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Post by hhgreen on Dec 18, 2011 0:24:28 GMT -5
Let the fans see about 5 or more games like this at home and attendance goes less than 2000 fans a game at the Nutter Center and you might see a change at the end of the season. If we go to the end of the season with 8 wins or less and we are no better by the end of the year, Grant will be questioning his recruiting skills and coaching skills.
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Post by Raider Fanatic on Dec 18, 2011 9:13:42 GMT -5
I made this post on the recruiting board but I thought it fit this thread too.
Looking at our current roster, I don't know which of these players I really want back next year.
Seniors: thank god Mpondo is graduating. It's just sad that his play is so bad I actually miss Ronnie Thomas.
Juniors: Mays is the only kid I want to return for his senior year. Battle and Balwigaire just aren't cutting it. They both are capable of having a good game. But for every 1 good game they play, they have another 3-4 where they do nothing.
Sophomores: I like this class. AJ Pacher is playing much better than last year and is becoming more of a force inside. If we had an outside game that would open thing up for him inside I think he would be even better. Cole Darling and Matt Vest have been fighting injuries all year but I also like what they brings to the table. I think they still have bright futures here. Vance Hall is a role player. Last night his lack of athletic ability exposed his weakness again. He is a good kid, but should be nothing more than a role player here.
Freshmen: I am disappointed in this class. Sledge and Arceneaux are bright spots in this class. I think they both are keepers and will be solid players for us down the road. I have been underwhelmed with Griffin and Cuffee. We run a 3 guard offense that relies on guards that can shoot the 3 and penetrate to create shots for their teammates. I don't know if these guys have the potential to work in this system and It is very obvious that Donlon is not going to make changes to his system. Alex Pritchett is another unknown. He is a wide body kid known for playing with a motor. I'm a little worried about the fact that we chose to red-shirt him and go with Mpondo this year knowing how bad Mpondo plays.
Incoming freshmen: JT Yoho is a great 3 point shooter and prolific scorer. He should be an immediate help if he can play defense well enough. Jacoby Roddy is a complete unknown at this point. We are bringing him in to play the 3 which will require him to handle the ball and shoot 3s. He is a center on his high school team, so I don't know how well he is going to transition to the 3. Joe Thomasson will be sitting out next year getting his academics together.
What Donlon should do: Donlon needs to sit down with a few of these guys (2-3) and tell them they aren't going to work in our system and help them find a new college that works better for their skills. He then needs to go out and find a TRUE PG that can come in and play immediately. He then needs to find 2 SGs that shoot lights out from 3.
He needs to revamp his offense to actually look like an offense. He needs to look at his assistant coaches and determine if these guys are giving him the best advice.
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Post by Willie on Dec 18, 2011 9:17:50 GMT -5
I think Coach Donlon made 3 pretty big mistakes this past year that is killing us this season. 1. He didn't prepare last year's freshmen class to step up this year. We had 4 seniors on our roster last year and he completely relied on them. We didn't prep our young players to take over this year. 2. Coach didn't recruit the way he should for such a young team. He played 4 seniors major minutes last year and knew this team was going to have next to no experience. We brought in 6 new recruits: 5 freshmen and 1 JUCO. The JUCO we did sign, Balwigaire, has been less than impressive so far this year. We are red-shirting one of the freshman we brought in, Pritchett. and we are giving Cuffee next to no playing time. Knowing that we were going to have such a young team, we would probably been better served bringing in 2-3 JUCOs this year that could have contributed. 3. Coach over-scheduled. Coach knew what type of team we were going to have this year. If he was ever going to go with a schedule full of cupcakes, this should have been the year to load the front part of our schedule with some beatable teams that we could have picked up some wins against and used to get our young team some game experience where we could have used the games as a chance to coach them up. Starting the year in a tournament vs 2 top 10 teams makes much more sense in 2 years when we have a really experienced team, not this year. Recruits want to play for a winner. Fans want to follow a winner. We are headed towards a 10-20 type season when we could have made this an above .500 year if we would have recruited smarter and scheduled a little bit lighter. I think Coach Donlon is going to have a hard time signing a great class in 2013 and I think we are taking a huge step backwards with building a fanbase for the remainder of this year and even next year. I hope Coach learns from this for the future because I really like Donlon and want him to be successful here. +1
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Post by ohiopirate on Dec 18, 2011 9:31:21 GMT -5
He needs to revamp his offense to actually look like an offense. He needs to look at his assistant coaches and determine if these guys are giving him the best advice. When Brownell was here he left much of the opponent scouting and game planing up to his assistants and based on a couple comments from BD in post came comments I believe he does the same thing. I'm not sure our current assistants are as good at doing this as Coach Donlon and the others were for Brownell.
