I wish this team could get up for other games like they do Ole Miss...

[dawgclub99]

They just cannot though.

[Dawg61]

Defensive gameplan on Releford lost this game. Mind blowing that we continued to allow him open looks.

[msstate7]

I'm so sick of bama owning us in basketball.

[messageboardsuperhero]

I don't think we "get up" that much more for UM- I think we just play much better at home than we do on the road.

Bad/young teams play very poorly on the road, which is why you won't see many SEC team win road games consistently this year.

[Dawg61]

I'm so sick of bama owning us in basketball.

I will forever despise Bama basketball for the night they beat us by 50 at Bama on ESPN. That chubby guard could not miss that night.

[Coach34]

Defensive gameplan on Releford lost this game. Mind blowing that we continued to allow him open looks.

they were breaking down the zone and our guys had to retreat into the paint- and they kicked it out him on a couple of 3's. We got caught in a switch and Ware didnt close on him another. He was on tonight and we dont have the players to stop someone like him. Had we gone Box-n-one they would just have had someone else abuse us

[Bothrops]

We don't play defense and we can't score. We are sterile.

[Dawg61]

Had we gone Box-n-one they would just have had someone else abuse us

Maybe but I'd try it atleast. Losing Ready killed us.

[engie]

We don't play defense and we can't score. We are sterile.

At the very top of the country in steals = "don't play defense" in your mind?

They shot lights out tonight. There is jack shit you can do to a team that hits 40% from 3 and above 50% overall. We don't have shooters -- can't play comeback from behind. The 3 straight threes they hit just before the half effectively axed us.

[It_Could_Happen]

I was there tonight and it was a joke. Worest I've seen us play all year.

[mcdawg]

At the very top of the country in steals = "don't play defense" in your mind?

They shot lights out tonight. There is jack shit you can do to a team that hits 40% from 3 and above 50% overall. We don't have shooters -- can't play comeback from behind. The 3 straight threes they hit just before the half effectively axed us.

So steals define good defense? Try (against an easy preconference schedule) that State is: #77 in opponents points per game, #128 in opponent shooting %, #196 in rebounding, and #242 in block shots. And, that was before the beatdown tonight. We are bad and, yes, cannot play defense. (Offense is worse - #309 in free throws and #321 in 3 pt shooting)

[Dawg61]

How many of these players would you classify as good shooters?

Craig Sword
Fred Thomas
Gavin Ware
Colin Borchert
Jacoby Davis
Andre Applewhite
IJ Ready
Fallou Ndoye
Travis Daniels
Maurice Dunlap
Demetrius Houston
Oliver Black

Dunlap maybe and Ready doesn't shoot so you can make a strong argument that out of the 12 signees/commits Ray has gotten not a single one of them is a good to great shooter. And since we already know this staff is unable to develop them into great shooters we have a big problem with no relief in sight.

[engie]

So steals define good defense? Try (against an easy preconference schedule) that State is: #77 in opponents points per game, #128 in opponent shooting %, #196 in rebounding, and #242 in block shots. And, that was before the beatdown tonight. We are bad and, yes, cannot play defense. (Offense is worse - #309 in free throws and #321 in 3 pt shooting)

Laughable.

What in the holy hell does rebounding have to do with defense? Blocks play a negligible role as well unless you've got an Anthony Davis or Jarvis that totally alters how you attack the paint. So, actually, we're in the top 20% in OPPG -- and top 33% in OS%. In a damn rebuilding year where we're still missing key aspects from having a full team and a full complement of players.

But hey -- let's make a sweeping observations of a whole season actually based on ONE NIGHT -- where we got called for every single handcheck and the other team shot over 50% from the field -- with SEVEN scholarship players almost the entire game and most of our guys having to stay on the court while in foul trouble the whole time.

I never understand why some of you try to define and redefine entire seasons one game at a time -- The roller coaster ride of that drives me frigging crazy.

What was tonight? It was an egg in a rebuilding year. That's it. Nothing more.

[CJDAWG85]

What happened to Ready? I missed the 2nd Half.

[engie]

What happened to Ready? I missed the 2nd Half.

Apparently took a shot in the head... I didn't actually see that one either, as I was at the grill at that moment...

[CadaverDawg]

How many of these players would you classify as good shooters?

