Central Conn., Tue. Nov. 14, 6:30p, FS2, 970 AM
- Thread starter Knight
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Class of 72
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Those willing to watch games on an iPhone or tablet please know that you all can watch almost any college game and much more on vipleague.mobi. you can stream to your TV etc, all you need is internet.
Heard the game . WE did OK i do not understand YAWKE do not think he progressed. His time should be limited if we had stronger forwards Like Simon's energy and aggressiveness Shooting and foul shooting is another thing but if he sticks to his knitting and keeps doing what he is doing with pass first mentality he will be great A little disappointed with Clark thought he was going to be a beast on the boards. Time will tell. He has to play smarter and stop accumulating early fouls which put him on the bench .Being so thin up front we need him to play 35 mins PONDS IS DOING GREAT as is Lovett Just strnge that our best rebounder is 6-1 That will be exposed in big East play Trimbile is going to be really good and should soon see his mins increased WITHUT SEEING THE TEAM PLAY I wonder if Mullin has improved are we running set plays ,also out of bounds plays pick and rollins backdoors etc etc How are we going to do against Big strong talented front lines? Our guards can play with one one in the country Defense still a problem better yes but a long way to go Like the team hope we can dance this yr otherwise NIT
Class of 72
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I posted this in the UNO game thread but in reply to your Mullin and front court questions.....
Amar and Yakwe appear lost in Mullin's offensive scheme.
The big black hole in the middle got exposed again against a rail thin CC front line that included Mustafa Jones, a 6-8 string bean from Cardinal Hayes who got his points while our Jr. Kassoum Yakwe was collecting 1 rebound and zero points in 18 minutes. Devion Bute a 6-9 toothpick for CC can be now added to a weekly list of opposing front court players that bitch slap our players. A substitute head coach (the cc asst. coach) knew how to get the most out of his front line while Mullin's front court appears to be an afterthought with no set plays designed for them as they were for Central Connecticut.
If this trend carries over into the Nebraska game I expect another loss by the Big East against the bigger Big Ten.
We all know Ponds and Lovett make a respectable duo. Simon seems to do many things well. He can pass,score,defend and rebound. We are going to have to get rebounds by committee. Clark needs to foul less and rebound more. Yakwe had better body language. Played w energy, but wasnt overly productive. Trimble has been a pleasant surprise, Has a nice game for an early season freshman and can really shoot.I will take the W. CC had close games against Rutgers and Hartford.
Only saw the 2nd half but fun to watch. Hopefully Trimble keeps up this shooting to make me less annoyed about Mussini going to Europe. Next biggest takeaway is I really like Simon. Not going to get too excited because I got too excited last year in the beginning of the season only to be annoyed at end of season
Thursday is a big game
Thursday is a big game
dalydoseofhoops
Active member
http://dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com/2017/11/simon-posts-double-double-ponds-goes.html
Admittedly not my best recap, but hopefully you enjoy it just as much.
Admittedly not my best recap, but hopefully you enjoy it just as much.
We covered a 24.5 spread ?. This team is insanely deep at the guard positions. Yakwe got 18 minutes tonight & staff did call 3-4 sets for him. He fumbled the ball, got offensive foul & kicked the ball out twice. Fact is we live or die with our guards. Clark got in early foul trouble and sat the whole second half. It’s a win.
I watched the game last night and re-watched this morning for fun.
Just my two cents and some observations FWIW
1- Simon can be really good at times and frees up Ponds/Lovett on offense. Happy he is on our side.
2-Team can/and does shoot the 3. Do need to make sure we don't get 3 happy since if we are missing them we will be in trouble given our rebounding challenges.
3- Trimble has a nice shot. Would like to see him play more.
4- Yakwe looked lost as did Amar in limited action. They just have not improved.
5- After watching Duke/MSU and Kansas/Kentucky you can clearly see the gap between us and them. We could compete on the perimeter but we will have major problems in the paint. BagleyIII (got poked in the eye didn't play much) is going to really be a problem when we face Dukies.
6- Our defense looked better. However, I think we still leave too many open looks at the 3.
