(POST GAME) Butler, Tues. Dec. 31, 7:30pm, FS-1, 970AM

Most enjoyable loss I've been to live. Didnt think they had that run in them with LJ out for so long.

Atmosphere was solid. Halftime game with Special Olympics brought a smile to my face and I cheered them loudly.

Loved seeing Mrs. Anderson, with a hand fan to keep her cool during the game. It was especially hot in there.

Alibegovic was good to see...and even nicer that he's still together with his stunning girlfriend who was an ex SJU dance team member.
 
Last post for the decade. We made a tremendous come back with several two star players and a low four star in Williams. Of course each player has flaws but they played great. Like said above if we can weave that effort in with some scoring from Figgy and Heron we will be a tough out almost every game. Hoping for a fun 2020. Never expected this team would have played so well in 2019.
 
[quote="Jack Williams" post=370213]It’s almost like I wish we got blown out cause now I’ve just been straight depressed for the past half hour lol[/quote]

Been thinking the same exact thing, rather a blowout then lose like this.
 
Great game tonight. Our problem is not our role players and/or coaching which have been great. We need LJ and Mustapha to play like BE 2nd team guys. If they do, we will be top half of BE. If they don't, we won't. It is as simple as that.
 
I can't ever remember a game like tonight. We go down 37 to 16 at half to the number eleven team in the nation with one of our two main scorers out and the other one taken off the court by foul problems and bad referee ball. We get totally destroyed on the boards for the game 46 to 24, shoot an abysmal 18 % from three and a poor 34 % combined from the floor for the game. Everything statistically and logically screamed blowout loss.

Really there was every reason to quit. However Nick Rutherford willed the crowd and his teammates back into the game with an insane energy, that sparked a ridiculously unexpected 42 to 16 run. That crazy run was as an exciting a 17 and half minutes of basketball as I can ever remember at a rocking Carnesecca arena.

The disappointing 7 to 0 run Butler went on over the last 2:36 that led to them closing out their 60 to 58 victory over us can not take away from everything that SJU displayed in the second half.

Butler was totally freaked out and worn down by our 40 minutes of hell approach and turned the ball over an insane 24 times for the game. With players like Williams, Earlington, Roberts, Caraher, Sears, Dunn and especially Rutherford playing their hearts out we showed that we are a lot more than our two stars Figueroa and Heron. It also showed that Coach Anderson knows how to win games without star power, that our previous regimes had no clue how to do. As fans it should also teach us to never quit on this bunch, because with this coach running the show they will never quit on themselves.

PS: A happy and a healthy New Year to all!!!!
 
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[quote="ghostzapper" post=370238]I can't ever remember a game like tonight. We go down 37 to 16 at half to the number eleven team in the nation with one of our two main scorers out and the other one taken off the court by foul problems and bad referee ball. We get totally destroyed on the boards for the game 46 to 24, shoot an abysmal 18 % from three and a poor 34 % combined from the floor for the game. Everything statistically and logically screamed blowout.

Really there was every reason to quit but Nick Rutherford willed the crowd and his teammates back into the game with an insane energy that sparked a ridiculously unexpected 42 to 16 run over as exciting a 17 and half minutes as I can remember at a rocking Carnesecca arena.

The disappointing 7 to 0 run Butler went on over the last 2:36 that led to them closing out their 60 to 58 victory over us can not take away everything that SJU displayed in the second half.

Butler was totally freaked out and worn down by our 40 minutes of hell approach and turned the ball over an insane 24 times for the game. With players like Williams, Earlington, Roberts, Caraher, Sears, Dunn and especially Rutherford playing their hearts out we showed that we are a lot more than our two stars Figueroa and Heron. It also showed that Coach Anderson knows how to win games without star power, that our previous regimes had no clue how to do. As fans it should also teach us to never quit on this bunch because with this coach running the show they will never quit on themselves.

PS: A happy and a healthy New Year to all!!!![/quote]

Good post, agree with everything but the worn down part, 7-0 run to close it showed the tank was not empty.
 
[quote="Logen" post=370239][quote="ghostzapper" post=370238]I can't ever remember a game like tonight. We go down 37 to 16 at half to the number eleven team in the nation with one of our two main scorers out and the other one taken off the court by foul problems and bad referee ball. We get totally destroyed on the boards for the game 46 to 24, shoot an abysmal 18 % from three and a poor 34 % combined from the floor for the game. Everything statistically and logically screamed blowout.

Really there was every reason to quit but Nick Rutherford willed the crowd and his teammates back into the game with an insane energy that sparked a ridiculously unexpected 42 to 16 run over as exciting a 17 and half minutes as I can remember at a rocking Carnesecca arena.

The disappointing 7 to 0 run Butler went on over the last 2:36 that led to them closing out their 60 to 58 victory over us can not take away everything that SJU displayed in the second half.

