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Jeffcat
Banned
yea it didnt seem like it was much of an atmosphere but dayton is pretty big on basketball. im not surprised it was kinda lame there. we started choking in the second half, prolly not many people there, and most of the people are older. we have our finals next week and people usually need a little time to go from the football transition to the basketball. the place was electric for illinois. ohio state is not known as a basketball school so you wont get the excitement like duke, kentucky, UNC usually but it has its times and it will get better over some time.
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1) Dials seems to play better when he gets into a rhythm. Couple of early fouls and we went away from him and he never got into the rhythm of the offense.
2) VT did a great job of doubling down every time TD got the ball. Every team we play is going to do this. TD needs to learn to use his vision with his back to the basket and find the open man on the perimeter. Or learn to drop step/spin away from the double team or before it gets there.
3) As mentioned by several before, TD can't put the ball on the floor so much. He is going to get it stripped by a cutting guard time after time. He needs to get into his game quickly so he can draw some fouls.
2) VT did a great job of doubling down every time TD got the ball. Every team we play is going to do this. TD needs to learn to use his vision with his back to the basket and find the open man on the perimeter. Or learn to drop step/spin away from the double team or before it gets there.
3) As mentioned by several before, TD can't put the ball on the floor so much. He is going to get it stripped by a cutting guard time after time. He needs to get into his game quickly so he can draw some fouls.
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Growing up, some of my fondest memories are of tOSU b-ball games. My parents would put my older brother, younger sis, and myself to bed right on time. Then soon after my lil sis fell asleep, my dad would "wake" my brother and I. My dad, uncle, bro, two cousins, and myself would go to a game. This was during the Dennis Hopson era.
Try going to a B10 game. The passion 'round those parts is for football, but B10 Basketball is a thrill. As soon as the bowl game is over, interest and attendance picks up dramatically. Go to one of those games, then compare.
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there are even football games that are kinda wimpy in terms of atmosphere in the shoe. The basketball bandwagon will start loading up very soon.
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nicknc33
Guilty insane
If you asked the average student I'd be surprised if they even knew the Buckeyes have started there season. Keep in mind it is only the third game. Perhaps when they get a number by "Ohio State" and get some good wins things will turn around as far as the crowd and noise go. Not saying VaTech wasn't a good win, just not anything that is going to attract the average student to start caring more about Buckeye basketball. On top of that, the post-season ban has had a negative impact on attracting more fans. Most people don't pay much attention to college basketball til the dance and if your team isn't in, it can be difficult care much unless you're a diehard.
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The computer ratings suggest that this team was the worst in the ACC. That is a bit of a worry given the second half but I am not really concerned. If you look at the player comments, they know that they moved away from their fundamentals in the second half. They now have objective evidence that when they do that, even a team ranked #141 in the Sagarins can come back at them.
All in all, we come away with a win against the ACC (wish it had been WF) and a valuable learning experience for the Big Ten. Works for me.
All in all, we come away with a win against the ACC (wish it had been WF) and a valuable learning experience for the Big Ten. Works for me.
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I highly doubt they are the worst defensive team tho, 19, which is what caused so many problems. No worries about WF. Wisky will take care of them.
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lvbuckeye
Silver Surfer
yeah, they were supposed to finish 10th in the ACC last year, and they tied for 4th or something...
anyway, great first half! i think the kids got a little complacent with the big lead, and by the time they realized they couldn't just coast to a victory, VT had snatched a large helping of momentum... as it stood, when it came to crunch time, we ran off 10 unanswered points to finish the game...
this is going to be a damn good team this year... one thing that i have noticed about all great teams is they way that they close out periods- and we finished the first with a 25-8 run and the second with a 10-0 run...
if the kids keep their heads in the game for the whole 40 rather than just 25 or so, and we'd have a monster victory on our hands, and a little too much hype from the media for my taste this early on...
i'm actually kind of glad that they played sloppy in the second half... i don't want 'em reading their own press clippings, i want 'em hungry...
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Golferdow01
East-Coast Living
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/472168.html
OSU Handles Virginia Tech In Challenge
By Steve Helwagen
Managing Editor
Date: Nov 28, 2005
J.J. Sullinger had 14 points and Sylvester Mayes added 13 as the Buckeyes defeated Virginia Tech 69-56 Monday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Click here for more. (NOTE: This story has been updated at 10:30 p.m. with more notes and quotes.)
