Ryukyu's shooting stole the headline in their EASL opener, but Eastern's answer may be more interesting than a three-point contest. Eastern made plenty from deep in its own opener and still lost; Ryukyu won a close one with both perimeter scoring and Cooley's work inside. If Eastern chases shooters hard, who handles the space around Cooley? If it stays home, can it keep Ryukyu's guards from finding comfortable pull-ups and kick-outs?
The EASL's preview records Ryukyu making 16 of 33 threes at Taoyuan and Eastern making 12 threes against Abra. It also has Cooley at 18 points and 10 rebounds in Ryukyu's win, while Akili Vining had 26 points and eight assists for Eastern in defeat. Those are single-game snapshots, so I'll be watching how the first few half-court possessions are built, rather than treating either shooting night as a repeatable script.
