Flo Oh No - UNLV game thread - ~ 630 EST

[Eight Legger]

I feel like Roche, by unfortunate design or not, keeps ending up with the ball in bad situations and feels obligated to shoot because he knows that's his role. We need to do a better job getting him the ball in good shooting situations, and he needs to do a better job creating those situations for himself, too.

 

[RichmondNative]

WOW! Another encouraging performance. Early going but 3rd in A10 at #88 Kenpom. This doesn't look like a 11th place team As most here know not a fan of Mooney the coach, but have to give him credit for whatever the hell he's doing with this squad. Again early on but have played 4th toughest OOC schedule for A10 teams.

As Beck and Black kept saying on the radio broadcast, this team is more connected. That’s another way of saying the total is more than the individual parts. It is still early, but based on what I see from the Spiders and what the rest if the A10 is showing, the Spiders can finish in the top 4. If they can’t finish in the upper half, then it will be a disappointment. As others have said, it is basically a crapshoot between all teams other than Dayton.

 

[8legs1dream]

if only this same team had shown up the last two games we could be 5-0 and the hype would be off the charts

 

[SpiderTrap]

Roche has been disappointing and struggling, but he is a shooter. There will be a game - Queens might be it - where he goes out and hits 5-6 threes.

Then there will be games against better teams where he gets no shots or good looks.

At the end of the day, his role is going to be limited and simple - be a shooter off the bench. I thought he would be more this year, and would be a starter - but it looks like this will be his role for the forseeable future. He will likely end up shooting a decent percentage at the end of the year - probably around 35% or more with some highs and lows.

 

[spider23]

Wow, looks like i missed a good one.

So, looking at the box, our combined Center position put up these numbers:

40 Minutes
32 Points on 13-20 FG
10 Rebounds
6 Assists
4 Blocks.

Not bad production

 

[kneepadmckinney]

When SpiderK is happy, we all sleep well.

When SpiderK is happy, I start looking for the swarm of locusts.

 

[SFspidur]

Team didn't land back at RIC until after 3am, good thing they're on break. Ended up having to divert to RDU for a couple hours due to the weather.

SCW4002 Flight Tracking and History 21-Nov-2023 (KDAB-KRDU) - FlightAware

Track SCW4002 flight from Daytona Beach Intl to Raleigh-Durham Intl

www.flightaware.com

 

[97spiderfan]

I didn't watch the game last night so I can not directly comment on the game, but this was a big W. UNLV is a Mountain West program, so they will have ample opportunities for high quality wins, so unless they are abjectly terrible, I suspect this will could end up a Quad 2 win.

And we dominated them for an entire 40 minutes. Couple this with hanging with a Top 25 team for 40 minutes the night before and I would think that this team feels they can compete with anyone.

Main concern right now is the health of Hunt. Anyone have an update on his wrist?

 

[SpiderTrap]

Once we got up on UNLV early - they folded. What was good to see is we didn't let them back in the game - something we usually do in the past. After the technical - they closed the gap a little bit, but we stopped it and kept our lead going. That was nice to see.

UNLV was picked in the middle of the mountain west. I expect they will win some good games, and lose some head scratchers. So I agree - this is likely a Q2 win. But I don't think we have to worry about resume wins at this point. I don't see that in our future. We are really playing to get better at this point, and then hopefully by the A10 tourney time - we get on a run and maybe can win a few games. I think so far we are probably better than 11th predicted A10 finish, but not sure I would put us in the top 5-6 at this point.

 

[gospidersgo]

But I don't think we have to worry about resume wins at this point. I don't see that in our future. We are really playing to get better at this point, and then hopefully by the A10 tourney time - we get on a run and maybe can win a few games.

Love you Trap but I hate this mentality with a passion. To write off at large chances at this point is really small time thinking (I realize the chance is small but I sure hope the players don't think this way).

 

[SpiderTrap]

Of course not - I want the players to go out and think and play like they can win every single game the rest of the season. But as a fan, and a realistic one who has seen our team and teams from the past - we know realistically our at-large chances right now are slim to none. Now listen - if we win out the rest of the OOC schedule, and get to 11-2 - then I am happy to revisit this conversation. And I hope we get to 11-2. Even 10-3 probably keeps us in the mix. Can this team do it - of course they can.

