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Positives from games so far...

Spideroldie said:
Tues., Jan 9,2017: Post Dayton loss:

This entry is a relatively easy one. Julius Johnson (JJ) was clearly the biggest positive today. JJ shot 5 for 7 from 3-point range, went 2/2 on FTs, and scored 17. JJ is, surprisingly, competing now for the title of "top 3-point shooter on our squad," but Nick and Jacob should hold on to that title a bit longer. JJ also plays better Defense than Nick, and that is not close. Those on this board who claim that we do not have at least 6 players with A-10 talent levels should re-watch this game, and figure out if they believe that JJ cannot play at this level. JJ clearly showed some of his "upside" in this game, and he may have shown why he should start over Nick.

I suppose that outscoring Dayton in the second half could be a plus, but getting to 3-13 may be the other top plus, since it increases the odds of a possible coaching "transition." I still feel we have enough ability on this team to be a top-4 team in the A-10, but we are somehow totally not putting it together. Figuring out why (other than the standard "It's the recruiting stupid."), might be too much to ask for, but we can always hope to figure this out before the season winds down.
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Nick did score 15 points shooting 50% in 21 minutes. Wasn’t his fault. He is definitely a step slow on defense, but he is covering a guard one second and then a 6’9” Center the next.

Usually JJ has 2 fouls by the first TV break. When he is hot he is hot. He certainly does a lot of the junk stuff for us.
 
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I watch ESPN games . Every game I see a pivot play and think he would be sit on the bench if he was a Spider
 
Teams are learning that our strength is playing against man defense, so usually during close
games, they switch to a zone and force us out of rhythm and usually we stop hitting shots.
While on the other end of court, we stay in the matchup and continue to give up drives to the
basket or bad match ups near the basket forcing a double team from us, leaving someone open.

When will Mooney get off his high horse and realize he has to adjust better what he is doing on
defense. Show some new wrinkles and possibly some zones.
 
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I'm taking the hedge fund approach to this season, I'd rather see us lose so there are fewer reasons to keep CM around. A winning streak would be a bad thing.
 
Eight Legger said:
The answer, of course, is never. He doesn't know anything else and is incapable or disinterested in learning anything else at this point.
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His post game he complained about our poor defense both halves. But did not really
hear any solution from him. Teams know his system so well, they are more and more patient
with waiting for the right match up.
 
CarolinaSpider said:
His post game he complained about our poor defense both halves. But did not really
hear any solution from him. Teams know his system so well, they are more and more patient
with waiting for the right match up.
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Anthony Grant hasn't played us in years, but he probably is so familiar with our offense & defense that he didn't have to look at the scouting report. Seemed like he had us figured out quite well.
 
Spideroldie said:
Tues., Jan 9,2017: Post Dayton loss:

This entry is a relatively easy one. Julius Johnson (JJ) was clearly the biggest positive today. JJ shot 5 for 7 from 3-point range, went 2/2 on FTs, and scored 17. JJ is, surprisingly, competing now for the title of "top 3-point shooter on our squad," but Nick and Jacob should hold on to that title a bit longer. JJ also plays better Defense than Nick, and that is not close. Those on this board who claim that we do not have at least 6 players with A-10 talent levels should re-watch this game, and figure out if they believe that JJ cannot play at this level. JJ clearly showed some of his "upside" in this game, and he may have shown why he should start over Nick.

I suppose that outscoring Dayton in the second half could be a plus, but getting to 3-13 may be the other top plus, since it increases the odds of a possible coaching "transition." I still feel we have enough ability on this team to be a top-4 team in the A-10, but we are somehow totally not putting it together. Figuring out why (other than the standard "It's the recruiting stupid."), might be too much to ask for, but we can always hope to figure this out before the season winds down.
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You forgot Shae Peppler.
 
SpiderGuy said:
Anthony Grant hasn't played us in years, but he probably is so familiar with our offense & defense that he didn't have to look at the scouting report. Seemed like he had us figured out quite well.
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Anthony Grant is a poor coach. Dayton put themselves in a Mooney mess when they made this bad hire. Next year the Dayton fan forum will resemble what we see hear every week.