Craig Sword
Fred Thomas
Gavin Ware
Colin Borchert
Jacoby Davis
Andre Applewhite
IJ Ready
Fallou Ndoye
Travis Daniels
Maurice Dunlap
Demetrius Houston
Oliver Black

Dunlap maybe and Ready doesn't shoot so you can make a strong argument that out of the 12 signees/commits Ray has gotten not a single one of them is a good to great shooter. And since we already know this staff is unable to develop them into great shooters we have a big problem with no relief in sight.

Well, without Cunningham on that list I have nothing.*

Sincerely,

C34

[Dawg61]

You laugh but we have a big problem unless Ray replaces about 4 guys on the roster. The 2015 class has only two commits because we only lose Roq and Bloodman. The two guys committed aren't outside shooters either. We have room to add one player with Applewhite gone. With the roster Ray has lined up for us we will not have a single player that can consistently shoot from outside past the 2016 season except Dunlap (unproven) and Ready (pass first PG). Dunlap and Ready better get prepared to shoot A LOT.

[mcdawg]

Laughable.

What in the holy hell does rebounding have to do with defense? Blocks play a negligible role as well unless you've got an Anthony Davis or Jarvis that totally alters how you attack the paint. So, actually, we're in the top 20% in OPPG -- and top 33% in OS%. In a damn rebuilding year where we're still missing key aspects from having a full team and a full complement of players.

But hey -- let's make a sweeping observations of a whole season actually based on ONE NIGHT -- where we got called for every single handcheck and the other team shot over 50% from the field -- with SEVEN scholarship players almost the entire game and most of our guys having to stay on the court while in foul trouble the whole time.

I never understand why some of you try to define and redefine entire seasons one game at a time -- The roller coaster ride of that drives me frigging crazy.

What was tonight? It was an egg in a rebuilding year. That's it. Nothing more.

No, your concept of being great at steals with no other backup info is "laughable".

Ever heard of "defensive" rebounding? If you get the rebound, they cannot keep trying to score - easy concept. There is no way that you can convince me that this is a good defensive team. Yes, it is a rebuilding year(s) but that is not what you said - you said we were a good defensive team. Again, this rebuilding team doesn't defend the 3-pt well, not good defensively down low due to size, and is not good at "defensive" rebounding. (And, you said it well in your comments when you said Alabama shot >50% for the game - get use to that. When you play a pressing defense, you get some steals but you give up easy baskets.)

Yes, you cannot judge a team by one night - the Spurs and Heat lose games. But, this will not be just one night. And, the hump will get emptier and emptier. (At least they are giving away free pizza this Saturday to try to get students to the game.)

[MadDawg]

No, your concept of being great at steals with no other backup info is "laughable".

Ever heard of "defensive" rebounding? If you get the rebound, they cannot keep trying to score - easy concept. There is no way that you can convince me that this is a good defensive team.

Alabama averages 71.8 pts per game. They got 80 last night. I'm not sure why I keep hearing we are a great defensive team when everyone we play scores above their season average.

[smootness]

I don't think anyone thinks we are a great defensive team relative to other great defensive teams. I think people believe that relative to our talent and what we are working with, we are a great defensive team...meaning we are coached well and play hard. We have some limitations right now that we can't do anything about - lack of size and depth down low, which contributes to our low rebounding and blocked shot numbers and makes it difficult to defend in the paint. Still, we've done a decent job of keeping teams from scoring on us in the paint.

We create a lot of steals/turnovers, and because we are a small team that does have some athleticism, that is one area where we can compete...and we are doing it very well.

So no, we're not a good team this year. And we're not a truly great defensive team. But I don't see what good it does to point that out if you're not trying to criticize the coaching by doing it, because every reasonable person knows where we are.

But there are absolutely things to like, and I think we're better defensively than we should be given our roster. I'm fine with that.

Oh, and I don't remember who it was, but gigantic LOL on the guy who claimed we were middle of the pack in the SEC in talent.

[RougeDawg]

I was there tonight and it was a joke. Worest I've seen us play all year.

Probably still hungover from all that dancing they did this past Saturday evening after the OM game.