I hope this team proves me wrong. Nothing would make me happier. If they need bulletin board material - I am happy to help out, cause I don't think they get it from anywhere else. I think right now - the message to them from the coaches and administration is - just compete.

 

[Spider-Law]

With the transfer portal, and coming off 2 seasons ago where we had a team of longtime Spiders, I really didn't know what to make of this team going into the season. I am really happily surprised by their grit and the way they appear to be connected with one another. I'm proud to have these guys represent UR. Go Spiders!

 

[fatherspider]

First half: Successful throat-stomping.

This half: Choke them out.

It still has one common denominator from the past, lol. But maybe King and others are experienced enough that CM lets they play their game.

 

[fatherspider]

Of course not - I want the players to go out and think and play like they can win every single game the rest of the season. But as a fan, and a realistic one who has seen our team and teams from the past - we know realistically our at-large chances right now are slim to none. Now listen - if we win out the rest of the OOC schedule, and get to 11-2 - then I am happy to revisit this conversation. And I hope we get to 11-2. Even 10-3 probably keeps us in the mix. Can this team do it - of course they can.

I hope this team proves me wrong. Nothing would make me happier. If they need bulletin board material - I am happy to help out, cause I don't think they get it from anywhere else. I think right now - the message to them from the coaches and administration is - just compete.

Great post and I agree. Probably more of that sentiment from admin than years past because of the low expectations. I hope King and others can motivate themselves and have their own higher expectations. From what Ive seen, I think it might be the case.

 

[SpiderDad75]

A few other things that stood out to me from last night:

- Our three pointers were falling (we shot great - 64%) but we didn't force them (only 14 attempts, lowest number of the season so far). I really don't see us becoming a great 3 point shooting team, so I view last night as closer to the ideal for us than the 30+ attempts from the first game of the season.

- Harris provided some solid minutes. The first few games of the year he seemed like he'd sort of be the odd man out, but I think there is enough basketball skill there that he will make his mark at times this year.

- Roche's confidence is zero right now. He's made way too many 3's in his life to be missing like this. For us to have any kind of postseason aspirations this year I still think we will need him though so here's to hoping he breaks out of his funk. It's a long season so hopefully he keeps his head up and stays ready.

- Dji continues to show why he needs more time. With Hunt out we needed him in more of a playmaking role and he delivered big time (shades of Magic Johnson during part of the second half). I think even when Hunt comes back though Dji has made himself too valuable to not be consistently getting 25+ mpg.

I agree with your post above; but this...." I think even when Hunt comes back though Dji has made himself too valuable to not be consistently getting 25+ mpg."
I was told by an unnamed poster it would be hard to get 10 min a game this season. 🫣 😀 Glad I didn't tell Dji to pack it up. But seriously I love this team and how close they are, on and off the court which is a great thing. If we can play like the last two games this team is going to surprise a lot of people. Ready to see these guys get back at it Saturday.

 

[plydogg]

I agree with your post above; but this...." I think even when Hunt comes back though Dji has made himself too valuable to not be consistently getting 25+ mpg."
I was told by an unnamed poster it would be hard to get 10 min a game this season. 🫣 😀 Glad I didn't tell Dji to pack it up. But seriously I love this team and how close they are, on and off the court which is a great thing. If we can play like the last two games this team is going to surprise a lot of people. Ready to see these guys get back at it Saturday.

He kept the receipts 😂

As he damn well should have!

 

[VT4700]

I was told by an unnamed poster it would be hard to get 10 min a game this season. 🫣 😀 Glad I didn't tell Dji to pack it up.

Dji has played great so far this year. Yes, going into the season I felt he might not get the minutes he is getting now. I know he has worked hard, I am very impressed with his improved play, I think the position change was the best thing that could have happened for him, and I am very very happy for him. And, even though we have had our disagreements, I am also very happy for you as his Dad. Feel free to keep jabbing at me all year, but just know that I do have 3 years of being right (I did consistently say he wasn't our answer at PG among other things) and 3 years of you being wrong ( "beat out Wilson", "50/50 with Nelson", "running with the ones", and plenty more) if I wanted to turn this into another back and forth contest we always seem to end up into. But, whether you keep the comments toward me coming or not, and if he keeps getting solid minutes and showing how wrong I was, no worries, I will just continue to keep praising Dji when I feel he deserved it. And, so far, he has played great and deserves all our praise.