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Post by Raiderfan on Jan 7, 2005 10:11:08 GMT -5
I'm not sure who the starters are so I'll rank them in order of scoring.
Brandon Cotton G 6-0 170 So. 18.3 ppg, 37% 3's
James Thues G 5-10 172 Sr. 10.8 ppg, 37% 3's
Ryvon Covile C 6-9 243 Jr. 8.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Torvoris Baker F 6-7 200 Jr. 7.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Jon Goode G 5-10 150 Fr. 5.5 ppg
Chuck Bailey F 6-7 220 Jr. 5.1 ppg
Ben Green G 6-4 180 Jr. 4.9 ppg
Ethan Shaw F 6-6 225 Jr. 4 ppg, 3.1 rpg
The big question is who draws the assignment against Bailey. Can we afford to have Dashaun get into foul trouble? What a great matchup this should be between to Motown boy going head to head.
I'm also concerned about who stops Covile He has a size and weigh advantage on us. Maybe Jordan and Zach alternate on him?
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Post by ggwsu on Jan 7, 2005 13:55:00 GMT -5
I assume that Drew will get his starting spot back when we play Detroit Saturday. Having said that, I still think that Jordan Plieman will see twenty too twenty-fives minutes versus Detroit. bballraider has already alluded to this but I'll mention it again. With Covile at the center position for Detroit Zach will struggle to scorce over a taller and bigger defender but with Jordan in the game with Zach it now means that Covile can only guard one of our interior post scorers. So either Zach or Jordan should have opportunities when they are matched up against Detroits power forward. In a perfect world Covile would get into early foul trouble and thus open the "middle" up for our post players and Dashaun's dribble penetration.
I also don't think Dashaun will spent much time defending Cotton. I think Zakee and Jaron will split time guarding him. We can't afford to have Dashaun get into foul trouble while defending Cotton plus with Dashaun logging thirty-six minutes per game it would physically wear him down to have to guard Cotton and run the point for us on offense. I'll bet that Thues guards Dashaun for the same reasons. No doubt the matchups will be interesting to say the lest!
I'll sound like a broken record but if we limit our turnovers to 12 or less and make at least 70% of our free throws we should be ok. For the most part teams haven't necessarily beat us but we tend to beat ourselves with turnovers and poor free throw shooting. I know that the Miami and Green Bay games can be directly blamed to our horrible free throw shooting.
If we want to contend for the Horizon League title (or top three finish) this is a must win game. We need to go 7-1 at home and 4-4 on the road to have a chance. Let's not let this game be the "1" Loss at home. I think if a team can get to 12 wins they will win the League.
Go Raiders!!
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Post by Newbie on Jan 7, 2005 20:22:05 GMT -5
I'm not sure but I think UDM record is 3-1 since Cotton joined the team. He is a difference maker, no doubt about it. I can't wait to see how Dashaun does against Cotton. I hope Dashaun is not to hyped up because he is playing his home team but plays a more controlled game.
The Theus kid is someone we better not overlook because he can score if called upon. He also plays pretty good defense.
Man do I hope we win.
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Post by bballraider on Jan 8, 2005 5:33:22 GMT -5
Okay here is my WSU-Detroit Prediction: WSU 68, Detroit 63.
The difference here I think is the Nutter Center. We are at home and have been shooting well of late, and Detroit's lone loss since Brandon Cotton has joined the team, was on the road. Although Detroit did win in Milwaukee, and that does scare me a little. Both these teams seem to be evenly matched. Detroit looks to be slightly better in rebounds and block shots, where as we take better care of the ball and shoot a better percentage. This should be a great game and could be closer than my prediction. I also do not see any free Big Macs for this game (70pts) unless we go to overtime or Detroit goes absolutely cold and we blow them out, (highly doubtful). Our best bet to win is to keep Detroit in the low to mid-sixties if possible.
There are two keys I see to this game, besides the obvious things you have to watch in every game such as turnovers, free throw shooting, foul trouble and rebounding. They are:
1.) WSU needs to keep the Titans from spreading the wealth in the scoring department. Every loss Detroit has had this year is when they only had two players hit double figures. In their wins at least 3 players have scored in double figures. This has held true all year long for them. The reason Cotton has made a difference since joining the Titans is he is now the third player hitting for double figures, and defenses are keying on him and leaving other guys open. If we allow only two of their players to reach double figures (even if one is in the twenties) and control the rest of the team, I think we win this game. My guess is Cotton will get his points, controlling one of the two guards (Thues or Goode) will be crucial. Also Zach, Drew and Jordan need to play tough inside and keep Detroit off the offensive glass so none of their big men get easy baskets.
