MU vs. FDU observations/quick hits
MU now probably has to go 6-1 to clinch that seventh winning season in a row before the NECs and probably ..no worse than 5-2 rest of the way.... to maybe get at least one home game in the playoffs...FDU scored 25 points off 18 MU TOs, seven points off three in the final minutes..looked to me like Dave lost confidence in a shaky Mike Shipman down the stretch when he elected not to go with three guards..
Ubilla's shot was the ESPN Play of the Day ..lost in the shuffle was a fine all-around game by Corey Hallett (season high tying seven points, six rebounds, one assist, two blocks)...MU scored one point in the last 10 minutes in the loss at CCSU..was outscored 12-1 Monday after it had a 57-45 lead with about seven minutes left as MU had five TOs and missed three shots as FDU got back in the game...
as the late great Philadelphia Phillies announcer Richie Ashburn would say..."Hard to believe Harry."
2006-2007 NEC Men's Basketball Standings
including games played through 2/5/2007
School NEC Pct. Overall Pct Streak Home Away Neutral
1. Central Conn. St. 11-1 .917 14-10 .583 W9 7-4 7-3 0-3
2. Quinnipiac 8-4 .667 10-11 .476 W2 6-4 4-7 0-0
3. Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 .636 12-10 .545 W3 5-4 6-6 1-0
Sacred Heart 7-4 .636 11-11 .500 L1 6-1 4-9 1-1
5. Mount St. Mary's 7-5 .583 8-15 .348 L2 6-3 2-12 0-0
6. Wagner 6-5 .545 9-13 .409 W3 6-5 3-8 0-0
7. Robert Morris 6-6 .500 14-7 .667 W1 9-2 5-5 0-0
8. Monmouth 5-6 .455 10-13 .435 L1 8-2 1-10 1-1
9. Long Island 3-9 .250 7-16 .304 L7 5-6 2-10 0-0
St. Francis (NY) 3-9 .250 5-19 .208 L3 3-6 2-11 0-2
11. St. Francis (PA) 1-11 .083 4-19 .174 L14 3-8 1-11 0-0
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
Ubilla's shot was the ESPN Play of the Day ..lost in the shuffle was a fine all-around game by Corey Hallett (season high tying seven points, six rebounds, one assist, two blocks)...MU scored one point in the last 10 minutes in the loss at CCSU..was outscored 12-1 Monday after it had a 57-45 lead with about seven minutes left as MU had five TOs and missed three shots as FDU got back in the game...
as the late great Philadelphia Phillies announcer Richie Ashburn would say..."Hard to believe Harry."
2006-2007 NEC Men's Basketball Standings
including games played through 2/5/2007
School NEC Pct. Overall Pct Streak Home Away Neutral
1. Central Conn. St. 11-1 .917 14-10 .583 W9 7-4 7-3 0-3
2. Quinnipiac 8-4 .667 10-11 .476 W2 6-4 4-7 0-0
3. Fairleigh Dickinson 7-4 .636 12-10 .545 W3 5-4 6-6 1-0
Sacred Heart 7-4 .636 11-11 .500 L1 6-1 4-9 1-1
5. Mount St. Mary's 7-5 .583 8-15 .348 L2 6-3 2-12 0-0
6. Wagner 6-5 .545 9-13 .409 W3 6-5 3-8 0-0
7. Robert Morris 6-6 .500 14-7 .667 W1 9-2 5-5 0-0
8. Monmouth 5-6 .455 10-13 .435 L1 8-2 1-10 1-1
9. Long Island 3-9 .250 7-16 .304 L7 5-6 2-10 0-0
St. Francis (NY) 3-9 .250 5-19 .208 L3 3-6 2-11 0-2
11. St. Francis (PA) 1-11 .083 4-19 .174 L14 3-8 1-11 0-0
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
posted by Tony Graham at 2:37 AM
58 Comments:
As long as they keep shooting free throws like they do -- and I don't see them improving at this point -- no lead will ever be safe.
