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Post by yankeefriar on Feb 18, 2018 8:24:15 GMT -5
No James worthy err Emmit holt....fine - return 4 of 5 starters, all rotation players except one, add two highly ranked players who play the same position - I'd expect not to get blown out by every quality team on the road. As do I...can point to 1 player who has upped his game this year, Diallo. That's it. So we got extremely lucky at the end of the season last year, and our 2nd leading scorer and top rebounder is out for the year. So I think we are fortunate to be 17-10. We have won a very high percentage of our close games. Swing four of those close ones, and there are a lot that could have been losses, and we would be 13-14. I'd say we are a hell of a lot closer to being 13-14 then we are to being 21-6.
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Post by johnnypc on Feb 18, 2018 8:29:55 GMT -5
When Lindsey makes shots we are usually ok, when he does not we are not. Just an observation I am not putting this or any loss on him.
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friar82
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Posts: 8,153
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Post by friar82 on Feb 18, 2018 8:56:40 GMT -5
Agreed. Can't pin this loss on Jalen - or any one player for that matter. It takes a team, and yesterday was a collective clunker of a game for our starters.
If one had the time to review the tape and data, I suspect they'd report back that Jalen may have led the team in minutes, and again drew the tougher assignments defensively. At the same time, teams understand his strengths and limitations offensively, and may be covering him tightly, so he doesn't get the space to get a shot off.
Too bad Jalen never developed the confidence to put the ball on the floor and drive past a defender. With the purported athleticism he has/had (I sense he's lost it due to injury, conditioning, weight as he bulked up?), his impact on offense could have gone to a different level.
I really hope that Alpha, Jackson, White and MAL focus on honing their outside shooting off the dribble (not just stationary shots!) during the off season as we'll need their scoring punch next year. I don't want us to be overly dependent on AJ and Duke coming in as immediate, "impact" frosh. That would be unfair - but I've got my fingers crossed.
And while I'm talking off season development (not to get ahead of myself, as I fully recognize that there's still "hope" this season), what sort of plans might the players/staff have in mind?
- I've openly wondered whether Sham could be convinced to set up shop in the new Player Development Center. Get the Fieldhouse portion completed before June, and finish the offices and public areas up through August it needed. Sham doesn't have to hold Clinics in Dallas, as NBA players tend to head off in all different directions during the off season. So, come "home" and make use of our new digs, Sham. Run our current players and alums (Cotton, Dunn, Henton, Bentil) through the sorts of drills that you were known for.
- Nate and Kalif (and perhaps Dajour, although he may need the weigh room more?) need to get to true, "big man" camps (understanding that in the world of "hybrid bigs", there may be fewer Post Player Camps), and do nothing but Box Out/Rebounding Drills for a couple of weeks. Rebounding is part mentality, part positioning, part skill. It can be developed.
- Between taking a break to get home for a spell, the start of summer sessions and the Italy trip, there's a finite period of time when everyone's available to take part in focused development programs. Hoping the players have every opportunity to take advantage of whatever opportunities can be arranged. Summer time in the gym (vs time texting and playing NBA 2k video games) is a precious commodity, and I'm a firm believer that it's what takes place during the off-season, that differentiates champions
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Post by drairf on Feb 18, 2018 9:42:18 GMT -5
Our scoring droughts are caused by influenza (a very unique strain of influenza that 1) causes vomiting 2) takes 3 days on, 3 days off and then another 3 days on).
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Post by bigsnoop on Feb 18, 2018 10:39:55 GMT -5
No James worthy err Emmit holt....fine - return 4 of 5 starters, all rotation players except one, add two highly ranked players who play the same position - I'd expect not to get blown out by every quality team on the road. Without being a smart ass thewalk, can you answer this question for me: If Emmitt Holt was exactly the same player he was at the end of last season, with no improvement over the summer, how many more wins so you think he'd be worth to this year's team? Thanks
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Post by thewalk on Feb 18, 2018 11:19:17 GMT -5
Depends if he gets the friar flu....
Maybe 2...marq at home and uri... Although we had a 6pt lead with basically a minute left and he sucked from the line so....same with uri. Awful from line and we lost bc we couldn't get into our offense. Yankee pointed to some close ones so maybe they become easier Ws. Games at nova, creighton, butler, shu same result. Home to DePaul same result.
We've gotten our asses kicked so badly in Ls it's a huge stretch to say he'd get us another W IMO.
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Post by bigsnoop on Feb 18, 2018 11:35:56 GMT -5
Depends if he gets the friar flu.... Maybe 2...marq at home and uri... Although we had a 6pt lead with basically a minute left and he sucked from the line so....same with uri. Awful from line and we lost bc we couldn't get into our offense. Yankee pointed to some close ones so maybe they become easier Ws. Games at nova, creighton, butler, shu same result. Home to DePaul same result. We've gotten our asses kicked so badly in Ls it's a huge stretch to say he'd get us another W IMO. Thanks for your semi-straight answer 😊. I would have included UMass, but even with your two wins, at 19-8 with wins over the of three top ten RPI teams, we'd be seeded in the 5-6 range. We'd also most like pick up three more wins in our final four games, going into the Big East tournament @ 22-9. I think this is close to where most people expected us.
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Post by yankeefriar on Feb 18, 2018 12:28:05 GMT -5
We win UMASS with Holt... that big lug killed us. I think 19-8 with Holt.
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Post by dex on Feb 18, 2018 12:51:25 GMT -5
I think you guys have it right by adding umass.
Hey many of us have some yucks over the illness factor this year...well maybe not Dr Draif who probably pays through the nose for medical malpractice insurance these days.
However those ankle problems of KC and Alpha also were devastating and lingering. Houston, at the time we played them at our Mohegan home court, were very very beatable. KC and Alpha were both terribly hobbled and should not have dressed (I won't even count missing White)but if at full speed we would have run away from that team...a team that has had a decent year.
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Post by bigsnoop on Feb 18, 2018 12:54:45 GMT -5
If you give us just the URI and Marquette games, our RPI is 21. If you include the UMass game, it's 16.
Either way, it's the type of season we were expecting with Emmitt in the team.
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Post by thewalk on Feb 18, 2018 13:08:15 GMT -5
I said maybe 2...now if urand noi had ec...and nova had booth...
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Post by thewalk on Feb 18, 2018 13:40:34 GMT -5
..and Creighton lost their big right before us...
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Post by bigsnoop on Feb 18, 2018 13:42:41 GMT -5
I said maybe 2...now if urand noi had ec...and nova had booth... We were doing so well for a minute or so. 😫 I think Emmitt hurts us much more than URI and Nova were hurt by their losses, simply because they have other players who can minimize the losses of Matthews (Russell) and Booth (DeVincenzo, and the recently returned Samuels), while we have no one who does what Holt gave us last year.
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Post by thewalk on Feb 18, 2018 13:46:50 GMT -5
Umass we gave up 30 to a guard...like saying we lose at sju with Lovett
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Post by thewalk on Feb 18, 2018 13:52:21 GMT -5
Nothing better than our losses are more important than their losses bc they have depth or whatever...but one would've thought we had the experience to overcome it. Jalen scored how many points yesterday? How many rebounds? Is that bc of holt?
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