Michigan St., Wed. Nov. 23, 7pm, AXS/970AM-B4A

To me it was disconcerting to see Ward relatively have his way down low. Considering two key interior players were out for MSU, one would think that would have been a Johnny advantage. That was telling & underscores the development curve for our bigs. Oh well, still early, but this area obviously has to be addressed and improved.
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in the words of world famous musician Tom Petty Paultzman " Time to move on " :) I'm ready to watch the parade and eat my ass off and hopefully a St Johns redemption win tonight for dessert

 
Take it as small thing, as Sima and Yakwe are the problem (Owens gets pass ftom me as he has less experience and is just so skinny)

Ahmed still playing JUCO / streetball. I think that will ease up.

But while a neutral setting, Michigan St. had many more fans, seemed to treat them like home team (playing their fight song).

The relatively small SJU contingent is small but loud and tried to make up for it w/ NY attitude.

Mullin was on the refs all game. Even Dan Matic got into it with a ref during a time out.
 
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised we are getting pounded inside. There were plenty of posts before the season started about our lack of bulk at almost every position. People are born with certain body types. The weight room can only do so much. Let's not forget that this is a rebuild still in the early stages. Staff knows are weaknesses, and is recruiting accordingly. May have to adjust win predictions down by a game or 2, as some of our new players may need a season to adjust.
 
To me it was disconcerting to see Ward relatively have his way down low. Considering two key interior players were out for MSU, one would think that would have been a Johnny advantage. That was telling & underscores the development curve for our bigs. Oh well, still early, but this area obviously has to be addressed and improved.
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I think Yakwe and SIma were where most on these boards overestimated how good we would be this year
 
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised we are getting pounded inside. There were plenty of posts before the season started about our lack of bulk at almost every position. People are born with certain body types. The weight room can only do so much. Let's not forget that this is a rebuild still in the early stages. Staff knows are weaknesses, and is recruiting accordingly. May have to adjust win predictions down by a game or 2, as some of our new players may need a season to adjust.
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I understand your points Ray. However, I think it was realistic to see/expect some improvement from Sima and or Yakwe. So far, that has not happened. Neither one has any offensive skills and both have the worst set of hands I have ever seen. The only thing they do well is block shots. Unfortunately that often gets them in foul trouble as they tend to rely on this skill rather than good defensive positioning. These two need to improve as they are part of the "rebuild" and they have at least two years of eligibility left.
 
ZERO fast break points the last two games. Ouch. Getting some easy buckets in transition takes a lot pressure of your half court offense. This team with it's athleticism should be able too get a few easy buckets. Let's hope that changes.
 
To me it was disconcerting to see Ward relatively have his way down low. Considering two key interior players were out for MSU, one would think that would have been a Johnny advantage. That was telling & underscores the development curve for our bigs. Oh well, still early, but this area obviously has to be addressed and improved.
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I think Yakwe and SIma were wh ere most on these boards overestimated how good we would be this year
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Yakwe especially.
 
I think Owens is the best of the three big men at this point. The problem is he cant stay on the court.
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From the I told you so files.... Jones would be our best big. Just saying
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Look, he wasn't that good . At best he would help off the bench. We need big bodies that can change and or effect the outcome of games Which we do not have this yr Next yr we will .
I get nervous thinking we may not do well in conference Better yes but that could mean just closer games not necessarily wins
 
I'm actually pretty jazzed that we hung tough for 3/4s of the game against one of the premier programs in the U.S.
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IMHO I don't believe they will be a premier program this year. Not impressed with coach Izzo's team, even though two biggies were out with injuries. (supposedly not scorers, but board bangers).
 
ZERO fast break points the last two games. Ouch. Getting some easy buckets in transition takes a lot pressure of your half court offense. This team with it's athleticism should be able too get a few easy buckets. Let's hope that changes.
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The shots we are settling for work until mid 2nd half and the other team makes a run.
 
yakwe wanted to sit a year anyway to learn the game better. If I'm not mistaken, he had less than 2 years of competitive basketball before St John's. Under different circumstances he probably would have but since we were left with literally NOTHING by Lavin, we needed him even coming in late. I love what he gave us last season in a desperate effort but he is still 75% potential and has a lot of work to do.
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You'll get to see one of Lavin's nothings , Samir Doughty of VCU in the next game.
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Saw him play. Wouldn't have helped our front court.
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Yesterday he played with maturity and confidence. Didn't look like a freshmen to me.
 
