I will take on a "contrarian" point-of-view, mostly because I am shocked that with all these UR fans, on this board, no one has taken a "glass-half-full" perspective. Here are some more positive ways to look at this game. Only time will tell if they are more "on-target" than the negative comments that have dominated so far.
First, I believe JMU is a very good team, and a well-coached one. They have more very good shooters than we do, and this was clear from their 3-point shooting. I expect to see this team in the NCAA tourney, and believe that this will not look like a "bad loss" once the season winds down.
Second, this team shot the ball very well, especially from 3-point land, but many of those shots were contested 3-s, and many were from well beyond the arc. I would like to give this team credit for being a very good outside shooting team.
Third, if Terry Allen can "bottle" his intensity and his performance from tonight, and "bring it," like he did tonight, every night, WOW. This has to be his best game ever, and the best part about it is that he got lots of his points from drives to the hoop, reverse lay-ups, and great "finishing." I love that he was not "settling" for 5-footers, or baby-hooks or other lower-percentage shots. If he can keep taking shots like those he took tonight, he will have a GREAT season, and we will be fine.
Fourth, I really loved what I saw from K Fore, our freshman Point Guard. His drive and tomahawk dunk was easily the best play by a 1st-game freshman I can ever remember, in a Spider uniform. I also liked his defense, which will surely improve. We clearly have a player here who can be outstanding, if he keeps working hard.
Fifth, foul trouble really hurt us in this game and largely took TJ out of this game. Hopefully, this will not be a trend, and he will improve his early-game "D." We need TJ in the game for more minutes, and the coaches need to be teaching double-teams, whenever TJ is isolated on another "big." JMU did some nice double-teaming, and we can protect TJ by doing the same.
ShawnDre had a nice first game, at least in the first half. Unfortunately, the second half was not so good for him. It would be good to figure out what happened in the second half (physical conditioning, emotional exhaustion?), and see if we can get two equally good halves from the guy who looks like he will be our on-court leader. I saw some great things in the first half, and we just need a full game from Shawndre, most of the time.
I also believe that Jessee showed some "glimpses" of a player who will contribute, and the chances are that he can do so this year, because we really do need more outside shooting, and he seems to be a good shooter.
The "glass half empty" part was relatively easy to see, and three things, in particular, were troubling to me also.
First, we were destroyed on the offensive glass by a team that is built a lot like ours, with guys who are not known as huge rebounders. If this team could destroy us on the offensive boards, then maybe we need to re-watch this game-tape, about 10 times, and ask our players what they were doing that we were not. Anticipating the rebound, and moving in that direction, would be a good start.
Second, we have two guys on our team who have been with us a while (and will remain nameless) and who have not yet learned how to shoot free-throws. I find it hard to believe that these guys are shooting 200 FTs in practice every day, and still shooting like this in games. Could it be that this has not been a point of emphasis for these guys? The season is still young, and it is not too late to go out having learned to hit the FTs.
Third, shot selection absolutely was a killer in this game. We have at least two guys who would probably be so much more valuable to the team if they limited their shot selection to drive and dunk and drive and lay-up. They likely know who they are, and a couple of ill-advised outside shots, in this game, really hurt.
I see the three "development areas" above as correctible. However, I am not going to say I am extremely optimistic that these three things will be fixed, immediately. If they will not be corrected, then we may just need to show some tough-love and reduce playing time for guys who are making no effort to rebound the ball, or are not improving their free-throw shooting or shot selection. If we need to shake things up a bit, and start K Fore and Jessee P (or M Wood), in order to get these issues addressed, then count me in on the line-up modification.
I am still optimistic about this team, because we have the potential to be really good. And, this game is probably not a good barometer for the season. I hope our guys come out with a BIG chip on their shoulders on Sunday and totally destroy Stetson, on the scoreboard, and on the GLASS!