La Salle Explorers - 2:30 PM Saturday

[SpiderRick]

My takeaway from the post game press conference is that I feel bad for Grant (who looked very disappointed at the press conference). He catches a lot of heat on here for defense, but thought he was okay there yesterday. Offensively, he was on fire, but our guards decided to chuck up 3’s that weren’t falling instead of feeding him.
Really seems like guard play has been our weakness this year, which sucks because Burton is having a very good year filling in for the loss of Sherod, Cayo has been solid (aside from yesterday), and Grant has played well too. Guards are allowing too many dribble drives to go right past them - which forces help and gets everyone else out of position - and also have not played well offensively in general

I agree about the guard play. Francis can be amazing, but he's just as likely to shoot us out of a game. I expected Gilyard to have a stellar year this year, he's been everything for us for the past 3 years. But now, it seems that he is focusing on getting steals rather than preventing the dribble penetration or leaving his man trying to steal from someone else. Maybe he is doing this without even realizing it, but watching him time and time again going for the ball instead of staying in front of his man hurts the team defense. Whatever it is, he hasn't been the Gilly of his first 3 years.
There's still time to turn it around. But it's the same old pattern with Mooney. We lost the at-large bid opportunity early in the season with horrendous loses, then the team plays great the second half of the season, only to fall short because they (almost) never win the A10 tournament.

Great players, same old coach...

 

[spider23]

Too much dribbling by our guards. Was watching a game a couple days ago and saw five rapid fire passes on the perimeter and thought "we don't do that, sometimes but usually there is a lot of dribbling in there.

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

Brickus wore Gilyard out.

Good observation thereI This morning looking over minutes played it appears maybe the LaSalle coach wore out the entire Spider 5? The 1st half Howard used 9 players. In the 2nd half he shortened it to only 6 men maybe thinking going more with his best players from the game so far. Performance wise Jacob has his worst offensive showing plus 4 TOs being his season high though GG and Burton I thought had good games but were they tired at the end?

Getting back to the 6 man rotation for Lasalle in the 2nd half. UR's players minutes for 2nd half. Jacob, Burton, and Cayo all played 20. GG played 18 and Blake 15 but who knows if it would have been 20 if not in foul trouble? Well the last lead UR had was 63-62 at the 5:04 mark. Burton played played his heart out for all 40 minutes. GG even came up big near the end but he played the entire last 13 minutes of the game.

Whampas, after looking now at the numbers, I'm inclined to say Jacob and others were worn out. So the excuse for Mooney is he's missing his 6th and 7th players. Legit it is but what about 8, 9, or 10? Lots of teams go with 7 for the most part but when injuries occur, most coaches have to use the others over the long haul of a season.

So only conclusion I can come up with is Mooney can't recruit an ENTIRE team that can play at the A10 level or he didn't give those subs enough experience minutes to improve when they were needed?

 

[Eight Legger]

We become prisoners of our system offensively. It’s beautiful when it works but we often waste possessions trying to get the perfect shot and then have to settle for bad threes. I wish we could just play ball sometimes. Our talent against the other team’s. We usually have more.

 

[SpiderGuy]

We become prisoners of our system offensively. It’s beautiful when it works but we often waste possessions trying to get the perfect shot and then have to settle for bad threes. I wish we could just play ball sometimes. Our talent against the other team’s. We usually have more.

There were several times yesterday I found myself yelling at the TV. Wonder if Moon heard me? These were possessions where we over-passed, and someone drove into the lane with minimal defender on him / good shot available, didn't look at the goal, and threw it outside to player on wing. These are opportunities gone by.

 

[SpiderTrap]

LaSalle was not a good matchup for us coming off a 2 week layoff. That is not an excuse - if we are an NCAA team, then we should win this game 10 out of 10 times. But LaSalle played well - so give them some credit too.
1) They wore our guards down. This is tough to do because we have 2 of the best guards in the league in Francis and Gilyard - but with the 2 week layoff and fact that LaSalle has good guards of their own and some bench guys as well that can help - I think they wore down our side.
2) We have no bench. If we are going to let teams score 75+ points, then we are asking our starting 5 to score 80 points a night. That is just not going to happen consistently. 3) Zone Defense - LaSalle's zone gave us trouble, mainly because we didn't shoot well, but we also had some turnovers with it too. Maybe Crabtree helps here - but doubt it. Fact of the matter is - our two guards, who take the bulk of the shots are not really shooting well overall. They are both shooting 32% from 3 and 40% from 2.
I wonder if teams will just play more zone with the thought - we are not a good enough shooting team to beat the zone? And with our defense being average at best (giving up 71 points a game) - they may think we can't make enough 3's to get to 71.