The difference is that Dayton will not allow Grant as much time to dismantle their program. He will be fired in 3-4 years.
 
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Not-A-Homer said:
Anthony Grant is a poor coach. Dayton put themselves in a Mooney mess when they made this bad hire. Next year the Dayton fan forum will resemble what we see hear every week.

The difference is that Dayton will not allow Grant as much time to dismantle their program. He will be fired in 3-4 years.
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I wouldn't be so sure. Dayton, despite having what their fan base, and ours, would characterize as mediocre coaches (Gregory, Purnell) has not actually fired a head coach in over 20 years.
 
What's most disappointing to me at this point in the season is the same inconsistency showing up every game, including all the missed FGs within 3-5 feet of the basket. Much less layups that constantly lip out since our guys won't go strong to the bucket and dunk. If Mooney was surprised Flyers played zone D all game, then he's only one in RC who was. Every team will do it, since he has never come up with anything offensively to help our players beat one, and that goes for the better UR teams of the past. And finally, will be interesting to see what sentence Fore gets for fouling 3 pt shooter (pivotal play at end of 1H), since Stansbury was riding the pine first 20 min last night seemingly for doing same thing in STL game.
 
MidloTrader said:
What's most disappointing to me at this point in the season is the same inconsistency showing up every game, including all the missed FGs within 3-5 feet of the basket. Much less layups that constantly lip out since our guys won't go strong to the bucket and dunk. If Mooney was surprised Flyers played zone D all game, then he's only one in RC who was. Every team will do it, since he has never come up with anything offensively to help our players beat one, and that goes for the better UR teams of the past. And finally, will be interesting to see what sentence Fore gets for fouling 3 pt shooter (pivotal play at end of 1H), since Stansbury was riding the pine first 20 min last night seemingly for doing same thing in STL game.
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Start JJ over Khwan on Saturday, and this is coming from a Khwan fan. It would be a nod to JJ's hustle and provide a spark, hopefully. Really, what's the worst that could happen? Go down by 30 to a mediocre team...been there, done that!
 
Grant will get a long leash at Dayton. He played there and graduated from there. Flyer made good. I would not be surprised to see him at Dayton for a long time regardless of his results.
 
SpiderPride said:
Start JJ over Khwan on Saturday, and this is coming from a Khwan fan. It would be a nod to JJ's hustle and provide a spark, hopefully. Really, what's the worst that could happen? Go down by 30 to a mediocre team...been there, done that!
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Interesting. Khwan is by far a better player, but Khwan has been really struggling recently, and JJ has been hot. At 3-13, sometimes you just need to change things up just for the sake of change, so really what would it hurt at this point. Season is already up in smoke, so hopefully Mooney lets his hair down a little bit this last half of season. Might as well go out with a bang, Chris.
 
I realize that Grant is Dayton guy, but he will not win at the level they are accustomed to. You might be right that his hometown connections could lengthen his lease, but they have knowledgeable fans who are not going to be happy with his product right away.
 
Not-A-Homer said:
I realize that Grant is Dayton guy, but he will not win at the level they are accustomed to. You might be right that his hometown connections could lengthen his lease, but they have knowledgeable fans who are not going to be happy with his product right away.
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So I'm trying to figure out where the logic is that Grant isn't a pretty good coach. The guy had a .752 winning percentage at VCU and a .579 winning percentage at Alabama (of all places). He's at a shade under 63% lifetime, with 3 NCAA trips and 4 NIT trips and only one season he didn't go post-season, which is also is only losing season.

What am I missing?
 
January 13, 2018: After GW win:

