State vs Fla Game Thread

[Coach34]

I'm looking for Fla to pack in a zone against us and use their length to make it almost impossible to #ATMFB

we got to hit some outside shots- looking at you FTF

[DawgInMemphis]

I guess they don't call charges anymore.

[RougeDawg]

How many shots can we miss from point blank? We could easily be up 8-10 of we make half of the easy ones.

[RougeDawg]

Haven't seen us play this sloppy and make this many boneheaded decisions in a while.

[Coach34]

Haven't seen us play this sloppy and make this many boneheaded decisions in a while.

It's because we are playing one of the best defenses in the nation

[Coach34]

Shooter Cunningham hits again

[starkvegasdawg]

Nice way to end the half. Chair tosser approved too.

[preachermatt83]

just started watching.... what's keeping us in it?

[starkvegasdawg]

just started watching.... what's keeping us in it?

Sure not our ft shooting.

[Coach34]

We've played as well as we can play- and a great gameplan

[Coach34]

Ware going down ends the ballgame for us

[War Machine Dawg]

Shit, hope Ware isn't done for the night. We need him in the post to have any chance down the stretch.

[War Machine Dawg]

The General giving insight into why he doesn't coach anymore. Doesn't like the 3-point shot? Are you kidding me? It only revolutionized the game and made it much more competitive. Reduced injuries, too.

[preachermatt83]

Ware going down ends the ballgame for us

I just hope it doesn't turn in to a 3-4 game deal....

[preachermatt83]

we have got to be the worst shooting team in the history of basketball!!!! Geez! We are playing well just can't shoot! If we could shoot we would be up by 10

[Coach34]

Fred has missed two good looks on 3's...Ready missed a lay-up....Roq missed a point blank shot...we cant make a ****ing FT

We really may be the worst shooting team in the country

[preachermatt83]

our gameplan is good, our adjustments are good, our effort is good, our defense is not bad ... we just have to find someone who can shoot the basketball!

[smootness]

our gameplan is good, our adjustments are good, our effort is good, our defense is not bad ... we just have to find someone who can shoot the basketball!

This is true, but we've known this. It's not going to suddenly change.

[preachermatt83]

This is true, but we've known this. It's not going to suddenly change.

this begs the question... can a player be coached to "shoot better"

[Coach34]

this begs the question... can a player be coached to "shoot better"

maybe work on mechanics some- but not really. Shooting is feel, depth perception, rhythm, and alot of practice

I'm an old man, and I can still walk out on a court and make shots. I've always shot the ball well. It's talent

[smootness]

this begs the question... can a player be coached to "shoot better"

Minimally. We just need to recruit better shooters, and I think we are.

[mcdawg]

our gameplan is good, our adjustments are good, our effort is good, our defense is not bad ... we just have to find someone who can shoot the basketball!

It is hard to watch our team. Yes, we are well coached (we switch on defense well and have good hands), but there is no elite player on our team - and we cannot shoot. This is not about this coach versus the old coach - it is about having fun watching a basketball game. For instance - Dee Bost could take over a game and was fun to watch. Arnette Moultrie could take over a game and was fun to watch sky - rebounding or dunking. Ravern could get hot and make 3 pointer after 3 pointer (ones that Fred misses 90% of the time). I watched 2 of our recent wins in person, and actually left the game almost bored. Turned the channel tonight - just no fun to watch (even when we were close).

[starkvegasdawg]

Hard to lose a game to a highly ranked team when you lost because we missed almost every FT we shot and countless lay ups.

[MarketingBully01]

IJ Ready could be a player that could take over. It's almost like he would try but he would end up just passing the ball. He is the best shooter we have. He just doesn't shoot it enough most times. We also have too many slashers and not enough jump shooters. If any of the kids we have coming in next year are slashers, we are in trouble. He needs to find a guy who has good percentages from 3 or at least 15 feet out. Sword has desperately got to develop that part of his game. He will never become an elite player without developing a consistant midrange game.

[TopDog58]

The General giving insight into why he doesn't coach anymore. Doesn't like the 3-point shot? Are you kidding me? It only revolutionized the game and made it much more competitive. Reduced injuries, too.

I'm sure he does hate the 3 to an extent, but i think he was alluding to the fact that nowadays everybody that wears a uni thinks they are a 3 point shooter. Sounded like he was saying that in his offense he used the other guys to get his SHOOTER good looks and made it sound like everybody else jacking up 3s was what frustrated him. Which I can't say I don't agree with. Even bad 3 point shooting teams (like us) have no problem jacking up 20+ a game.

[Raytoraid83]

It is hard to watch our team. Yes, we are well coached (we switch on defense well and have good hands), but there is no elite player on our team - and we cannot shoot. This is not about this coach versus the old coach - it is about having fun watching a basketball game. For instance - Dee Bost could take over a game and was fun to watch. Arnette Moultrie could take over a game and was fun to watch sky - rebounding or dunking. Ravern could get hot and make 3 pointer after 3 pointer (ones that Fred misses 90% of the time). I watched 2 of our recent wins in person, and actually left the game almost bored. Turned the channel tonight - just no fun to watch (even when we were close).

