[QUOTE=minerniner;267539]we need to bring in a shrink (mental) and a free throw expert (mechanics) and get this fixed.[/QUOTE]
Be careful what you wish forā¦
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20061127/ai_n16874886
[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;267533]TRUE STORY. He was horrible!@(Bill Walton voice)
I do too: āCoach, why did we get away from having our Fās drive (& dish) the ball on iso plays and posting Jones up late in the game? That was our most successful halfcourt offense in the first half. And, if Jones cant catch bounce passes, why donāt we lob the ball in to him, especially against a small team like HPU?ā[/QUOTE]
Stat of the game other than getting like 16 steals:
36 ft attempts to their 6. Of course we only made 17.
A couple others:
-The halfcourt trapping especially on the wings is really going to give teams trouble. Thatās how weāre going to get half our offense and weāll need it.
-The offense stalled after we got the big lead and as Lutz said we should have buried them at that point. HP was tired. Just needed the knock-out blow. Brand new PG and 7 others on the court for the first timeā¦it will come.
-Gerrity will help a bunch. Weāll have all the pieces once heās eligible. The pieces will still be inexperienced but if everyone stays committed, we could be a very nice team by conference play.
-Loved the energy from the players and the crowd!!!
I was really impressed on how much bigger Ian got since last year, I hardly recognized him when he came out of the tunnel. Last year he looked like a small, shoot only, defensive liability. This year heās bulked up, he might still not be as good a defender as some but he still did a good job with getting in his guys face when he needed. I also loved how he came out of the tunnel and tried to pump up the crowd. I hated that we didnāt have anyone with personallity on the team last year, Ian seems to really want everyone to get pumped up. We need guys like that for the crowd and team, the Demon, Camsā¦
This could be a really special team by February. We clearly have a ton of room for improvement. We are going to lose a few down the stretch but we are at least fun to watch, which is more than we could say for the last 2 years.
High Point is a very good team and after looking at their schedule they could easily win 20+ games which makes Friday night a good RPI win for us.
Jones definitely needs to be more assertive but remember it was his FIRST game and he's a Fr/Soph. Let's give him a little time. Good news right away is that Lutz said he can shoot fts and that the team made 18 for 20 in the early practice and generally shoots them fairly well, except for Coley.
Yes.
My thoughts:
[LIST]
[]I really like the new guys. Wilderness,Mack, Phil, Coley and Harris all did things I liked tonight. Phil needs to work on his hands but itās clear he has POST instincts and doesnāt look for a jump shot (see Iti). Itās also clear to me that every one of these guys can play. In recent years when I saw the new guys we brought it I was left with the feeling that they just werenāt that great. All of our new guys have ability and play hard
[]It was the first game. Lapses on defense arenāt surprising, and lack of chemistry on offense isnāt either. This team is young and hasnāt played together long. They need time to gel but one thing you can see is they get along on the court. Lots of high 5ās, lots of pep talk in between plays. I love seeing that.
[]Lee got 2 quick fouls so it wasnāt shocking he had a hard time getting into a flow. He turned it on in the second half. Heās a special player and will carry us some games this year
[]We drove to the basket ALOT. We settled for a few perimeter shots but we didnāt take a single one I couldnāt live with. Loved Harris driving to the hoop. He was erratic at times but you can tell heās not scared. He just needs to get some experience to look outside for a pass
[*]We crashed the boards and fought for every rebound. Constant hustle, constant fighting for the ball. Thatās the kind of effort I love seeing.[/LIST]Finally, and most important to me, last yearās team would have lost to High Point last night. We won. My opinion that puts us alread ahead of the game.:49ers:
[QUOTE=MKNiner;267557]
[*]We settled for a few perimeter shots but we didnāt take a single one I couldnāt live with. [/QUOTE]
Really? Not even Coleyās rushed three with a man on him?
Or the 3 by Andersen with a hand on the ball?
Other than that, yeah, most of the 3s were tolerable at worst.
Lee forced a couple up as well, one that lead to a fast break for HP.
When we were patient we were good. When we were lazy ( a few plays where Lee just ran around with the ball, and most of the team didnāt move) or when we were rushing things (the fast breaks in the first half, shots early in the shot clock) we looked really, really bad.
I am just glad Lutz seemed to rear people in quick (with the exception of Lee) when they started playing out of control. I was really worried that charge late in the game was going to cost us big. But, it didnāt. The team responded.
Not sure if it has been discussed but first off, for the love of GOD, trash that incredibly stupid, middle school budget video before the lineups. I literally held my head down in shame as the HP fans were witness to that atrocity. I thought last yearās was bad but this may be the worst video intro Iāve ever seen in my life. The music was horrible and the footage was hard to watch. How hard is it to realize that the pre-2nd half video is the ONLY video that needs to be shown? That one gets everyone fired up for the game. Complete embarrassment.
