Rankings 2-1-16

[friar71]

Feb 1, 2016 17:20:20 GMT -5 pcdad said:

I may have been on to something as Michigan State one spot ahead of Providence on the AP poll. The "gut feel" test?


Big East schools among the handful of small schools listed in the latest poll.

I think Mich St is better than us since they beat us and they got most of their losses when Valentine was out and just back. Their inside game is better than when we played them as their freshman big man has developed adding to the BC kid.

[drairf]

Yeah, I've always felt MSU was better than PC.

We played a helluva a game against them.

We can beat them on a great night.

[dex]

COMMENTARY
As good as PC is, it could have been better

BILL REYNOLDS

FRIARS

Let’s see, the Friars just beat both Villanova and Georgetown on the road, and this is turning out to be one of those dream seasons.

Complete with one question.

How good would they be if they still had Josh Fortune and Paschal Chukwu?

Really good.

Like contending for a national championship good.

Not that it’s anyone’s fault here. College basketball is loaded with transfers, courtesy of a me-first impatient world where no one wants to hear about waiting their turn or deferring to others. That’s just the way it is and has been for a while now. And part of it, no doubt, is the price that virtually all players pay to get to the level they’ve gotten to. All the AAU trips. All the countless practices. All the time and money spent chasing the basketball dream that hangs over every playground like an unspoken promise.

Let’s not kid ourselves here.

You almost can’t be a college player without being a foot soldier in the basketball business, the one that starts very early. Is there any wonder that so many kids have little patience?

They want the future, and they want it now. They don’t want to set screens for plays run for someone else to get the ball. They don’t want to be told to wait their turn. All that is so yesterday.

So they go somewhere else, some place where the grass no doubt is greener, where there’s more playing time, and new promises whispered into their ears. That’s just the nature of college sports.

But the reality?

Put Fortune and Chukwu on this Friars team — right there with Kris Dunn, Ben Bentil and Rodney Bullock
— and this team could go to that exalted place where all college basketball dreams come true.

[connfriar]

How soon they forget Tyler Harris...by the way, Harris is having a pretty decent year but doesn't look to be in great shape to me....

[friara]

He's bulked up and is playing pretty well...on a horrible team.

Had he bought in here and played the game the way he is playing now, he definitely would have helped. But I think Fortune would have helped the most.

[Cteve]

I watched 3 or so segments of the CU / Cal game a few days ago and Fortune wasn't playing, but he scored something like 10 pts I think. He apparently hasn't started any games but av. around 10ppg with a high of 20 or so.

So he probably isn't doing what he'd like but it's a pretty good PAC team that will make the tourny so it isn't a total loss either.

[friara]

He's doing for a decent team what he would have done for a really good team....

[thewalk]

harris averaging more boards than anyone on friar roster and would have the second best fg% not to mention the experience we lack...I still think it's chukwu. not many teams have that...

[mikemc]

Would Harris have those same numbers here at PC and the way Bentil is playing? Would Bentil be playing the way he is with Harris here??

....gotta love friartown...

[thewalk]

neither would be averaging the same nor would they be if foturne or chukwu were on the team. If you're going to tell me we don't have a spot for someone 6-9 averaging over 15 and 8 in 28mpg, I will tell you you're wrong.

[Rock]

That 6'9, 15/8 guy was here and was more like a 6'5, 8/4 guy. Whatever gain he might have made would have come at the expense of others, mostly Bentil. Every three Ben hits might have already been launched - and missed - by Harris. Every lead pass to Dunn or from Dunn might have been intercepted by Harris and fumbled out of bounds.

I mourn the loss of Tyler Harris as a Friar about as much as I mourn the loss of Hilary Rodham as Secretary of State. The only reason a walk can make any argument to the contrary about Harris is because of Chukwu. See, Tyler still needs someone else to establish his value. Pass.

Fortune could really have helped but he has now neatly become Gerard Coleman in my eyes. What's the pick 'em on Josh's 5th year-senior DII school?

[thewalk]

we long for the third scoring option every other game and we can't use a guy who's been a double digit scorer his last three years? You'd rather have ben shooting threes? Don't want Harris intercepting passes to Rodney cause we know those are caught clean 100% of the time.

The same josh fortune who's shooting over 43% from three and had 20+ against Stanford?

[Rock]

Feb 2, 2016 18:43:57 GMT -5 thewalk said:

we long for the third scoring option every other game and we can't use a guy who's been a double digit scorer his last three years? You'd rather have ben shooting threes? Don't want Harris intercepting passes to Rodney cause we know those are caught clean 100% of the time.

The same josh fortune who's shooting over 43% from three and had 20+ against Stanford?

Harris: makes us worse (addition by subtraction). My eyes just can't lie to me about what they saw the last two years. He may get you that 3rd scorer but the points come from others and the D and mental lapses, bad energy and all that crap don't help us. We had him last year with Henton, CD, PC and we're BETTER this year, a lot better. Riddle me that?

Fortune: makes us better, no doubt. Wish we had him. That we don't hurts us, and him. Not sure how my comment wasn't clear about him.