[i]Originally posted by MeinShaft[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 12:37 PM
[b] I have a hunch our defense is going to be better this season. After complementing the Coach on earning a reputation in the past as a master of Xs and Os, I asked Coach on his show last season why he has gotten away from that and why the defense is almost non-existent. His response was that we now have the horses to simply outrun and outgun most opponents and that he doesn't have to rely on scrappy defense and sets to overcome a lack of athleticism anymore. He also admitted that simply trying to outrun and outgun opponents wasn't always enough and that he would have to work more with the team on defense (I think this followed Rutgers).
With that said, we have a bunch of guys who have been practicing with the team for one or more seasons and it was said at least once last season that the B team has been known to take the A team to the woodshed in intrasquad games. So there should be some of our offensive and defensive sets ingrained in at least some of these guys coming in or finally getting playing time. We do lose Eddieâs defense but we also lost Itiâs and Plavichâs lack thereof.
GW is looking scary but I think that barring injuries and stupid off the court antics, we are the team to beat in the A-10 (A-10 or Atlantic 10 looks and sounds so much better (actual performance aside) than that lame excuse of a name and abreviation CUSA or Conference USA).
I also think that there will be equal or better rivalries (hopefully based more on good natured sportsmanship than hatred of players, coaches and fans) due to the more compact geography of the conference. There is nobody to really hate in this conference, although Cheney will get his share of abuse for calling out the goon squad. With Charlotte and GW expected to be at or near the top this season and both being relatively close, this would be a natural place to start. Richmond will have to wait because they are looking more like Molly Brown than Cinderella these days. [/b]
Your post not only made me feel bad about Lutz being our coach, but it also makes me question the validity of your statements.
Not about Lutz, I believe completely that he hasnât worked on defense with our team. But how can you say there wont be any one to hate? Dayton fans are some of the worst in the country, per reports from UC and XU fans. And our own run-isn with them. And what fun is a rivalry for fans if it is built on good sportsmanship?
Iâve met lots of you guys and believe me when I state, we wonât have any trouble finding someone to hate or someone to hate us. Now donât get pissy, Iâm including myself.
Look who the two teams complaining about Dayton are, regional/state rivals. I doubt they would give it to us as much as they do Xavier or Cincy. Unless provoked, for Dayton fans to pick up Charlotte as a hated rival would be like asking us to start hating Marquette because they made the Elite 8 a few years ago. They could probably give a rats a$$ about Charlotte unless we start throwing batteries and ice cubes at them.
Our rivalries, fun as they were, were based on hatred of coaches (i.e. Huggy, Slick and Calimari) and the goons, punks, and tactics they employ (i.e. Bobby Brannen, Darius Washington, and phony press releases), not so much on geography. The give and take between Gruels and members of this board is the kind of friendly rivalry Iâm talking about.
I too agree that we should be better on defense. Martin was virtually non existent as a defensive center. His rotations were slow and his help side was never there. Losing him can be a plus in the sense that no weâll be forced to play better straight up man. We already know CW and Mitch can play solid defense. DA went to Oklahoma so heâs straight. As long as EJ improves and our 2 guard plays solid straight up we should be better defensively.
[i]Originally posted by NinerOne[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 11:06 AM
[b] our defense will keep us out of top 25, we were already bad and lost eddie basden.... [/b]
We also lost Plavich, which should offset the loss of Eddie on D.
As far as the rivalries, are any teams in the A-10 nicknamed the Observers? If so, thereâs my rivalry. B)
I think our defensive tactics need to change some. As 49erfan1 said, we need to play more straight up man without doubling the post. We got killed on that last year and we didnât have the athletes and numbers to press last year. This year we have lots of bodies to throw out there if we need to, although I think weâll see a set rotation of 8-9 guys eventually.
I also remember Lutz saying that the entire offseason workouts would be spent on defense and rebounding. These are the workouts they did after the season ended.
Defensively, we upgrade at the 2 and 5. Mitch is fine. He should be more agressive when healthy. Drayton has continued to add muscle. Curt is huge and if works hard, can be an enforcer
Williams, Coleman and Jamison give us 3 big defensive guys off the bench we didnât have last year.
[b]Credentials: Curtis Withers in the post, E.J. Drayton inside, Mitchell Baldwin and Leemire Goldwire at the point, another stellar newcomer class with Courtney Williams, Jerrell Jamison, Antwon Coleman and Mitch Mullis, and the passion of head coach Bobby Lutz.
Reason: Martin Itiâs transfer wonât have a dramatic effect, but Eddie Basdenâs defense and scoring pop and Brendan Plavichâs 3-point shooting wonât be easy to replace. Still, the talent is in place for this squad to chase GW and anyone else in the Atlantic 10. The 49ers, with their tough home court, might end up being the team that everyone else chases by mid-season.
Red flag: Lutz loves to have his teams make 3s, so replacing Plavichâs 3-point shooting will be a top priority. Withers will be the unquestioned leader on this team. Getting someone to balance his inside presence is a top priority.
[/b]
As noted, Niners in at #27. George Washington cracks top 25 at #24.
[b][b]27. Charlotte
Credentials: [/b]Curtis Withers in the post, E.J. Drayton inside, Mitchell Baldwin and Leemire Goldwire at the point, another stellar newcomer class with Courtney Williams, Jerrell Jamison, Antwon Coleman and Mitch Mullis, and the passion of head coach Bobby Lutz.
