Aquinas

Very cool!

Tonight looks tough. We have done a good job of holding teams down that have one dominant scorer, we have not done nearly as well with teams that are balanced. A dinged up Bess diminishes, or takes away our best player on both sides of the ball. To have a chance, we need to have Bess at full speed, stay out of foul trouble, have some shots go down and avoid stupid turnovers.... piece of cake

The only bright spots I see, are that Goodwin and Wiley are playing better. Unfortunately seniors Isabel and Forman, just keep making really stupid plays at critical times. French is a stud, but looks like he needs to see a psychologist to work out his FT woes. He is starting to look like that catcher years ago, who couldn't throw the ball back to the pitcher.

I think some of these players ar still adjusting to playing as a team. Wiley while a senior hasn't played much duv 1 ball and I think has the best chance of breaking out. Isabell is still getting comfortable. Thatch keeps trying the 3, and they look good, but haven't gone in, but he is still a freshman. I am not predicting it will happen, but I think its possible.

We still have a chance to be a good team. The key is making 3s, that will force teams to cover our shooters and open the lanes. Bess has been reliable from long range, but we need more. Wiley would seem to have the most reasonable chance to do it. Isabell or Thatch could also get in a groove and change things dramatically. 3 additional 3s in a game would be the difference between slugging these games out for coin toss finishes and racking up wins. Once opponents have to cover the 3 point line, Gordon and French will have some fun.

That is very cool! I also think Ford does not get enough credit for coaching these young men to play extremely hard in times of adversity. You have to love players, and a team that plays with a lot of heart.

I think we are a team that can look really good when the 3s fall and really bad when they dont. Our paper thin depth will coast us anytime we get into foul trouble or pick up an injury. I think those factors make us really hard to predict.

Good podcast. Bernie is very complementary of Ford and the job he has done weaving this team together. Believes we are the only local team with q shot at the tournament. Mentions shortcomings with Mizzou and Illinois. Likes the way the Bill's tough out wins.

What is the story with Hankton?

Any free link for UMass game?

I think Gordon needs the prayers. It seems unlikely that quitting SLU will end well for him.

I think we will see that, especially if KC struggles or the bigs get into foul trouble. Bess can play a slightly undersized stretch 4. That 4 guard setup would also open up lanes for the other guards. A healthy Wiley would help the 4 guard lineup a lot.

There is no way any of the top A10 teams win the A10 tournament and only get a 15 seed. Typically the winner has a ranking that qualifys for an at large bid, because they move up the rankings with 3 wins, in 3 days against winning teams. Even with a weaker league, right now VCU has a 54 net that would put them in a bubble discussion and we are in the 60s.

With the NEW, or seemingly unpredictable rule regarding transfers needing to sit out a year, that should open up the possibility of transfers who have additional eligibility to play for us without sitting a year. We will have playing time and an open starting position, that should be attractive to big man looking to make an immediate impact.

Coach Ford needs to duct tape this team together. We are paper thin and not the team that was picked to finish first in the A10. Ford has said on multiple occasions that loss of a player can actually bring a team to rise to the challenge. I am certain he is challenging the team today. Bess is the leader and now is the time for him. Our starting 5 are good, though French and Forman have very limited range. Ironically our guards are now deeper than our forwards. If Wiley makes it back we could see more of a 4 guard team with Bess playing the 4. Hankton is a green skinny freshman who will get minutes. Hopefully he can get comfortable fast. He has the ability to stretch the floor, but he must also rebound and play D. Our bigs have to avoid foul trouble and injuries. We still have a shot at a good season, but some players are going to have to step up.

We know every team is going to pack in the defence until we hit more outside shots. We know we have shooters coming next year, but that doesn't help this season. At the moment, Bess and Isabell are the only threats that require attention. The one move that might produce an immediate change is having Gordon put up more 3s. If he hits them, it forces opponents to pull a big man out from under the basket. Open up the middle and everything changes. Coach would need Gordon look for and take the shot. Thatch and Goodwin will hopefully improve as well. I think our success this season will largely mirror the development of Gordon.

A problem we have is that it isn't hard to play a pack it in defense. If they have a gaurd that can protect the ball, it makes it tough to make a 20 point spread. I hope the guys maintain the intensity it takes to generate turnovers and make rebounds. Hopefully it is the kind of game where we can improve our team chemestry and get some guys going.

Bill's by 3. Wiz. With all due respect, I think you computer is off. You see we beat Buttler by 12. They lost today to 25th ranked Indiana. We are playing 24th ranked Houston. So I deduct one point for the ranking difference, to make it 11. Deduct 4 for home court advantage, making it 7, and the 4 points it would have taken for Butler to beat Indiana and I have SLU by 3. We got this. BILLS BY 3, CUZ I CAN MATH.

It is easy to be excited about the upside this season of Gordon, Thatch, Goodwin and French. If the stars line up, we can be a good team. However our injuries have put us in a perilous position. Our drop off from our 6th player is steep. Borrowing the Wiz grading system, we probably go from a grade B player to a D. Any loss of a guard for more than a few minutes will be devastating. I believe Jacob's will improve and do better than he did against OS, fortunately not every team we play is a top 100 team. I really hope isabell gets back soon, though ham string injuries are often tough to shake.

Seton Hall just beat Kentucky.

ESPN + also has a Replay calendar. So you can go back and watch or rewatch a game later.

Tough game but still winnable in closing minutes. I believe we were under 2 min, game tied with the ball. Next team to score probably wins. And we get the 10 sec half court call..... that really hurt. Best news, Goodwin came back to life, and all of our freshman are healthy enough to play. Hopefully Isabell and the rest of the team got the message. Post game coach said he is having the team over for Thanksgiving meal. Ford is working hard to pull these guys together as a team. I am thankful for that.

Was Isabell fouling out a fluke in the last game or something that will be a problem?

I think the Seton Hall game stats show us a lot about this team going forward. Ford played 8, and these guys will probably get minutes in every game (listed in order of season ave. min/game) Bess, Isabell, Goodwin, Gordon, French, Forman, Wiley, and Thatch. At SH Gordon played 35 minutes with only 3 fouls in a game where French and Forman picked up 4 in about 15 minutes. He seems to just be getting comfortable. His progress is huge given the loss of Santos. Gordon looks like he will be scary good as he continues to learn what he can do at this level. Goodwin is not on his game yet, I don't know if it is the injury, mask or fitting in with the new players, but he should improve from here. Thatch looks like a lock down defender, which is very impressive for a Freshman. This team has a lot of up side, only Bess and maybe Forman are playing at their potential. There is big upside for the rest of the individual players and team chemistry as these guys continue to work together. Great to see this team take a close game on the road. Typically a team loses one or more of those before winning one. Ford has his hands full pulling this all together and so far has been very impressive. Also have to believe that wins, like SH will help in fill out the 2019 recruiting class.

Wow, this guy is sold and projects Gordon as a 1 and done.