They bill it every year as the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Some years it turns out to be the ACC/Big Ten Bloodletting.
But on Monday night, Ohio State was up to the challenge.
The Buckeyes jumped on visiting Virginia Tech early and held on late for a 69-56 victory before 13,218 at Value City Arena. The win gives the Big Ten an early 1-0 edge in a 7-year-old series it has never won. Ten more games between Big Ten and ACC teams will be contested over the next two days.
Sylvester Mayes came off the bench and scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half as the Buckeyes (3-0) opened a 46-25 halftime lead and then had to hold on for dear life against the Hokies (5-2). Tech got the OSU lead down to three points with 3:18 left before OSU rediscovered some late offense to put it (back) away.
Je’Kel Foster ended an OSU scoring drought with a clutch 15-foot jumper and Ron Lewis canned a big three-pointer with 2:09 left as the Buckeyes drew away late.
“There were some great things that happened for us,” said OSU coach Thad Matta. “Some things weren’t as good. This is a time where we can learn from the positives and the negatives.“
"One of the biggest travesties we could do to ourselves is just say the first half is it and not look at the second half. As coaches, trust me, we will not let them do that.”
J.J. Sullinger led the Buckeyes with 14 points and nine rebounds. Terence Dials added 11 points and seven rebounds. He played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble. Lewis had 10 points for OSU.
“Teams are going to make a run,” Dials said. “We were up (21) at the half. But we knew they were well coached. They are a member of the ACC. We knew they were not going to go away. They came out and gave us all they had in the second half. But we were able to sustain it and pull it out.”
Zabian Dowdell led Virginia Tech with 15 points, while Coleman Collins had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
“I thought we competed in the second half,” said Hokies head coach Seth Greenberg. “I was disappointed with the competitive spirit in the first half. We didn’t come here to cut it to three points and lose by 13. In the first half, we didn’t pressure the basketball and we let them have a flow to their offense.“
"Then, we did a good job of executing in the second half until the last three minutes. We weren’t as tough as we needed to be.”
Ohio State never trailed in the game as Foster hit a three on the opening possession. After the game was tied at 4-4, OSU reeled off eight unanswered points. Matt Sylvester had a hook and a runner in that stretch as OSU went up 12-4 with 14:45 left in the first half.
Virginia Tech cut it to 12-11 after Cheick Diakite scored on a rebound basket with 12:58 left. Mayes answered with a three-pointer off a feed from Sullinger as OSU embarked on a 15-8 run. Jamar Butler also hit a three and Sullinger had four points in this spurt as OSU moved on top 27-19 with 7:51 left in the first half.
Tech’s Dowdell scored on a rebound to cut it to 27-21 with 7:19 left in the half. But the Hokies would not make another shot from the floor over the next 5-1/2 minutes. They were outscored 16-2 during that string. VCA started to rock just a little bit during this run, which saw Foster hit a three, Sullinger score twice off feeds from Sylvester and Mayes also bury a three. Mayes capped it with his layup to beat the shot clock that put OSU ahead 43-23 with 2:05 left in the half.
Tech’s Deron Washington had a jam off a simple inbounds play to end the drought with 1:47 left. But Mayes splashed another three off a feed from Butler with 19 seconds left, then watched as Tech’s Dowdell dribbled out the final 11 seconds of the half without getting a shot up.
OSU enjoyed its largest lead at 48-26 when Sullinger made a pair of free throws with 18:54 left in the game.
That’s when Virginia Tech went to work. The Hokies gradually whittled the lead down to 52-38 after Dowdell turned an OSU turnover into a layup with 14:39 left. Coleman Collins scored on a jam to cut it to 53-40 with 11:30 left. A Dowdell three trimmed it to 55-45 with 8:58 left.
The Hokies got inside double digits on a basket by Wynton Witherspoon to make it 55-47 with 7:24 left. Things got tighter with 4:56 left when OSU’s Je’Kel Foster fouled Dowdell on a three-point try. He made all three free throws to get it down to 57-52.
When Sullinger and Dials missed shots on OSU’s next two possessions, the Buckeyes had made just 3 of their 19 second-half shots and had committed 11 turnovers.
Things got worse when Collins banked in a shot to cut it to 57-54 with 3:18 left.
But Foster righted the ship with a pull-up 15-foot jumper that put OSU ahead 59-54 with 2:57 left.
