A few observations from tonight...

[DeviousDawg]

1. The first 10 minutes of every game we play looks the exact same. It looks like we play hide-and-seek with the rim before deciding to play basketball about 10 minutes in. I would like to see our points per minute in the first 10 minutes of SEC games compared to our points per minute in the last 30 minutes of the game. Is this a basketball strategy I'm not aware of? Doesn't seem like a good one.

2. The refs seemed a little more lenient tonight than they have the rest of the year.

3. Holman just seemed, off.....

4. Eli Wright is steadily improving. He played 17 minutes tonight with 7 points on 4 shots. He'll be a good 4 year program player for us.

5. Someone needs to make that boy Tyson Carter a protein shake or something.

6. Kegler is starting to figure out how to be a team player, and it's improving his personal output at the same time. Howland said he was in the gym by himself shooting on their off day. There just aren't many people with his size and athleticism that can shoot from outside and hang in there down low. He played the most minutes with 34, but only took 9 shots. He's growing up.

7. Q had an off game from 3, only going 2-6, but was 9-11 from inside the arc. 29 points, career high. He's a boss.

8. EJ Datcher is just not a SEC basketball player. Sometimes I feel like he shoots before he looks to see where the rim is.

9. Herard and Holman, listen up, I know you're big men, but 3 of 12 from the FT stripe aint gonna cut it. If we had played anyone in the SEC other than Mizzouri, we would be looking at that stat as the reason we lost.

10. IJ haterz, listen up. IJ was tied with Kegler for the most minutes played with 34. In those 34 minutes, IJ only attempted ONE shot, and had 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 8 assists with ZERO turnovers.

11. Lamar Peters is fun to watch. He has to quit giving up stupid fouls though, we need him on the court as much as possible. We were clearly a much better team when he was on the court. He was 7-11 from beyond the arch, unreal. When he and Q are on at the same time, I truly believe we could beat anyone in the country.

12. We were out-rebounded 32 to 30, but there were a bunch of weird bounces and Holman decided to crawl in a hole. We only had 7 turnovers, that's what I like to see.

[TXDawg]

Regarding IJ - FINALLY!!

For his first 3.3 years, he was a shoot-first player. Glad to see him finally realizing that the other guys on the court can score too.

We need his leadership down the stretch (he did a great job calming Peters down a few times tonight). BUT, he needs to continue to feed others rather than just taking shots.

[Ari Gold]

Regarding IJ - FINALLY!!

For his first 3.3 years, he was a shoot-first player. Glad to see him finally realizing that the other guys on the court can score too.

We need his leadership down the stretch (he did a great job calming Peters down a few times tonight). BUT, he needs to continue to feed others rather than just taking shots.

What was he suppose to do the last 3 years?? Look what he had around him.. very few teams in the country have a back up point guard who is a Sr.. he is having a solid year.. and IJ can knock down shots when he has too ..

[Irondawg]

I still like Datcher and see something in him. Not sure where he fits long term in Howland's plans but I think he can be a good big off the bench by next year and if he went to a lot of other programs I think he'd have a nice career.

[preachermatt83]

Nailed it. Agree with every single point. Good stuff.

[Bodaski]

I still like Datcher and see something in him. Not sure where he fits long term in Howland's plans but I think he can be a good big off the bench by next year and if he went to a lot of other programs I think he'd have a nice career.

Has Datcher scored a point this season. When I've watched him attempt to score it's not even close.

[DeviousDawg]

What was he suppose to do the last 3 years?? Look what he had around him.. very few teams in the country have a back up point guard who is a Sr.. he is having a solid year.. and IJ can knock down shots when he has too ..

He's not a good three point shooter, but he is almost automatic when he takes that little 10 foot pull of jumper that he likes to take. Even with the addition of lil Spoon, we will still miss IJ at times next year. He has completely embraced his role as a facilitator, he gets it to the shooters and quietly takes his assists.

1 shot, 8 assists and 0 turnovers. You couldn't ask for a better stat line from IJ.

[BeardoMSU]

What was he suppose to do the last 3 years?? Look what he had around him.. very few teams in the country have a back up point guard who is a Sr.. he is having a solid year.. and IJ can knock down shots when he has too ..