I still think our starting 5 is the best in the league, but this game, hofstra, and Bonnies loss has really highlighted some holes that can be exploited.

 

[plydogg]

Their bench outscored ours by 30. That’s just so unacceptable. How do we expect to truly be a threat in any tournament when our bench is a black hole when it comes to scoring.

I’ve never been more frustrated with Richmond basketball

 

[Eight Legger]

I'm not too concerned about our bench getting outscored by other benches. That just means our starters are better than theirs, which in most cases they should be.

I don't understand and haven't for years why teams don't play zone exclusively against us. Last year might have been the first time in years when that would have been a bad idea, because we have Nick lighting it up and the other guys were shooting well, too. But this year? I'd do it for 40 minutes if I were coaching against us.

 

[97spiderfan]

Amazing how the truthers go silent after games like this. Quite predictable, given the long long track record of Mooney crapping the bed.

 

[MrTbone]

I still think our starting 5 is the best in the league, but this game, hofstra, and Bonnies loss has really highlighted some holes that can be exploited.

While I’m certain our starting 5 can hang with anyone in the A10, the game is played at both ends and defensively we are not playing anything close to best in the league. Solve that, we win. It should be CMs top priority.

 

[Gallipoli]

Amazing how the truthers go silent after games like this. Quite predictable, given the long long track record of Mooney crapping the bed.

What, after all, is a truther? Is not all truth relative, when truth is but a narrative. Speaking of narratives, one should not project upon another (in this case, Coach Mooney) one's own prostate and bladder issues. Consultations with a GI doctor may be warranted.

 

[spider23]

A truther in this venue, is a Richmond fan that defends Mooney whether he is good , bad or ugly. The thing about it that is really freaky is that we have truthers in the admin, media, board management and all around. They accept mediocrity and Twitter cancel those who have a voice to challenge the status quo.

 

[MrTbone]

A truther in this venue, is a Richmond fan that defends Mooney Whether he is good , bad or ugly. The thing about it that is really freaky is that we have truthers in the admin, media, board management and all around. They accept mediocrity and Twitter cancel those who have a voice to challenge the status auo.

This is an interesting statement. I think it’s maybe a bit presumptive. Yes there are folks in some of those areas who likely tolerate this but I don’t see a lot of active CM defenders. It’s highly likely that admin and Board either don’t know or don’t care much. Media doesn’t really care, our fan base is small and we don’t move the needle on the newsfront.

it really boils down to what the president and the AD care about, coupled probably with a small number of well funded alumni. I think we care more about image and academics than winning. It’s surprising to me that we have paid this much into it and that we continue to. I’d think by now UR would have let the contract lapse just to get out of paying this much for what’s a decidedly uncertain product.

 

[DTSpider]

Our starting 5 is not the best in the A10. From a “fantasy” perspective they do ok because they have assists and steals to round out the scoring column. But the real defense is not there when it comes to getting a half court stop when you need it. I like many of our players, I really do, but this concept of “best class ever” ignores that they don’t do the little things it takes to win games. And as mentioned elsewhere, the constant narrative has turned us into an unlikable program in many ways. We’re not the scrappy underdogs. We’re soft entitled brats on the court half the time complaining about foul calls and looking for excuses. And that starts at the top. I don’t think these players started off like that - they have been transformed. I hope I’m wrong but I don’t see us making the NCAAs with this group. And yes, we’re all frustrated.

 

[Gallipoli]

A truther in this venue, is a Richmond fan that defends Mooney Whether he is good , bad or ugly. The thing about it that is really freaky is that we have truthers in the admin, media, board management and all around. They accept mediocrity and Twitter cancel those who have a voice to challenge the status auo.

Truth is but a narrative, resisting those who cancel alternative views is the better truth. Attacking those with alternative views is but a symptom of those who seek to destroy.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

This is an interesting statement. I think it’s maybe a bit presumptive. Yes there are folks in some of those areas who likely tolerate this but I don’t see a lot of active CM defenders. It’s highly likely that admin and Board either don’t know or don’t care much. Media doesn’t really care, our fan base is small and we don’t move the needle on the newsfront.

Noah blocked 23 last night - it was some weak sauce. I believe 23's post was referring to that.

I mean, if a Packers reporter signed off social media yesterday evening with a sad meme, takes a break until late tonight, then posts his first content since and highlights Green Bay's week 3 win over the Saints, that would be weird, right? That's essentially what Noah did, and 23 rightly called him out for it. It wasn't out of line.