“I know we needed a basket,” Foster said. “I just tried to take my time and knock it down and fortunately it fell for me.”
Tech’s Jamon Gordon drove for a basket to cut it to 59-56 with 2:39 left.
However, OSU answered with Lewis splashing a long three from the right wing off a feed from Foster to push the lead to 62-56 with 2:09 left.
“The only thing I was thinking was stay aggressive,” Lewis said. “I know in the second half we were struggling. We needed a big boost from somewhere, anybody. That was my chance to give us a big boost. I just took the three.”
Dowdell then missed a three-point try and OSU’s Sylvester rebounded and outletted to teammate Ron Lewis. Lewis had a breakaway, but Dowdell committed an intentional foul. Lewis made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:36 left and OSU led 63-56.
The Buckeyes got the ball on the ensuing possession and scored as Sylvester rebounded a missed Lewis trey and scored with 1:18 left to put OSU up 65-56.
“(Those two Sylvester rebounds) were big,” Matta said. “The last thing we said was, ‘We gotta rebound’ because at times we have a small team out there. That was huge.”
Coleman then missed a pair of shots at the Tech end and Lewis tracked down the long rebound of the second. He raced into the OSU forecourt. He banked in a prayer and Dowdell fouled him. The free throw to complete the three-point play moved OSU up 68-56 with 54.7 seconds left.
Dials made 1 of 2 free throws with 27.1 seconds left for OSU.
Also Notable
* OSU coach Thad Matta started his fifth different starting lineup between the two exhibition games and the three regular season games. Starting this game were Sullinger, Sylvester, Dials, Foster and Butler. Dials is the only OSU player to start every game so far.
* Foster added eight points and four assists for OSU, while Sylvester had six points and six rebounds. Butler finished with three, while Ivan Harris and Matt Terwilliger each had two points.
With Dials in foul trouble, Terwilliger matched his career high with 16 minutes.
* The Buckeyes improved to 2-3 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. OSU won its first game in the Challenge against N.C. State in 2001, but lost its last three (Duke in 2002, Georgia Tech in 2003 and Clemson in 2004).
OSU improved to 36-25 all-time against ACC competition. Tech still holds a 4-2 series lead on OSU, though.
* With exams next week, Ohio State does not play again until Sat., Dec. 10, when it visits St. Joseph’s at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
* OSU unveiled an alternate jersey for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was mostly white with just a touch of gray over the shoulders.
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tsteele316
Mr. Such and Such
just a few observations:
1. osu still seems disjointed on offense. i think jwins referenced this a few pages ago.
2. dials needs to not dribble too much. he also needs to sense the double team and get the ball back out to the perimeter so the guards can swing it to the open man.
3. lewis has done some good things, but has looked sloppy at times as well.
4. if ivan harris played Sullinger's game, he would be unstoppable.
5. twig's did a decent job in spelling dials.
6. if this team lts down like that in big ten play, it will bite them in the ass. they got by last night.
7. overall i think the team just needs some time to gel offensively. there are a few new faces out there, including twig really, that need to just learn to play together. the ooc slate is good to allow this, while tossing in a few tough games, to get osu ready for conference play.
1. osu still seems disjointed on offense. i think jwins referenced this a few pages ago.
2. dials needs to not dribble too much. he also needs to sense the double team and get the ball back out to the perimeter so the guards can swing it to the open man.
3. lewis has done some good things, but has looked sloppy at times as well.
4. if ivan harris played Sullinger's game, he would be unstoppable.
5. twig's did a decent job in spelling dials.
6. if this team lts down like that in big ten play, it will bite them in the ass. they got by last night.
7. overall i think the team just needs some time to gel offensively. there are a few new faces out there, including twig really, that need to just learn to play together. the ooc slate is good to allow this, while tossing in a few tough games, to get osu ready for conference play.
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crazybuckfan40
Head Coach
Well I guess it was a good thing that I missed the second half until the very end when Va Tech cut it to 3 and then we pushed the lead back up to 12.
Overall I thought this was a very good performance. We just dominated them, and everybody seemed to be getting to that point where the whole team is just clicking on all cylinders.
Overall I thought this was a very good performance. We just dominated them, and everybody seemed to be getting to that point where the whole team is just clicking on all cylinders.
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In the grand tradition, I'll just throw out a cluster of random thoughts too. 
Apologies in advance if it winds up looking like a Dostoyevsky novel.