They looked like one of my horses down the stretch...you could see the lead shrinking, and knew they would get caught at the wire!
Hey TG
Its Tim Walker. I did not see the game as I had practice last nite from 7-9. However with that being said I did sneak into the coaches room and check the score online. righ before I left for home 1/2 hour drive, I was sooooo happy. We were up 12 with 4 minutes left and I though WOW what a big win. I get home showered and went to check the score the computer. UGH!!!!!!!
It made me sick. What was worse was when I woke up this morning and watched sportscenters TOP 10 as I do every morning and they say number 1 Monmouth vs FDU and I said OH Crap, They didn't and sure enough they did and over Bunch no less. Any way 62% from tghe line is NOT going to cut it so they all should shoot 100 today IMHO. ANy way thats it from PA. MY team is 16-6 and has 2 tough ones left. Districts start next Friday the 16th will let you this weekend where we are seeded. Take care all and Don't give up the ship.
Tim Walker
Eeerliy similar to the way we beat FDU in our last meeting! I guess this will go up on their bulletin board, much like Chris Kenney's layup is on ours.
Our only consolation is that the last meeting was for the NCAA berth -- this wasn't.
Tony, to be honest, the coaches should be embarassed. How can four coaches on the bench allow this to happen? No excuses.
Upon further review..I just watched the tape of the last seven minutes...
1. Shipman, poor shots, poor decisions.
2. Delic..shooting 3's with too much time left on the shot clock.
3. Delic and Marques missing big foul shots...
4. To make it worse MU got every call at the end...Youngblood hustled his tail off to get a key offensive rebound...
5. Finally..you gotta give Ubilla , Hazard, FDU credit.. they made all the shots they had to make, and Ubilla got the last one up over Bunch...
6. What more could the coaches do? You tell me.
Tony, the coaches need to teach the players how to break the pressure and how to handle the pressure. You can see the mistakes happening because of the pressure and the nervousness of our players.
Agreed.
They do work on it..as I noted..and I am sure will pay a lot of attention to it again at practice this week..in the end..it's up to the players..
Kids that are 20 years old should not have to be coddled. Some people who are "expert bloggers" here need to get a freakin clue about life and basketball. Grow up.
Enough already. The coaches dont say Deki please drop the ball like a 5th grader in the corner against the press. They dont ask Whitney to please take 4 steps without dribbling. They certainly dont advise Marques to try and throw an alley-oop pass to, of all people, Corey Hallet late in the game by throwing it right at an FDU defender do they? They dont say hey Shipman please turn the ball over three times in the final five minutes like any good point guard do they? The Hawks were prepared. The kids failed to execute down the stretch. Plain and Simple.
Once again if MU made its FT's the game is ours. Not poor shot selection by Ship who only took 2 shots, yes the TO's hurt but not the factor in the L. By sitting with the FDU crowd-they were actually in awe of our back court & their ability to move the ball so well(until the last 5mins.anyway) when we left the shooter open too many times to count. Again a tough loss but not one that can't be made up 2/12/07. Guys just have to make FT's...Let's Go Hawks!!!!!
I had to edit this a little ...
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "MU vs. FDU observations/quick hits":
Poster was not enthralled with Shipman's performance -
then he said, "" Blame him. Blame Deki for dropping the ball in corner. Blame Whitney for hoisting up a bad three when Bunch was wide open. Blame Rickie Crews for acting like an imbecile all year. Blame the coaches? I dont think so. "
My comment on the comment....yes they (players) definitely made mistakes down the stretch.
Whitney played well overall..most everyone did really ..
until the collapse...
You would especially like to see Deki and Marques hit the big foul shots ..
as for Rickie..can we give this kid a break here?
He's come back..done everything he's been asked..and is now part of the team.
It would be nice if they had a big lead every now and then late so they can get him in a game.