I get it, he's still a student and a fan, first and foremost. Last I checked, though, he's not listed as an employee of the athletic department. He works for ESPN Richmond, I believe.

This whole canceling/blocking/ignoring of dissenting opinions is so......so......reflective of our program, sadly.

 

[spider23]

Thanks Choppin, I can get a little aggressive on twitter, like this board, but didn't think that was the case with Noah. Oh well, first time I have been blocked on twitter, that I know of anyway. No biggie. It's been a complaint on this board for some time, from Bob Black on down it is always bright and sunny coverage. I get it. Im sure most smaller schools it is the same, probably the same at Loyola Chicago and VCU, etc. Just gets old and annoying once in awhile. At least I will be able to view a little bit less of it now hahaha.

 

[Spiders4ever]

The "thought police" are a tough group.

 

[SpiderTrap]

Is average shooting and poor defense highlighting the loss of Sherod? Nick did shoot nearly 44% from deep last year and while I don't think he was a defensive stud, he had the attitude and emotion I think is lacking on that end to get guys to buckle down and get a stop when we needed it. There is no doubt he was a leader on the team and I wonder if his loss is hurting our defensive end more than we know.

 

[Gallipoli]

Noah blocked 23 last night - it was some weak sauce....This whole canceling/blocking/ignoring of dissenting opinions is so.....

... Attacking those with alternative views is but a symptom of those who seek to destroy.

Passion over a basketball team is not a good reason to personally attack someone.

 

[97spiderfan]

Thanks Choppin, I can get a little aggressive on twitter, like this board, but didn't think that was the case with Noah. Oh well, first time I have been blocked on twitter, that I know of anyway. No biggie. It's been a complaint on this board for some time, from Bob Black on down it is always bright and sunny coverage. I get it. Im sure most smaller schools it is the same, probably the same at Loyola Chicago and VCU, etc. Just gets old and annoying once in awhile. At least I will be able to view a little bit less of it now hahaha.

Noah uses his constant praise of Mooney, team, and players to get himself access. I know he wants to go into journalism when he graduates and he has done some good work but he needs to learn quickly that constant praise to buy access is not really journalism. If he wants to be on payroll as an SID at an University, than he is fine doing what he is doing, and frankly his blocking of anything on Twitter remotely negative fits in really well with how UR athletics comports itself.

 

[97spiderfan]

Truth is but a narrative, resisting those who cancel alternative views is the better truth. Attacking those with alternative views is but a symptom of those who seek to destroy.

If a lie is told enough it can then becomes the truth to many.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Passion over a basketball team is not a good reason to personally attack someone.

Who personally attacked whom? The only canceling was done by Noah.

I'm glad we have Noah and I'm grateful for his content. (Until he blocks me, I guess) But man, his attitude toward some fans who have been cheering for the Spiders since long before he was born...that's right up there with "we'll just replace them with new fans" and "no room on the bandwagon."

Healthy debate used to be something we sought out, not shunned.
Journalists also used to at least try to maintain objectivity.

 

[spiderman]

There were several times yesterday I found myself yelling at the TV. Wonder if Moon heard me? These were possessions where we over-passed, and someone drove into the lane with minimal defender on him / good shot available, didn't look at the goal, and threw it outside to player on wing. These are opportunities gone by.

yeah, Burton at least twice passed out from inside the paint. at his size and athleticism, inside 10 feet HAS to be a shot. I know he's the young guy this year and he might not have that swagger yet, but it's time for him to be an alpha.

 

[spiderman]

Whampas, after looking now at the numbers, I'm inclined to say Jacob and others were worn out.

maybe but I don't think the layoff had that much an effect. they did get 3 full practices in.

we "complained" even last year that Jacob would defer and not look to be aggressive offensively for periods of time, but he always turned it on when needed. this year and especially this game, he just doesn't seem confident. that comes with missing shots, but we're just not anywhere as good as we expected if he's not a big offensive threat. and Blake didn't shoot very well (again) either. but at least he was willing to shoot. sometimes too willing.

backcourt offense was supposed to be a big strength of this team. they're struggling and have been all season. I figured they'd have snapped out of it a long time ago but unfortunately not.

Cayo seemed to be effected by the layoff as much as anyone. Grant's the guy I was concerned about but he was terrific. Burton was very good too, though I want him more aggressive offensively.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

yeah, Burton at least twice passed out from inside the paint. at his size and athleticism, inside 10 feet HAS to be a shot. I know he's the young guy this year and he might not have that swagger yet, but it's time for him to be an alpha.