yakwe wanted to sit a year anyway to learn the game better. If I'm not mistaken, he had less than 2 years of competitive basketball before St John's. Under different circumstances he probably would have but since we were left with literally NOTHING by Lavin, we needed him even coming in late. I love what he gave us last season in a desperate effort but he is still 75% potential and has a lot of work to do.
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You'll get to see one of Lavin's nothings , Samir Doughty of VCU in the next game.
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Saw him play. Wouldn't have helped our front court.
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Yesterday he played with maturity and confidence. Didn't look like a freshmen to me.
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yup. just saying that we need some muscle not anther scoring guard
 
I think Simas size is ok. The problem is he can't hit the broad side of a barn. Gotta develop his inside game Although one thing I said about putting together a coaching staff is gotta have complimentary pieces. Last year Slice and Matt were recruiters. Nobody better to teach shooting then Mitch or Chris. But, who is working w our big men? At least last year we had Zendon.
 
I think Simas size is ok. The problem is he can't hit the broad side of a barn. Gotta develop his inside game Although one thing I said about putting together a coaching staff is gotta have complimentary pieces. Last year Slice and Matt were recruiters. Nobody better to teach shooting then Mitch or Chris. But, who is working w our big men? At least last year we had Zendon.
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I think it's kind of obvious right now when Matt A isn't out busting his ass recruiting he is working with the Bigs :)
 
I think Owens is the best of the three big men at this point. The problem is he cant stay on the court.
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From the I told you so files.... Jones would be our best big. Just saying
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Look, he wasn't that good . At best he would help off the bench. We need big bodies that can change and or effect the outcome of games Which we do not have this yr Next yr we will .
I get nervous thinking we may not do well in conference Better yes but that could mean just closer games not necessarily wins
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Dom really didn't really contribute that much as a sophomore. DJ didn't look like a guy that could make a NBA roster early in his sophomore season. Yet some here see Yakwe as a disappointment, and Sima, too. Both haven't played a full season of games yet. But there are posters still having withdrawal pains over losing Jones based on his output in one or 2 games in his senior season. What I remember is Jones making a few baskets, and then turning the ball over on 3 straight possessions. Yakwe can't shoot and needs schooling on footwork and post moves. But he is young and can jump to the moon from a standing start. Sure it's frustrating to watch our bigs being outplayed, but Yakwe and Sima need more time, more coaching, and more physical maturity. Raw big men need to be coached up. Not sure who on the staff is doing that. I expect that the frustration of the fan base may be headed in the direction of the coaching staff if the bigs don't develop. Especially if they are perceived as coach-able types.
 
Sima and Yakwe rarely go strong to the basket and Owens too is settling for the jumpshot too much. Even more frustrating is that these guys receive a pass down low and instead of going right to the hole, play with the ball and too often make what should be a simple dunk or layup into a complicated spin move that gives the defense time to prepare then naturally fails. Alternatively they move out for an 8-12 ft jumpshot. Yakwe could feast going quick and strong from within 3-8ft, but rarely ever does. Maybe some extended time playing Bashir one on one and that instinct would rub off on him.
 
Sima and Yakwe rarely go strong to the basket and Owens too is settling for the jumpshot too much. Even more frustrating is that these guys receive a pass down low and instead of going right to the hole, play with the ball and too often make what should be a simple dunk or layup into a complicated spin move that gives the defense time to prepare then naturally fails. Alternatively they move out for an 8-12 ft jumpshot. Yakwe could feast going quick and strong from within 3-8ft, but rarely ever does. Maybe some extended time playing Bashir one on one and that instinct would rub off on him.
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several times I noticed they were fed the ball and held on to it for what seemed like an eternity
 
Sima and Yakwe rarely go strong to the basket and Owens too is settling for the jumpshot too much. Even more frustrating is that these guys receive a pass down low and instead of going right to the hole, play with the ball and too often make what should be a simple dunk or layup into a complicated spin move that gives the defense time to prepare then naturally fails. Alternatively they move out for an 8-12 ft jumpshot. Yakwe could feast going quick and strong from within 3-8ft, but rarely ever does. Maybe some extended time playing Bashir one on one and that instinct would rub off on him.
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All of the mentioned issues could be address via meaningful coaching and in-game coaching... hate to say it, but it seems as if that is again missing this year.
 
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