I'll try to explain this again

[jordoo]

After the Iowa game I said you have to view this team in terms of how they improve from game to game, I'll add how they improve within the game.

Our defense improved a lot since the Iowa game. Its much easier to fix the defense through practice than it is the offense.

Our offense improved a lot after the halftime break which is a really good indication of our guys being coachable.

Lets remember were without Roberson and struggled to run offense with him so changing things up with BJ who is a completely different type of offensive player certainly changed things.

Kaleb took a step forward IMO. The return of his confident pull up to start the 2nd half got the rest of his game going for about 10-12 possessions.

Chris scored 17 point on what 6 or 7 shots!!!!! Just think about that for a little while.

Yes there was a bunch of bad, no doubt about it and I almost fell asleep 8min into the first half because it was one perhaps the most boring games in existence for a while but lets put that into perspective as well. We always have a holiday stinker and this was 2 days before thanksgiving against a team that our guys knew was toothless after one possession against our D.

There were improvements especially on defense. The offense looked really awful for long stretches. Both of which are to be expected. Holy Cross is up next, enjoy the improvements we see from Loyola to Holy Cross.

 

[RF2044]

All good points, jordoo.

I am worried about our seeming inability to hit jump shots, however. And it isn't just a player or two "slumping" -- we just don't seem to be able to make perimeter shots.

I do agree that the second half was better.

 

[jordoo]

All good points, jordoo.

I am worried about our seeming inability to hit jump shots, however. And it isn't just a player or two "slumping" -- we just don't seem to be able to make perimeter shots.

I do agree that the second half was better.

Undoubtedly the shooting is my biggest worry at this point. I'm not throwing in the towel on the shooting yet but as the sample size increases . . . . .well you know.

 

[007]

Undoubtedly the shooting is my biggest worry at this point. I'm not throwing in the towel on the shooting yet but as the sample size increases . . . . .well you know.

JB has a sample size that's 100x bigger that what we have seen. You can see it in his facial expressions during the games, and in his words at the PCs. Most of these kids are going to struggle to make perimeter shots all year.

 

[Dave85]

There were improvements especially on defense. The offense looked really awful for long stretches. Both of which are to be expected. Holy Cross is up next, enjoy the improvements we see from Loyola to Holy Cross.

I just hope there is enough time in the season for all these improvements to actually matter.

 

[jordoo]

I just hope there is enough time in the season for all these improvements to actually matter.

They matter for next season as well whatever happens this year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

All good points, jordoo.

I am worried about our seeming inability to hit jump shots, however. And it isn't just a player or two "slumping" -- we just don't seem to be able to make perimeter shots.

I do agree that the second half was better.

Teams know Trevor is the only guy who can shoot. That said, he forced 2 or 3 threes last night. One was blocked. The best one he had, he made in transition. He's really improved even from game 1 to game 4 going to the basket. That should help open the perimeter up for him. Besides the shooting, how can you not say you are happy with the progress he has made. He's a better overall player this year, but possibly a worse shooter?

Bj had open looks last night that he just didn't knock down. We need those to go in. I suspect he gets another start Friday. He's a more natural fit with CMAC and Roc, because he doesn't use the same area of the floor. I really like his skill set, and yes hes skinny, but he seems to have a nose for the ball.

Gbinije doesn't look like he could put it in the ocean.

Patterson hasn't been able to get going..

Joseph is good at 15 to 18 feet. The three is out of his range.

Cmac can shoot, but we need him inside

Totally agree with Jordoo. We are seeing improvements game to game. The only thing that has not improved at all is the shooting.

 

[KaiserUEO]

loyola is just slightly better than lemoyne.

the Orange wont be 15 win bad, but 18-20 is where they headed.

mccollough is clearly the only finisher.

christmas needs to learn to finish...and in his 4th year in the program, well...

and the only guy trustable with the 3 is cooney.

gonna be a wild ride ladies...