1. We got to see a glimpse of what some of the optimists on this board, me included, had seen over the summer during practices. This team has a great deal of potential, but today's game gave fans who missed the summer's practices a GLIMPSE of what this team can be.
2 Excellent Shot selection: This may have been the biggest difference I saw today. We took very few "BAD" shots. We took very few stupid shots. We took high percentage shots. I never mind when we miss a dunk by Buck or a lay-up by Grant. Those are good shots, and we miss them only due to execution. Most of this season we have been losing because we took ill-times shots that were not shots with a high percentage of success. Today was different.
3. Get the ball to Grant in scoring position. We did this today, and could/should have done it even more. Grant shot 10 of 14 mostly from point-blank range. I will take 20-25 shots, by Grant, from that range, in every remaining game we play.
3. Increasing confidence by Jake. Jake Gilliard is hands down one of our most talented players ever. All he has been lacking so far is the confidence to take important shots that can make a difference. Today, if we are to believe the announcers, Buck yelled at him: "Take the shot" at one point, and he proceeded to drain the 3. Hopefully, this game gives Jake more confidence to take those shots without the need for teammate "encouragement." I would like to see Jake take at least 6-8 3-point shots per game, especially if he is feeling it.
4. The TV announcers nailed it in this game. This time I heard the TV announcers really "nail it" a few times. One said that the team needs to keep getting the ball to Grant, inside, at least until the other team can stop him or double-teams him. Second, the announcers said that Grant needs to take the ball, HARD, to the basket when he gets it in scoring range, rather than taking fade-aways. Spot-on!

There are a lot of positives to take away from this game, and a sampling of them are given above. One piece of good news is that those of us who said (pre-season) that Grant and Jake would be "special," and vie for ROY in the A-10, got a little bit of validation in this game. Both should make the A-10 all-rookie team.
 
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Spideroldie said:
January 13, 2018: After GW win:

1. We got to see a glimpse of what some of the optimists on this board, me included, had seen over the summer during practices. This team has a great deal of potential, but today's game gave fans who missed the summer's practices a GLIMPSE of what this team can be.
2 Excellent Shot selection: This may have been the biggest difference I saw today. We took very few "BAD" shots. We took very few stupid shots. We took high percentage shots. I never mind when we miss a dunk by Buck or a lay-up by Grant. Those are good shots, and we miss them only due to execution. Most of this season we have been losing because we took ill-times shots that were not shots with a high percentage of success. Today was different.
3. Get the ball to Grant in scoring position. We did this today, and could/should have done it even more. Grant shot 10 of 14 mostly from point-blank range. I will take 20-25 shots, by Grant, from that range, in every remaining game we play.
3. Increasing confidence by Jake. Jake Gilliard is hands down one of our most talented players ever. All he has been lacking so far is the confidence to take important shots that can make a difference. Today, if we are to believe the announcers, Buck yelled at him: "Take the shot" at one point, and he proceeded to drain the 3. Hopefully, this game gives Jake more confidence to take those shots without the need for teammate "encouragement." I would like to see Jake take at least 6-8 3-point shots per game, especially if he is feeling it.
4. The TV announcers nailed it in this game. This time I heard the TV announcers really "nail it" a few times. One said that the team needs to keep getting the ball to Grant, inside, at least until the other team can stop him or double-teams him. Second, the announcers said that Grant needs to take the ball, HARD, to the basket when he gets it in scoring range, rather than taking fade-aways. Spot-on!

There are a lot of positives to take away from this game, and a sampling of them are given above. One piece of good news is that those of us who said (pre-season) that Grant and Jake would be "special," and vie for ROY in the A-10, got a little bit of validation in this game. Both should make the A-10 all-rookie team.
Click to expand...
 
Forgot to mention a couple of less obvious pluses in the GW win:
1. Do we now know how to attack a zone now, or....? We seem to have figured out, at least in this game, and versus a weak coach, how to attack the zone, and get the ball inside to Grant. Kudos there, likely to the coaches..
2. Buck or Nick at the high-post, getting the ball to Grant underneath: We had a couple of plays that I thought were genius, unless they were just "lucky," or "accidental." The key one was when Buck or Nick had the ball at the high post and we had Grant moving to get open under the gasket. With this play, which we should likely use FAR more often, Buck/Nick has a chance to either use his passing skills to get the assist to Grant, or he can take the 12-15-foot shot, or he can drive it inside. In this play design, mostly good things will happen, if Buck or Nick and Grant can just get their timing and signals right. Re-watch the tape and see how well this play worked when we tried it, and how often it would have resulted in points if we had used it more.
3. Our bench played well even if they scored 0 points. If JJ can deliver good defense, ball-handling and quality time, he does not have to score 17 or even 1 point to add value. Today, he was a very unsung hero off the bench. Joe Kirby also played well, and virtually mistake-free, off the bench, also adding value.
 