Now that thatās off my chestā¦
Very pleased with the game. Yes, we have some things to work on but considered we started 4 new guys, I thought we played better than expected. When I see a team hustle, play solid scrappy D and dive for balls like that, I can even tolerate losing a game. Because I least know the guys gave everything they had and for whatever reason, the shots just didnāt fall enough to win the game. Fortunately, we did do enough on offense to pull it out last night. To be a group of young guys, I was impressed that they held their composure when HP came back to trail 53-50 with under 3 mins. to go. We could have easily caved in at that point but a very nice job by Bobby and the team to turn up the defensive presence another notch and close it out.
Phil has a ways to go before developing into the player we had hoped for. What I was most concerned about was his inability to take a pass. He reminded me a lot of Calvin Clemmons last night. He has GOT to find a way to reel in the ball when it is fed to him and finish strong. I just didnāt see the intensity from him I was expecting. I know heāll get better though.
We have got to improve on free throws. This is a team that will find itself on the line a great deal. And if we donāt improve, weāre going to lose a lot of close games because of our inability to make shots from the line. This has plagued us for years and will continue to do so. We left way too many easy points on the floor last night. The game should not have been nearly as close as it was but when you miss that many FTās, thatās the kind of game youāre going to get.
Lastly, Iām not sure why everyone thinks the crowd was great. I thought it was one of the poorest showings for a home opener Iāve seen in years. Yes, the crowd that was there was VERY loud and enthusiastic. But in terms of empty seats, I thought it was very bad. Iād say upstairs was barely 40% full (Iām being generous) and there were a ton of empty seats downstairs behind the goals. Itās obvious weāve lost some season ticket sales and interest from the casual fan. But with that said, this is a team that can bring people back to Halton. Playing like they did last night, along with the very nice coverage in todayās Observer will go a long way towards getting fans out to our games.
Not sure if it has been discussed but first off, for the love of GOD, trash that incredibly stupid, middle school budget video before the lineups. I literally held my head down in shame as the HP fans were witness to that atrocity. I thought last year's was bad but this may be the worst video intro I've ever seen in my life. The music was horrible and the footage was hard to watch. How hard is it to realize that the pre-2nd half video is the ONLY video that needs to be shown? That one gets everyone fired up for the game. Complete embarrassment.
Agree with everything you said accept the music being horrible. Itās from the training montage in Rocky IV. Thatās the one where Rocky single handedly ended the cold war. Thereās not a bad piece of music in that movie, save the Russian National Anthem.
Jones definitely needs to be more assertive but remember it was his FIRST game and he's a Fr/Soph. Let's give him a little time. Good news right away is that Lutz said he can shoot fts and that the team made 18 for 20 in the early practice and generally shoots them fairly well, except for Coley.
Thatās great but how many times have we now heard that we shoot well in practice without it carrying over into the game?? I know that most of us here can shoot 80% from the line in our driveways (I know I can). But the one time I had the opportunity to shoot free throws at Halton during halftime, I shot more like 10%, if that. Free throws in practice have absolutely zero relevance to free throws in games because itās virtually all mental. When youāre in practice, thereās zero pressure and most guys are going to shoot well above their average. But we have to find a way to transfer that confidence out on to the court during games. Jones is going to get to the line a ton this year and he has the ability to win us a lot of games if he can shoot well. I just want to see him do it when it counts and not when there is nothing at stake at practice. He can make 300 of 300 in practice but it means very little when heās shooting under 60% during games.
That's the one where Rocky single handedly ended the cold war.
:lmao:
[QUOTE=jcl49er;267564]Thatās great but how many times have we now heard that we shoot well in practice without it carrying over into the game?? I know that most of us here can shoot 80% from the line in our driveways (I know I can). But the one time I had the opportunity to shoot free throws at Halton during halftime, I shot more like 10%, if that. Free throws in practice have absolutely zero relevance to free throws in games because itās virtually all mental. When youāre in practice, thereās zero pressure and most guys are going to shoot well above their average. But we have to find a way to transfer that confidence out on to the court during games. Jones is going to get to the line a ton this year and he has the ability to win us a lot of games if he can shoot well. I just want to see him do it when it counts and not when there is nothing at stake at practice. He can make 300 of 300 in practice but it means very little when heās shooting under 60% during games.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I think I threw up the first time I heard someone mention that this season.
A) No Rocky music. Itās cliche and lame. Either bring back the Fort Minor song or go with the halftime video.
B) I love Wilderness.
C) I enjoyed the birthday wishes.
[QUOTE=jcl49er;267560]Not sure if it has been discussed but first off, for the love of GOD, trash that incredibly stupid, middle school budget video before the lineups. I literally held my head down in shame as the HP fans were witness to that atrocity. I thought last yearās was bad but this may be the worst video intro Iāve ever seen in my life. The music was horrible and the footage was hard to watch. How hard is it to realize that the pre-2nd half video is the ONLY video that needs to be shown? That one gets everyone fired up for the game. Complete embarrassment.
