that may be, and some nights will require more. Could be more minutes, defensive effort or even scoring.
For Medved, the timing was perfect to remind his team as much. Better because they actually were, and because they were, the win was one he considers one of their most impressive to date.
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The Dish: Rams Were Ready for the Moment - CSURams.com
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