Regarding the crowd, I was reasonably satisfied. In comparison to the first two games, the fans were far more fervent. I judge it largely by the support given when the team is struggling, and when our offense went flaccid in the middle of the second half, the crowd was still there, salivating for buckets. Clearly we can't compete with the atmosphere of a smaller school, at which you may be able to conceive of something so alien, so foreign as, say, giving students free tickets, organizing shuttles from dorms to the arena, opening the doors after the half, etc. The sad truth is that tOSU has been 'big business' for as long as I've been a part of it, and I don't see anything changing that. Despite the complete lack of motivation within the administration to foster a loyal basketball fanbase, the crowds will continue to get bigger and more ravenous as the season picks up speed, and it's going to be the conference games that require it the most. Do I wish we didn't play in a professional hockey-style building? Of course I do. No sense in pouting about it, though.
As I expected, Brayden Bell and Ivan Harris are feeling the squeeze on minutes. Nothing against either kid, but the simple fact is that Bell is too green to command floor time, and Harris doesn't bring anything that can't be gotten from other players who, by all accounts, outplay him in every aspect of the game other than shooting open jumpers. I like Harris' potential - always have - and I sincerely hope he gets his break next year as a senior, but if he averages fewer than fifteen minutes a night this season, I will be neither surprised nor particularly disappointed.
Twigs displayed some great hustle in his sixteen minutes. I look at the kid now and I see a the body of a man, which certainly belies the somewhat vacant stare he runs around with. His offensive prowess still leaves something to be desired, but shit - we don't now, nor will we ever need him to score. All we need from him is effort, and that's what we got. Very encouraging.
Ron Lewis and Sylvester Mayes continue to get their numbers, somehow. I love their athleticism, and the way Mayes just 'found a way' to put points on the board was inspiring. I get the feeling, though, that these two (particularly Mayes) are not the most coachable of players. Lewis, as it has been mentioned, seems very strongly influenced by how he performs out of the gate, and they both, thus far, have shown the ability to disappear from games. I think you'll have that with basically everyone on the team apart from Terence and Sully, but with a guy like Ron, I'd like to see a more calculated, consistent approach to games. I have the privilege of sitting in the family section, which affords me the opportunity to hear Ron's clan offer their take on things. This generally consists of, "Stop watching, Lew - get in the game," and "Quit taking pictures!" As must be the case with Mayes, I'm sure they're used to Ron being the focal point, and this team (thus far, it seems) does not appear to have one. With three different starting lineups in the first three regular season games, I just hope neither kid gets it in his head that he's not getting enough face time. If they can learn to play smart and humble, they'll both be invaluable.
Je'Kel - to me - seems to be our most reliable player. He is probably the biggest beneficiary of opposing teams' rabid fixation with shutting down TDials. Take away his laser-lock from behind the arc, and he's still the quiet heart and soul of this team. I love his hustle, I love his versatility, and I love him. I'm not in love with him, mind you. I just love him as a basketball player. No need to raise eyebrows.
Jamar had a quiet game, but I tend to forget that he's a sophomore, and still very much in the process of developing that presence that can only really come with experience. Needless to say, I look forward to having him out there for the next 2.88 seasons.
A lot (and I mean tons) of analysis and commentary has been devoted to Terence and his ability - or lack thereof - to operate in certain ways in the post. "He puts the ball on the floor too much," and "he needs to find the open man more," and "he needs to stop getting in foul trouble," and so forth. These are not wholly inaccurate statements, to be certain. But Mr. Smiles' lack of passing ability notwithstanding, he remains a force with which opponents absolutely must reckon. The Hokies were triple-teaming him down the stretch. Did it result in some turnovers? Well, yes. But the fact that they were all but forced to gameplan around the man is something that doesn't show up in the box score. It goes without saying that his passing chops aren't what you'd ideally love to see from a big man that commands so much attention. Regardless, he has a gravitational pull that will continue to compel teams to double and triple-team him, and that alone will win us some ball games.
