The basketball team got what could likely be their last win of the season on Saturday night against Colorado State. Colorado State is not exactly a huge win, but all wins are big for this team. This was a fun one to watch, largely because it may have been the best performance by the collective group all season.

The Colorado State game was the 2nd most attended home game of the year behind only Texas Tech, so really it was the most attended game by TCU fans. A lot of young kids who loved to shrill at the site of the noise meter made the atmosphere loud and fun. Not counting the band, I think there were about 25 TCU students there. Anyway…

Zvonko Buljan played one of his best games of the year with 17 points, 11 boards and 0 turnovers. In a season where he has been a disappointment, he played one of the best games on a day where Nikola Cerian was sidelined.

Ronnie Moss had a down game, but what impressed me was his demeanor. For most of the season, Moss would pout and show disgust when things did not go his way. On Saturday, he was pulled with 7 ½ minutes left in the game and would sit while the Frogs clawed their way back to the lead. But in the 4 minutes he spent on the bench, he became the biggest cheerleader on the team yelling, cheering, and coaching from the bench. Unlike earlier in the year, he was a positive influence on the younger players in an adverse situation. That is a big deal and a big development.

Greg Hill continues to grow into a big role player on this team. He had a nice shooting day notching 16 points in 27 minutes. The biggest difference he is making is with his aggressiveness. He may be shorter, but he has no problem taking it to the paint and drawing fouls. That has been a missing piece for much of the year, but guys like Hill and Cerina continue to go strong.

Another guy who has come on strong is Garlon Green. Green really made the difference in this game in multiple ways. For the last 7 minutes of the first half, the Frogs went on a 17-10 run, with the highlight being a Green windmill dunk. After playing the passing lane, he fumbled with the ball until he gained possession and threw down a monstrous dunk. It changed the game because up until that point, the atmosphere was fairly dead. The crowd came to life at that moment and it stayed that way for the next 24 minutes.

But how he got the dunk may be the biggest development. Coach Jim Christian employed a 1-3-1 zone that works very well. Garlon Green has so much height and length in his arms, that he makes it difficult on opposing guards. Not only that, Green plays with a motor that fits perfectly in that role. He was credited with 3 steals, but I promise there were numerous deflections, turnovers and bad shots that were created by him.

Lastly on Green, Christian is letting him play. The kid is going to make mistakes much like Moss did as a freshman. But just like when Moss was a freshman and the team was finally out of contention, Christian let the kids go out and play a lot of minutes and learn. Think of it as trial by fire. I think it was huge in the development of Moss and I think it will help Green a lot as well. It gives him time to figure out what works and what does not, plus it gives him confidence and experience to work with going into the offseason. I have said it before that this team is more talented than last year on an individual basis, but they are a work in progress when it comes to playing like a team. This is all part of it.

After the game Coach Christian fell short of saying it on the radio, but clearly he believes that fan support would help his team win. This starts the chicken or the egg argument where fans will not attend until you win, but you cannot win without fans. Regardless, Saturday was a fun night with a good crowd and though it will not change the 2009-10 season, hopefully it is an encouraging sign for next season.