[Jacksondevildog]

The only issue that I have with things is I don't feel a sense of urgency with Ray. I'm not saying that there isn't one. It just doesn't seem like there is one. You have Mr. Alabama basketball (Bear Wilson) that had little to no communication with Ray about playing basketball. (I know he wanted a couple of weeks off after football.) He is a 6-6 guy that will at least give you some depth and a guy that can eat up fouls when Ware or Borchert go to the bench. I fI was Ray, I would have been telling the fan base that the Alabama player of the year is about to join the squad, but there will be a sharp learning curve with him. Something to give the fans some excitement with a guy that they recognize the name. There also seems to be no desire to recruit Devonta Pollard. Ray made the comment to Paul Jones or David Murray that they want a "scorer" if they use that scholarship. I'm sorry. This guy is a McDonalds All American with length that could help us. I understand that there are some issues with what happened with him, but I believe he was cleared of any charges if he testified against his mother. She is in jail and he is playing Juco hoops. My worries is that Ole Miss will sign him and he will drop 25 on us when we play them and we will all sit here and say WTF.

[Coach34]

Well, without Cunningham on that list I have nothing.*

Sincerely,

C34

I know you saw them foul Cunningham when he shot his 3-ball- they knew he was going to bury it. Made him earn them at the line

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Not saying we shouldn't sign Pollard but if you're looking for a scorer then Pollard isn't the answer. He avg 4ppg last year at Bama & this year he's avg 12ppg at Scooba. Not exactly lighting it up if you're an elite McDonald's AA scorer. He would be a good piece of the puzzle but he's not coming in & taking over the scoring burden we have.



The only issue that I have with things is I don't feel a sense of urgency with Ray. I'm not saying that there isn't one. It just doesn't seem like there is one. You have Mr. Alabama basketball (Bear Wilson) that had little to no communication with Ray about playing basketball. (I know he wanted a couple of weeks off after football.) He is a 6-6 guy that will at least give you some depth and a guy that can eat up fouls when Ware or Borchert go to the bench. I fI was Ray, I would have been telling the fan base that the Alabama player of the year is about to join the squad, but there will be a sharp learning curve with him. Something to give the fans some excitement with a guy that they recognize the name. There also seems to be no desire to recruit Devonta Pollard. Ray made the comment to Paul Jones or David Murray that they want a "scorer" if they use that scholarship. I'm sorry. This guy is a McDonalds All American with length that could help us. I understand that there are some issues with what happened with him, but I believe he was cleared of any charges if he testified against his mother. She is in jail and he is playing Juco hoops. My worries is that Ole Miss will sign him and he will drop 25 on us when we play them and we will all sit here and say WTF.

[Coach34]

On the Hump getting emptier and emptier comment:

People need to support the team in down times also. We wont be in rebuilding mode anymore next year and things will certainly get better,

on recruiting Pollard:

I hope we are recruiting Pollard because he has some talent. But let's not get crazy here= Pollard averaged 4 and 3 last year at Bama. We're not talking about some prolific scorer here. Ray is committed to Ware and Daniels being his frontcourt next year- with the Nigerian and Black backing up. We will also have 3 SF's in Johnson, FTF, and Houston. People love Houston's play and think he is going to be a player.

[Jacksondevildog]

I'm not saying that Pollard is Kevin Durant, but I feel that he would be a good "quick fix" for some size and experience issues that we are dealing with. Averaging 12ppg isn't horrible. If he was on our roster right now averaging 12, we would be pretty happy. He doesn't have to average 25 for us to "take a look at".

[CJDAWG85]

I'll be there Saturday. Hopefully we have a decent crowd. It would be HUGE to win the next 2 and get to 13-5 (3-2) before heading to Oxford. I think we can make a post season tourney if we can win the majority of our home games and steal one or two on the road.

[smootness]

I'm not saying that Pollard is Kevin Durant, but I feel that he would be a good "quick fix" for some size and experience issues that we are dealing with. Averaging 12ppg isn't horrible. If he was on our roster right now averaging 12, we would be pretty happy. He doesn't have to average 25 for us to "take a look at".

I agree with you, but if his name wasn't Devonta Pollard', I doubt any of our fans would be calling for us to bring him in. Heck, we had plenty who questioned bringing in Daniels for the precise reason that he averaged a similar amount in JUCO...and that was at a school that, by design, doesn't play anyone a ton of minutes.

