UGLY!

[u518370]

Just finished watching the Bonnies lose 82-51. A few thoughts:
1) No particular offense was being run. Most Bona possesions ended with a bad/forced shot.
2) Diggs easily outplayed Relph. 4 of Relph's points came shooting foul shots after Techinicals were called. Relph doesn't seem to play with much passion and he gets easily discouraged on the floor. Diggs has a pretty nice overall game- he just needs to shoot more often.
3) Lottin seemed to find his stroke again, but then missed a really ugly looking 3 point attempt near the end of the game
4) Ahmad Smith was nearly invisible all game. A rare off night for him

This team is a long way from being consistently competitive in the A-10. I know that they've had a few close losses, but I'm not sure they would have beaten anyone playing how they did this afternoon.
I'm really hoping that they can get things together down the stretch so that they have something to build on for next season. Many of the remaining 7 games are winable. I think they need to win at least 2 of them so that they can legitimately say that they improved from last season(1 a-10 win)...

[pete]

1. there was no direction on offense.
2. MLee had two one-on-one isolations early in the game and didn't take it
3. williams tries hard but is rough around the edges
4. nobody seems to know how to box out
5. taking a shot w/11 seconds left in the first half I blame on the
coach
6. way too many missed shots, including a dunk
7. seems like we quit trying
8. marteli seemed to have a great command of his team, Sol not
9. I thought relph did ok
10 lottin seems like he is on vacation


I hope we do better. Our schedule is relatively easy the next 5 games

[BonniesFan]

Agree with all but #2 in the original post. Relph showed some flashes of being a good player this afternoon but would follow it up with a dumb shot. If he can learn to be consistent, he will be the player that he has been hyped to have been all along.

Besides, Diggs isn't a shooter and St. Joe's recognized that by playing off him on the perimeter. Even when he's open he isn't likely to nail a shot outside of 10 feet.

We lost the game though because of sloppy play and a lack of rebounding. So many times our guys wouldn't box anyone out.

Part of it I think can be blamed on the zone D since no one is assigned to a man, but then when we made the switch to man, SJU really started nailing their shots since we had trouble getting out and contesting their shots. You can't win either way in that situation.

Also, I'm not sure why we didn't press. I think we ran a full court press once today and it forced SJU to call timeout since they were trapped in the corner. It's puzzling why we elected not to press to try to create some quick, easy points of turnovers.

All in all it was a disappointing effort today and we beat ourselves as much if not more than SJU did.

[ikesta22]

I don't think they quit trying, they still were as energetic as they normally are and seemed to continue to play with some heart as you would to avoid embarresment.

Diggs is a disgusting shooter, seeing him clank three pointers off the backboard with a decent looking stroke makes me wonder how he could be so far off. I would rather have Relph on the floor just because of the occansional offensive benefits he brings, but him getting pick pocketed outside the three point line again was pretty brutal. Its hard to tell who should really be out there, Diggs has the ball handling advantage but it just seems like there playing 5 on 4 with his lack of scoring potential.

My biggest pet peeve with this team is it seems they don't know what HELP DEFENSE is. Everytime the opponent's big man has a one on with ours, (mostly on Williams) and no one else will step in to provide extra defense. Plenty of times a guy could slide in, make a steal or add another body to get through. At least make them kick the ball out, everytime they are able to convert easily on a one on one matchup under the basket.

Didn't see any glaring mistakes on Soloman's part, then again not many could be made when your down by so much so early.

We can still pick up a couple wins, Go Bonnies.

[BonniesFan]

ikesta22 said:

My biggest pet peeve with this team is it seems they don't know what HELP DEFENSE is. Everytime the opponent's big man has a one on with ours, (mostly on Williams) and no one else will step in to provide extra defense. Plenty of times a guy could slide in, make a steal or add another body to get through. At least make them kick the ball out, everytime they are able to convert easily on a one on one matchup under the basket.

To take that a step further, this was even more evident since we wanted to front the post player to deny the easy entry pass. When this happened though, the player from the back side would rarely slide over leaving the SJU player wide open inside for an easy bucket.

[wgt]

The 31 point loss at Hawk Hill does not shock me but I did think we would perform better. What does shock me is the way we lost. The patterns of these two teams were not exhibited in the Hawk’s domination. I’m shocked that Relph was our top rebounder, that Ahmad scores only 3 (late), & that the St Joes’s treys & points from the charity stripe were not at all the difference in the game as I had thought. With Mallon out, I’m also shocked that they dominated the paint (40 points to our 24) & outrebounded us by 9. Was Mike 100% with his 1-9 & 2 boards? Same question for Ahmad’s 1-8 for 3 pts? Hate to see such a one sided loss to Phillip.