By the way.. the coaches ultimately are responsible. At the same time I really don't know what more they can do except keep the team focused and working on its flaws..
As I see it Wagner game is about as "Must Win" as there has been ..all year if they still have hopes of landing a decent NEC seed...
Tony Dave and his staff looked like they had NO idea how to coach last night,yelling and yelling.... poor use of the bench and Shipman killed them.23 games into the season and they can not handle a highschool press...I give Dave a D- at best...
Coaches yell...this is not an earth shattering revelation.
Please explain "poor use of the bench.'"
Shipman did not play well as a point guard when things got hectic, but again, the whole thing doesn't fall on his shoulders by any means. I believe he'll learn and get better.
He wasn't on the floor the last three minutes or so..
Anonymous: Im sure you could have done a better job coaching, congratulations. You're clearly a loser in life, you really have a great basketball IQ though I have to say. LOSER! The coaches werent out there trying to break the press, the kids were. By the way Coach Calloway, Coach Krayl, and Kenny were all excellent players, probably better than any player MU has on their team now!
Shipman was so bad why didnt Dave give Nunner a few minutes he doesnt turn the ball over,just tell him not to shoot....
The team should watch the tape for three hours straight and then they well understand how BAD a LOSS it was and who killed them .Shipman looked like a D-3 guard at best...
To the guy who doesnt like yelling:
I guess you're one of those babies whose mother never let them out of the house to play competitive sports. I've got news for you pal, these "kids" or young men get over $100,000 scholarship to play basketball, go to class, and stay out of trouble. If you dont like yelling dont support the team. It's you that has NO idea.
To some folks..I am becoming weary editing many four letter words.. They are not going to run!
You may make the same points without them! Can't you?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Nunner..I, for one, never considered it. He hasn't been in many (any?) games in that situation.
True.. he rarely turns the ball over and gets rid of it quickly.
That would have been some spot to put him in though..and if he turned it over or messed up in some capacity, etc.,..ouch!
Dave went with three seniors...Jhamar and Whitney. I can't fault that.
Re Shipman: OK, as stated. He didn't play well towards the end. Was doing fine before that. Let's not crucify him.
He'll look at the tape, he'll learn and, in my opinion, he'll be out there the next game in crunch time. That's one of the only ways he will learn.
He didn't lose the game by himself and - as stated - wasn't even on the floor at the end.
Before you label a player a D3 level..go to a D3 game. I did (Stockton vs. Rutgers-Camden). Most times there's nooooooo comparison.
and when Stockton played MU..name the Stockton guard that could start for MU.....
Thank You Tony for your further review. That is exactly what I was talking about when I didn't want to mention names. You decribe it as poor decisions, I decribe it as selfish. Maybe harsh but still the same outcome.
Tony the guys are shrinking in EVERY game at the 10 minute mark. Win or Loss 40 mins of play not 30.
Tony last night was very hard to watch. I had a night class that got out early and got a score from my dad; MU was up by 15 at the time. By the time I got back to the dorms they were up 10 and I couldn't believe it. But then I watched everything unravel. I watched Ship turn the ball over and FDU capitalized on every MU mistake. Oh well...theres always next monday.
I don't believe Mike is selfish at all. He's a point guard.
He thought those were plays he could make..but - my opinion - those may not have been the time to try them.
He took the outside shot with 13 on the SC..he was open...but still...if you're going take that shot...better make it...maybe there he should have driven and looked to dish...oh, well.
But ..make the FTs and it's a moot point.
Re: shrinking. Yes..in some of the tough losses anyway.
Ok...look. I think we've explored everything Mike Shipman did or didn't do....down the stretch.
He also made some very nice plays to help them build the lead..
He's a sophomore who - as we know - has missed some games over the last two years as well.
As Dave said - this wasn't the championship game. They have to learn, from this game especially.
Cut Shipman a little slack. For the 800th time..he didn't lose this game by himself..was generally a team effort.!