[CadaverDawg]

I know you saw them foul Cunningham when he shot his 3-ball- they knew he was going to bury it. Made him earn them at the line

+1 Well played

[Dawg61]

We absolutely MUST sign a 3 point shooter. We have an open spot. We also need to replace some current dead weight with better shooting guards/small forward.

[Coach34]

I think Borchert was 13-14 ppg guy in juco.

[engie]

I don't think anyone thinks we are a great defensive team relative to other great defensive teams. I think people believe that relative to our talent and what we are working with, we are a great defensive team...meaning we are coached well and play hard. We have some limitations right now that we can't do anything about - lack of size and depth down low, which contributes to our low rebounding and blocked shot numbers and makes it difficult to defend in the paint. Still, we've done a decent job of keeping teams from scoring on us in the paint.

We create a lot of steals/turnovers, and because we are a small team that does have some athleticism, that is one area where we can compete...and we are doing it very well.

So no, we're not a good team this year. And we're not a truly great defensive team. But I don't see what good it does to point that out if you're not trying to criticize the coaching by doing it, because every reasonable person knows where we are.

But there are absolutely things to like, and I think we're better defensively than we should be given our roster. I'm fine with that.

Oh, and I don't remember who it was, but gigantic LOL on the guy who claimed we were middle of the pack in the SEC in talent.

EXACTLY.

[sleepy dawg]

I think our program is moving in the right direction... of course it's hard to move backwards from here. But just like I said before we started SEC play, we are the worst team in the conference. We may get lucky and win 1 or 2 SEC road games, but Georgia and South Carolina are the only teams I would consider to be at the very bottom with us. We need that home court advantage to even have a chance in most games.

Any team we beat in our terrible conference that is not named Georgia, South Carolina, Aubrun or Vanderbilt is going to be a big time win at home or on the road. Ole Miss was a big time win with or without the rich mans version of Reynardo Sydney.

I expected a loss against Bama. They are quite underrated because of their record. I watch a whole lot of college basketball, and am terrible at analysis and in no way an expert, but I love stats, and think they can go a long way in determining future results. Based on that here's how I would rank the SEC currently in how good each team is. This does not mean where they should be ranked.

Florida
Kentucky
Arkansas
Tennessee
Missouri
LSU
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Auburn
South Carolina
Georiga
MSU

It's definitly not cut and dry, and I could certainly be off by a spot or two for each team, but I wouldn't expect much more than a spot or twos worth of movement for most teams. After another week or so, things will start to be much more obvious once we can compare more SEC teams agains each other. Definitly the hardest teams to predict, at this point, are Missouri and Alabama, then us and Georgia are a little difficult too. Missouri and Alabama for quite opposite reasons. Missouri has a great record, but has played a very weak schedule and really haven't dominated the way their record suggests. Alabama has played a pretty competitive schedule, had some close games, but record wise has definitly fallen short. A similar thing applies for us and Georgia except on the bad end of things.

All that said, I think we're doing about as best as we can. I think any road win we have is playing above our talent level. Any home win we have that's not against Georgia or SC I think is also playing above our talent level. Right now we are playing good considering the situation and I am okay with saying we are the worst team in the conference and anything over 2 conference wins is playing above our level because these are the same type comments I was making after Mullen's and Cohen's first couple of years. The future potential is high. Get on board now, because as bad as we are now, it won't be long until we are quite relevant again. Ray's potential is far beyond what Stansbury's potential ever was.

[maroonmania]

I actually made the game last night in T-town and while the outside shooting put the nail in our coffin (mostly from Releford), the original big deficit was gained because they were blowing by our defenders on the outside and either had a straight path to the goal or our interior guy came up to cut off the driver allowing an interior pass for an easy lay in. I bet if you looked at a shot chart for the first 25-30 minutes of game time there would be a ton of made shots for Bama right at the goal. Was very disappointed in our defensive effort. On offense, we were driving to the basket but Bama was playing the inside tight and we couldn't get a decent shot and couldn't get the refs to call fouls on the drives like they did against OM. That situation left us in quite a predicament. We just don't have enough guys that can knock down open jump shots. Bama gave us plenty of them but we could rarely knock them down. Right now with our current players we are really at the mercy of the way the refs call the game. If they swallow their whistles on our drives to the basket that create contact we are really in a sad way to try and find a way to score consistently.