I think our shot clock violation late in the game also happened after a passed-up shot from in the paint (Cayo, maybe?)

 

[spiderman]

I think our shot clock violation late in the game also happened after a passed-up shot from in the paint (Cayo, maybe?)

I remember one by Grace off an inbounds play.

 

[GKiller]

Passion over a basketball team is not a good reason to personally attack someone.

I suppose passion over a basketball team IS a good reason to have multiple usernames like u do

 

[GKiller]

Noah blocked 23 last night - it was some weak sauce. I believe 23's post was referring to that.

I mean, if a Packers reporter signed off social media yesterday evening with a sad meme, takes a break until late tonight, then posts his first content since and highlights Green Bay's week 3 win over the Saints, that would be weird, right? That's essentially what Noah did, and 23 rightly called him out for it. It wasn't out of line.

I get it, he's still a student and a fan, first and foremost. Last I checked, though, he's not listed as an employee of the athletic department. He works for ESPN Richmond, I believe.

This whole canceling/blocking/ignoring of dissenting opinions is so......so......reflective of our program, sadly.

Noah does a very good job imo tho if Noah blocks that easily he could be our missing interior defender. Plus he beat Burton in Horse. Why haven't we released this secret weapon before. He's eligible. Noah we need ya get your suit on!

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/42a62a0c-3385-4d1c-ba40-0917792e3c70

 

[plydogg]

Noah blocked 23 last night - it was some weak sauce. I believe 23's post was referring to that.

I mean, if a Packers reporter signed off social media yesterday evening with a sad meme, takes a break until late tonight, then posts his first content since and highlights Green Bay's week 3 win over the Saints, that would be weird, right? That's essentially what Noah did, and 23 rightly called him out for it. It wasn't out of line.

I get it, he's still a student and a fan, first and foremost. Last I checked, though, he's not listed as an employee of the athletic department. He works for ESPN Richmond, I believe.

This whole canceling/blocking/ignoring of dissenting opinions is so......so......reflective of our program, sadly.

Thats not the same at all...the Packers season just ended. They have no games left. So yes that would be incredibly weird. We played a saturday game with nearly two months of the season left. So it’s worth him quote tweeting Loyola chicago saying “at least we have this one win”.

He didn’t go out of his way to find some stat and post it. He literally saw a tweet and quote tweeted it.

I don’t agree with how he went about things but you’re intentionally painting a different and misleading picture, which is also something very indicative of our program.

 

[SpiderGuy]

While I’m certain our starting 5 can hang with anyone in the A10, the game is played at both ends and defensively we are not playing anything close to best in the league. Solve that, we win. It should be CMs top priority.

I'm afraid what I see on defense for years from the Moon is the prevent defense of not crashing the boards on offensive for rebounds and heading the other way to prevent breakaway points. If that's the best defensive strategy, then we are in trouble. If we don't start giving away free looks on three point shots and pretty much easy access in the paint, then we are looking at next yearrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[SpiderRick]

Is average shooting and poor defense highlighting the loss of Sherod? Nick did shoot nearly 44% from deep last year and while I don't think he was a defensive stud, he had the attitude and emotion I think is lacking on that end to get guys to buckle down and get a stop when we needed it. There is no doubt he was a leader on the team and I wonder if his loss is hurting our defensive end more than we know.

Trap, I get ya, I wish we had him too. But realistically, he would be taking minutes away from our most consistent player...in my opinion, our best all around offense/defense player.

IMHO, I think losing Crabtree probably hurt us the most. While he only has played what maybe 44 seconds for the season, when he was in, he looked veteran, smooth, and like he could get it done on both ends.

 

[VT4700]

maybe but I don't think the layoff had that much an effect. they did get 3 full practices in.

we "complained" even last year that Jacob would defer and not look to be aggressive offensively for periods of time, but he always turned it on when needed. this year and especially this game, he just doesn't seem confident. that comes with missing shots, but we're just not anywhere as good as we expected if he's not a big offensive threat. and Blake didn't shoot very well (again) either. but at least he was willing to shoot. sometimes too willing.

backcourt offense was supposed to be a big strength of this team. they're struggling and have been all season. I figured they'd have snapped out of it a long time ago but unfortunately not.

Cayo seemed to be effected by the layoff as much as anyone. Grant's the guy I was concerned about but he was terrific. Burton was very good too, though I want him more aggressive offensively.

We miss Nick more than a lot of people realize. He had range to beat a zone, and his deep 3s made everyone on the team better because he drew attention out there. Tyler has made some 3s, but is usually left open, so there is a huge difference in them as far as 3s are concerned.