This game hurts in more ways than one. First, FDU is my least liked team in the league. 2nd, this really really hurt towards NEC tourney seeding. I'm just thankful I wasn't able to watch it.
Some general thoughts. This team has to learn how to put teams away. It hurts to think that MU should at the worst be 7-4 in conference play (FDU and CCSU should have been wins). Freeee throw shooting is a big part of this. Unfortunately, they aren't going to get better at it this late in the season.
But the biggest thing this team needs to find is a leader. Especially in the guard department. Someone who will make the right decisions when the game is on the line and not turn the ball over.
As for the coaches yelling, what more would you like them to do?? Pat them on the back and be all lovey-dovey with them?? Give me a break. Also, Coach cannot keep getting blamed for the losses and the late meltdowns. Sometimes, players just need to step up. If Hazard was getting wide open looks, is that Calloway's fault, and if it is, explain how???
I can almost guarantee..Hazard will not get many open looks Monday night.
Of course they still have to do a good job on Ubilla who wouldn't even have been in at the end of the game if the other players hadn't fouled out..how ironic is that?
I have to go out for a while..be back later..
A True MU Fan:
First & foremost a team wins & loses as a team! Ship did not lose the game for Mu.Missed FT's(5 in total) in the last 4mins. lost the game & letting 3 unattested 3 bring FDU back in the game. The To's happened yes but weren't the factor that everyone is crucifying the kid for. MU played the press well for the majority of the game until FDU got wise to the fact that we were going to pass the ball from corner to corner until Big John was under the basket to get a suppose it easy shot. Not a bad plan if he makes them all. As stated by some peolpe on the FDU side they knew what we were going to do before we did. Be fair folks and stop being armchair critics. Nothing that FDU did last nite impressed me enough to say they are unbeatable. They did't beat us we beat us. MU will prevail & be in the NEC tourney again. I hope the players and coaches don't read these blogs because you guys are brutal & show little faith in your team & if they do please rest assured that not all fans abandon you so easily...& to Ship in particular keep doing what you do best & that's play ball.
Hey Bud, thanks for pointing out that the NEC are all screamers. That's why it's the NEC. Turn on ESPN and take a look at the premier programs and you tell me how many are screamers. With coaching doesn't come the need to scream at your players.
You watch our time outs. After the coach is screaming at his players at the top of his lungs, the buzzers sounds and they have no clue what it is that the coach wants them to do.
Again, take a look at the premier programs and their time outs. The coaches cluster together for a moment then address the 5 players. We instead have 4 coaches screaming at the players at the same time.
I could go on and on if you like. You observe the next game and honestly tell us if that's not what you see.
I'm not saying that the coaches shouldn't show their emotion. it's far from that. What I'm saying is approach is everything.
I'm not alone on this. These are the same comments being shared by fans who sit close to the area of the home bench.
Before commenting you may want to sit in that area first.
Almost every time our players are screamed at it shuts them down. You can see it by the response on their faces. Again you make the observations.
Look my point on YELLING is so true just ask the PLAYERS or ask Tyler or maybe Jayson.I have no problem with their emotion and anger... BUT a time out is the time to regroup and plan.. NOT have all 4 coaches at one time YELL out a new improved game plan... Turn on ESPN tonight and tell me all the coaches at St Joes or Ohio State run a time out like MU...I dont think soooo..The team was falling apart so when your in a crisis so you jump in the face of the players and YELL....thats when you COACH... and you think ALL the top Coaches in the NCAA do this.... TRY again BUD.. MU TO are bush league....ASK ANY PAST PLAYER
Hey Jason, Tyler, any semi recent past player..want to chip in here??
Let me add..while at Boylan Gym I am across the court, I have also either sat next to or eaves dropped on a many an MU time out at Quinnipiac and SFNY over the years.
My experience has been..including this year..there has been a whole lot more coaching than yelling. Sometimes a combination of both.