Reason: Martin Itiâs transfer wonât have a dramatic effect, but Eddie Basdenâs defense and scoring pop and Brendan Plavichâs 3-point shooting wonât be easy to replace. Still, the talent is in place for this squad to chase GW and anyone else in the Atlantic 10. The 49ers, with their tough home court, might end up being the team that everyone else chases by mid-season.
Red flag: Lutz loves to have his teams make 3s, so replacing Plavichâs 3-point shooting will be a top priority. Withers will be the unquestioned leader on this team. Getting someone to balance his inside presence is a top priority. [/b]
[b][b]24. George Washington
Credentials:[/b] The Colonials stayed up here because of the return of Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Mike Hall. J.R. Pinnock, Omar Williams and Carl Elliott are back, too. Coach Karl Hobbs has everyone under his control and has increased confidence after getting to the NCAAs after a season that was, at times, rocky.
Reason: GW was inconsistent last season but was still one of the more entertaining teams to watch. The Colonials wonât struggle to score but defending can be an issue. If they can lock down defensively, they have a shot at being a top-25 team all season.
Red flag: T.J. Thompsonâs leadership will be missed. He was a scoring point guard whose role might fall to Maureece Rice, who served as his apprentice last season.[/b]
[i]Originally posted by run49er[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 04:31 PM
[b] As noted, Niners in at #27. George Washington cracks top 25 at #24.
[b][b]27. Charlotte
Credentials: [/b]Curtis Withers in the post, E.J. Drayton inside, Mitchell Baldwin and Leemire Goldwire at the point, another stellar newcomer class with Courtney Williams, Jerrell Jamison, Antwon Coleman and Mitch Mullis, and the passion of head coach Bobby Lutz.
Reason: Martin Itiâs transfer wonât have a dramatic effect, but Eddie Basdenâs defense and scoring pop and Brendan Plavichâs 3-point shooting wonât be easy to replace. Still, the talent is in place for this squad to chase GW and anyone else in the Atlantic 10. The 49ers, with their tough home court, might end up being the team that everyone else chases by mid-season.
Red flag: Lutz loves to have his teams make 3s, so replacing Plavichâs 3-point shooting will be a top priority. Withers will be the unquestioned leader on this team. Getting someone to balance his inside presence is a top priority. [/b]
[b][b]24. George Washington
Credentials:[/b] The Colonials stayed up here because of the return of Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Mike Hall. J.R. Pinnock, Omar Williams and Carl Elliott are back, too. Coach Karl Hobbs has everyone under his control and has increased confidence after getting to the NCAAs after a season that was, at times, rocky.
Reason: GW was inconsistent last season but was still one of the more entertaining teams to watch. The Colonials wonât struggle to score but defending can be an issue. If they can lock down defensively, they have a shot at being a top-25 team all season.
Red flag: T.J. Thompsonâs leadership will be missed. He was a scoring point guard whose role might fall to Maureece Rice, who served as his apprentice last season.[/b]
BTW, Cincy is #22 and Wake is #23. [/b]
Wake, ok Gray and Williams, I think I understand.
Cincy? Huh? Did huggy get a star player to come save the day? I thought they were gonna be really weak this year. Eric Hicks and�
[i]Originally posted by pcon[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 04:22 PM
[b] Per their reason for # 27, we should be atleast in the top 20 because they did not mention Alexander at all... [/b]
Top 25 anyway.
I think he needs to drop Cincy to our spot, and leapfrog us and Kansas over Illinois, and then move everyone up one spot.
[i]Originally posted by pcon[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 04:52 PM
[b]
[b]Cincy? Huh? Did huggy get a star player to come save the day? I thought they were gonna be really weak this year. Eric Hicks and....? [/b]
Good question. I thought everybody was kicked off that team. Quick, somebody name their starting lineupâŚshould be interesting to see who it is. [/b]
I know that Hicks, White, Kirkland, and Muhammed all return. Hicks averaged 13 ppg last season and the others 10 ppg each. I would expect Hicks and White go increase their respective numbers and that frosh Devon Downey will take over at point, which will allow Muhammed to switch to SG (or the bench!). Supposedly a pretty decent incoming class.
BTW, looks like UConn is going to give Cincy a run for the title of Big East âBad Boysâ!!! :rolleyes:
[i]Originally posted by MeinShaft[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 01:20 PM
[b]
Our rivalries, fun as they were, were based on hatred of coaches (i.e. Huggy, Slick and Calimari) and the goons, punks, and tactics they employ (i.e. Bobby Brannen, Darius Washington, and phony press releases), not so much on geography. The give and take between Gruels and members of this board is the kind of friendly rivalry I'm talking about.[/b]
gruehls is glad to be rid of the lot of you, you pathetic, whining, scrufulous, unsavory batch of infighting niner ninnies.
notwithstanding the foregoing, gruehls looks forward to many a future trip to the hofbrauhaus with ninerfans hittin the 'nati for your twice yearly mugging of the mouseketeers.
it was a heckuva run with you fellas.
good luck each and every year in the A-10.
p.s. without plavich, you guys are lucky to go .500.
[i]Originally posted by gruehls[/i]@Aug 17 2005, 05:14 PM
[b] notwithstanding the foregoing, Mrs. gruehls looks forward to many a future trip to the hofbrauhaus with HP49er hittin the 'nati for your twice yearly mugging of the mouseketeers. [/b]