The more attention Blake and Jacob get, the harder it is for them to get open looks from 3, but they still need to make a few more more than they have. Zone or no zone, wide open or not, we need better shooting from them. When a zone is packed in it is harder for them to penetrate, so making some 3s will draw the defense out and open things up for everyone.

I think we also miss Nick's scoring and experience inside the arc. He was able to find his spots and make things happen there. Just like Blake and Jacob need to make more 3s, Tyler and Nate need to be able to do more inside against a zone.
I think Grant has been the most consistent guy out there for us. He is asked to do a lot out there and has usually delivered.

All that being said, Nick is not coming back this year, so we need to make adjustments and figure out how to score more consistently against a zone. I would imagine we will see a lot more zone this year. I know more often than not, I would play zone against us. The "adjustments" could be as simple as Blake and Jacob finding their stroke and making a few more, but we can find a way to get them a few better looks as well, and also we can find a way to get more looks for Nate and Tyler.

Defensively, we need to play better. Seems we are either giving up 3s or layups. The best defense is a contested 2 and we have not seen that nearly enough. A few layups given up a game is fine if we take 3s away, but at times we are giving up both, and that can't happen. So, we need to tighten up defensively.

I don't think the season is anywhere close to over, but if we are going to reach our goal this year we need to play a lot better. I think we can and will. I think getting Goose 100% will help, and we hopefully can get on a nice winning streak.

 

[Spider B]

Good coaches make "adjustments." Nick went out in the summer. There has been plenty of time for "adjustments" to be made. Excuses, excuses!

 

[VT4700]

Shocker, an immediate negative reply to my post. Yes, Nick went out this summer, but that doesn't mean you don't make in season adjustments. We have now seen a few games against the zone without him, so if the guys are not playing as well as you want, you adjust. Every day during the season you adjust a little and try to get better.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Thats not the same at all...the Packers season just ended. They have no games left. So yes that would be incredibly weird. We played a saturday game with nearly two months of the season left. So it’s worth him quote tweeting Loyola chicago saying “at least we have this one win”.

He didn’t go out of his way to find some stat and post it. He literally saw a tweet and quote tweeted it.

I don’t agree with how he went about things but you’re intentionally painting a different and misleading picture, which is also something very indicative of our program.

Man, you're focused on the team I used in the analogy as if that's the point? Packers were simply top-of-mind. If I could have come up with another college BB team that recently suffered a +820, at-large-hopes-crushing upset, I would have used them, instead. That's the thing about 8-1 underdog winners - they can be hard to find.

Noah begged off any post-game analysis of the loss - including his podcast, posted a "bad day" meme, waited a day then quote-tweeted about our Quad 1 win, instead. Noah then told a passionate fan (your words) to stop reading his content, then blocked him. Those fans didn't even come at him hard and he blocked them. You have to agree that's incredibly soft.

Was that a misleading picture?

 

[plydogg]

Broc, if you move those goalposts any more I’m going to think you’re a groundskeeper for the football team

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

LOL, ok man. Back to referee conspiracy theories.

I maintain that it's a bad look for people associated with our program to actively alienate passionate fans.

 

[spiderman]

I feel foolish for typing this because it clearly isn't working, but I love how we attack the zone. right up to the point where we miss the shot, lol.

I really think we move the ball well against it and make it move. we get the ball to good spots on the floor, forcing help. we get it to reasonably open guys. but we miss.

I've got no answers on this. I wouldn't change the attack, though I'd never have Cayo on the wing or in the corner beyond the line where he's a non-threat. guards need to hit shots though. making shots is the only way I know to force a team out of a zone.

 

[VT4700]

I feel foolish for typing this because it clearly isn't working, but I love how we attack the zone. right up to the point where we miss the shot, lol.

I really think we move the ball well against it and make it move. we get the ball to good spots on the floor, forcing help. we get it to reasonably open guys. but we miss.

I've got no answers on this. I wouldn't change the attack, though I'd never have Cayo on the wing or in the corner beyond the line where he's a non-threat. guards need to hit shots though. making shots is the only way I know to force a team out of a zone.

I agree for the most part. No question Jacob and Blake need to make more shots. They are getting some good looks, but not always. I think we can give them a few more good looks a game. And, I think Tyler and Nate need to do better attacking the zone. Nate is great taking his man one-on-one, but we need to get better production inside the arc against zones. I don't think it's nearly as dramatic or bad as some people are making it, but I do think we can do better. But, I think you definitely hit the main point. We need to shoot better from outside. That is by far the best way to beat a zone, and below average 3 point shooting was my biggest fear coming into the season.