This^^^

[DeviousDawg]

I still like Datcher and see something in him. Not sure where he fits long term in Howland's plans but I think he can be a good big off the bench by next year and if he went to a lot of other programs I think he'd have a nice career.

Sometimes stats can be deviously twisted for someone's agenda, but sometimes they are just undeniable.

7-20 from the field (35%) .... and I would be willing to bet that 100% of those shots were in the paint
3-6 for the FT stripe
17 points scored
39 personal fouls

That's 2X more fouls than points scored. That's reallyyyy hard to do considering you are only allowed a maximum of 5 fouls per game. For comparison's sake, every other scholarship player on our roster has atleast 2X more points than fouls.

[LC Dawg]

In regards to Herard's FT shooting is there any way you can raise one of those masks to the top of your head and easily slide it back into place? I see players with them raised but I don't know how easy it is to get them back in place. It would be nice for Herard to be able to get that mask off to shoot FTs. He wasn't good at it before the mask and he is absolutely horrible with it.
How much longer does he have to wear the mask?

[smootness]

Sometimes stats can be deviously twisted for someone's agenda, but sometimes they are just undeniable.

7-20 from the field (35%) .... and I would be willing to bet that 100% of those shots were in the paint
3-6 for the FT stripe
17 points scored
39 personal fouls

That's 2X more fouls than points scored. That's reallyyyy hard to do considering you are only allowed a maximum of 5 fouls per game. For comparison's sake, every other scholarship player on our roster has atleast 2X more points than fouls.

He is having to play because Ado is not available. Next year we'll add Ado and Brooks, and possibly Feazell, though he may redshirt. Herard and Holman can only play so many minutes.

[smootness]

In regards to Herard's FT shooting is there any way you can raise one of those masks to the top of your head and easily slide it back into place? I see players with them raised but I don't know how easy it is to get them back in place. It would be nice for Herard to be able to get that mask off to shoot FTs. He wasn't good at it before the mask and he is absolutely horrible with it.
How much longer does he have to wear the mask?

I like the mechanics of his shot. I think he'll turn into a decent FT shooter for a big man. And Holman shoots 66%. He'll have bad FT games here and there, but that's just fine.

[tcdog70]

Has Datcher scored a point this season. When I've watched him attempt to score it's not even close.

come on, he is a Freshman. Do you know how many great basketball players MSU has had that didn't play till they were Jrs? A bunch. Wiley Peck is who Datcher reminds Me of. Yep the Chairman of the Boards His JR year the light clicked on and He was All-Sec and !st round draft Choice. How about we let our players grow Up.

[Liverpooldawg]

In regards to Herard's FT shooting is there any way you can raise one of those masks to the top of your head and easily slide it back into place? I see players with them raised but I don't know how easy it is to get them back in place. It would be nice for Herard to be able to get that mask off to shoot FTs. He wasn't good at it before the mask and he is absolutely horrible with it.
How much longer does he have to wear the mask?
Those things are secured high and low by straps with Velcro I think. They have to fit exactly and tightly to be effective. I doubt you could do it instantly and that's what you would have to do on a miss. It wouldn't be worth risking more damage.

[louisvilledawg]

1. The first 10 minutes of every game we play looks the exact same. It looks like we play hide-and-seek with the rim before deciding to play basketball about 10 minutes in. I would like to see our points per minute in the first 10 minutes of SEC games compared to our points per minute in the last 30 minutes of the game. Is this a basketball strategy I'm not aware of? Doesn't seem like a good one.

2. The refs seemed a little more lenient tonight than they have the rest of the year.

3. Holman just seemed, off.....

4. Eli Wright is steadily improving. He played 17 minutes tonight with 7 points on 4 shots. He'll be a good 4 year program player for us.

5. Someone needs to make that boy Tyson Carter a protein shake or something.

6. Kegler is starting to figure out how to be a team player, and it's improving his personal output at the same time. Howland said he was in the gym by himself shooting on their off day. There just aren't many people with his size and athleticism that can shoot from outside and hang in there down low. He played the most minutes with 34, but only took 9 shots. He's growing up.

7. Q had an off game from 3, only going 2-6, but was 9-11 from inside the arc. 29 points, career high. He's a boss.

8. EJ Datcher is just not a SEC basketball player. Sometimes I feel like he shoots before he looks to see where the rim is.

