Rando thoughts on the game...

[A Clockwork Orange]

* What was Jerien Grant thinking at the end? Did his brother put him up to taking three thirty footers in the last 30 seconds of a close game?

* Ron Patterson was amazing on defense tonight. Team defense won this game, but Ron stuck out. Too bad he fouled two guys shooting threes. That's hard to do if you're not trying to do it. Not saying he was, but that is a bizarre circumstance.

*Good to see BJ do more than just shoot threes today. He did a little bit of everything out there, and scored in a lot of different ways. He's going to have more poor games, but the light is starting to slowly come on for some of our sophomores. A lot of up and down performances from My Three Sons, but they're starting to look like players.

*Winning against the Irish on the road is always difficult to do. Doing it without Rak for crunch time? I feel like this team took a big step forward tonight.

*Chinoso didn't foul out, and almost killed a guy on BJ's run out. That's what he's out there for.

*If you had told this board in November that these guys would win a road game against a top 10 team in late February without McCullough or Christmas for crunch time, people would have laughed you off the Internet. I remember feeling sick after that Cal game. This team has come a LONG way, and while they are still a work in progress, they're showing signs of life.

*Since the postseason ban, I find myself focusing much more on the small positives this year. Tyler scoring 19 against Duke, BJ doing the same tonight. I'm not focusing on the negatives of the team, and am truly looking at what they can be in the future. It's kind of nice watching a game knowing that while you don't want your team to lose, it's somewhat exciting to just watch for the sheer enjoyment of seeing some of these guys improve throughout the year.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I think JAB got in Patterson's face for not being out further on Connaughton's long three so Patterson made sure he was right in Grant's grill. Unfortunately he got too aggresive and got called for that foul. I thought they could have called Chino for a foul when he was buggy whipping his guy which cleared the lane for BJ. I think in every sport but Hockey that would have been a foul.

 

[HoustonCuse]

You know, with how BJ is starting to find a comfort level, it makes the loss of a potential NIT berth a little more painful. I say NIT berth because theoretically we would have a longer stay in that tourney and it would give the team more games and practices to develop. Warrick made major strides in that extra time during his freshman year.

 

[A Clockwork Orange]

You know, with how BJ is starting to find a comfort level, it makes the loss of a potential NIT berth a little more painful. I say NIT berth because theoretically we would have a longer stay in that tourney and it would give the team more games and practices to develop. Warrick made major strides in that extra time during his freshman year.

True, that's the only thing I regret about the ban. This team would benefit big time from an NIT berth.

 

[RandygoCuse]

After the win tonight, I'm not sure we would be in the NIT if we were postseason eligible

 

[cuseguy]

After the win tonight, I'm not sure we would be in the NIT if we were postseason eligible

One more regular season win and a win in the ACC tourney and we'd be in some tourney.

Moot point, though.

 

[Orangezoo]

Great post and i agree on focusing on the smaller things. Consistency among my 3 sons is of course a bouncing rubber ball but besides the major bummer of not getting another year with this version of rak it is hard not to be giddy about what we could have next year. If mike g defied the common opinion and returned, dc2 could give us a solid 20 mins a game and a couple of the frosh contribute a good amount we could be a top 5 title contender next year. That is a big if and the off season has its share of questions but i am just so proud of this group and what they have done this year given everything.

 

[bballbeadle]

* What was Jerien Grant thinking at the end? Did his brother put him up to taking three thirty footers in the last 30 seconds of a close game?

* Ron Patterson was amazing on defense tonight. Team defense won this game, but Ron stuck out. Too bad he fouled two guys shooting threes. That's hard to do if you're not trying to do it. Not saying he was, but that is a bizarre circumstance.

*Good to see BJ do more than just shoot threes today. He did a little bit of everything out there, and scored in a lot of different ways. He's going to have more poor games, but the light is starting to slowly come on for some of our sophomores. A lot of up and down performances from My Three Sons, but they're starting to look like players.

*Winning against the Irish on the road is always difficult to do. Doing it without Rak for crunch time? I feel like this team took a big step forward tonight.

*Chinoso didn't foul out, and almost killed a guy on BJ's run out. That's what he's out there for.

*If you had told this board in November that these guys would win a road game against a top 10 team in late February without McCullough or Christmas for crunch time, people would have laughed you off the Internet. I remember feeling sick after that Cal game. This team has come a LONG way, and while they are still a work in progress, they're showing signs of life.

*Since the postseason ban, I find myself focusing much more on the small positives this year. Tyler scoring 19 against Duke, BJ doing the same tonight. I'm not focusing on the negatives of the team, and am truly looking at what they can be in the future. It's kind of nice watching a game knowing that while you don't want your team to lose, it's somewhat exciting to just watch for the sheer enjoyment of seeing some of these guys improve throughout the year.

I also remember watching them play Cal and feeling stunned by how awful they were. I had a bad feeling and I was right. But I was also wrong. Never dreamed they could win tonight. In fact, I am wondering: am I really awake?

I am going to have to watch the game again, because I still don't understand how we pulled this off. Notre Dame NEVER LED. They were sluggish from the get go, and so was the arena. I almost wondered: were they having a hard time getting up for playing us, because we are so pitiful? Because honestly, we have a pitiful storyline right now. I guess we showed them! And I guess this team also showed me.