On the road down 2 Clark at the line final minute? If a crystal ball told me that’s where we would be at that point of the game I would take it. He has got too make those FREE THROWS. Even when we were up 10 you gotta know Creighton is going to make a run. The lack of depth is revealing itself in conference play.
@Creighton, Wed. Jan. 3, 8p, FS1/570AM
- Thread starter Knight
- Start date
Class of 72
Active member
Danny, Marvin was exhausted as was Shamorie who is not in game shape. That translates into missed free throws sometimes. We lost but our kids played their hearts out and with any semblance of a bench we could have just as easily been 3-0. I am confident Marcus will be back in another game or two at the most. We may be 1-4 by then but it could be a new season because the current group has gained a lot of experience via a baptism of fire. An NIT bid is still not out of the question.
montyaloofah
Active member
another frustrating thing was the decision to try to force feed Marvin Clark the ball in the low post against Ballock. We could not get a good entry pass in there. So the result was turning it over or forcing a bad shot because we were too deep in the shot clock, I like taking advantages of mismatches but we need to space the floor and set it up right. Like Bash against Krampejl worked a bit until they switched on him. The coaches did some good things like switch to zone at the end, We just don't have the bodies.
Rebounding was why we lost. It will happen in all our games. If we go 500 in confr play it will be a surprise. LOOKING OVER THE LEAGUE ,can not say we can beat anyone,compete yes but it is probably we win under 5 games in confr . Even georgetown is a big question mark as is Depaul. Unless Lovett is going to make that much of a diff which I DOUBT.
It is nice that we are now competitive so thanks for that we can not keep making excuses like we are young , we had injuries ,we do not have a front court who can rebound,we get out rebounding every game etc.so far Mulliins 3rd yr has been a flop. These are his players who the recruited thought we were suppose shoot well . It hasn't happened.Looks like who ever they recruited got here and their shot disappeared Guess we were all expecting more by yr 3. To start off 0-3 in this league and have a winning record in confer will be extremely difficult however if we can continue to compete and not get blown out of games it will be a light at the end of a long tunnel
WHICH i could be more positive but frustration has set in as we have been saying wait until next yr which has become our slogan.
boo haarvey
Active member
Umm, I think you’re a bit confused. That sequence you described about Trimble missing threes and turning the ball over occurred on the first half, after which we went on a monster run to take the lead.
ManhattAn1
Active member
I did not have a problem with Aligbegovic playing. He played well in first half (no mistakes). Yakwe looked terrible in his short time during first half. I think they are sending him a message by not playing.
There isn't really much they can do they really only have 5 caliber big east players at this moment. You could more knock them for keeping a scholie open and not filling it to add some depth. When you only have 5 players they really need to slow things down and not have the green light at all times.
The next two games are a must or the season is over. Remember we started 0-5 a few years ago and got to 10. I do not see that happening unless Lovett gets healthy and I mean fast.
There isn't really much they can do they really only have 5 caliber big east players at this moment. You could more knock them for keeping a scholie open and not filling it to add some depth. When you only have 5 players they really need to slow things down and not have the green light at all times.
The next two games are a must or the season is over. Remember we started 0-5 a few years ago and got to 10. I do not see that happening unless Lovett gets healthy and I mean fast.
Short bench means big minutes for our talented players, tired legs in crunch time & missed free throws often. Trying to buy guys some rest with Amar understandable, but a double edged sword. As others have noted the real problem is the short roster. In fairness, the late Wilson defection exacerbated the problem, but even with him we still lacked enough BE level players in my opinion. Injuries are a given for any team and you just have to have bench guys who can compete and not hurt you. At this point Trimble does not meet that bar and Amar is Amar.
Can't knock the effort, but poor shot selection early in the clock is still an issue. We also depend so much on steals and resulting easy buckets to generate most of our offense. That is certainly a plus, but the rubber hits the road in the half court where we are deficient. On to DePaul.
Can't knock the effort, but poor shot selection early in the clock is still an issue. We also depend so much on steals and resulting easy buckets to generate most of our offense. That is certainly a plus, but the rubber hits the road in the half court where we are deficient. On to DePaul.
Mussini, Mussini, Mussini! A much bigger loss than ever imagined ... much better option than Trimble and , we could have used his skill big time this year ... and , don’t dwell on his Defense .. Ponds isn’t exactly a lock down defender either ..
Horrid bench stats last night exacerbated by Yakwe's bad game. He had been giving us a solid 14-15 minutes with a couple of rebounds, a few points (including good foul shooting) and solid defense in the half court. Last night he was bad offensively and defensively in the first half and coach pulled him and sat him the rest of the game, presumably to send a message. Let's hope the regression was a one game thing because, even with Lovett back on the court, we need Yakwe to be a dependable 7th man in the rotation. Trimble just isn't ready yet.