[tomgleason]

Pete, How can you blame the coach for taking a shot with 11 seconds left in the first half...HE WASN'T ON THE COURT. Some of you people out there need to look at the players for not ececuting instead of ALWAYS wanting to blame the coach. OK, so he MAY not be the next John Wooden, but when the opposing fans start counting down the seconds, and a PLAYER listens and launches early, THAT IS NOT THE COACHES FAULT.

[Phantom]

Is their concentration and focus that poor? They listen to the fans at 11 seconds?! Does the coach ever communicate anything to HIS TEAM?

[pete]

Tom

Easy.... there was plenty of time on the shot clock, probably turned off. As a coach, you instruct your players to take the last shot of the half in that situation. period.

[O2level]

I hope the players all start launching early. I'm sick of passing around the perimeter and shooting a wild shot because the shot clock is about to run out. Get an open look and shoot the ball.

[kcSBU03]

If i do recall correctly, Lottin was chewed out for shooting that 3 with 11 seconds left in the half. The shot clock was off and they could have held for a last shot. Cant blame Coach for that, its a player error. Its fundamentals, anyone who has played at any level knows to hold for the last shot. I dont think the coach should have to teach guys how to play at the D1 level.

[rashaanpalmer]

That St. Joes game was probably more embarassing than the 51 point loss at home two years ago. St. Joes, before that game, was in 12th place out of 14 teams in the A10 I believe, and they were missing Mallon, who may not be the best player in the world, but is a solid forward with a nice outside game. There are some things while looking at this game that you can blame on the players, but for all those poster that want to give Sol immunity, that might not be a good idea. Heres why:

1. Yes, we had the scandal. Yes, we have to rebuild. He will not be fired after this year. But in watching that game, I cannot believe how poor our fundamentals are. Help defense needs to be taught, and we have no idea what help defense is or how to play it. Do our players even understand the concepts of ball-line defense or being in the lane when your man is on the weak side. Nope, dont think so. Do we understand how to technically perform a sound box out. Havent seen one of those in awhile.

2. Our offensive scheme. It seems as if we are not looking to score until there are 5 seconds left in the shot clock, starting in the Charlotte game. I understand the wanting to be patient in the offense and letting it run through, but seeing Paul pass up an open 8 footer and Ahmad and Tyler pass up open shots in that game leads me to believe that he must have instructed them to not shoot. While running through the offense, one must look to score. Patience is very good in offense, but not looking to shoot is another thing, and that leads to bad shots. We just look as if we are going through the motions before there is too little time on the shot clock to run an effective offense. In addition, in the 4 out 1 in offense a poster previously referred to, cutting is essential to make the offense work. Look at Indiana's success. While missing DJ White, they run that offense to perfection, and create alot of open looks because of it. We do not cut, or move for that matter, in this offense, and it is probably poorly executed because it is probably poorly taught.

3. Our team chemistry. These players seem to not be working well together, and there seems to be divisions on the court. I wonder if AJ Hawkins and Tyler Benson are questioning their decisions to come here, as their minutes are being severely cut. Pat, who displayed great intensity earlier in the year, seems to have quit. What is the mindset of this team, as in crucial situations, they break down from neither having the leadership from both our seniors and our coaching staff. Also, how can I players mesh on the court when you are subbing every 15 seconds. I do not understand how that substitution scheme helps us.

From what I hear from alumni and certain people within the administration, Sol is a quality person who I would be very impressed with if I ever had the chance to meet him. But, are we making progress in a basketball sense. The answer to that is no. In fact, some might say we are even regressing. I love Coach Solomon and all that he stands for, doing things the right way, family, and for taking this job in the most impossible of all circumstances, but when do we draw the line. I hope he really can turn things around, because if he is as people tell me, we need more people like him in college basketball. Good luck to you Sol, but we may need to start looking elsewhere, before it is too late.

[mangham]

Rashaan Palmer was one of my favorite players....

[tomgleason]

phantom said:

Is their concentration and focus that poor? They listen to the fans at 11 seconds?! Does the coach ever communicate anything to HIS TEAM?

you saw the game, YES, their concentration and focus seems that poor.....why, I don't know, but I am ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that a head coach at a D-1 school has instructed his team to take the last shot PERIOD...hey, maybe he was worried about NOT getting a shot off after the 3 or so turnovers in the first half due to a shot clock violation. PLAYERS FAULT PERIOD