Andrew deserves blame for this loss

[Chuck]

Andrew deserves blame for this loss. If he plays over 30 minutes the Bonnies win. Reason he plays only 16 minute is because of his decision making. There is not an excuse for Andrew to get 4 fouls in only 16 minutes, especially when the players guarding him are only 6'6" tall. This is coming after a game he is ejected for committing a flagrant foul. Three weeks prior to this he plays only 15 minutes against Illinois St.

Unfortunately it is a similar theme being repeated from last year. In 7 games Andrew plays less than 20 minutes, because of foul trouble. Andrew had 13 games with 4 or more fouls, which is almost half of the games he played last year.

Andrew is one of the best players in the A-10, but he needs to start making better decisions.

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/gamelog?playerId=41510&year=2009

[az63]

And should we give the slugs that he calls teammates a free pass??

[mcspin]

It's tempting to agree with you, but I really can't ever blame a loss on a single player. The game is too complex and the different scenarios that could turn a loss into a win are endless.

Imagine what would have happened if we took care of the ball better - 20 turnovers vs 10. Look at how Eleby was 4 for 14 from the field and Davenport was 2 for 10. How about the fact that Matthews only took 6 shots? Adegboye was a non-factor, both in minutes and contributions.

I could find quite a few place to lay blame, but since it's a team game, I'll lay it squarely on the teams shoulders. Everyone needs to pick it up from here.

[Chuck]

I'm not blaming the entire loss on Andrew, but I believe his decision making or basketball IQ was a big factor. It was a problem last year and a problem again this year. Andrew must play with more intelligence.

[keplerjd]

I agree with you Chuck. At least last season when Andy got into foul trouble he was also swatting shots like flies. This season he really doesn't seem as imposing on the post; he just commits fouls.

[az63]

Wasn't Schmidt known for developing big guys @ Xavier?

You would think he would spend as much time as necessary working with Andrew. So how come the ongoing problems?

[bartmitchell]

Dec 23, 2009 15:33:24 GMT -5 az63 said:

Wasn't Schmidt known for developing big guys @ Xavier?

You would think he would spend as much time as necessary working with Andrew. So how come the ongoing problems?

Andrew has developed tremendously. He is virtually unstopable when he has the ball down low. Schmidt has done a great job with him. Andrew has to learn to use better judgement to avoid cheap fouls. I think he showed marked improvement early this year in staying out of foul trouble. He has regressed. To me, that indicates the problem is Andrew, not coaching.

[sbu79]

I never got on the AN bandwagon last year. Too many early departures for me to have confidence in him.

I was changing my mind based on his early play this year, but now I'm back where I was. Unfortunately, the team can't depend on him.

I'm not going to lay all blame on AN for yesterday's loss. I believe he gets in the position where he commits some of his fouls due to breakdowns by others. I do think, however, he has to realize that giving up 2 points is better for the team if it keeps him and his offensive dominance in the game. I do think he has to make better decisions in those cases.

He's also going to have to be more careful in rebounding. He's got a target on his back, and the refs are looking for him, I'm afraid. He's got to figure out when he can afford to contest a rebound and when he needs to be more careful.

[presstowin]

Difficult to play aggressive and passive. Choosing this rebound over next. Previous posters pointed out other people have to spell him minutes and do their share at the post position. We sure need other bodies badley to bump. Good to play aggressively but we can back off some if it is trading fouls when we have a big lead.

[Eagle]

Couple of points:
- Nicholson is very good and a game changer. Everyone at Bonas knows that….and so do the other coaches. As a result every opposing coach is going to try and get him into foul trouble, and so would you if you were coaching against him. The best defense against Nicholson is to have him on the bench.
- TO’s, IMO, cost you the game. In this category NU had 22 points to SBU’s 10.
- In congress with the above is 57% shooting in the second half when Nicholson was on the bench. Offense sells the tickets but defense wins games…no way anyone wins allowing the opposition to shoot at that level.

Good luck in the A-10.

[Sipowicz]

additional points for loss:
-poor defense on WILLIAMSON
-3rd string center (WILLIAMS) comes in and dominates at key time.
-LEWIS's defense on MATTHEWS, hounded him relentlessly all night.
-poor shot selection and inability to make shots to stop NIAGARA's runs.