If any two players ever make me smile more than Sully and Syl do, then call a damn doctor, because my face will probably split in two. Without getting into a complete dissertation as to why they're my two favorite players on this squad, I'll just say that both guys seem to know exactly what they need to do to help the team. JJ's judgment on offense is spotty, and whatever it is that certain players have that helps them see the floor and know what the right pass is and when to make it...he doesn't have that. And that's fine. There was one possession that sticks out, in which VaTech's defense was flooded to the far side of the court. Sully was up top with the ball, and he had Syl to his left on the wing with one defender between them. A jab step and a no-look pass would have had Matt looking at a wide open three, but if I had a nickel for every time a basketball team missed an opportunity like that, I'd have a shitload of nickels. Without looking at the numbers, I'd wager that JJ is in the top five to ten in the country in rebounding, and while I wish his free throw shooting would improve (11 of 21 so far this year), I'd rather a player shoot eleven throws and hit six than go two for two. He just looks like he loves playing his game. Somebody said earlier that if Ivan Harris played Sully's game, he'd be unstoppable. Well...yeah. Who wouldn't? Now I know I said I wouldn't go crazy long here, but Syl as well deserves no small amount of credit for that win. Six points, six boards, three assists (would have been four if not for VT's cheap intentional foul on Lew) and a couple of uncredited steals in 22 minutes. He'll never average 15 points per game, and he won't ever have a strangle hold on a starting spot the way Dials does, but he's smart, he's tough, and when he gets motivated...wow. He hustled his ass off last night, and you can go ahead and bet money that he'll have a couple games this year that resemble his 25 point effort versus Illinois last year, when he literally just took over. Matta said it plain as day: Syl's effort on the boards and on defense in the final minutes of that game was absolutely clutch. When his shot starts to fall, look out. I noted it before the season - the presence and leadership of the four senior captains is our greatest resource, and it really showed last night.
With twelve days until St. Joe's, this team will have to stay up and ready in practice to keep from getting stale. The sentiment I got was that they want to get right back out there and play, and they want to play for real. The Norfolk States and Belmonts of the world, frankly, are slowing this team down, I think. Our first two road games, St. Joe's and Iowa State, will go a long way in determining just how tough this team is. Goes without saying at this point, but I can't wait for December 10th.
And for the record, I love the gray accent on the new jerseys. I forgot to get an idea for whether or not they're here to stay, but they've got my vote.
Apologies in advance if it winds up looking like a Dostoyevsky novel. Regarding the crowd, I was reasonably satisfied. In comparison to the first two games, the fans were far more fervent. I judge it largely by the support given when the team is struggling, and when our offense went flaccid in the middle of the second half, the crowd was still there, salivating for buckets. Clearly we can't compete with the atmosphere of a smaller school, at which you may be able to conceive of something so alien, so foreign as, say, giving students free tickets, organizing shuttles from dorms to the arena, opening the doors after the half, etc. The sad truth is that tOSU has been 'big business' for as long as I've been a part of it, and I don't see anything changing that. Despite the complete lack of motivation within the administration to foster a loyal basketball fanbase, the crowds will continue to get bigger and more ravenous as the season picks up speed, and it's going to be the conference games that require it the most. Do I wish we didn't play in a professional hockey-style building? Of course I do. No sense in pouting about it, though.
As I expected, Brayden Bell and Ivan Harris are feeling the squeeze on minutes. Nothing against either kid, but the simple fact is that Bell is too green to command floor time, and Harris doesn't bring anything that can't be gotten from other players who, by all accounts, outplay him in every aspect of the game other than shooting open jumpers. I like Harris' potential - always have - and I sincerely hope he gets his break next year as a senior, but if he averages fewer than fifteen minutes a night this season, I will be neither surprised nor particularly disappointed.
Twigs displayed some great hustle in his sixteen minutes. I look at the kid now and I see a the body of a man, which certainly belies the somewhat vacant stare he runs around with. His offensive prowess still leaves something to be desired, but shit - we don't now, nor will we ever need him to score. All we need from him is effort, and that's what we got. Very encouraging.
Ron Lewis and Sylvester Mayes continue to get their numbers, somehow. I love their athleticism, and the way Mayes just 'found a way' to put points on the board was inspiring. I get the feeling, though, that these two (particularly Mayes) are not the most coachable of players. Lewis, as it has been mentioned, seems very strongly influenced by how he performs out of the gate, and they both, thus far, have shown the ability to disappear from games. I think you'll have that with basically everyone on the team apart from Terence and Sully, but with a guy like Ron, I'd like to see a more calculated, consistent approach to games. I have the privilege of sitting in the family section, which affords me the opportunity to hear Ron's clan offer their take on things. This generally consists of, "Stop watching, Lew - get in the game," and "Quit taking pictures!" As must be the case with Mayes, I'm sure they're used to Ron being the focal point, and this team (thus far, it seems) does not appear to have one. With three different starting lineups in the first three regular season games, I just hope neither kid gets it in his head that he's not getting enough face time. If they can learn to play smart and humble, they'll both be invaluable.