Butler was totally freaked out and worn down by our 40 minutes of hell approach and turned the ball over an insane 24 times for the game. With players like Williams, Earlington, Roberts, Caraher, Sears, Dunn and especially Rutherford playing their hearts out we showed that we are a lot more than our two stars Figueroa and Heron. It also showed that Coach Anderson knows how to win games without star power, that our previous regimes had no clue how to do. As fans it should also teach us to never quit on this bunch because with this coach running the show they will never quit on themselves.

PS: A happy and a healthy New Year to all!!!![/quote]

Good post, agree with everything but the worn down part, 7-0 run to close it showed the tank was not empty.[/quote]

Jordan and McDermott both missed significant second half time, with injuries (Baldwin was in a walking boot after the game, according to reports), I'm guessing that Jordan didn't want to bring them back with a big lead, and then didn't want to make it seem like he was panicking when we came back on them.

When he finally did go back to Baldwin though, it had the positive of him being the freshest guy on the court. We didn't wear him down, because we couldn't have worn him down.
 
It was hard to tell live, but did the Butler asst coach look like he got popped in the eye by Mike Tyson?
 
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[quote="CMA TIME" post=370236][quote="Jack Williams" post=370213]It’s almost like I wish we got blown out cause now I’ve just been straight depressed for the past half hour lol[/quote]

Been thinking the same exact thing, rather a blowout then lose like this.[/quote]

Tangibly though, it's better that we did come back. 2 point loss better then a blowout, in the NET.
 
We played our hearts out. Nothing negative to take away from tonight's game. We will be ok and win our share of BE games.
 
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Tough loss. Should’ve been able to close it out. Guys looked like a shell of themselves in the first half. CMA must’ve gotten after them pretty good at halftime.

Rutherford is warrior. Willed this team back in the game. Our bench is looking like the bright spot of this team. Didn’t expect a goose egg from LJ. Has to take better shots and play smarter on defense.

But man, I’m proud of the fight. Defense was on a different level in the second half. I wouldn’t of put LJ back in either. But those guys had been out there a long time. Kinda wish he would’ve gotten in around 2 mins left.

The play was a clear out for him on the left side of the floor. He tried to attack but lost the ball and kicked it to Dunn. This is where basketball iq and awareness has to come in. But he’ll be better in that situation next time.

I don’t think the big East will be able to handle us when we are engaged the whole game on defense. Think we will win this Xavier game. And Georgetown. And then beat DePaul in MSG. Gonna be fun.
 
my takeaways and responses in general to the game and posts

1) I agree with not putting Figgy back in. Go with the guys that erased the 20 point lead. Its not fair to them. and it shows Figgy and Heron that defense is going to win games.
2) Greg Willams is getting is confidence and into game shape. He looked good tonight and hopefully he gets more aggressive offensively. I think he's capable of putting up about 10 points a game
3) even with Figgy and Heron we are an offensively challenged team.
4) the defensive intensity seems to be increasing with every game. It will be hard to match that intensity on the road in the next game
5) 9-9 in conference gets us in the tourney. We need to hold serve at home. So with this loss we need to pick up a win on the road,
 
[quote="Big Red" post=370247]Tough loss. Should’ve been able to close it out. Guys looked like a shell of themselves in the first half. CMA must’ve gotten after them pretty good at halftime.

Rutherford is warrior. Willed this team back in the game. Our bench is looking like the bright spot of this team. Didn’t expect a goose egg from LJ. Has to take better shots and play smarter on defense.

But man, I’m proud of the fight. Defense was on a different level in the second half. I wouldn’t of put LJ back in either. But those guys had been out there a long time. Kinda wish he would’ve gotten in around 2 mins left.

The play was a clear out for him on the left side of the floor. He tried to attack but lost the ball and kicked it to Dunn. This is where basketball iq and awareness has to come in. But he’ll be better in that situation next time.

I don’t think the big East will be able to handle us when we are engaged the whole game on defense. Think we will win this Xavier game. And Georgetown. And then beat DePaul in MSG. Gonna be fun.[/quote]

Well then why not full court press for 100% of the game and not 80%-85%
I'd go extreme every damn time.
 
Just back from the game. LJ was off tonight. Never really got into the flow of the game. The offensive foul where he pushed off before going to the basket looked bad and I believe had something to do with his not coming back in the game until the last play. Whether he shout have been in at that point or not is debatable.
 
[quote="CMA TIME" post=370250][quote="Big Red" post=370247]Tough loss. Should’ve been able to close it out. Guys looked like a shell of themselves in the first half. CMA must’ve gotten after them pretty good at halftime.

Rutherford is warrior. Willed this team back in the game. Our bench is looking like the bright spot of this team. Didn’t expect a goose egg from LJ. Has to take better shots and play smarter on defense.