I don't think this coaching staff has to be embarrassed by how the team has performed over the last six years....and while this season has been overall disappointing..is it because the coaches have forgotten how to coach?
OH you want me to explain the poor use of BENCH... UP 18 no subs for a quick rest for your starters before TV time outs ...Anyone who knows about coaching would have sub a few players if they were focused on the game... Its called TEMPO control... BUD study a few box scores" MINUTES PLAYED" there called .....PLUS it was a TV game and MU was up BIG....Well i guess Dave Knows BEST RIGHT....
Stop talking about the past six years ....They were very good...But there gone and done with... history to be proud of but those wins wont help MU this year right...We are in 8th place 7 games to go and we gave FDU a gift.MU might miss the NEC tourny so lets give the Coaches a pass RIGHT?????
Let's see...CCSU uses five players for almost the entire game - and what's their record?
While you're advising Dave why not fire an e-mail off to Howie as well..I'm sure he'd be happy to ponder you're coaching suggestions.
Oh, that's right, by your game plan, he doesn't know how to coach then either.
Anonymous has left a new comment
A little editing here on this one:
"Tony watch the TAPE... 18 point lead going going gone thats called a crisis .... The leader needs to lead not go bat xxxxx..""..
Yes..they gav FDU a flat out gift..no question.
You want to blame it on Dave and the staff...fine.
Thus, your solution, right now, at this minute, "to save the season" would be?
Tony go read the box score for CCSU ...Howie has used on AVG 8 players 9 in a few as i said for a quick rest for the starter ... They know about the TO and how to steal a minute rest here and there...I never said a LONG period just a smart sub ... BUT I just know how to read a box score...So you should check your facts.....
The season 10-13 now and I hope for a winning season BUT the facts are the facts no reason to sugar coat them now.The guy at the top "coach" in any program must take the stand in the end.Its his team he recurited the players and ran the show...I guess you dont want any neg imput on DAVE...
Yes..look at CCSU box scores..in close games..five players play almost the entire game....maybe two others see a handful of minutes...
anyway..your point I guess is -Dave doesn't know what he's doing and he yells too much.
You stated it in a professional manner which I respect so - it's here..on the record.
I disagree. So be it.
Haven't I run all your posts? Everyone is entitled to their opinion here - pro or con Dave, players, sports writers (gasp!), whoever -as you have done, and as long as they are made without gutter talk.
UP 18 in agame game is a MUCH differnt point then a "close game",what dont you get... up 18 and your telling me no coach in AMERICA would sub a few players to steal a few minutes of rest for there starters for the strech run....
I do see your point....maybe Dave , who mainly plays seven guys, felt in his mind it was still to "close" to rest any of his seven regulars at that point.
Let's say he did..for like two minutes..and put in two of deeper the subs..and the lead went down like a stone..what would you say then?
But Ok..back to my last question...your solution is?
WOW you should call Bill O and go on his show NO SPIN ZONE... The lead did fall like a stone didnt it ???? UP 18 right or was i watching the wrong game?? Well lets call it a night your to good with the SPIN BALL.. When the season is over lets see how many BIG time schools call Dave when they fire their coach...
Ok..let's.
If that was going to happen I would think it would have happened before this.
I don't think Dave would care to go to a "big time" program as an assistant ..and - barring a sky rocketing pay hike - even to a higher mid major as the boss.
Why hasn't he been offered by a "higher level" program you ask? .
NEC coaches (aside from Kevin Bannon to RU some 10-12 years ago) don't generally leap to significantly higher levels...one reason being they never do anything in the NCAAs.
MU did make a make a bit of an NCAA splash last year....but not a big enough one to seriously interest a Seton Hall or the like..
Mu has a great coaching staff, all ex-players, three were excellent players. They all know the game and have been successful, as has MU the past six or so years. Stop whining, things happen, life goes on, and MU will rebound. Grow up BUD!