Je'Kel - to me - seems to be our most reliable player. He is probably the biggest beneficiary of opposing teams' rabid fixation with shutting down TDials. Take away his laser-lock from behind the arc, and he's still the quiet heart and soul of this team. I love his hustle, I love his versatility, and I love him. I'm not in love with him, mind you. I just love him as a basketball player. No need to raise eyebrows.
Jamar had a quiet game, but I tend to forget that he's a sophomore, and still very much in the process of developing that presence that can only really come with experience. Needless to say, I look forward to having him out there for the next 2.88 seasons.
A lot (and I mean tons) of analysis and commentary has been devoted to Terence and his ability - or lack thereof - to operate in certain ways in the post. "He puts the ball on the floor too much," and "he needs to find the open man more," and "he needs to stop getting in foul trouble," and so forth. These are not wholly inaccurate statements, to be certain. But Mr. Smiles' lack of passing ability notwithstanding, he remains a force with which opponents absolutely must reckon. The Hokies were triple-teaming him down the stretch. Did it result in some turnovers? Well, yes. But the fact that they were all but forced to gameplan around the man is something that doesn't show up in the box score. It goes without saying that his passing chops aren't what you'd ideally love to see from a big man that commands so much attention. Regardless, he has a gravitational pull that will continue to compel teams to double and triple-team him, and that alone will win us some ball games.
If any two players ever make me smile more than Sully and Syl do, then call a damn doctor, because my face will probably split in two. Without getting into a complete dissertation as to why they're my two favorite players on this squad, I'll just say that both guys seem to know exactly what they need to do to help the team. JJ's judgment on offense is spotty, and whatever it is that certain players have that helps them see the floor and know what the right pass is and when to make it...he doesn't have that. And that's fine. There was one possession that sticks out, in which VaTech's defense was flooded to the far side of the court. Sully was up top with the ball, and he had Syl to his left on the wing with one defender between them. A jab step and a no-look pass would have had Matt looking at a wide open three, but if I had a nickel for every time a basketball team missed an opportunity like that, I'd have a shitload of nickels. Without looking at the numbers, I'd wager that JJ is in the top five to ten in the country in rebounding, and while I wish his free throw shooting would improve (11 of 21 so far this year), I'd rather a player shoot eleven throws and hit six than go two for two. He just looks like he loves playing his game. Somebody said earlier that if Ivan Harris played Sully's game, he'd be unstoppable. Well...yeah. Who wouldn't? Now I know I said I wouldn't go crazy long here, but Syl as well deserves no small amount of credit for that win. Six points, six boards, three assists (would have been four if not for VT's cheap intentional foul on Lew) and a couple of uncredited steals in 22 minutes. He'll never average 15 points per game, and he won't ever have a strangle hold on a starting spot the way Dials does, but he's smart, he's tough, and when he gets motivated...wow. He hustled his ass off last night, and you can go ahead and bet money that he'll have a couple games this year that resemble his 25 point effort versus Illinois last year, when he literally just took over. Matta said it plain as day: Syl's effort on the boards and on defense in the final minutes of that game was absolutely clutch. When his shot starts to fall, look out. I noted it before the season - the presence and leadership of the four senior captains is our greatest resource, and it really showed last night.
With twelve days until St. Joe's, this team will have to stay up and ready in practice to keep from getting stale. The sentiment I got was that they want to get right back out there and play, and they want to play for real. The Norfolk States and Belmonts of the world, frankly, are slowing this team down, I think. Our first two road games, St. Joe's and Iowa State, will go a long way in determining just how tough this team is. Goes without saying at this point, but I can't wait for December 10th.
And for the record, I love the gray accent on the new jerseys. I forgot to get an idea for whether or not they're here to stay, but they've got my vote.
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jimotis4heisman
Banned
everyone here has hit on the the efffects of the game, but what caused these things.
1-effort. does anyone really think our guys came out and gave 100% in the first 17 minutes of the second half when by my count at the game we scored 11 pts and had 11 tos?
