The basketball team takes the court again tonight

[Coach34]

another chance for the Fightin Rick Ray's to get better

[JOHNHEVESYMADE]

Kennesaw State is prime time competition

[Coach34]

You're supposed to play some turds to start the season to get your legs under you

[Dawg61]

I'll take 2-0 and a Flat Top back

[msstate7]

Any word on Jacoby Davis?

[CadaverDawg]

This is not the team to be talking schedule smack about. After the gauntlet Ray was thrown in to in year one....he deserves many many cupcakes

[Barking 13]

This is not the team to be talking schedule smack about. After the gauntlet Ray was thrown in to in year one....he deserves many many cupcakes

fo sho!!!

[messageboardsuperhero]

Kennesaw State is prime time competition

Would you suggest that we schedule Duke and Michigan State at this stage of our program's development?

We need to play cupcakes right now to build confidence.

[CJDAWG85]

We really need the perimeter shooting to improve since we are thin inside again.

[maroonmania]

We really need the perimeter shooting to improve since we are thin inside again.

So are you basically saying we are short on inside players but make up for it with poor perimeter shooting?

[CJDAWG85]

Ware and Borchert are our only big guys and more times than not Borchert is up around the perimeter. Depth inside is a big issue.

[Coach34]

any word on getting Daniels in school at the break?

[CJDAWG85]

No idea... anyone else know?

[DCdawg]

Saw on twitter someone said he still has to wait until next season. Just hearsay though.

[Dawg61]

DeRunnya Wilson is a Bear on the boards

[engie]

Saw on twitter someone said he still has to wait until next season. Just hearsay though.

Doesn't make sense if he's cleared now. There's pretense there for highschool mid-season enrollees in basketball...

Ray may choose to wait to start his clock though... since we would essentially burn his whole freshman year by playing him in the back half this season.

[Dawg61]

Daniels is a Juco

[engie]

Correct. Not sure where my mind was at on that.

Same pretenses still apply -- IF we got him at Christmas, he would have to get in shape and work into the lineup -- so, we'd probably have him for the last 2 months -- and then only 1 more season. I could see waiting to enroll him unless he was a tremendous immediate need.

[maroonmania]

Well given he's a 6'8 player we need him NOW with Lewis being shown the door. Makes sense to suit him up midyear if that's an option.

[Dawg61]

Give his spot to Pollard

[Quaoarsking]

Correct. Not sure where my mind was at on that.

Same pretenses still apply -- IF we got him at Christmas, he would have to get in shape and work into the lineup -- so, we'd probably have him for the last 2 months -- and then only 1 more season. I could see waiting to enroll him unless he was a tremendous immediate need.

We could bring him in in January, but redshirt him.

[Percho]

any word on getting Daniels in school at the break?

My understanding is he is coming and could play but will red shirt,

[mic]

Kennesaw State is prime time competition
your probably the same person that bitched last year when we played with UNC , Marquette , and Providence early..

[smootness]

your probably the same person that bitched last year when we played with UNC , Marquette , and Providence early..

Who, RICKRAYMADE? Be upset with anything that involves Rick Ray? Nooooo

[thf24]

DeRunnya Wilson is a Bear on the boards

You're right that he should get a shot to show what he can do on the basketball court if he wants it, but a 6'5", 215 lb forward is not going to help our inside presence any.

[msstate7]

You're right that he should get a shot to show what he can do on the basketball court if he wants it, but a 6'5", 215 lb forward is not going to help our inside presence any.

You've gotta be 6'8" or taller to play forward. No one tell Charles Barkley

[thf24]

You've gotta be 6'8" or taller to play forward. No one tell Charles Barkley

I figured someone would say this. Charles Barkley might only be 6'6", but he played at 250 pounds. I'm predicting Bear is going to be about as effective as Roquez, if not a bit more. He's going to be able to contribute some through his athleticism, but he's going to get pushed around by most SEC power forwards.

[HoopsDawg]

I figured someone would say this. Charles Barkley might only be 6'6", but he played at 250 pounds. I'm predicting Bear is going to be about as effective as Roquez, if not a bit more. He's going to be able to contribute some through his athleticism, but he's going to get pushed around by most SEC power forwards.

Roq wasn't Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama.

[Dawg61]

You're right that he should get a shot to show what he can do on the basketball court if he wants it, but a 6'5", 215 lb forward is not going to help our inside presence any.

You guys have to stop looking at our team like the traditional lineup. Picture what VCU tries to do then you'll get an idea of the type of athlete Ray is preferring to put on the court. Lots of 6'6" athletes all over the floor running up and down the floor and non-stop pressure D. Give him time and I eventually expect to see some 6'10" guys mixed in if they are great athletes. If Ray can copy Shaka Smart's blueprint we can have similar results. It's not like VCU is signing 5* players left and right. Look at VCU's lineup. Not a single player above 6'9". http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/roster/_/id/2670/virginia-commonwealth-rams

[CadaverDawg]

Thread Hijack: I just saw where Jackson State beat Air Force tonight at Air Force. Isn't that a pretty big win for a SWAC team? We may get beat by JSU. Coach Brent is a really good coach apparently

[thf24]

You guys have to stop looking at our team like the traditional lineup. Picture what VCU tries to do then you'll get an idea of the type of athlete Ray is preferring to put on the court. Lots of 6'6" athletes all over the floor running up and down the floor and non-stop pressure D. Give him time and I eventually expect to see some 6'10" guys mixed in if they are great athletes. If Ray can copy Shaka Smart's blueprint we can have similar results. It's not like VCU is signing 5* players left and right. Look at VCU's lineup. Not a single player above 6'9". http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/roster/_/id/2670/virginia-commonwealth-rams

VCU has five guys either 6'8" or 6'9" with three of them over 240 pounds; that's still some pretty significant size for college. I understand where you're coming from, but athleticism is only going to get you so far when your skill set forces you to match up against guys three to four inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than you. I'm sure Bear is going to contribute with team defense and a little scoring where he can, but it's going to be very difficult for him to defend the post and rebound given his size limitations. I may be wrong and he finds a niche that allows him to be a very effective basketball player for us, but I just don't see it happening.