Yep. Anyone that thinks the atmosphere is the same as when Stansbury was here wasn't watching tonight's game. Still same questions out on Ray, good game plan, players play hard but can he bring in the talent to win these games?

[MarketingBully01]

I'd say it's Newman or bust.

[Coach34]

I'd say it's Newman or bust.

Why?

[MarketingBully01]

Because Newman would be the piece that could get us over the top to make the NCAA tourney. If we don't get him, will we be an NCAA tourney team by Ray's 4th year? Not sure. That is why I think Newman is the total key for Ray. He is a must have recruit.

[Coach34]

Because Newman would be the piece that could get us over the top to make the NCAA tourney. If we don't get him, will we be an NCAA tourney team by Ray's 4th year? Not sure. That is why I think Newman is the total key for Ray. He is a must have recruit.

He's not a must-have. He's a longshot at best that is only considering us because his Dad played there. He is not going to State

I think we will be much improved next season with Ready in his 2nd year, Sword, FTF, and Ware in their 3rd seasons...Roq Johnson is a good 6th man...Daniels will need to play well and Houston will need to be as advertised. We get in the NIT Season 3 and then look forward to having everybody but Roq back for the following season.

[smootness]

I think we absolutely have a chance at the NCAA Tournament in year 4 without Newman. Keep in mind, at that point the only current players who won't be here are Borchert, Roquez Johnson, Bloodman, and Cunningham. The rest of the roster will still be around and with 2 extra years of development. We'll also add quite a few pieces between now and then as well.

Ware - Sr
Daniels - Sr
Thomas - Sr
Sword - Sr
Ready - Jr

Ndoye - So
Davis - Jr
Houston - So
Dunlap - So
Black - So
Scott - Fr
Brown - Fr
Strugg - Fr

That is definitely a potentially strong team if these guys can continue developing. Sword could be an SEC POY candidate by that point, and Ware will be a bear as well.

[Raytoraid83]

He's not a must-have. He's a longshot at best that is only considering us because his Dad played there. He is not going to State

I think we will be much improved next season with Ready in his 2nd year, Sword, FTF, and Ware in their 3rd seasons...Roq Johnson is a good 6th man...Daniels will need to play well and Houston will need to be as advertised. We get in the NIT Season 3 and then look forward to having everybody but Roq back for the following season.

Just a general question to see some peoples opinion. Me and a buddy were discussing how high Readys ceiling is. He has a good shot, probably best form on the team, good vision, but ultimately the question is his height. My fear is that his height will limit his ceiling and he will struggle to get enough shots off to make a big enough difference on the offensive end. Solid pg but not gonna be a game changer.

[msugolf]

I don't see it. I think we're going to struggle mightily to score next year. We lose arguably our best shooter in Borchert. FTF will never be the shooter/scorer that people are expecting him to be. He is a mid-range pull up guy. Sword can only score when driving to the basket. Ready will be asked to do so much next year, which will be difficult given his size.

I like Ray. I think he's a breath of fresh air. But I just don't see it in his recruiting. Our best player committed, Staley, won't even be giving his full attention to basketball. We add 2 big men, 1 who couldn't crack the starting lineup for his high school team and the other averaged 7 pts/game as a junior at Wingfield. We also add a 5'11" SG that can't dribble. Houston is a great athlete but his basketball skills are extremely raw. He'll be about like DeRunnya is this year.

[Coach34]

He could be a 10 point and 4 assist guy- and that would be great. He's just a true Freshman. I'm not worried about his contribution offensively moving forward- it's his defense. He is going to get overpowered and shot over too much is my worry.

[smootness]

Just a general question to see some peoples opinion. Me and a buddy were discussing how high Readys ceiling is. He has a good shot, probably best form on the team, good vision, but ultimately the question is his height. My fear is that his height will limit his ceiling and he will struggle to get enough shots off to make a big enough difference on the offensive end. Solid pg but not gonna be a game changer.

I love his game and think he has the potential to be as good as he wants to be. He's not really a natural scorer, but he can do it. Ideally, he'd be a few inches taller, but I don't think it's a huge deal. There are plenty of short guards in college who can fill it up.

It's a disadvantage to some degree, but Damon Stoudamire, Avery Johnson, Calvin Murray, Nate Robinson...if you're good enough, it doesn't matter that much.

Shoot, Earl Boykins is 5 inches shorter than Ready and put up 26/game as a senior in college and scored 15/game one year in the NBA. If you can score, you can score.

Ready is always smooth and under control and is able to create his own shot when he wants to. He won't ever be a guy who just starts jacking 3s, and I'm fine with that. He could have scored 15+ tonight had he wanted to, and his height was never an issue. He was still able to get his shot and score in traffic as well.