 

[Cusefan0307]

loyola is just slightly better than lemoyne.

the Orange wont be 15 win bad, but 18-20 is where they headed.

mccollough is clearly the only finisher.

christmas needs to learn to finish...and in his 4th year in the program, well...

and the only guy trustable with the 3 is cooney.

gonna be a wild ride ladies...

We lost to Lemoyne before with a better team.

There's 8 ranked teams on our schedule. If we lose them all, we'd still have to lose 5 more games to win 18.

You're down on Roc after last night? He had 18 on 7-11 shooting against an NCAA tournament team on Friday.

Watch someone besides Syracuse. There are worse teams than us on offense. cough pittsburgh cough.

We play Michigan next week. The Final score may be 40 -35. They can't shoot straight either.

 

[AZOrange]

JB has a sample size that's 100x bigger that what we have seen. You can see it in his facial expressions during the games, and in his words at the PCs. Most of these kids are going to struggle to make perimeter shots all year.

We are struggling to hit the rim lately. G must be our all time leader in shots off the side of the backboard.

 

[007]

We are struggling to hit the rim lately. G must be our all time leader in shots off the side of the backboard.

Yeah, it's going to be an issue all year. JB has already attempted to adjust the O. They need to de-emphasize looking for mid range shots (come hell or high water, TC still needs to get and take 3s) and concentrate on driving the ball to the rim, pounding it inside to RC and CM, fast break whenever possible, and getting to the foul line.

The problem is that every team they play will be aware of that and will try to choke that inside game off and pressure our ball handlers. Teams are going to play us physically. CM is going to take a beating inside, and he is going to have to live on the FL. Same for Rak, but he has the body to handle the punishment. I suspect that CM will eventually become the go-to scorer in half court sets. He is getting his points now mostly be creating his own shot. That will gradually shift, IMO (with Rak at the high post and isolation plays inside for CM). Let's hope CM can stand up physically to that type of demand come March.

 

[Madbiker]

If anyone watched Nova - Michigan last night they were both dead eye 3 point shooting teams. Lots of made 3's. If we have our usual game of 2-14 there is no way we will be able to hang with them.

 

[Cusefan0307]

If anyone watched Nova - Michigan last night they were both dead eye 3 point shooting teams. Lots of made 3's. If we have our usual game of 2-14 there is no way we will be able to hang with them.

What were you watching? They shot 12-41. Michigan shot 40 percent overall and 6-21 from three. It was a rock fight if anything.

 

[Madbiker]

What were you watching? They shot 12-41. Michigan shot 40 percent overall and 6-21 from three. It was a rock fight if anything.

OK so maybe the percentage wasn't great but I can't see us making 6 threes in a game ever this year.

 

[moqui]

Yeah, it's going to be an issue all year. JB has already attempted to adjust the O. They need to de-emphasize looking for mid range shots (come hell or high water, TC still needs to get and take 3s) and concentrate on driving the ball to the rim, pounding it inside to RC and CM, fast break whenever possible, and getting to the foul line.

The problem is that every team they play will be aware of that and will try to choke that inside game off and pressure our ball handlers. Teams are going to play us physically. CM is going to take a beating inside, and he is going to have to live on the FL. Same for Rak, but he has the body to handle the punishment. I suspect that CM will eventually become the go-to scorer in half court sets. He is getting his points now mostly be creating his own shot. That will gradually shift, IMO (with Rak at the high post and isolation plays inside for CM). Let's hope CM can stand up physically to that type of demand come March.

that kind of defense is going to leave a lot of space open for Roberson, Gbinije or Johnson. if one of them can score, then it will help everyone else. I think JB was counting on Silent G being that guy, based on his presser comments last night

 

[SWC75]

As someone pointed out, we've finally got the inside scoring game we've been missing since Rick Jackson left. We are also getting out on the break more. We are playing well defensively and will get better. If we ever got the perimeter game going, we could be pretty darn good.