9. Herard and Holman, listen up, I know you're big men, but 3 of 12 from the FT stripe aint gonna cut it. If we had played anyone in the SEC other than Mizzouri, we would be looking at that stat as the reason we lost.

10. IJ haterz, listen up. IJ was tied with Kegler for the most minutes played with 34. In those 34 minutes, IJ only attempted ONE shot, and had 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 8 assists with ZERO turnovers.

11. Lamar Peters is fun to watch. He has to quit giving up stupid fouls though, we need him on the court as much as possible. We were clearly a much better team when he was on the court. He was 7-11 from beyond the arch, unreal. When he and Q are on at the same time, I truly believe we could beat anyone in the country.

12. We were out-rebounded 32 to 30, but there were a bunch of weird bounces and Holman decided to crawl in a hole. We only had 7 turnovers, that's what I like to see.



I have said in multiple threads that Datcher is not an SEC talent but everybody white knights for him because he tries hard and plays a role. He's awful.

[smootness]

I have said in multiple threads that Datcher is not an SEC talent but everybody white knights for him because he tries hard and plays a role. He's awful.

Even if you think he's terrible, the reality is that we have to have someone take those minutes, and he does provide defense and rebounding.

Raw freshmen big men foul a lot and sometimes struggle offensively. What I don't understand is why people think he is some kind of problem for us.

[tcdog70]

Those things are secured high and low by straps with Velcro I think. They have to fit exactly and tightly to be effective. I doubt you could do it instantly and that's what you would have to do on a miss. It wouldn't be worth risking more damage.

can he not take it off to shoot free throws?

[smootness]

can he not take it off to shoot free throws?

That's what he's saying - it's difficult to put back on quickly, and if you miss the FT, or really even if you make it, that becomes very tough. It's probably best to be safe.

[HoopsDawg]

I like the mechanics of his shot. I think he'll turn into a decent FT shooter for a big man. And Holman shoots 66%. He'll have bad FT games here and there, but that's just fine.

Looks like the ball is too far back in his palm. I wish he would move it up to his fingertips more. Other than that, he has decent form. Just needs reps.

[msstate7]

Herard FT numbers in sec (bama, lsu, ark, and aTm) pre-mask... 12/17 (70.6%)

Herard FT numbers in sec (Kentucky, tenn, and mizzou) with mask... 6/19 (31.6%)

[Doggie_Style]

Herard FT numbers in sec (bama, lsu, ark, and aTm) pre-mask... 12/17 (70.6%)

Herard FT numbers in sec (Kentucky, tenn, and mizzou) with mask... 6/19 (31.6%)

great observation, I was thinking the same thing but had not looked at the actual numbers.....the mask is killing him!

[Percho]

great observation, I was thinking the same thing but had not looked at the actual numbers.....the mask is killing him!

Must be like playing with bifocals on. :)

[smootness]

great observation, I was thinking the same thing but had not looked at the actual numbers.....the mask is killing him!

I don't doubt that the mask has affected him, but in a larger sample in the OOC schedule, he was 9/21.

[louisvilledawg]

Even if you think he's terrible, the reality is that we have to have someone take those minutes, and he does provide defense and rebounding.

Raw freshmen big men foul a lot and sometimes struggle offensively. What I don't understand is why people think he is some kind of problem for us.

No no, I completely understand. Completely agree that we need him (a big body) out there to relieve our other bigs for spells. We differ on the "He provides defense and rebounding". He's avg just about as many fouls as he is boards and blocks combined so.....

[smootness]

No no, I completely understand. Completely agree that we need him (a big body) out there to relieve our other bigs for spells. We differ on the "He provides defense and rebounding". He's avg just about as many fouls as he is boards and blocks combined so.....

Is that a big concern? Are we worried about him fouling out?

[Liverpooldawg]

can he not take it off to shoot free throws?

What if it's a miss? Given how he shot last night that's going to happen a lot. You don't have time to put it back on.

[chef dixon]

IJ has never really been "shoot first." That's bad analysis. He's really not that much different of a player than before but he's got more talent around him.

And people hating on Datcher because he fouls and doesn't score don't understand the point of playing Datcher. He's only a freshman and he has a role on this team. He's has significantly more potential than any of the big men Ray signed while he was here.