2.) My second key to this game, IMHO, is DaShaun Wood's play. Because this is his hometown team and he knows a lot of their players, he will be hyped up for this game. Because of this I think early on in the game Dashaun needs to play under control and let the game come to him. He needs to not force things and limit his turnovers and fouls. One way to do this is to get his teammates into the game early. I think DaShaun needs to look pass first and score second. After the game has gone past the first 5 minutes or so, and things have settled down, then DaShaun can open things up a little more offensively. But for this to happen the rest of the team has to step up and make their shots when they are open. Hopefully we can pound the ball inside early and get some of Detroit's big guys in foul trouble.
Go Raiders!!
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Post by Titans R Us on Jan 8, 2005 8:11:11 GMT -5
Here's perspective from the 'enemy'...
Cotton will surely get his. I think you'll be surprised with (1) his talent level as he's clearly head and shoulders above others, and (2) he doesn't force his game (see only scoring 11pts in UWM win). Cotton asserts himself when needed who plays team first ball. I think you'll be impressed. His game is much more W Green then it is R Phillips. He has some hops and some height so as he penetrates he can elevate and finish (where as Phillips would get lost amongst the big men and have to dish).
The key for WSU will be to make sure others don't have big games. In all honesty, from a scouting perspective UDM is tough as no one really knows who'll step up from game to game. This obviously is quite frustrating for Titan fans as it means we get wildly inconsistent play from our guys especially Thues, Goode, Baker and Bailey (Michigan transfer). You can be assured that one or two of those guys will put up nice numbers while the others will be worthless. Again, frustrating beyong belief for us.
Coville has had (IMHO) a disappointing year. He has alot of tools however he doesn't get enough touches or perhaps opposing teams are keying on him not allowing him to get off. He also has a tendancy to get in foul trouble with ticky tacks so watch for that since he is our biggest and best interior defender.
UDM goes deep into the bench (not uncommon to play 11) which allows for solid defensive intensity throughout. Perry likes doing some light fullcourt pressure which has a tendancy to really rattle teams and get them out of their offense. It sounds simple but it is typically effective, causing opposing teams to sprint down court to break the pressure then hurry and hoist an ill-advised shot. It'll be key for WSU guards to maintain composure and make sure to get into offensive sets they want and shake off the pressure. Typically I've seen only guards able to do this are the more experienced (jr/sr) who have the court vision and savvy to understand.
UDM is a poor (POOR!!!) FT shooting team. This could be the difference maker. It seems everyone on the team loves to go 1-2 or 1-4ish from the line. I believe we are at 60% for the seas. We don't have a huge 3-pt presence. As noted above, our inconsistency is huge and who knows if Thues, Goode, Everingham, Green will be hot today but overall its not a weapon that we rely upon (a la Rashad Phillips years where he could pull up from anywhere).
Hope this helps for your viewing. I always find the game more interesting when you understand the opposing team a bit. Good luck, but of course GO TITANS!
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Post by True UDM fan on Jan 8, 2005 12:35:56 GMT -5
Why would a true UDM support person be on the competitions web page telling all the goods on us. We are poor in ft's ,only avg.60%, not having a good year, Why tell them how to play against our team, let them do there on homework and come to their own conclusions,you talk negitive on your own teams page and then you go elsewhere and do the same.Maybe you should not support the team anymore until you are more positive with your thoughts......REMEMBER THE TITANS...
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Post by True UDM fan on Jan 8, 2005 12:37:44 GMT -5
tO TITAN R US Why would a true UDM support person be on the competitions web page telling all the goods on us. We are poor in ft's ,only avg.60%, not having a good year, Why tell them how to play against our team, let them do there on homework and come to their own conclusions,you talk negitive on your own teams page and then you go elsewhere and do the same.Maybe you should not support the team anymore until you are more positive with your thoughts......REMEMBER THE TITANS...
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