2-inside game. the reality is even the best true post players have to have the game come to them. this starts with good postioning. dials put the ball on the floor to much because he was in poor postion to score once he was able to get the ball. often times he was to low, those great acrobatic baseline moves, put other times he was low and that makes it eaiser to help on bc td can only go one way. to high or to far out towards the wing, can allow teams to double down and force dials to put the ball on the floor for more tnan a power dribble. this causes turnovers and gets dials out of his natural ablities.
poor entry passes. i didnt see a good one all night. terrible. not one player throw a good entry pass. part of this is dials being out of postion, but as bad entry passes come in post players positioning becomes more unpredictable (one bad feeds the others worse)
3-second half offense. it is not so much that they settled for outside shots. this team is built for the three. the reality is the team stood around, poor off ball movement was a problem. the other thing i didnt like was even though this team likes to take their man of the dribble drive, in the second half they seemed to only use the drive to attack the rim and causing turnovers and getting out of postion. in the first half the dribble drive was used as a mutlifacted dimension, looking to attack the rim, mid range game, a few step back shots, dribble drive and dish, and drive and kick outs.
4-layoff. these guys had not played a game in 6 days a long time and this was only their 3rd game and first decent opponent. VaTech was 16-14 last year but they were 8-8 good for 4th in the ACC with wins over Duke and GaTech. Also it should be noted in all five games (including the BG lose which they tipped the ball into their own basket at the end of regulation) VaTech played much better in the second half.
unrelated and not ment to be negative...why all the praise for JJ? is he a high energy guy yes. but his defense is suspect to say the least and he isnt much more than an average rebounder. he rarely checks out and almost always leaves his man to chase the ball. the results have been more than a few rebounds, quick passes and layups which i attribute to him. also his defense can be said no better than suspect, he was beat for 4 layups on backcuts or for being out of postions in overtime vs butler. he also had 4 unforced tos vs vatech. personally i believe a lot of this season rides on JJ, his ability to play better this year against the likes of tucker and greer will decide a lot in the big ten race. the reality is JJ is athletic, but is not the most athletic player in the b10, he needs to really more on discipline, smart brainy play and lean on his fundamentals.
1-effort. does anyone really think our guys came out and gave 100% in the first 17 minutes of the second half when by my count at the game we scored 11 pts and had 11 tos?
2-inside game. the reality is even the best true post players have to have the game come to them. this starts with good postioning. dials put the ball on the floor to much because he was in poor postion to score once he was able to get the ball. often times he was to low, those great acrobatic baseline moves, put other times he was low and that makes it eaiser to help on bc td can only go one way. to high or to far out towards the wing, can allow teams to double down and force dials to put the ball on the floor for more tnan a power dribble. this causes turnovers and gets dials out of his natural ablities.
poor entry passes. i didnt see a good one all night. terrible. not one player throw a good entry pass. part of this is dials being out of postion, but as bad entry passes come in post players positioning becomes more unpredictable (one bad feeds the others worse)
3-second half offense. it is not so much that they settled for outside shots. this team is built for the three. the reality is the team stood around, poor off ball movement was a problem. the other thing i didnt like was even though this team likes to take their man of the dribble drive, in the second half they seemed to only use the drive to attack the rim and causing turnovers and getting out of postion. in the first half the dribble drive was used as a mutlifacted dimension, looking to attack the rim, mid range game, a few step back shots, dribble drive and dish, and drive and kick outs.
4-layoff. these guys had not played a game in 6 days a long time and this was only their 3rd game and first decent opponent. VaTech was 16-14 last year but they were 8-8 good for 4th in the ACC with wins over Duke and GaTech. Also it should be noted in all five games (including the BG lose which they tipped the ball into their own basket at the end of regulation) VaTech played much better in the second half.
unrelated and not ment to be negative...why all the praise for JJ? is he a high energy guy yes. but his defense is suspect to say the least and he isnt much more than an average rebounder. he rarely checks out and almost always leaves his man to chase the ball. the results have been more than a few rebounds, quick passes and layups which i attribute to him. also his defense can be said no better than suspect, he was beat for 4 layups on backcuts or for being out of postions in overtime vs butler. he also had 4 unforced tos vs vatech. personally i believe a lot of this season rides on JJ, his ability to play better this year against the likes of tucker and greer will decide a lot in the big ten race. the reality is JJ is athletic, but is not the most athletic player in the b10, he needs to really more on discipline, smart brainy play and lean on his fundamentals.
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