The competition begins to toughen, let's hope our guys are ready for the challenge.
Just my two cents and some observations FWIW
1- Simon can be really good at times and frees up Ponds/Lovett on offense. Happy he is on our side.
2-Team can/and does shoot the 3. Do need to make sure we don't get 3 happy since if we are missing them we will be in trouble given our rebounding challenges.
3- Trimble has a nice shot. Would like to see him play more.
4- Yakwe looked lost as did Amar in limited action. They just have not improved.
5- After watching Duke/MSU and Kansas/Kentucky you can clearly see the gap between us and them. We could compete on the perimeter but we will have major problems in the paint. BagleyIII (got poked in the eye didn't play much) is going to really be a problem when we face Dukies.
6- Our defense looked better. However, I think we still leave too many open looks at the 3.
The competition begins to toughen, let's hope our guys are ready for the challenge.
CCSU recap:http://www.bigeastboards.com/
Some observations-
Nice job done in the Red-Whie Hospitality crew. Good spread, good drinks, nice setting.
Disappointed in the attendance (reported as just over 4,000, but closer to 3,000).
Time-out entertainment with cheerleaders, dance team, give-a-ways was very amateur.
Many here said the D was better-I would say marginally at best.
Ponds continues to impress; Simon is the real deal; more PT for Owens; less PT for Ahmed.
Rebounders, please hit the boards on offense and defense.
Noticed 3 coaches standing and shouting instructions to players on the court. Too many voices.
Time to be in season form vs. Nebraska.
Nice job done in the Red-Whie Hospitality crew. Good spread, good drinks, nice setting.
Disappointed in the attendance (reported as just over 4,000, but closer to 3,000).
Time-out entertainment with cheerleaders, dance team, give-a-ways was very amateur.
Many here said the D was better-I would say marginally at best.
Ponds continues to impress; Simon is the real deal; more PT for Owens; less PT for Ahmed.
Rebounders, please hit the boards on offense and defense.
Noticed 3 coaches standing and shouting instructions to players on the court. Too many voices.
Time to be in season form vs. Nebraska.
The improvement that I saw was the guards pressuring their man and a lot of hands without fouling. For Lovett this goes into two games. The interior is still a marshmallow but that is less of a factor when the guards are pressuring their guys and getting hands on the ball for steals and deflections. This directly corresponds to our guys - Owens, Yakwe, Clark and Amar getting into foul trouble which they didn't.
CC also had some real speed and quickness from several players. We handled that well and turned them over and didn't get into foul trouble.
And my favorite moment was Trimble defending the post probably better than anyone we've seen in the past 3 seasons.
2 percentage points is really nitpicking, IMO.
Besides, two of the misses don't really count, since Ahmed missed 2 late in the game, but we got the rebound, Ahmed went right back to the line, and drained both. If you take out those two misses (and this is a rare case where I think you can actually do that, since we got the desired result that possession), we shot 74%.
Besides, I'd rather save the great foul shooting for nights when we really need it.
I came away feeling much better than most because of one reason. Simon is not just an improvement over Mussini and Ellison but he is much better. His defense and overall court play will make more of a difference in league play when the competition is tougher. It also looks like Trimble's outside shooting can make up for Mussini's one contribution.
Yawke's stat line looks terrible but with the shooters SJU puts on the floor with him we are better off if he limits his offense to put backs.
Yawke's stat line looks terrible but with the shooters SJU puts on the floor with him we are better off if he limits his offense to put backs.
beast of the east
Active member
630 pm game starts are ridiculously hard for anyone to make. The most positive thing I can say about them is the 3 little boys in my section from Rockaway who are all in the 6-8 year old range were able to leave early and get home at a reasonable time. Shout out to the Belle Harbor contingent in my section. There are about 10 of them in all, all related to my knowledge, all great people and great fans. I hope the second grader aced his science test today.
As I'm sure everyone can see, Simon and Clark solidify this lineup. I think we will see Simon score more as he opens it up, but he lets the game come to him. Some nights he will nail 15 points or more, other night 5 or 6. HE showed he can rebound, and at 6'5" has a decent body to mix it up. Clarke is also a player and these 2 are miles ahead of what we lost.
