Just back from the game!

[Billikan]

Wow! it was nice to get the win but it almost gave me a heart attack!

As I sat there and watched, the thing that dawned on me is that I really like watching these young men play. They make mistakes, they make bad plays but they always play hard and every player who has been here a while is better on D than when they arrived--Cody has been here such a short time he has not yet been indoctrinated!

I know many refuse to even discuss the idea, but folks this is still a VERY inexperienced team and the growing pains are very obvious at times.

Over the past week I have prettty much given up on this board because of the incredible descent into negativity but I would urge everyone to stay with these kids. They are a very good group and the future is still bright. Kyle C has massively improved in just a season and a half. Willie really came back nicely tonight. KM never quit even when he was shooting bricks and he came back strong. CS has become a very tough defender and a tough customer and he finally hit some nice shots. JS is just like a young colt running and jumping and getting better with each game--the sky is the limit! Cody is still getting familiar with the defensive side but he is a player. Let's try to stay positive!

[tourist]

Wow! it was nice to get the win but it almost gave me a heart attack!

As I sat there and watched, the thing that dawned on me is that I really like watching these young men play. They make mistakes, they make bad plays but they always play hard and every player who has been here a while is better on D than when they arrived--Cody has been here such a short time he has not yet been indoctrinated!

I know many refuse to even discuss the idea, but folks this is still a VERY inexperienced team and the growing pains are very obvious at times.

Over the past week I have prettty much given up on this board because of the incredible descent into negativity but I would urge everyone to stay with these kids. They are a very good group and the future is still bright. Kyle C has massively improved in just a season and a half. Willie really came back nicely tonight. KM never quit even when he was shooting bricks and he came back strong. CS has become a very tough defender and a tough customer and he finally hit some nice shots. JS is just like a young colt running and jumping and getting better with each game--the sky is the limit! Cody is still getting familiar with the defensive side but he is a player. Let's try to stay positive!

+1

[Billiken75]

+1

I agree completely - we are just getting a glimpse of this group's potential.

[MusicCityBilliken]

I agree completely - we are just getting a glimpse of this group's potential.

We are a very tough home team now and when we mature we will be a very tough road team as well. I believe those road L's in OT we recently suffered would have been very different when this team has another year under its belt. The team will better grasp Rick's system, they will feel more confident and things like free throws will not be so agonizing.

[cheeseman]

While I think what all of you have said is true to some extent the one question I have is "at what point in this season do the players actually start to not play so inexperienced?". What I mean by that is that the young players have gotten lots of minutes they probably would not have gotten at other places so should they not be playing older? I am not trying to be negative because over all I believe any win is better than any loss but on the post game show, PM said that in the last three games - not sure if he was including Richmond or not - the team played not to lose and what they ended up with was two losses and one really close call. How many games of playing not to lose do you have to lose or escape with a close win does it take for a team to finally say "enough of this go for the throat". I am not sure where the issue here is on this matter and quite frankly do not care all I want is for it to be better. I am still perplexed by the free throw shooting - 47% last night - we could have lost that game because of that and we did lose the games against GW and UNCC because of it. When does that get better - during the off season? I am still some what concerned about the upcoming games - LaSalle and St. Joe's - we have to win at least one and truthfully I would not be surprised if we won two or lost both the way this team has been going. The Dayton and RI games concern me and they are at home - once again we need to win both of them and as I said above I would not be surprised if we do or we loose both of them - God for bid. I would think UMASS and Dukies should also be wins but who knows as I said before. My point simply is - when will we start to see some form of consistency from this young team - the season has only a month left to it and I would think we should be playing more like next year should be then how this year started out. Maybe I am missing something here and I wish someone would help me out.

[Box and Won]

Just out of curiousity, how would you guys compare this squad to the team of Highmark/Claggett's sophomore year? I was still in high school and didn't get to go to nearly as many games as I do now, but it seemed like that team was a little rough but showed a lot of progress over the previous year. I'm thinking this year's team is even better poised for future success than that one was.

