Horrific. And thankfully I was not there in person until the very end.
This is one of the worst performances from an HU team with this level of talent under JM. Not the worst, I'm not going to exaggerate now that my emotions have had a chance to sleep lol, but it is definitely in the top 10.
The team has stopped playing as a team for some reason - and it's very surprising to me because these guys were rolling going into conf play - they truly looked like a well-oiled machine. And worse, I think the coaching staff is just as shocked and confused...
To me this goes right back to my stance from DAY 1: This team will only go as far as Powers takes them. And these last couple of games have not been his best performances - the ball distribution is almost non-existent. The constant run down the floor and whoever has the ball stops and pops from 3 has got to stop. W&M put on an absolute CLINIC in proper passing, often tossing it 4 or 5 or 6 times before someone looked to take a shot - wore HU down tremendously, and then because they shoot well it put the pressure on HU to score quick - and THAT is where this team gets in trouble - forcing and pressing is a good way to lose games you shouldn't.
Don't even get me started on BB. It's a difficult spot because I do not believe in knocking college players that I know are putting in their best effort, and he absolutely is. But this staff needs to stop the facade and face the facts. He is what he is. A pure catch and shoot guy, that is it. And that CAN be ok when he is used properly. They way he is being used now he is a complete liability in every other aspect of the game. And guess what folks, he's not shooting well. He has a .372 % from 3 - that's *4th* of the guys who play. Not impressed. So to me, I'm sorry, but if you're an avg shooter, can't create your own shots, play poor D, and have no handle, you are not playing starter minutes. You are my spark off the bench to come in and nail 3 3's in 10 minutes to change a game. And not only is this hurting the team, it's also hurting BB's pro outlook - can't see even a Euro squad clamoring for the kind of play we're seeing. The staff needs to intervene here and help save both him and this season.
I want Powers, JWF, and Pemba for as many minutes as possible every single game, end of story. There is no coaching excuse for anything otherwise. This isn't CYO - you do not play someone because you like them, or because it's their last year, you play to WIN. PERIOD.
Now I understand fully poor shooting nights are going to happen - this is not Kentucky or the NBA - these guys are not going to shoot lights out from deep every game, and everyone on this team and STAFF needs to understand that and have a plan for it - driving the lane, attacking the basket, getting to the line, kicking out if the trees are too thick, this is all stuff that needs to happen in the course of a poor shooting game - didn't see it until the end when it was too late.
And it's because no one is creating. They are just looking for their chance to score, probably because they know the ball isn't coming back to them and this is their shot to make an impact. That is NO BUENO. That MUST change, asap.
Now to counter, if HU hits their shots they probably win this game and the discussion is somewhat muted... But this is 2 bad games in a row with a very tough road stretch. Again, there are moments in every season where a team either comes together and takes advantage of lessons and opportunities to turn things around, or they lay down give up and die.
The importance of LEADERSHIP is right here and right now. It's been a concern from game 1. Who is it? We are going to find out real quick what this team/staff are made of.
This coaching staff is now on the hook to correct, especially the play calling, the defensive adjustments, and making sure that Powers understands how to lead this team to win games in this system.
It is also on the players to have what we call a 'come to Jesus' moment on this road trip, and start playing like a TEAM - they must come together as a family and realize they will either play as one and distribute the ball to get all involved, or they are going to lose a lot of games playing rushed and selfish.
The silver lining? This road trip is a real chance to turn it all around - imagine if HU takes 2 or even 3 of 3, beating the W?? Just think about that. Yeeaahh... just the possibility feels wild right? Hope they feel and understand the same. Go get 'em fellas. ROLLPRIDE.
Game 16 vs. JMU
Re: Game 16 vs. JMU
Agree with 95% of what has been said about this game and the last.
Have to take issue though with the comments about how Rok is playing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he has been playing great or that there is not room for improvement - there always is. That being said:
On offense - Roks game is not just the PnR. One on one, with his back to the basket, he has shown that he can score against just about anyone. Problem is....he is not given the ball
Last night, he played 32 minutes and had one dunk, one missed shot, and two shots he was fouled on. 32 minutes and 4 shots - talk about a team woefully underusing a scoring option - all I can say is very disappointed in the guys who are supposed to creating plays and very disappointed in the coaching staff for not putting an end to this type of play!
On defense - yes, historically we have all been frustrated with the arms raised feet flat on the ground defense. That was not the case last night. Many times last night Rok was actually up on his man or moving a few steps up to take on an incoming drive or pass. Problem was that every time he did that, JMU was dishing off to someone else coming into that paint. If Rok didn't step up, it resulted in a 10 foot stop and pop or driving layup. When he did step up, they dished it off (very good play on their part, kudos). Rok had no help whatsoever! Every time he stepped up, no one filled in behind him. Untold number of times, the dish was made and TG, EP, or JR was on the wrong side of the player trying to catch up. Very poor play, and it happened over and over again. The other problem was that occasionally when the defense did things properly, we were outsized by 3 or 4 inches and 20 to 40 pounds. I think JMU knew this coming in and their staff set up their attack accordingly. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but either way, it worked like a charm. I don't care if Rok is playing like Shaq, hes gong to get beat every time in this circumstance. Heck, there were even a couple of instances when TG or JR was at the top of the key playing the chaser role, and we were left with JWF down low trying to play against a 6'7" guy taking the dish from the guy Rok was covering. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we had RG and HS playing together for a few possessions (I know JM would never do this but in this matchup, it might have been worth trying).
