Billikenboy

This staff is creating their own problems with knee jerk substitutions. It hurts the team and looks like there is no strategy at all. If coaches cannot get it right how will the players do it.

Wiz is the man!

Well at least it is over! Thank God.

I am not sure of what I am watching. We are just getting beat plain and simple. A little aggression might help.

Might be seeing him alot tonight. Ahhh this staff!?!

Certainly so and we will see. I see it as a viable option going forward. Worth a shot every time.

Go for it. Why not? They over play him it just opens it up for others but if you do not try it how do you know the outcome. Everyone makes adjustments but isn't JC a in-game coach. He will find a way to make it work or get outcoached. Each player has to play to his strengths. When adjustments are made the player must also adjust to learn and still be effective. Case in point MY. He is still finding his way but at least we know the kind of player he is. If we are not doing things because we are afraid teams will make adjustments then we need new coaches who can do it. Game set,..lets play already.

Lets start with VCU tomorrow!

To your 2nd point. It has been there all year but guards/small forwards have overlooked it in their private competition to see who scores the most points. MY set it off but AY and DR continue to make it grow. One reason for your sputtering offense.

Moytoy12 you are correct. We did this very effective in that second half stretch but just imagine if we did this throughout the game. What I am saying is that up to late we have not utilized bigs like RA and MY correctly and that blame falls on Crews and Co. We can start doing it now because it is effective. Pay attention....RA and MY are one on one guys so in the post they require double teams at all times or your one on one defender gets abused or gets into foul trouble. Both of these kids are willing passers (more so RA) so it opens up easy shots for the likes of MC, AG, etc and the lane for driving. If you look at RA's production he played good D, rebounded well, but until the ball got delivered to the post (he was probably 17 to 18 minutes into his 24 mins played) that is when the passes started to come. Even DR looked for him. I say use that energy earlier and he could have delivered double the pts. He cannot be guarded one on one and with those shot fakes defenders have to foul him or get help. It is up to Crews on what he does going forward but if I am him, I unleash him early and see what he does. Can't hurt the team to do it. As for MY he just needs to become more selective about shot selection and cut down on that dribbling. RA has done the same not that he does not want to drible the ball but he is selective about when he dribbles which has cut his TO substantially. Of course that does not mean that if you are a defender and he has you on top of the key with an open driving lane behind you that he will not try to catch a body! Someone is due to get it soon.

Does anyone think this kid needs to pass more? He certainly can pass when he wants to. He has proven to be a good defender but I see him miss the easy play one after another trying to get to that basket. Goes to establishing post presence! He is one of the few guards that does not utilize the post. Looks like going forward guards have to actively work to get MY and RA the ball in those deep post positions when they have it instead of waiting for the screen to come so they can get to the basket. There is too much of that being done. Another thing being done is waiting till post position is established by the big and then coming in for the layup using the post screen assist instead of simply making the entry pass to the big. Watch closely you will see a 1 on 3 by DR, AY, and sometime MC using that setup. Teams know we are coming and have figured out how to defend it. Just because one can get to the rim does not make it an effective play. I see this as one of the major reasons our scoring is suspect, MY continues to struggle, and we are not playing as a team on offense. We have always played well when the team played an efficient defense and offense not this Borg-like offense. Coaches need to have the guards run all plays through the bigs before the guards attack but as you watch the offense they are simply moving the ball on the perimeter then driving into the lane when a post player clears a side. There is no intention to pass either as they draw defenders, just get to the cup. It is time to get away from that. Maybe u use it when you have used up the clock and cannot generate a open shot or post shot at basket. Should not be the majority of the O. Just a thought...

+100. Let us sharpen our tools tomorrow on VCU then. We need a good win!

Get ready to face the Bills tomorrow! We can chat after....

You mean it is possible to have this many TOs and still be regarded as the future of this team. +100000000 Even more reason why RA minutes must go up so he can become the beast that JC and co keep holding back. This will be a good team next season and you never know what happens at the end. MR is the man. Way to go.

Get him outta there!?!???

JC better get Reggie out now...he might turn the ball over.?!??

This must be that stat line JC and co follow to determine minutes. Its working out very well for us so far.

Great info. Shows you that we are a good team that needs time to develop and a good coaching staff to get the best out of them.

He has hit a wall but it will be up to this staff to show him the way. I also see the way the O is being run by the guards and Ash puts him at a disadvantage as well. Not to mention, defenses know his tendencies and he has made it easier to be guarded because his shot selection is awful. When he starts to become more selective about his shots, his efforts will be rewarded.

I think the TO machine stuff is overplayed since we really saw him have one bad game like that. If you look at the TO stats it will surprise you that compared to those players getting 20+ mins his 21 for the season in 24 games played now averages out to less than 1 turnover per game in 262 minutes played. Yeh he had the game with 5 TOs but had he not then that number is 16. I think we have had games where certain players have posted at least 5 or more in one game. Compare that to say Ash who has played same 24 games and has 53 TOs in 632 mins played. Take a look at the in-conference stats then you will see who our real TO machine is. As for getting lost on O and D put that on the lack of game mins. I think whatever the reason for the low PT its on the staff. The kid defends well, seems the team ratchets up defensively when he is in, he fights for those boards, and produces offensively without a play being run for him. The team leading 51% from the floor says it all. I still do not see the sense in the low PT when you are losing games left and right. Maybe JC is saving him for next season!?! The reason certainly is not TO and is not about getting lost. I think this staff has it favorites and he may not be one of them. Just a thought because if I am JC and that staff then I am doing everything possible to grow this kid fast based on his talents he brings to the table. Certainly not using it in bits and pieces will not help him grow more confident as a player. I think the Jerkyl and Hyde style is enough to kill these kids confidence in their real abilities. We keep saying he is raw but when will he be skilled. Its not like we recruited him from Africa. He has been here 2 years already. The kid was a proven commodity averaging a double double in scoring and rebound each night. May be that certain coaches are not good for some kids development and I hope this is not the case here.

I have yet to figure out why RA's minutes are that low. Kid should be averaging 20+ mins just based on his rebounding and strong post presence.

I cannot agree with you more. Who is in charge of these lineups? When we went through the horrible stretch in the 2nd half where both teams could not buy a bucket except for when we went down low why weren't RA and MY in that lineup to punish the post. Yet the minute RA gets put in late in the 2nd half he gets a big offensive rebound, strong putback. We had this game in our sights but once again Crews and Co are still monkeying with the lineup this late in the season. Here is a clue, play your best rebounding and offensive lineup then sub around it to keep the momentum going. RA sat too long and I still do not know what he did in the first half to have him sit that long. Defensive error...ok but it was no a bonehead turnover. Which is worst a unforced turnover (plenty in this game) or a aggressive defensive foul on a botched rotation? The kid is a hardnose defensive presence, rebounds like it is his job, and is a problem in the post to stop. He plays his butt off when put in and is very selective about his offensive attempts. Something wasted on some of the leaders on this team. I have seen enough garbage shots thrown up to last me a lifetime. Why not reward him for his tenacity and give him the opportunity to build on those strengths he possesses before A10 playoffs. It is time for his minutes to go up so he can move along in his development by end of season. Saw him tweak that ankle and it so happens when we really needed his game to push us over the hump. We know what MY can do but any basketball head can see that both of these guys playing together will help each to become more efficient in their skills. This goes the same for MC. That kid is the truth! He is like a creature in Jurassic Park that keeps testing the fence to figure out where the holes are. I want to see more of him. I am going to bed!

Ohh Manning!

Getting killed on that glass. RA?

Here comes Dayton since we are not taking advantage. Thanks MC.