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Sunday, January 21, 2007

My thoughts on CCSU game...

I have read all the posts as of 1:05 a.m. Sunday... published most all of them.

First of all..Dave is in year ONE of a four-year contract.... He's not going anywhere.

What happened down the stretch is what can happen when you don't have a pure point guard, no offensive threat in the post, and your best player is a talented freshman guard, but one who is playing out of position and in foul trouble. Plus CCSU is a very good defensive team.

Still...Jhamar is really the only player on the team who can create for himself. CCSU locked down on passes into Marques and there were few if any clean looks in the last 10 minutes by anyone (not to mention the turnovers).


Monmouth actually caught a break in that CCSU power forward Obie Nwadike
came out of sick bed to play and was not 100 per cent. I guess neither was Marques though he played 37 minutes.

I'm not sure what's happened with Bunch though teams are attacking him as soon as he gets the ball and he's slow to react..he's got to make up his mind right away..shoot or pass..as soon as he hesitates he's in trouble.

As I said on the "Ponderings" topic, there's no Shipman, now no center of impact, and of course no Rickie, though what he will or would bring to the table is honestly only optimistic speculation.

The truth is - If you give up only 49 points and have 45 with 10 minutes to go and can't win...you've got BIG problems.

It's obvious MU has offensive issues..maybe even more than defense. Last three games..57, 51, 49 points.

MU also continually shoots itself in the foot from the foul line, 4-for-7 today

CCSU is a favorable match up for MU because while it is a solid team it doesn't run, doesn't press, and is small, though it does play that good defense.

MU has size over most teams (maybe all) in the NEC, and it's been negated on this losing streak..because the post players can't score and Delic is really not a post player.



Basically if Bunch can't be a factor, and so much depended on him, now even more so, I may have to agree with some posters that this season is spiraling rapidly to nowhere.




Still..there is time to at least turn this thing around to at least get back in the hunt for a high seed in the NEC Tournament.

The answers? Here's a discomforting thought - maybe there just aren't any. What you see is what you may have.

By the way..MU now has to go 9-3 in the NEC regular season the rest of the way to clinch a winning record going into the NEC post season.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

TIME TO RE-LOAD

At this point, let's start thinking about next year! Face it, does anyone really want to see MU make the NCAA's and set up stat night for UCLA or NC or the like? We can't score against NEC teams, what would it be like against a #1 seed?
Won't happen anyway -- they don't win road games, and probably will be out in 1st round of the NEC tourney (on the road).

As for next year -- obviuosly Hallett & Bunch have been big (no pun intended) disappointments, and there's no help on the way from Barlow.
Tony, you go to most practices, please tell me that our redshirt big-men (Dobriansky & Gately) are better than Barlow! Please?
If not, looks like MU hoops has hit a protracted downward spiral.

9:48 AM, January 21, 2007  
Blogger Tony Graham said...

Dobriansky - has some skill, but far from polished.

Gaitley - needs a ton of work on offense. "Knows how to play.".. Neither are athletic..

Both must put in a lot of work this summer...a lot.

At the moment..MU's back bone next year is the back court.

10:35 AM, January 21, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not too much cause for optimism in your comments on those 2 guys.
Calloway better find 2 big-time players with those remaining scholarships (3 if Ricky jumps ship).
I'm not too confident the recruit from Mendham (DelTufo) will be much help next year, but Hett sounds like a real player.

1:37 PM, January 21, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How can MU be recruiting 'non-athletic' guys any more? Doesn't Calloway & staff realize how badly we've been beaten off the boards for years now? If these redshirts can't get the job done next year someone has to be held accountable because the program will again be headed to where it was in the days when Alpha Bangura, Andre Williams, & I believe another player (promising guard) all left, and we were among the worst of Div. I
I didn't think play from our big men could get any worse than this year, but if these guys turn out mediocre we'll get 4 MORE YEARS OF IT!

4:48 PM, January 21, 2007  
Blogger Tony Graham said...

MU never tuly relies on athletic ability, more on players who can master its motion offense and match up zone defense. An athlete here or there never hurts though.



But when it had Bangura
and Williams, etc. they were athletes. How did they do?

9:57 PM, January 21, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess Chris Kenny's guns came back to hanut him and the hawks huh. Kenny you're not the sheriff in that town or any other!

2:09 PM, January 22, 2007  
Blogger Tony Graham said...

Oh, I don't know about that.

I'd say the "Sheriff" generally handcuffed CCSU (seven wins in a row, three season-enders) in his career.


CCSU always plays hard though and Howie is certainly one of the most respected coaches in the NEC.

2:14 PM, January 22, 2007  
Blogger Tony Graham said...

Ok..fine. I'll let that last one ride. Chris is a big boy.. he can handle it.

Oh..I forgot. How many CCSU seasons in a row did he help end?

Seems like he did a lot of celebrating over the years at CCSU's expense.

But, hey you beat MU once, at last. Good job!

2:42 PM, January 22, 2007  

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