Lovett, who did not score in the first half, poured in the most controlled outburst in the second half, nailing shot after shot without a single force. Relieved of ballhandling duties, Ponds and Lovett will likely become much more efficient players.
Simon made the most heads up play of the night, stumbling in the backcourt and close to getting tied up, he still managed to see teammates ahead of the field and flat on his stomach cooly delivered a great pass for a breakaway layup.
Ponds made the spectacular pass of the night, driving to the hoop on a breakaway to deliver a perfect behind the back pass to Lovett in the left corner for 3 that singed the nets.
Trimble looked like he belonged by nailing 8 first half points, and that can be a fantastic sign if he can show he is a more polished player than Ellison. He may not always be that hot, but when he was on the court there wasn't a steep dropoff which can be a tremendous asset during the season.
This squad just might adopt the motto "Everyone rebounds". There are no George Johnson's to carry the load, so everyone, guards, wings, forwards, even ball boys, must hit the boards hard .
Yea it was Central Connecticut, but it was clear Mullin went with his rotation longer than needed in order to build chemistry among his rotation players. It's starting to become clear that Yakwe and Amar will not be counted on for much except in foul trouble or injury. If Trimble can be that 7th man, then Amar and Yakwe will see little beyond spot duty to give the starters some rest.
There will be losses, but this squad may just prove to be as good or better than Lavin's last team.
As I'm sure everyone can see, Simon and Clark solidify this lineup. I think we will see Simon score more as he opens it up, but he lets the game come to him. Some nights he will nail 15 points or more, other night 5 or 6. HE showed he can rebound, and at 6'5" has a decent body to mix it up. Clarke is also a player and these 2 are miles ahead of what we lost.
Lovett, who did not score in the first half, poured in the most controlled outburst in the second half, nailing shot after shot without a single force. Relieved of ballhandling duties, Ponds and Lovett will likely become much more efficient players.
Simon made the most heads up play of the night, stumbling in the backcourt and close to getting tied up, he still managed to see teammates ahead of the field and flat on his stomach cooly delivered a great pass for a breakaway layup.
Ponds made the spectacular pass of the night, driving to the hoop on a breakaway to deliver a perfect behind the back pass to Lovett in the left corner for 3 that singed the nets.
Trimble looked like he belonged by nailing 8 first half points, and that can be a fantastic sign if he can show he is a more polished player than Ellison. He may not always be that hot, but when he was on the court there wasn't a steep dropoff which can be a tremendous asset during the season.
This squad just might adopt the motto "Everyone rebounds". There are no George Johnson's to carry the load, so everyone, guards, wings, forwards, even ball boys, must hit the boards hard .
Yea it was Central Connecticut, but it was clear Mullin went with his rotation longer than needed in order to build chemistry among his rotation players. It's starting to become clear that Yakwe and Amar will not be counted on for much except in foul trouble or injury. If Trimble can be that 7th man, then Amar and Yakwe will see little beyond spot duty to give the starters some rest.
There will be losses, but this squad may just prove to be as good or better than Lavin's last team.
we are sju
Active member
There was a Stephen King book called Thinner where a gypsy put a curse on a fat lawyer and he started losing weight daily to where he was wasting away. Maybe a gypsy put a sucking curse on Yakwe?
I thought the game played out as expected . The CConn Big Men were about the size of Owens , slight but sturdy . Jones and Bute were good scorers inside but, didn’t think our D was bad . Ahmad is still the same player as last year . Out of control on occasion . Simon, Ponds, Lovett, Trimble played well . Clarke was good but, reduced minutes due to fouls . He can bang but, will be smaller than Big East Power Foreards . Yakwe still has poor hands and Doubt that will change . Amar is what he is and has been .
Spot on re: perimeter defense being the key for us this year. With our lack of size, we'll to maintain high intensity. Definitely see more of a commitment so far. But, we do have some lulls. Ponds, in particular, needs to be more consistent on defense. Tends to float, almost like he's a big man looking to help out and rebound.