 

[Eagles20]

After the Iowa game I said you have to view this team in terms of how they improve from game to game, I'll add how they improve within the game.

Our defense improved a lot since the Iowa game. Its much easier to fix the defense through practice than it is the offense.

Our offense improved a lot after the halftime break which is a really good indication of our guys being coachable.

Lets remember were without Roberson and struggled to run offense with him so changing things up with BJ who is a completely different type of offensive player certainly changed things.

Kaleb took a step forward IMO. The return of his confident pull up to start the 2nd half got the rest of his game going for about 10-12 possessions.

Chris scored 17 point on what 6 or 7 shots!!!!! Just think about that for a little while.

Yes there was a bunch of bad, no doubt about it and I almost fell asleep 8min into the first half because it was one perhaps the most boring games in existence for a while but lets put that into perspective as well. We always have a holiday stinker and this was 2 days before thanksgiving against a team that our guys knew was toothless after one possession against our D.



There were improvements especially on defense. The offense looked really awful for long stretches. Both of which are to be expected. Holy Cross is up next, enjoy the improvements we see from Loyola to Holy Cross.

thanks for enlightening us

 

[Cusefan0307]

I feel a lot better about us watching this UNC game.

 

[SoBristol]

Hard to judge improvement, game to game. Cal was a good team. Not so sure about Iowa, and Loyola was simply bad. BJ didn't play at all against Iowa; Roberson didn't play last night. Need a bigger sample.

 

[jordoo]

thanks for enlightening us

The title and post was mainly for that group of posters who seem to be expecting a finished product every time we play another game.

 

[jordoo]

Hard to judge improvement, game to game. Cal was a good team. Not so sure about Iowa, and Loyola was simply bad. BJ didn't play at all against Iowa; Roberson didn't play last night. Need a bigger sample.

Valid point and Loyola was nothing but a practice game. Still defensive improvements were noticeable IMO. Also we improved the offense coming out of halftime. Individual player development can be seen but certainly needs to be in context of competition.

 

[TBCuse11]

loyola is just slightly better than lemoyne.

the Orange wont be 15 win bad, but 18-20 is where they headed.

mccollough is clearly the only finisher.

christmas needs to learn to finish...and in his 4th year in the program, well...

and the only guy trustable with the 3 is cooney.

gonna be a wild ride ladies...

If i had to guess, i would say 19 wins. And if anyone is trying to take anything from the game last night, they must not have watched. i thought it was actually the worst game we played all year. it was tough to watch in person. Loyola is one of, if not the worst team i have ever seen in the Dome. Horrible shooters, horrible passing... uggh. They wont go .500 in whatever league they are in.

we need to get alot better, and fast. If we make the Big Dance, this is a huge bonus.

 

[Cusefan0307]

There's already 6 teams in the ACC that have lost more games than us. UNC and Notre Dame have also lost. UNC looked like our younger brother on offense today. I get pointing out the things we need to work on, but not everyone ENJOYS to be doom and gloom like some of you in some of the posts i see from some of the same people on a daily basis.

 

[007]

that kind of defense is going to leave a lot of space open for Roberson, Gbinije or Johnson. if one of them can score, then it will help everyone else. I think JB was counting on Silent G being that guy, based on his presser comments last night

Yeah, I agree moqui. I would guess that JB was hoping that BJ's shooting was going to fill that void and make Ds play more honest. If BJ could consistently hit 3s, you would see him on the opposite side of the floor from TC, and this would limit what teams could do via double downs on Rak or CM. That would have been an ideal scenario, IMO.

Clearly, JB has now targeted G as the man who needs to do more. I think he is a lot more capable than he has shown. I am expecting him to really step up his productivity as a result of the way the D is going to play.

 

[moqui]

agree, 007. I wouldn't mind seeing G move into the starting lineup and then have Roberson & BJ fight it out to see who the sixth man is going to be