Windy City Johnny Fan
Member
How bad could he have been in 2 minutes??? Give the kid a chance to play. He's been solid enough when given the opportunity this year, and we simply don't have the luxury of burying a guy on the bench after 2 bad minutes with our lack of depth. We needed 10-12 minutes from him last night. Also he's obviously dealing with the mental aspect on top of everything else - how does benching him after 1 or 2 bad plays help that? Unless he mouthed off to a coach or something, thought this was a very odd approach to take with him and ultimately hurt the team as our starting bigs wore down the last couple of minutes.
beast of the east
Active member
Ponds not 100%, cut him some slack.
Like the Seton Hall game, with the game on the line, our opponents had more talent to pull out a win. This is a good sign that even at less than full strength we could hang tough. Anxious to see what our team can do with everyone healthy, and like everyne else hope there's time to salvage the season.
sorry fellas, I love Trimble's open three shot against lower D1 schools, but he has proven against BE and high D1 teams he is lost. He had 20+ mins vs Hall and valuable mins yesterday and was a liability. I don't want to hear he is a frosh- blah blah blah. We are into crunch time and other frosh around the country and BE have adjusted. Im not saying he needs to contribute 10-12 pts, but grab a rebound ( especially an offensive board), make a steal, and play defense. RF was torn apart for being a step slow and lost on the court. Trimble is in the same category. With 1 or 2 of our most valuable guards down with injuries, we needed him to step up and contribute-he did not. Next year pending zero transfers out, he will be last on depth chart and rightfully so. There also hasn't been a player as frustrating to watch as Amar since (IMO) Kyle Cuffe, sorry but that guy comes to mind as driving me crazy lol. Amar is a big body who essentially just needs to provide us with some mins so our bigs get a breather. All we need him to do is lock down the paint, pick up a couple of fouls, grab some rebounds, while the big starters get a couple of mins. What does he do? Launch 3s. Yes, the first half he played well, but this guy is a Sr!!! He should be playing that way all game. Lastly, I truly believe with Marcus and Ponds healthy, along with the emergence of terrific play from Simon, Ahmed, Marvin, and Tariq, we can beat anyone! Please come back soon Marcus! Go johnnies!!!
Impressive effort last two games. Would have likely beaten a lot of teams with those performances but @SHU and @Creighton is challenging. Big East is brutal. In some ways they may have picked wrong game to lay an egg v. PC. If they play the way they did the last two games don't know if it's enough to overcome PC's shooting, but it's probably a much different game and maybe a W.
I understand what the staff is trying to do with the Alibegovic minutes, that he's a great team-first kid, and that while some of the short bench was within staff's control some of it was out of staff's control and in any event it is what it is at this point. But with the starters already playing close to max minutes and fatigued down stretch anyway, don't know that whatever benefit Amar's minutes provides in terms of resting the starters isn't offset by the liability of his play. He came into the game in the 2nd half and turned it over, committed a soft foul for a potential 3 point play, and missed 2 threes before finally getting a steal.
At an absolute minimum, he has to be asked to play a defense, rebound, and hustle style. He hasn't made a 3 since Sacred Heart on 12/2 and yet he's attempted 7 threes in 26 minutes in 3 Big East games. That's insane.
Don't get why Yawke can't take those minutes instead. He's played 15, 20, 19, and 20 minutes the 4 games and had 11 combined rebounds v. PC and SHU. Seemed to be settling into a role. Much better defender and rebounder than Alibegovic, less likely to make mistakes. 2 minutes last night was bizarre especially as Krampelj destroyed us in the 2nd half and Yawke had done such a good job on Delgado.
Less margin for error in conference than there already was to start. That said team is playing much better than 0-3. Key is to not let confidence get impacted, hopefully get Lovett back soon, and get the next 2 games so that this doesn't spiral out of control. That still may lead to 2-5, but at that level at least you have a chance @GTown, home Creighton, @Butler to get back squarely in the mix.
I understand what the staff is trying to do with the Alibegovic minutes, that he's a great team-first kid, and that while some of the short bench was within staff's control some of it was out of staff's control and in any event it is what it is at this point. But with the starters already playing close to max minutes and fatigued down stretch anyway, don't know that whatever benefit Amar's minutes provides in terms of resting the starters isn't offset by the liability of his play. He came into the game in the 2nd half and turned it over, committed a soft foul for a potential 3 point play, and missed 2 threes before finally getting a steal.
At an absolute minimum, he has to be asked to play a defense, rebound, and hustle style. He hasn't made a 3 since Sacred Heart on 12/2 and yet he's attempted 7 threes in 26 minutes in 3 Big East games. That's insane.
Don't get why Yawke can't take those minutes instead. He's played 15, 20, 19, and 20 minutes the 4 games and had 11 combined rebounds v. PC and SHU. Seemed to be settling into a role. Much better defender and rebounder than Alibegovic, less likely to make mistakes. 2 minutes last night was bizarre especially as Krampelj destroyed us in the 2nd half and Yawke had done such a good job on Delgado.