[SShoe]

While I think what all of you have said is true to some extent the one question I have is "at what point in this season do the players actually start to not play so inexperienced?". What I mean by that is that the young players have gotten lots of minutes they probably would not have gotten at other places so should they not be playing older? I am not trying to be negative because over all I believe any win is better than any loss but on the post game show, PM said that in the last three games - not sure if he was including Richmond or not - the team played not to lose and what they ended up with was two losses and one really close call. How many games of playing not to lose do you have to lose or escape with a close win does it take for a team to finally say "enough of this go for the throat". I am not sure where the issue here is on this matter and quite frankly do not care all I want is for it to be better. I am still perplexed by the free throw shooting - 47% last night - we could have lost that game because of that and we did lose the games against GW and UNCC because of it. When does that get better - during the off season? I am still some what concerned about the upcoming games - LaSalle and St. Joe's - we have to win at least one and truthfully I would not be surprised if we won two or lost both the way this team has been going. The Dayton and RI games concern me and they are at home - once again we need to win both of them and as I said above I would not be surprised if we do or we loose both of them - God for bid. I would think UMASS and Dukies should also be wins but who knows as I said before. My point simply is - when will we start to see some form of consistency from this young team - the season has only a month left to it and I would think we should be playing more like next year should be then how this year started out. Maybe I am missing something here and I wish someone would help me out.

Honestly, you probably won't see any form of consistency until they're sophomores and juniors, and even then, it may still be somewhat rough at times. While there is no doubt that young teams progress over the course of a season (probably more so than experienced team), few progress enough to all of a sudden play like upperclassmen.

The notion that freshmen are no longer freshmen by the end of their first season is sort of a pet-peeve of mine.

[SShoe]

Just out of curiousity, how would you guys compare this squad to the team of Highmark/Claggett's sophomore year? I was still in high school and didn't get to go to nearly as many games as I do now, but it seemed like that team was a little rough but showed a lot of progress over the previous year. I'm thinking this year's team is even better poised for future success than that one was.

For what it's worth, one of willie's buddies said that this team is far better than the Highmark/Claggett team, which he felt at the time was on the verge of great things. So his excitement is even greater for this one.

[Larry the Legend]

Wow! it was nice to get the win but it almost gave me a heart attack!

As I sat there and watched, the thing that dawned on me is that I really like watching these young men play. They make mistakes, they make bad plays but they always play hard and every player who has been here a while is better on D than when they arrived--Cody has been here such a short time he has not yet been indoctrinated!

I know many refuse to even discuss the idea, but folks this is still a VERY inexperienced team and the growing pains are very obvious at times.

Over the past week I have prettty much given up on this board because of the incredible descent into negativity but I would urge everyone to stay with these kids. They are a very good group and the future is still bright. Kyle C has massively improved in just a season and a half. Willie really came back nicely tonight. KM never quit even when he was shooting bricks and he came back strong. CS has become a very tough defender and a tough customer and he finally hit some nice shots. JS is just like a young colt running and jumping and getting better with each game--the sky is the limit! Cody is still getting familiar with the defensive side but he is a player. Let's try to stay positive!

No excuses to shoot 8 / 17 from the free throw line. That is simply embarassing!!! It doesn't matter how old you are: you make free throws on your home court. There are simply no distractions. I do like the talent on this team and think they can be special but there comes a times when you have to criticize a team on certain aspects of play and free throws is one area in which the team sucks at!!!!! Plain and simple this game should have been over at the 10 minute mark in the second half last night.

[Billikan]

While I think what all of you have said is true to some extent the one question I have is "at what point in this season do the players actually start to not play so inexperienced?". What I mean by that is that the young players have gotten lots of minutes they probably would not have gotten at other places so should they not be playing older? I am not trying to be negative because over all I believe any win is better than any loss but on the post game show, PM said that in the last three games - not sure if he was including Richmond or not - the team played not to lose and what they ended up with was two losses and one really close call. How many games of playing not to lose do you have to lose or escape with a close win does it take for a team to finally say "enough of this go for the throat". I am not sure where the issue here is on this matter and quite frankly do not care all I want is for it to be better. I am still perplexed by the free throw shooting - 47% last night - we could have lost that game because of that and we did lose the games against GW and UNCC because of it. When does that get better - during the off season? I am still some what concerned about the upcoming games - LaSalle and St. Joe's - we have to win at least one and truthfully I would not be surprised if we won two or lost both the way this team has been going. The Dayton and RI games concern me and they are at home - once again we need to win both of them and as I said above I would not be surprised if we do or we loose both of them - God for bid. I would think UMASS and Dukies should also be wins but who knows as I said before. My point simply is - when will we start to see some form of consistency from this young team - the season has only a month left to it and I would think we should be playing more like next year should be then how this year started out. Maybe I am missing something here and I wish someone would help me out.