[dawgs]

RE: SoS

I'm sure y'all know I liked playing okie st in football because in year 5 we shouldn't be scared of that game. But in the case of our basketball program, we need a non-conf schedule like this. See we are capable of nuanced thought and making decisions based on a case by case basis!

[Dawg61]

Give Ray some time and we'll have more 6'8" guys. We don't know how Ray plans on using Bear and hopefully it's not as a post up PF or he will get destroyed. On defense he can be effective in a zoning pressure defense with him at the free throw area. He's athletic and long and probably a nightmare on transition offense. He's fast and can jump out the gym. I don't picture DeRunnya as a 10 rebound guy I see him as a 4 steals, 3 blocks and 8 easy fast break points guy. An ugly
glue-style player that's a terrific athlete. Since when do we not want to add those guys?

[thf24]

Give Ray some time and we'll have more 6'8" guys. We don't know how Ray plans on using Bear and hopefully it's not as a post up PF or he will get destroyed. On defense he can be effective in a zoning pressure defense with him at the free throw area. He's athletic and long and probably a nightmare on transition offense. He's fast and can jump out the gym. I don't picture DeRunnya as a 10 rebound guy I see him as a 4 steals, 3 blocks and 8 easy fast break points guy. An ugly
glue-style player that's a terrific athlete. Since when do we not want to add those guys?

Yeah, good points. I could see him as a guy you'd put in when you need to shut down a hot guard. Only problem is you'd be taking some shooting off the floor during that period. Who knows though; like you say, we'll have to wait and see how Ray uses him.

[smootness]

Give Ray some time and we'll have more 6'8" guys. We don't know how Ray plans on using Bear and hopefully it's not as a post up PF or he will get destroyed. On defense he can be effective in a zoning pressure defense with him at the free throw area. He's athletic and long and probably a nightmare on transition offense. He's fast and can jump out the gym. I don't picture DeRunnya as a 10 rebound guy I see him as a 4 steals, 3 blocks and 8 easy fast break points guy. An ugly
glue-style player that's a terrific athlete. Since when do we not want to add those guys?

I like your basketball posts, good stuff.

I agree that Ray seems to be using a lot of the VCU-type model. Oliver Black and Demetrius Houston fit the mold as well...6'9" and 6'7", both long, athletic guys who can get up and down the court. And we'll add Ndoye, who can move for a guy that tall.

I really like what I've seen from Applewhite; he's a guy that is not afraid to get in the middle of things and scrap. I think Ray wants a bunch of athletic guys who he can use almost interchangeably that just swarm you on defense. If he can add a couple of true scorers, it should make for a very successful system.

[chef dixon]

I think expecting Wilson to come in and have an impact is pretty optimistic. Its really tough to play both sports and he's going to be way behind as far as the learning curve goes, especially with basketball season being well underway. I like our squad this year. I was just as impressed with IJ Ready's 14 point game as I was with his 0 point, 6 assist, ONE turnover game. Talk about knowing your role as a true freshman, just awesome. We won't be great, but we are a MUCH better team than we were at any point of the season last year. Also excited to see Davis play at some point, hate that its taken him so long to see the court.

[trob115]

I agree chef. Losing ready for 3-4 weeks I gonna hurt for sure. I hope Davis is going to be able to go. I saw him play last night in garbage time and he didn't look terrible. Blood man looks much improved too. Gotta love his tenacity

[smootness]

I agree chef. Losing ready for 3-4 weeks I gonna hurt for sure. I hope Davis is going to be able to go. I saw him play last night in garbage time and he didn't look terrible. Blood man looks much improved too. Gotta love his tenacity

Agreed. Bloodman has definitely improved in his ability to score. He was probably our best scoring option in the 2nd half last night.

[Dawg61]

Thanks man I enjoy talking hoops. Has anyone asked Ray about VCU and Shaka Smart before? I'd love to hear his thoughts about Shaka and the Rams style. Shaka was far and away my favorite choice to replace Stansbury so I've been pleasantly surprised to see Ray running similar tendencies to the Rams style of "Havoc". VCU even wears Havoc warm-up shirts now which isn't newsworthy except to show how much that program buys into it. It's all they talk about over there and it started day 1 of Shaka's hiring press conference when he coined the term "Wreaking Havoc". What has me most fired up about copying this blueprint is that it doesn't take 5* players to be effective. In fact if you look at the recruiting rankings MSU has gotten higher rated players than VCU SINCE RAY TOOK OVER! We all expect those to be the worst classes Ray ever gets so chew on that for a second. It is unselfish unrelentless team basketball focused on defense, creating turnovers and scoring in the transition. Basically a Bruce Pearl style after 10 Red Bulls. Pearl's teams scored half their points in transition.

Here is Havoc http://youtube.com/watch?v=ovdKAAEIxc8