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Post by Raider Pride on Dec 18, 2011 9:41:33 GMT -5
He needs to revamp his offense to actually look like an offense. He needs to look at his assistant coaches and determine if these guys are giving him the best advice. When Brownell was here he left much of the opponent scouting and game planing up to his assistants and based on a couple comments from BD in post came comments I believe he does the same thing. I'm not sure our current assistants are as good at doing this as Coach Donlon and the others were for Brownell. Our assistants all came with the reputation of being top recruiters with the exception of Scott Woods who Donlon promoted from director of basketball operations. I'm not impressed with our game prep or recruiting for that matter. We seem to have more misses than hits. If Donlon is going to make a change after this season I think he needs to get rid of his weakest assistant and bring in a veteran coach that can help with game prep.
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Post by BasketBallJones on Dec 18, 2011 11:47:46 GMT -5
The last two games exposed our lack of athleticism vs other area programs. We just don't have the athletes to compete with the likes of UC or Ohio. That can be overcome with tough D, good shooters, and smart, unselfish play. Unfortunately, these guys couldn't throw the ball in the ocean if they were standing on the beach. Billy needs to upgrade the talent level in a hurry or his stint as our HC will be short lived. It really pains me to say that, but 30 point blow outs at home are tough to watch. I love his enthusiasm, his dedication to the university, and his obvious passion for the game of basketball. But in the end, it all comes down to winning games. I hope things turn around soon.
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Post by hhgreen on Dec 18, 2011 11:56:43 GMT -5
This Idaho team is 7-4 and has played a decent schedule and they are pretty much the same height as us. Let's hope we can come out and score early not just try to compete in the second half. Let's hope we have more game faces on Tuesday than Reggie and Tavares. Sledge is starting to be a man under the basket especially when he is going up to the rim, he just needs to start converting more of those through the basket. Maybe go for a slam dunk or two might get this team going.
Reggie is not seeing the open guys standing around when he is penetrating in the tall timber. He is seeing the trees and not the forest around him. Cole darling is not a offensive post weapon at all. Maybe a slasher when he wants to show he can do it.
When Hall has the ball he needs to know what direction the basket is in. If he does not have the wide open jumper you usually see him dribble the ball around the 3 point line and pass it. Hardly ever does he step towards the basket in a drive. Get some courage and drive sometimes geesshh.
Pacher is playing better this year but I was hoping to see some better progress. Can he even make a slam dunk attempt to make sure his short bunny goes in sometimes.
Freethrow shooting was horrrrriiibbbllle last night. Would at least one player stay and try to get an offensive rebound. Get to the gym guys.
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Post by Indy Raider on Dec 18, 2011 13:37:34 GMT -5
When Hall has the ball he needs to know what direction the basket is in. If he does not have the wide open jumper you usually see him dribble the ball around the 3 point line and pass it. Hardly ever does he step towards the basket in a drive. Get some courage and drive sometimes geesshh. What? Hall only has 2 moves. He shoots open 3s and he tries to take the ball to the hoop. Against more physical defenders like last night he hasn't been able to get around his defender to get into the lane. Against UC, he went to the basket 5 times and either got lay ups or went to the FT line.
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Post by cincyraider on Dec 18, 2011 15:13:23 GMT -5
Hall is probably the best shooter we have I would like to see some plays to get him open for threes. From what I have seen we are running mostly a dribble drive offense this year and that does not play into Hall's strengths at all. Arceneaux is much better in dribble drive, and Mayes is really strong getting to the basket and knows how to finish. Battle, Ballwigaire, even Vest and Darling are suited to dribble drive but they don't seem to be very aggressive with the ball. I dk why? I have seen each of those guys penetrate and look really good at times. Back to Hall, he is a crafty player but he is way too slow with the ball. I know he was supposed to be a point guard when he was recruited but he has difficulty dribbling against good defenders. I like Arceneaux he is very quick with the ball and is not afraid to penetrate, but he makes freshman mistakes- he can get out of control and make poor decisions like taking too quick a shot or trying to feed Mpondo inside. I know a lot of people are down on Mpondo but I think he can help this team if he is utilized the right way. He has poor hands and his touch around the basket is fair at best so don't feed him the ball. But he is an athletic big body, bulkier than Sledge and more mobile and a much quicker jumper than Pacher. He does try to set picks on the perimeter and thats ok as long as he cuts back to the basket to crash the boards. He doesn't need to handle the ball, and doesn't need to take a shot unless it is a dunk. Just have him set picks and then cut to the basket for position to rebound, that should be the extant of his offensive responsibilities. On defense he should stay home for weak side help and to be in position for rebounding. Find a different way to defend the pick and roll and keep him in the lane. One last rant- I dk why anyone on this team, especially the key guys you want on the court at the end of the game- should get more than 20-25 minutes a game. Last year, and during the Brownell years we lost as many close games as we won because of fatigue. Save their legs for the finish.