The answer is simple--just because the kids are playing does not mean that they are still not as physically mature as they will be as juniors and seniors. They do not have 3 or 4 years of solid coaching--heck--Willie did not even play his senior year in high school. The strength and savy of a senior is never going to magically appear when kids are younger because they play some minutes.

[Majerus Magic]

No excuses to shoot 8 / 17 from the free throw line. That is simply embarassing!!! It doesn't matter how old you are: you make free throws on your home court. There are simply no distractions. I do like the talent on this team and think they can be special but there comes a times when you have to criticize a team on certain aspects of play and free throws is one area in which the team sucks at!!!!! Plain and simple this game should have been over at the 10 minute mark in the second half last night.

There is no excuse for our piss poor free throw shooting. None.

[slu72]

Just out of curiousity, how would you guys compare this squad to the team of Highmark/Claggett's sophomore year? I was still in high school and didn't get to go to nearly as many games as I do now, but it seemed like that team was a little rough but showed a lot of progress over the previous year. I'm thinking this year's team is even better poised for future success than that one was.

Different teams altogether. Clags and Highmark teams were sharpshooters from the perimiter. We had no real big men to speak of. The team really came together when H transferred in. Excellent playmaker. KM's developing into one as well. although I think he thinks there are times he has to do it all, which is not a bad thing but a lot to ask of a Senior never mind a Soph. Perry was like this his sr year because he had to be, ie not a lot of talent around him. This team could be better because of the height and athleticism of WR, JS, CR. The blue collar ethic of BC, and what seems to be the polished skills of CE. Where we fall short of Clags/Highmark is the outside shooting skills and ability to make FT's. Our FT % is friggin' horrendous. It has cost us games, made games closer than they should have been, and come crunch time in future games opposing coaches should be telling their guys to hack the hell out of us. In a way, I'm surprised ST. B's coach didn't tell someone to body slam KM to the floor on that last second shot. He stood a much better chance with a buzzer beater than he did from the FT line. Got to get this FT problem licked or where gonna lose some golden opportunities.

[Billikan]

There is no excuse for our piss poor free throw shooting. None.

I agree. It is a amazing that our best free throw shooters now seem to only make one of two. Those two misses by JJ last night may have been the worst two shots at crunch time by a generally good shooter that I have ever seen.

[ACE]

I agree. It is a amazing that our best free throw shooters now seem to only make one of two. Those two misses by JJ last night may have been the worst two shots at crunch time by a generally good shooter that I have ever seen.

We have to do a better job of getting the ball in the hands of the right people in crunch time. Jordan had not been in the game in a long time. He was really cold. Ideally, we got to find a way to get the ball in the hands of Salecich and Mitchell. They aren't automatic either, but they are our best hope. Kyle is also a decent option. If we need to outlet to a big, get it to Cody. Always keep it away from Willie when it is free throw time.

[kevinfootes]

We have to do a better job of getting the ball in the hands of the right people in crunch time. Jordan had not been in the game in a long time. He was really cold. Ideally, we got to find a way to get the ball in the hands of Salecich and Mitchell. They aren't automatic either, but they are our best hope. Kyle is also a decent option. If we need to outlet to a big, get it to Cody. Always keep it away from Willie when it is free throw time.

While Salecich is our best option at the line, he's been our worst option from the floor. It's a tough call. CS is our only active player over 70% from the line for the season. While he hasn't had that many attempts, I'm surprised Ellis is off to a slow start at the line (8-15). I don't see how he won't improve on that as time goes by. As a team we're at about 61% from the line. IMO, we'll see a lot of "hack a shaq" in close games unless we start to make our FTs.

