I don't speak twitter or whatever language this is. Who comes up with this stuff and where do I get a translator?
More than one reason we will be dancing
- Thread starter Ulla1
- Start date
Only way I'll be dancing is if Mooney is fired at the end of the season.
We’ve fallen for the hype. While we have been hard on the marketing department in past years, they hooked a lot of people into thinking this team was going to be so special. The only thing special about this team is it might be the one that finally pushes Mooney out of here.
I don't blame players right now with CM at the helm. Buck, Nick, and GG were all heralded out of HS as top notch A10 talent. I believe they have shown they can be. Jacob has completed surprised me in being a 35 minute guy who can hold his own already. And I almost forgot about KF.
Quality IMO supporting players up 7-8 man rotation to assist the above core. No I wasn't expecting to make the Dance as an enlarge but thought with enough improvement by season's end could sneak in by winning the A10 tourney. Looks completely unattainable presently.
Quality IMO supporting players up 7-8 man rotation to assist the above core. No I wasn't expecting to make the Dance as an enlarge but thought with enough improvement by season's end could sneak in by winning the A10 tourney. Looks completely unattainable presently.
Know this sounds whacky, but I am encouraged and believe that a turnaround is possible. Had we played well and lost by reasonable margins I would be less encouraged as I would have felt that we had played our best and were just not good enough. Rather from what I have seen, the Spiders are just not yet playing together. There have been a number of passes where the intended recipient went one way and the pass went the other. They say that defense is a matter of communication and experience, and we are extremely inexperienced and clearly are not yet communicating effectively. Give our guys some time and I believe substantial improvement will be forthcoming.
I am tired of giving Spider Basketball time. With the exception of a couple of you, we are all out of patience. Why should we be ok with it taking the entire out of conference portion of the schedule for our team to look like they have played together before? That’s what preseason practice is for. It’s on the coaches to have the team ready to play game 1.
The problem with summer and fall practice is that these guys are playing each other. The guys we think are strong players will look strong, but some of the more nominal players tend to look better than they actually are because overall, as a team, we are not that great. It's an illusion created inside a bubble, and our coaching staff wasn't astute enought to recognize it for what it was/is.
I don't think our defense is that complicated. Delaware and Jacksonville knew it by heart. Our guys need to be allowed to play the game and not worry whether they will be getting a handshake when returning to bench.
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One time that I agree with you. In fact I not only think that a turnaround is possible, but almost guaranteed. When you're on dead bottom, there's really only one way to go.
Unless of course you stay on the bottom...
+1 Ulla. If we build on what worked tonight, which was much better communication on defense and feeding the ball consistently to Grant inside, for point-blank shots, we can turn this around, sooner rather than later. We do have to play smart though, and continue to do what worked for us tonight. Reverting to what we did in the first two games will not lead to the kind of dancing we really want to do.
Well, you could look it as a game we should have won. Even though Vegas had us as an underdog.
Maybe?
I'm glad we won but using it as some justification to resuscitate this thread....?
Oh I agree. But I for one am always happier with a win even if it’s a temporary distraction.
If we beat Cincinnati tonight than maybe this thread deserves a real bump. I don't see that happening but I didn't see us getting destroyed by Delaware and Jacksonville St either.
Will be tough/challenging for an underclassmen-heavy rotation (Golden/Gilyard/Buck/Sherod) to consistently play and beat upperclassmen as mentioned this summer.
St Bonny - Mobley, Taqqee, Stockard, Griffin, Gueye, Adams all juniors/seniors
Rhody- Terrell, Garrett, Robinson, Matthews, Berry, Akele all juniors/seniors
VCU - Williams, Tillman, Lane all seniors
Davidson - Aldridge, Magarity, Watkins, Reigel all seniors
St Louis - Bess, Anthony, Foreman, Hines, Roby all juniors/seniors
Dayton - Cunningham, Davis, Crosby, Williams all juniors/seniors
LaSalle - Powell, Johnson, Washington, Stukes all juniors/seniors
St Joes - Demery, Newkirk, Kimble, Lodge, Clover all juniors/seniors
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UR - Fore, Stansbury, Johnson, Madrid-Andrews all juniors/seniors
St Bonny - Mobley, Taqqee, Stockard, Griffin, Gueye, Adams all juniors/seniors
Rhody- Terrell, Garrett, Robinson, Matthews, Berry, Akele all juniors/seniors
VCU - Williams, Tillman, Lane all seniors
Davidson - Aldridge, Magarity, Watkins, Reigel all seniors
St Louis - Bess, Anthony, Foreman, Hines, Roby all juniors/seniors
Dayton - Cunningham, Davis, Crosby, Williams all juniors/seniors
LaSalle - Powell, Johnson, Washington, Stukes all juniors/seniors
St Joes - Demery, Newkirk, Kimble, Lodge, Clover all juniors/seniors
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UR - Fore, Stansbury, Johnson, Madrid-Andrews all juniors/seniors
I'm really tired of this false narrative that you have to have upperclassmen in order to compete. No, you have to have talented players. Just because a guy has been in a program 3 or 4 years doesn't automatically make him a better player than a freshman or sophomore. We have enough talent to be highly competitive in this league right now. The problem is the coach and his schemes, which are completely handcuffing the players he recruited.