[Raytoraid83]

He could be a 10 point and 4 assist guy- and that would be great. He's just a true Freshman. I'm not worried about his contribution offensively moving forward- it's his defense. He is going to get overpowered and shot over too much is my worry.

Yea Spike Albrach at Michigan is good example. Gets torched on the defensive end which limits his mins even though he can shoot the lights out of the ball.

[Coach34]

I don't see it. I think we're going to struggle mightily to score next year. We lose arguably our best shooter in Borchert. FTF will never be the shooter/scorer that people are expecting him to be. He is a mid-range pull up guy. Sword can only score when driving to the basket. Ready will be asked to do so much next year, which will be difficult given his size.

I like Ray. I think he's a breath of fresh air. But I just don't see it in his recruiting. Our best player committed, Staley, won't even be giving his full attention to basketball. We add 2 big men, 1 who couldn't crack the starting lineup for his high school team and the other averaged 7 pts/game as a junior at Wingfield. We also add a 5'11" SG that can't dribble. Houston is a great athlete but his basketball skills are extremely raw. He'll be about like DeRunnya is this year.

Have you forgotten about Daniels next year? He'll be starting at the 4. He's Borchert with more quickness but less shooting range
NDoye was playing on a HS All-Star team
Houston should be better than DeRunnya- especially since he will be practicing the whole season.
Ware will be improved- he's made a big jump from last year
Sword certainly needs to work on his jumper- but he can attack the basket
Ready will be improved after a year to adjust

We are so young out there right now its crazy

[MarketingBully01]

I agree with you on Ready. I wish he would have taken more 3 pointers tonight instead of passing it off to players who bricked it. We need him to be a leader unfortunately as a freshman but he will learn that role and be a great point guard for us.

[smootness]

Ready will be asked to do so much next year, which will be difficult given his size.

This is what I think is being overblown. There are plenty of 5'10" PGs out there in college; it isn't a huge deal, especially not when you aren't asked to carry a huge scoring load. If he can give us 8-10 a game, he's fine. And he won't necessarily be asked to do any more next year than this year. Bloodman and Davis will both be back. If you're talking 2015, then sure, but he'll be a junior then. His height won't be an issue.

And your view isn't necessarily a crazy one, but it's definitely viewing everything through a negative lens. I think Daniels is a better shooter than Borchert. And sure, Sword's game is driving, but there have been plenty of college basketball players who scored a ton without being able to hit a lot of long-range jump shots. He has the potential to be a force, just depends on how he continues to develop.

If you're talking about Ndoye as a guy who couldn't crack his HS starting lineup, then a) he played at Findlay Prep; he would have started on essentially every other HS team in the country. and b) he did eventually start for them. And all the current players say he will be a huge surprise next year. I expect good things from him going forward.

[smootness]

Yea Spike Albrach at Michigan is good example. Gets torched on the defensive end which limits his mins even though he can shoot the lights out of the ball.

Albrecht's issue is not Ready's issue. Albrecht's issue is an overall lack of athleticism; he isn't quick enough. Ready is plenty quick.

[msugolf]

Have you forgotten about Daniels next year? He'll be starting at the 4. He's Borchert with more quickness but less shooting range
NDoye was playing on a HS All-Star team
Houston should be better than DeRunnya- especially since he will be practicing the whole season.
Ware will be improved- he's made a big jump from last year
Sword certainly needs to work on his jumper- but he can attack the basket
Ready will be improved after a year to adjust

We are so young out there right now its crazy

Daniels averaged 7 pts a game in JUCO. He'll be more athletic than Borchert but he won't be a shooter.
Ndoye was playing on a very good team but he's still a developmental player.
Houston is extremely athletic and has good length but again, extremely raw and not a true scorer.
Ware is good and should improve but he'll be our only down low option on offense.
Sword is what he is.
Ready better score more than 8-10/game next year or its going to be tough to make NIT.

My concerns (and others too) with Ray are that he is attempting to take on too many developmental players. He's pretty much already filled up the next 2 classes and there isn't a high-major scorer among the bunch. The way the rules are now, you better start looking for scorers instead of just athletic defenders because the game has changed. Its much easier to teach defense to a shooter than it is to teach shooting to a defender.

If my view is seeing things through a negative lens, then I'd have to say your scenarios are the best-case. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Look I'm pulling for Ray and want to see him succeed. I think he really would if he had the players. However there are many people who have been heavily invested in basketball in the past who share my concerns. There's a lot of "wait and see" -ing going on.

[MarketingBully01]

Golf's points are why a recruit like Newman is a must have for Ray. He is a McDonald's All American big time scorer and would compliment the players we are accumulating. If we want to have a break out NCAA type season, he is a kid that can get us there even if he only stays one year. Making the tourney in the season that we would have Newman would grant Ray another couple of years when we might let him go if he hasn't made the tourney by year 5. This is why I state Newman is a must have recruit.

[Coach34]

A must-have is something you have a chance at- we dont have a chance in the Newman race.

I think we are seeing improvement in the program and want to continue to see it in year 3. I've seen nothing that leads me to believe we wont.