[willie]

I agree. It is a amazing that our best free throw shooters now seem to only make one of two. Those two misses by JJ last night may have been the worst two shots at crunch time by a generally good shooter that I have ever seen.

JJ looked afraid when he took those shots.

[cheeseman]

Different teams altogether. Clags and Highmark teams were sharpshooters from the perimiter. We had no real big men to speak of. The team really came together when H transferred in. Excellent playmaker. KM's developing into one as well. although I think he thinks there are times he has to do it all, which is not a bad thing but a lot to ask of a Senior never mind a Soph. Perry was like this his sr year because he had to be, ie not a lot of talent around him. This team could be better because of the height and athleticism of WR, JS, CR. The blue collar ethic of BC, and what seems to be the polished skills of CE. Where we fall short of Clags/Highmark is the outside shooting skills and ability to make FT's. Our FT % is friggin' horrendous. It has cost us games, made games closer than they should have been, and come crunch time in future games opposing coaches should be telling their guys to hack the hell out of us. In a way, I'm surprised ST. B's coach didn't tell someone to body slam KM to the floor on that last second shot. He stood a much better chance with a buzzer beater than he did from the FT line. Got to get this FT problem licked or where gonna lose some golden opportunities.

Highmark was not a sharpshooter. Clags and H - yes.

[cheeseman]

JJ looked afraid when he took those shots.

CS had fouled out already so he was not an option. The play was designed to get JJ to the line as opposed to others except maybe KM. I agree - after the first miss you knew he was toast.

[DirtyRican]

It seems to me that during those situations KC is very quick to dish the ball off. I would like to see him keep it and get to the line.

[Kbrew]

It seems to me that during those situations KC is very quick to dish the ball off. I would like to see him keep it and get to the line.

I agree. I'd like to see the ball in Kyle's hands way more when the game is on the line. The two turnovers by Kwamain at the end were horrendous decisions... decisions that I can't see Kyle making.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Highmark was not a sharpshooter. Clags and H - yes.

I think your memory needs an overhaul.

[Clock_Tower]

A few thoughts in response to several topics:

1. As mentioned, this team will make freshman mistakes all year long. More games might, but not necessarily, shorten the path to upperclassmen experience but not this year. Alot of what takes place is mental. For instance: FT shooting and general outside shooting problems are not mechanical but mental/confidence. Another year of maturity, growth and experience is what is needed. The number of minutes played this year, IMO, will not accelerate the mental/maturity part of the game. Also, the lack of strength, a weaker left-hand dribble, less moves with the ball... all these things make our guys that much easier to defend and/or stop. Off-season is the only place these can be corrected.

2. Sorry, but Scott Highmark was a sharp-shooter. Still, the lack of an inside game and the lack of a good PG, along with deficiencies in their own games, made Claggs and Highmark less productive in their Sophomore year than the players we remember them to be in their Jr and Sr years. Believe that Sophomore year (Spoon's first) had us winning 12 games with Carlos MacCauley at the point. Big upgrade with H and then with Evan Peterson.... This year's team has much more potential - and has had much more success than Claggs/Highmark's Soph season team.

3. Why foul KM? He's not going to miss 2 FTs that often. Even if he hits 1 of 2 FTs, we win the game. Doesn't need to hit both. Also, in the past few games, KM has not gotten off a good shot as time expired. Last night he did - and he made it. KM is good ... but he is not "almost automatic" like Marquee Perry was his Senior year - wow, what a year!

[DeSmetBilliken]

Just out of curiousity, how would you guys compare this squad to the team of Highmark/Claggett's sophomore year? I was still in high school and didn't get to go to nearly as many games as I do now, but it seemed like that team was a little rough but showed a lot of progress over the previous year. I'm thinking this year's team is even better poised for future success than that one was.

I'd say that this team is definitely better than the squad of Highmark and Claggett's sophomore year, even though I'll admit to only being 8 years old that season. If you go by wins and losses alone, this year's team has already eclipsed that team. The 92-93 team was 12-17, winning only 1 game in conference play.

The question remains if this team in the next 2 seasons will be better than Highmark and Claggett's junior and senior year teams. That team really improved when H Waldman came in and was given the keys to the offense.