But man, I’m proud of the fight. Defense was on a different level in the second half. I wouldn’t of put LJ back in either. But those guys had been out there a long time. Kinda wish he would’ve gotten in around 2 mins left.

The play was a clear out for him on the left side of the floor. He tried to attack but lost the ball and kicked it to Dunn. This is where basketball iq and awareness has to come in. But he’ll be better in that situation next time.

I don’t think the big East will be able to handle us when we are engaged the whole game on defense. Think we will win this Xavier game. And Georgetown. And then beat DePaul in MSG. Gonna be fun.[/quote]

Well then why not full court press for 100% of the game and not 80%-85%
I'd go extreme every damn time.[/quote]

Haha I feel ya but Gotta stay unpredictable. Know when to press. Butler had a week to work on beating the press. We were flying around the court in the second half. They got noticeably tired and tight with their shooting. They were at 46 points for what seemed like eternity.

The press is to speed them up, but the damage was done in the halfcourt defense. We finally got our hands active and starting stealing ball after ball. Just imagine if we get ONE good shooting night..
 
From experience, in facing a 23 point deficit, under previous coaches, there was no run. The team simply packed it in and lost by 35 points+. This team battles until the end. With experience, and increased talent in future years, we win this game.
 
[quote="fan5577" post=370251]Just back from the game. LJ was off tonight. Never really got into the flow of the game. The offensive foul where he pushed off before going to the basket looked bad and I believe had something to do with his not coming back in the game until the last play. Whether he shout have been in at that point or not is debatable.[/quote]

I don’t think the move won or lost the game. Think about missing around 30 points a game AND your 2 best shooters don’t give not one bucket. I don’t see that happening too much more this year honestly.
 
[quote="CMA TIME" post=370250][quote="Big Red" post=370247]Tough loss. Should’ve been able to close it out. Guys looked like a shell of themselves in the first half. CMA must’ve gotten after them pretty good at halftime.

Rutherford is warrior. Willed this team back in the game. Our bench is looking like the bright spot of this team. Didn’t expect a goose egg from LJ. Has to take better shots and play smarter on defense.

But man, I’m proud of the fight. Defense was on a different level in the second half. I wouldn’t of put LJ back in either. But those guys had been out there a long time. Kinda wish he would’ve gotten in around 2 mins left.

The play was a clear out for him on the left side of the floor. He tried to attack but lost the ball and kicked it to Dunn. This is where basketball iq and awareness has to come in. But he’ll be better in that situation next time.

I don’t think the big East will be able to handle us when we are engaged the whole game on defense. Think we will win this Xavier game. And Georgetown. And then beat DePaul in MSG. Gonna be fun.[/quote]

Well then why not full court press for 100% of the game and not 80%-85%
I'd go extreme every damn time.[/quote]

You can really only set up the press after made shots, or dead balls. We had so many misses in the first half, that we couldn't do it.
 
[quote="Big Red" post=370252][quote="CMA TIME" post=370250][quote="Big Red" post=370247]Tough loss. Should’ve been able to close it out. Guys looked like a shell of themselves in the first half. CMA must’ve gotten after them pretty good at halftime.

Rutherford is warrior. Willed this team back in the game. Our bench is looking like the bright spot of this team. Didn’t expect a goose egg from LJ. Has to take better shots and play smarter on defense.

But man, I’m proud of the fight. Defense was on a different level in the second half. I wouldn’t of put LJ back in either. But those guys had been out there a long time. Kinda wish he would’ve gotten in around 2 mins left.

The play was a clear out for him on the left side of the floor. He tried to attack but lost the ball and kicked it to Dunn. This is where basketball iq and awareness has to come in. But he’ll be better in that situation next time.

I don’t think the big East will be able to handle us when we are engaged the whole game on defense. Think we will win this Xavier game. And Georgetown. And then beat DePaul in MSG. Gonna be fun.[/quote]

Well then why not full court press for 100% of the game and not 80%-85%
I'd go extreme every damn time.[/quote]

Haha I feel ya but Gotta stay unpredictable. Know when to press. Butler had a week to work on beating the press. We were flying around the court in the second half. They got noticeably tired and tight with their shooting. They were at 46 points for what seemed like eternity.

The press is to speed them up, but the damage was done in the halfcourt defense. We finally got our hands active and starting stealing ball after ball. Just imagine if we get ONE good shooting night..[/quote]

Just Imagine when we have a year that we have 5 or 6 excellent shooters, to go with this defense.
That's when we'll get 12 players in a game, 10 in double figures, 100pnts, 40pnt wins.
Nolan style baby.
When we get to that point I want to crush teams , not just beat them.

We were on the other end for many times over the last 20years.
 
Tough loss, but one with many lessons.
I think we now know we have a good team that will compete in BE competition. We basically played without our 2 best players. And another tough loss with Stephens referring.
 
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