Less margin for error in conference than there already was to start. That said team is playing much better than 0-3. Key is to not let confidence get impacted, hopefully get Lovett back soon, and get the next 2 games so that this doesn't spiral out of control. That still may lead to 2-5, but at that level at least you have a chance @GTown, home Creighton, @Butler to get back squarely in the mix.
The bottom line is that we must win our next two games , get healthy, and then find a way to win two of the six games we have left against Villanova, Xavier, Seton Hall and Duke. Then, looking at the schedule, we can go on a nice run the last six games of the season carrying us in to the Big East Tournament where I truly believe that if we are healthy we can make a nice run and maybe get to the championship game if everything breaks right with match ups and one of the big 3 goes down.
Comparing Amar to Kyle Cuffe is a huge disrespect to Cuffe. Cuffe was frustrating and did not live up to what some of us expected but I’d kill Ito have him now. Amar is a complete zero basketball wise. Love his enthusiasm and cheerleading but he belongs in the court only in practice.
Yakwe is maybe s more appro comparison to Cuffe because he brings something albeit far below what was/is expected. Why he was not playing yesterday is a mystery. He’s 100% better than Amar.
Trimble is a frosh and a different story.
Yakwe is maybe s more appro comparison to Cuffe because he brings something albeit far below what was/is expected. Why he was not playing yesterday is a mystery. He’s 100% better than Amar.
Trimble is a frosh and a different story.
Thanks Mr. P - you and others are posting some sensible and insightful "stuff".
I am pleased with everything - not the losing of course nor the possible less than stellar 2017-18 record - but I very much appreciate the direction of the program and the positive noteworthy recruits/additions for 2018-19.
Maybe since April 2015 when CM took the reins of a double AA/division 3 team - it was going to be a four not three year process. I am comfortable with that.
And that being said I - like many posters - am ready to enjoy our remaining games as is with this roster and whatever outcome. Our effort is there, our recruiting is on the upswing, our coaches seem to be blossoming - and for sure Chris Mullin who has been a significant winner his entire basketball life - WANTS TO WIN HERE AND NOW.
As the computer screen says at times "please wait" and as a recent spiritual saying crossed my path - those who can wait can have what they will.
Better times are right here (2017-18 clearly overshadows 2015-16, 2016-17). And better still times are ahead - 2018-19.
I would rather stay in snowy Sag Harbor, but I must lol fly off to Aruba where I might be able to catch a game from the satellite.
I am pleased with everything - not the losing of course nor the possible less than stellar 2017-18 record - but I very much appreciate the direction of the program and the positive noteworthy recruits/additions for 2018-19.
Maybe since April 2015 when CM took the reins of a double AA/division 3 team - it was going to be a four not three year process. I am comfortable with that.
And that being said I - like many posters - am ready to enjoy our remaining games as is with this roster and whatever outcome. Our effort is there, our recruiting is on the upswing, our coaches seem to be blossoming - and for sure Chris Mullin who has been a significant winner his entire basketball life - WANTS TO WIN HERE AND NOW.
As the computer screen says at times "please wait" and as a recent spiritual saying crossed my path - those who can wait can have what they will.
Better times are right here (2017-18 clearly overshadows 2015-16, 2016-17). And better still times are ahead - 2018-19.
I would rather stay in snowy Sag Harbor, but I must lol fly off to Aruba where I might be able to catch a game from the satellite.
Ray Morgan
Well-known member
The lack of production from the bench is on the staff. They should know where the deficiencies are in the off season and find players to fill the holes. The fact we have taken it to the end game against 3 very talented teams is a testament to how much talent we have in our top 5. We are competing on individual talent, but not enough teamwork. This team is tough to watch because they have a knack for shooting themselves in the foot too often. Maybe it's tired legs, or maybe inexperience in the players and in the staff. The Big East is loaded with teams deep in individual talent that are really well coached. Creighton's ball movement and unselfishness was impressive. Would like to see more of that here.
The lack of depth is due to our need to recruit transfers who have to sit a year before being eligible. Walk-ons are not going to help us when we need players during the game. Until then we have players on scholarship, like AA and Trimble, who have walk-on talent. It's getting tougher to be patient, but that's the only option.
As for this game, Ponds was clearly less than 100%, but played significant minutes. We need AA, Trimble and Yakwe to contribute minutes to allow the starters to have some gas left in the tank late in the game. Can they play better than we have seen lately, I think so. They all have played better in past games, but not for extended periods.
Free throw practice, before, during and after practice-PLEASE.
Coaching has been better this season, but still has a way to go with use of TO's and D adjustments and player management.
0-3 start vs. three teams we can payback this season.
As for this game, Ponds was clearly less than 100%, but played significant minutes. We need AA, Trimble and Yakwe to contribute minutes to allow the starters to have some gas left in the tank late in the game. Can they play better than we have seen lately, I think so. They all have played better in past games, but not for extended periods.
Free throw practice, before, during and after practice-PLEASE.
Coaching has been better this season, but still has a way to go with use of TO's and D adjustments and player management.
0-3 start vs. three teams we can payback this season.