Tony, seriously enough with this kid slaughtering the coaching staff after this one collapse. He probably never played baketball at any level. People who make bold cowardly statement should have the decency to tell us who they are. No?
One of the attractions of a blog I guess is to come on as anon and fire away...
This person is entitled to comment though..I have to admit - I was wondering when the calvary would arrive to save what little hair I have left...and..it was gradually approaching some sort of limit on my patience ..after all.. he made his point..whatever it was ..
Was doing a little research on Eric Hazard tonight.. he is now shooting 50 percent from 3..37-for 73..
.and only six of his 43 hoops overall this season have not been 3's....yipes!
While we are at it here..for those who would perhaps like a better understanding of the preparation for a game - (especially any students)-
Come to practice once in a while and see what is involved...practices are open as you know..tip off Wednesday is 3 pm
I'm no expert of the rules and mandates of the blogosphere, but with a PhD from Harvard in reach arounds, I know that pursuant to the section 2 subsection 6.a of the "Gentlemen's Guide to Reach Around Etiquette", that it is customary for the reacher to notify the reachee when and who is doing the reaching around. Should we make a man law motion to adopt a similar stance here? MAN LAW!
*It has been said, that on the GrahamMan Blogspot, there will be no more posting in anonymity!
Wow..
I think...after consulting my blogosphere rules of etiquette - you were seeking an edict proclaiming - no more anonymous posting on the blog..
While a noble idea - I don't think that will work!!!
It was a terrible loss. I could not post on here afterwards I was way too upset and angry. However, like Dave said it wasn't the championship game and young players can learn from this. The only problem I have with that was that 4 seniors play in the regular rotation, and shouldn't have let it slip away. Everyone should take some blame from players 1-7 that played and the whole coaching staff, because when they win we give credit to players 1-12 and the whole coaching staff. They are a TEAM, they will stick together and hopefully rebound bigtime on Thursday night. God I hate Wagner! And as for Anon. continuously attacking the coaching staff and Mike Shipman, etc.- Enough already! We got the point you were trying to make, some would call it mostly invalid but you got it published and across. Like a real fan, stop dreading on the past and look forward to tomorrow night and beyond. The season is not over, there was 33 mins of positives in that game, don't forget. This game was eerily similar to the game against Balkman's Buddies in South Carolina last year. Anyone else stay up until 230AM to watch that collapse?
I did MU mystery coach!! That was painful to watch, but that wasn't unexpected.
Well, to the extent that South Carolina has much better athletes and you knew they were going to go on a run. This hurt much more since it was a conference game and really could kill us getting a home game in the NEC tourney.
If that is correct....that is where a little more depth would help...
.at the same time..the FDU collapse had little to do with the match up...right?
Teams always make runs..you have to have the guard play to handle it..as we all know...
Bob,
The matchup zone is an intense defensive scheme, especially the way Coach Krayl expects it to be run (with maximum effort/efficiency). Missed assignments will kill you playing this defense, which is a problem against multiple three-point shooters on the court at the same time (Example: LIU's Williams, EUGENE, etc. or FDU's Murray, Hazard, etc.) However, strength at the end of games really shouldn't be an issue. Considering that they do spread the minutes mostly evenly throughout the 7 guys, with just Coleman playing big minutes everynight there really isn't an excuse for that. However, MU was banking on (in my opinion) about 15 minutes a night up front from Rickie "The Rookie"/"The Phantom" Crews and I think somewhere in between 5-10 minutes a night based on matchups etc. from the combination of and/or Alex "The Nun-Gun" Nunner or Yaniv "The glassman" Simpson. Obviously, only Nunner has been able to get on the court semi-regularly and be semi-effective. However, Nunner struggles defensively so I don't know if a 100% Nunner would give you a better chance for a stop over an 80% Whitney. Things haven't gone as planned this year, but the 7 man rotation is what we got now, and overall it seems to be working- can't knock Dave for sticking with it.
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