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yes they will be co all rookies of the year if we play no defense GW every game the rest of the year. This team is so poorly coached it almost,ALMOST, makes Mooney look like he knows what he is doing. Mooney puts his all pygmy team in, GW has two or three guys over 6"8" in the game and they make no effort at all to get the ball in down low. That kind of stupidity can make anyone look good. If Mooney had started Grant down low and kept him there he might have scored fifty.
 
Marley13 said:
Because then you would have two slow bigs on D instead of one.
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In theory, you would be able to play different defenses based on lineups, game situations, etc.

But that’s just crazy, why would we ever do that?
 
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ur2K said:
In theory, you would be able to play different defenses based on lineups, game situations, etc.

But that’s just crazy, why would we ever do that?
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This will have to remain in the category of "theory" because any actual application does not fit into the mental "comfort zone" of our current coaching setup. Your concluding rhetorical statement therefore is totally applicable.
 
Marley13 said:
So the two slows would do better?
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I think it would be worth trying for 5 minutes or so to see what happens. Think about it - 5 minutes is less than .004% of our total season playing time (5/1250 minutes - w/ some OT games and an A-10 game). Why not throw the dice for a what amounts to a minuscule fraction of the season?
 
Don't tips count as rebounds, I swear I can recall GW tip after GW tip bouncing around the rim and falling out but their 10 OR doesn't seem to reflect that.
 
I-M-UR said:
Don't tips count as rebounds, I swear I can recall GW tip after GW tip bouncing around the rim and falling out but their 10 OR doesn't seem to reflect that.
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Tips count as rebounds if they are deemed shot attempts. Looking at the GW play-by play it seems that the situation you described happened between 5:40 and 5:31 remaining in the first half where Bo Zeigler had 3 offensive rebounds and 3 shots in 9 seconds.
 
fan2011 said:
Tips count as rebounds if they are deemed shot attempts. Looking at the GW play-by play it seems that the situation you described happened between 5:40 and 5:31 remaining in the first half where Bo Zeigler had 3 offensive rebounds and 3 shots in 9 seconds.
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It certainly appeared to me to happen more than once; at least 5 to 6 times they had one often more missed tips.
 
I-M-UR said:
It certainly appeared to me to happen more than once; at least 5 to 6 times they had one often more missed tips.
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I didn't see the game, but it is likely that you are correct. All stats are recorded by humans and situations like this have some level of subjectivity, so it depends on who is keeping the stats.
 
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Spideroldie said:
Forgot to mention a couple of less obvious pluses in the GW win:
1. Do we now know how to attack a zone now, or....? We seem to have figured out, at least in this game, and versus a weak coach, how to attack the zone, and get the ball inside to Grant. Kudos there, likely to the coaches..
2. Buck or Nick at the high-post, getting the ball to Grant underneath: We had a couple of plays that I thought were genius, unless they were just "lucky," or "accidental." The key one was when Buck or Nick had the ball at the high post and we had Grant moving to get open under the gasket. With this play, which we should likely use FAR more often, Buck/Nick has a chance to either use his passing skills to get the assist to Grant, or he can take the 12-15-foot shot, or he can drive it inside. In this play design, mostly good things will happen, if Buck or Nick and Grant can just get their timing and signals right. Re-watch the tape and see how well this play worked when we tried it, and how often it would have resulted in points if we had used it more.
3. Our bench played well even if they scored 0 points. If JJ can deliver good defense, ball-handling and quality time, he does not have to score 17 or even 1 point to add value. Today, he was a very unsung hero off the bench. Joe Kirby also played well, and virtually mistake-free, off the bench, also adding value.
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Let me repeat what Marley said. Our bench scored 0 points and took 2 whole shots in 32 minutes of play. This is what Mooney has done to us. Our depth is so bad that when our bench players come on the court and simply run up and down the court without falling or dribbling the ball out of bounds than someone is going to say, "oh look at those guys, they played well". JJ has had a couple really good games but outside of that our bench and depth is probably the biggest indictment of what Mooney has done to our program.
 
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