I was there. CMU has a very quick and aggressive team. They did not want our post players scoring, so that's why it was a very heavy perimeter game. Here are my thoughts...
-Nice to see a comfortable win (even if it was a mid-major) without Oturu going off. That will happen at times this year when defenses focus on him. Passing around the perimeter when CMU played zone was good.
-Gabe still struggled a bit. Yes, he had 5 threes, but most of his shots were wide open. Missed two layups. Had some bad passes down low to Oturu that got stolen. Played okay defense.
-Carr was able to get anywhere he wanted. Had some great athletic moves around the basket. Still is dribbling too much.
-Willis was the best player on the floor. Completely under control. Great game.
-Demir played solid last night, even while scoring only 4 points. Passed the ball well. Played okay defense.
-Ihnen was out of control. Made a nice three from the corner, but also air-balled one as well. Love his energy. Needs a lot of playing time against the cupcakes.
-Hurt had the greatest drive in his Gopher career. From the perimeter, he aggressively charged to the basket and finished with contact. Could've had a few more baskets, but chose to pass.
-Omersa had a THUNDEROUS dunk on a breakaway alley-oop. My season tickets are on that end of the court, and the basket shook like crazy. Best play of the night.
I was also there and I agree with most of your comments. Based on what I've seen of Carr in person and on TV this year, I hope that Pitino turns the PG responsibilities over to Willis. Carr kills ball movement. He can fill up the box score and finish at the rim against a lousy team like CMU, but he's going to completely wipe out our margin for error against the B1G. Willis is bigger, is a decent shooter and keeps the ball moving.
Ihnen is really raw and doesn't have a clue (yet). However, there is a player in there somewhere. I would stick him in the starting lineup and live with it because Demir isn't going to win Pitino any games.
I wonder if part of the reason Garcia didn't come was because Oturu told him that he might leave for the NBA next year. Garcia should want to play next to that guy. Oturu is going to be triple teamed a lot this year.
Good to see Hurt make some plays. Too bad he doesn't have more confidence. He has enough ability to be on the floor more than 10 minutes a game.