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Post by Cheerfan on Dec 18, 2011 16:15:28 GMT -5
Hall is probably the best shooter we have I would like to see some plays to get him open for threes. From what I have seen we are running mostly a dribble drive offense this year and that does not play into Hall's strengths at all. Arceneaux is much better in dribble drive, and Mayes is really strong getting to the basket and knows how to finish. Battle, Ballwigaire, even Vest and Darling are suited to dribble drive but they don't seem to be very aggressive with the ball. I dk why? I have seen each of those guys penetrate and look really good at times. Back to Hall, he is a crafty player but he is way too slow with the ball. I know he was supposed to be a point guard when he was recruited but he has difficulty dribbling against good defenders. I like Arceneaux he is very quick with the ball and is not afraid to penetrate, but he makes freshman mistakes- he can get out of control and make poor decisions like taking too quick a shot or trying to feed Mpondo inside. I know a lot of people are down on Mpondo but I think he can help this team if he is utilized the right way. He has poor hands and his touch around the basket is fair at best so don't feed him the ball. But he is an athletic big body, bulkier than Sledge and more mobile and a much quicker jumper than Pacher. He does try to set picks on the perimeter and thats ok as long as he cuts back to the basket to crash the boards. He doesn't need to handle the ball, and doesn't need to take a shot unless it is a dunk. Just have him set picks and then cut to the basket for position to rebound, that should be the extant of his offensive responsibilities. On defense he should stay home for weak side help and to be in position for rebounding. Find a different way to defend the pick and roll and keep him in the lane. One last rant- I dk why anyone on this team, especially the key guys you want on the court at the end of the game- should get more than 20-25 minutes a game. Last year, and during the Brownell years we lost as many close games as we won because of fatigue. Save their legs for the finish. This team isn't going to win 10 games this year. Coach needs to accept that and cut his losses on players like Mpondo and play his young players to get them ready for next year. Everything you said about Mpondo end up being BS because it isn't going to happen. You cannot put him on the court and basically play 4 on 5 offensive basketball. That is part of the reason our offense sucks so much at times. We often play 2 guys on the court together that defenses know are no offensive threat whatsoever so they just double up on the guys they know are going to shoot. That is the reason Griffin is useless on the court most of the time because he isn't going to shoot. That is the reason Balwigaire is useless on the court most games. He seldomly looks for his own shot. Watch Pacher get the ball inside sometime. He is always double teamed immediately. The extra guy on him is usually supposed to be defending Mpondo.
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Post by cincyraider on Dec 18, 2011 18:41:00 GMT -5
Mpondo is going to get his 10 - 15 minutes a game regardless. You can start both Sledge and Pacher together but they are still going to need breaks. They are also foul prone so I doubt we will be able to get more than 20 minutes a game from either of them anyways. Play them too many minutes a game and watch them wear down by the end of the season or even worse get injured. As far as double teams go if the defense leaves a player unguarded you have them cut to the basket.
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Post by jumbojimbo on Dec 18, 2011 19:45:46 GMT -5
snip... Reggie is not seeing the open guys standing around when he is penetrating in the tall timber. He is seeing the trees and not the forest around him. ...snip That's funny, I think just the opposite. Everyone else is standing around flat footed and making Reggie look bad when he penetrates. He looks like he has no idea what to do when he gets there because there is no one to pass to. If I had the stomach I'd rewatch the game and see if what I thought I saw at the game was true.
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Post by Cheerfan on Dec 18, 2011 19:55:50 GMT -5
Mpondo is going to get his 10 - 15 minutes a game regardless. You can start both Sledge and Pacher together but they are still going to need breaks. They are also foul prone so I doubt we will be able to get more than 20 minutes a game from either of them anyways. Play them too many minutes a game and watch them wear down by the end of the season or even worse get injured. As far as double teams go if the defense leaves a player unguarded you have them cut to the basket. I would play Sledge, Pacher, and Darling ONLY at the 4 and 5 spots. Mpondo quite often is the recipient of the pass to the open guy you talk about above. He usually can't catch the pass which results in a TO or he misses the easy inside shot.
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