Anyway, as I see it, that's the big man issue. As other have already said, though, the larger issue is the smaller guys passing the ball and being playmakers. If they don't do that, then all is lost!
Have to take issue though with the comments about how Rok is playing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he has been playing great or that there is not room for improvement - there always is. That being said:
On offense - Roks game is not just the PnR. One on one, with his back to the basket, he has shown that he can score against just about anyone. Problem is....he is not given the ball
Last night, he played 32 minutes and had one dunk, one missed shot, and two shots he was fouled on. 32 minutes and 4 shots - talk about a team woefully underusing a scoring option - all I can say is very disappointed in the guys who are supposed to creating plays and very disappointed in the coaching staff for not putting an end to this type of play!
On defense - yes, historically we have all been frustrated with the arms raised feet flat on the ground defense. That was not the case last night. Many times last night Rok was actually up on his man or moving a few steps up to take on an incoming drive or pass. Problem was that every time he did that, JMU was dishing off to someone else coming into that paint. If Rok didn't step up, it resulted in a 10 foot stop and pop or driving layup. When he did step up, they dished it off (very good play on their part, kudos). Rok had no help whatsoever! Every time he stepped up, no one filled in behind him. Untold number of times, the dish was made and TG, EP, or JR was on the wrong side of the player trying to catch up. Very poor play, and it happened over and over again. The other problem was that occasionally when the defense did things properly, we were outsized by 3 or 4 inches and 20 to 40 pounds. I think JMU knew this coming in and their staff set up their attack accordingly. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but either way, it worked like a charm. I don't care if Rok is playing like Shaq, hes gong to get beat every time in this circumstance. Heck, there were even a couple of instances when TG or JR was at the top of the key playing the chaser role, and we were left with JWF down low trying to play against a 6'7" guy taking the dish from the guy Rok was covering. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we had RG and HS playing together for a few possessions (I know JM would never do this but in this matchup, it might have been worth trying).
Anyway, as I see it, that's the big man issue. As other have already said, though, the larger issue is the smaller guys passing the ball and being playmakers. If they don't do that, then all is lost!
Re: Game 16 vs. JMU
I don't understand their use of him sometimes. Even last year with Green, when they won at W&M last year, he was 12/16. Three weeks later, against the same team & same lineup for W&M, just 1/1. Granted, he was in foul trouble ans because iof it, played 9 fewer minutes the second time, around, but he still played 27 minutes the second time. More than enough time to get way more than one shot, especially after he had a big game at W&M the first time.Cards wrote: On offense - Roks game is not just the PnR. One on one, with his back to the basket, he has shown that he can score against just about anyone. Problem is....he is not given the ball
Last night, he played 32 minutes and had one dunk, one missed shot, and two shots he was fouled on. 32 minutes and 4 shots - talk about a team woefully underusing a scoring option - all I can say is very disappointed in the guys who are supposed to creating plays and very disappointed in the coaching staff for not putting an end to this type of play!
It's really like they forget he can be a weapon sometimes. He may be limited in the ways he can score, but efficiency is efficiency, no matter who's taking the shots. He shot 57.3% his first year, 66% last year, and is at a considerably lower yet a still fairly efficient 51.6% this year.
This year, since going 9/14 against St. Bonaventure and 6/10 against Kentucky (with some early crowd noise-inducing dunks and layups), he hasn't gotten back to double digits in shot attempts. 5/9 against Stony Brook and 5/8 against Siena. Those weren't so bad, but now just a TOTAL of 13 shots over the past THREE games. Granted, some of that was due to foul trouble, but still 24, 33 and 32 minutes in those games. And before anyone uses fatigue as an excuse, this is the same player who playing a third game in three days in Baltimore last March, under the added pressure of playing in his first title game, played all but one minute of the title game against UNCW, while putting up 18 (on 9/11 shooting) and 23 boards. He was missing a couple he should have made last night, but if you can't try to feed the ball to Rok down low in a game like that, when everyone but JWF was off, when can you try that more often? They need him to be a bigger part of this offense if they're going to succeed, and the time is now. He was a huge part of it last year, and they very nearly won their first CAA tourney championship because of it. Again, no one is asking someone to fill Green's shoes in that regard, but they also can't always treat Rok as merely a 4th or 5th option, or even no option at all, as often as they do. He's shown too many times that he can do too much damage, and can do that very efficiently, when given the opportunities to do so.