Agree that there is talent on board. Agree that they are poorly coached and that offensive and defensive schemes suck. However, in the few games that have been somewhat close coming down the stretch, this team has failed to make enough of the timely plays that determine the difference between winning and losing. Untimely turnovers, untimely missed shots (and free throws), untimely fouls, untimely shot selection, defensive lapses at critical moments, etc.
This is the # 1 mark of a poorly coached team. Preaching to the choir I know, but Mooney's teams lack the discipline (which shows up as failure to properly execute) to win the majority of the close games. Translation = they don't make enough of the timely plays that determines who wins and loses. Fans watching Mooney's teams say "we lose games the exact same way year after year" and they are correct.
There are 5 + swing games every season (if this one or that one had just gone the other way) that usually determine a team's final standing. The overall talent level in Richmond during the Mooney era has not been THAT far off. Well coached teams win more swing games than they lose. The converse is true during the Mooney regime.
I think we need to start questioning our talent based on what we’ve seen on the court and where we’ve seen previous players transfer. I really think that we believe our players are more talented than they really are.
So far, Buck appears to be more Robin than Batman. We expected more based on his performance last year. I think it’s clear now how important and outstanding TJ was.
Nick came in with just about as much hype and was supposed to be a lights out shooter. He’s shown signs of having real talent, but cannot find the consistency needed to be a true threat.
I thought Fore was going to be a star. Maybe he still will be and his injuries are holding him back,but I’m less confident than I was prior to the season.
Our latest 5’6” point guard will always have limitations. Always. While I like his quickness, he will always be a liability in D due to his height alone.
I think we now see why Solly is just starting his college career. Not sure what TJ and others were talking about when they praised him last year, but I would figure a guy who’s old enough to be an NBA veteran would have more impact.
Julius is a below average player whose offense in high school was very misleading.
Grant looks like he’s got real potential.
The rest of the team is comprised of just guys. If they can’t get on the court with the starters not performing well and our record being atrocious, then I’m guessing they’re closer to Jesse and Smithen than they are to being future starters in this league.
Experience matters..............especially at non-P5s. Impact upperclassmen/leaders matter (a lot). You have one (Fore).
2017-2018 - Fore (Jr), Stansbury (Jr), Johnson (Jr); 1-8
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2016-2017 - Cline (Sr), Jones (Sr); 22-13
2015-2016 - Allen (Sr), Taylor (Sr), Davis (Sr), Jones (Jr), Cline (Jr); 16-16
2014-2015 - Anthony (Sr); Allen (Jr), Taylor (Jr), Davis (Jr); 21-14
2013-2014 - Lindsay (Sr), Anthony (Jr); 19-14
2012-2013 - Brothers (Sr), Robbins (Sr), Lindsay (Jr), Williams (Jr); 19-15
2011-2012 - Garrett (Sr), Martel (Sr), Brothers (Jr), Robbins (Jr); 16-16
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2010-2011 - Anderson (Sr), Harper (Sr), Geriot (Sr), Hovde (Sr), Smith (Sr), Garrett (Jr), Martel (Jr); 29-8
2009-2010 - Anderson (Jr), Harper (Jr), Gonzo (Sr), Butler (Sr), Geriot (Jr), Smith (Jr), Hovde (Jr); 28-10
I know it's a little tilted because Fore missed some games but 60+% or our minutes and rebounds and 74% of the points come from Freshmen and Sophmores, kind of highlights the year to year recruiting issue. Now if we were 8-1 these stats would be great but at 1-8 it's not good.
We all know Ulla farts rainbows and sunshine and the obvious retort is "A blind squirrel..." but on a beautiful (but frigid) day, I enjoyed going back to this thread and thought this was pretty prophetic. Well done Ulla.