Lastly, Iām not sure why everyone thinks the crowd was great. I thought it was one of the poorest showings for a home opener Iāve seen in years. Yes, the crowd that was there was VERY loud and enthusiastic. But in terms of empty seats, I thought it was very bad. Iād say upstairs was barely 40% full (Iām being generous) and there were a ton of empty seats downstairs behind the goals. Itās obvious weāve lost some season ticket sales and interest from the casual fan. But with that said, this is a team that can bring people back to Halton. Playing like they did last night, along with the very nice coverage in todayās Observer will go a long way towards getting fans out to our games.[/QUOTE]
100% AGREE ON THE VIDEO INTRO.
Not too happy with Norm coming out with a power drill listening device after we make a run and the crowd is hype. Just let the music play and the crowd stay up.
I thought the student turnout was great. Obviously we have lost Alumni and corporate donors.
100% AGREE ON THE VIDEO INTRO.Not too happy with Norm coming out with a power drill listening device after we make a run and the crowd is hype. Just let the music play and the crowd stay up.
Totally forgot about the Norm bit. Make that TWO of the most embarrassing and ridiculous things Iāve ever witnessed in that arena. I donāt know whoās in charge of coming up with this stuff but please update your resume.
As everyone said, the new guys look enthused and our fun to watch (and talented).
Did anyone notice how Phil listens to Lutz during the game? When Lutz pulls him over, he automatically bends down and listens. Then he goes out and works like crazy staring at his feet to set his feet and get his position (almost like he is following teachings given to him on the sideline). I donāt know what this skullduggery is Jones is trying to pull, but apparently he didnāt watch enough Iti highlights.
Seriously, though, the way he is listening and attempting on the court, I say he will be a beast under the basket by the end of the year. One thing I worried about, he looked afraid to charge into someone. He would shoot hooks instead of just hurting his defender. He had no fouls, maybe he could have used a couple to see how much he is allowed to bump during games. Learn how much force he can exert when we start playing with these A-10 refs.
HPU did not hit open threes when we played zone. They could have buried us. But our zone defense in the first game for about every player is better than any zone played by the team at the end of last year.
[QUOTE=jcl49er;267582]Totally forgot about the Norm bit. Make that TWO of the most embarrassing and ridiculous things Iāve ever witnessed in that arena. I donāt know whoās in charge of coming up with this stuff but please update your resume.[/QUOTE]
I had my head in my hands through that whole ordeal. 226 is close to the High Point side and I definitely avoided eye contact with their fans during that skit due to how embarrassed i was.
[QUOTE=jcl49er;267582]Totally forgot about the Norm bit. Make that TWO of the most embarrassing and ridiculous things Iāve ever witnessed in that arena. I donāt know whoās in charge of coming up with this stuff but please update your resume.[/QUOTE]
The video bit at the startā¦really had no feeling about itā¦good or bad.
The Norm bit with the power drill or whatever it was ā¦was an F***INā JOKE. PLEASE DO NOT BRING THAT BACK.
Totally forgot about the Norm bit. Make that TWO of the most embarrassing and ridiculous things I've ever witnessed in that arena. I don't know who's in charge of coming up with this stuff but please update your resume.
for real, who comes up with this crap? Its like corny Single A baseball crap, BRING OUT THE DIZZY BATS! Everyone around me was like this around me: :huh:?
The intro video is awful, trash it for monday, redo it next week and come back with something better for the next home game. like JCL said, the pre 2nd half video is AMAZING! move it to the intro video. Just do the same thing every year, update highlights with more recent players, but i may kill someone if the eddie steal for a dunk against memphis is taken out of it, change the music every once in a while.
That video may be a little āintimidatingā as well. a āthis is how we do it hereā video for high point fans. Watching a team run sprints is embarassing.
[B][I]one additional observation, the high fives to the fans after the game (i think dijuan was the first to do it) was a really nice touch. It shows those guys have pride in their school, and not pride in their self (cough cough DA). I believe Mack and Coley also joined in. If you are a recruit in the stands, you have to notice that, and love it.[/I][/B]These guys want to win for this school, not for the name on the back. I know every kid wants to win, and nobody likes to lose, but the feel of team last night was just that, a team. And that includes the people in the stands as well.
My honest opinion, we can play a lot better than that, but if last nights team took the floor against last years team. Last nights team probably wins by 12.
This was awesome.
I said this before, these guys have soo much energy. They are sooo lively. They are the type of team that a crowd wants to watch.
Towards the start of the game, Ian went nuts and was looking like the Hulk about to rip out of his shirt when he was motioning to the crowd.
The interaction with the crowd is amazing. Even Lutz was in on it. When I believe Wilderness went up and got fouled.
Then at the end, of course, Harris, Wilderness, Mack, Coley, Jones, Ian all came up to the crowd. I think Mack or Coley were first. Because I saw Harris almost scramble into the student section.
:49ers:
Thanks to SAFC for their free burgers and Bball goals set up at the student entrance. Thats the way to get students out there.