Game 27: AT University of Massachusetts, Sunday, February 21st, 4 PM, NBCSN

[patriotchild]

An average 3 point shooting team wins that game. Still seeing our youth at key moments. Only hope they learn from it and take it to next year.

 

[Patriotsince81]

1 - 18 from 3 and critical misses at the free throw line sealed the deal.

 

[Patriotsince81]

HATE Blaine Taylor as an announcer, what a douche. Sorry, wrong thread but true.

 

[Herndon]

1) Marquise Moore remains the best 6'2 shot blocker in the country
2) I remain confident that Otis, Jaire, and DeAndre are going to be a hell of a backcourt in a couple of years (particularly Jaire, when he puts it all together, he's going to be a LOAD, he's also the tallest 6'4 I've seen in a while. He might actually be 6'4)
3) I remain confident that Dave is the right guy for the job. I see progress.
4) We're more than a year away. I don't see us improving much in W/L next year.

 

[Petey Buckets]

Too little, too late yet again. This team needs to get its shit together in the first half if we want to win any more games all year.

I'll keep beating this drum - if we go from abysmal at shooting threes to even below average, our record looks much different. We can't stop shooting them because Paulsen's system creates a ton of open looks, but we couldn't beat Fairfax High School shooting 1-18. It's not like we're taking a bunch of bad threes - the good looks just aren't going down.

Marquise is still not himself. He posted a line of 1pt/2ast/3reb on 0-5 shooting. Since he's not a threat to shoot he can't impact the offense when he's not driving. vcu beats us by 25 if he's not better by Wednesday.

I love Jaire's ceiling but he's been really inefficient as a scorer this year. So far he has more shots taken (255) than points scored (252). He had 4 points on 2-8 shooting today, and his struggles from deep contribute to that significantly.

Blaine Taylor is awful as a commentator. At first I liked his sort of drunken-uncle charm, but much like his old ODU teams, he wore me down as the game went on. It's like the only advice he was ever given was "don't stop talking no matter what."

Overall, I love a bunch of things about this team - they never quit, they fight hard, they all seem to like each other, and I love watching the bench go nuts when we make a run. But we need to answer the bell in the first half so we're not chasing leads the entire game.

 

[gmujim92]

1) Marquise Moore remains the best 6'2 shot blocker in the country
2) I remain confident that Otis, Jaire, and DeAndre are going to be a hell of a backcourt in a couple of years (particularly Jaire, when he puts it all together, he's going to be a LOAD, he's also the tallest 6'4 I've seen in a while. He might actually be 6'4)
3) I remain confident that Dave is the right guy for the job. I see progress.
4) We're more than a year away. I don't see us improving much in W/L next year.

I agree with all of your points except No. 4.

Our most glaring weakness -- perimeter shooting -- is one that should improve dramatically as our freshmen become sophomores and the pace of the game slows down for them. There is nothing fundamentally that says all 4 of our freshman guards won't become dependable shooters in time.

Barring defections, we'll have seniors at the 1 and the 5 -- and given the progress he has made in less than a year under DP, I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that Jalen could be a monster next season.

Plus, we have at least 4 young guys coming in who will add athleticism, scoring ability and the same winning pedigree that Otis and Jaire have.

We're likely to be thin up front, but college basketball is a guard's game and we have a coach who knows how to use them. Plus, the rest of the A-10 loses a bunch of veteran guards and could be down overall next season.

Depending on the schedule, I can see us threatening .500 overall and in conference.

 

[JimP]

Clearly, they told Marquise to not even bother doing what he does best - finding creative ways to drive to the basket. He's far from 100 percent, and I'm not even sure it's worth having him in there until he is.

Throughout this game, something Dane Fischer said rang true to me. Next year's class is important because they'll be competition at guard positions. Outside of Moore, I think minutes will be up for grabs. I like the freshman that Paulsen brought in with not much time to spare, but I'd look for Newman, Boyd and the kid from Virginia to grab a bunch of minutes next year.

 

[MasonCrew]

We were a better team than UMass and just didn't hit shots. Patience is key is a virtue they say

 

[Herndon]

I agree with all of your points except No. 4.

Our most glaring weakness -- perimeter shooting -- is one that should improve dramatically as our freshmen become sophomores and the pace of the game slows down for them. There is nothing fundamentally that says all 4 of our freshman guards won't become dependable shooters in time.

Barring defections, we'll have seniors at the 1 and the 5 -- and given the progress he has made in less than a year under DP, I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that Jalen could be a monster next season.

Plus, we have at least 4 young guys coming in who will add athleticism, scoring ability and the same winning pedigree that Otis and Jaire have.

We're likely to be thin up front, but college basketball is a guard's game and we have a coach who knows how to use them. Plus, the rest of the A-10 loses a bunch of veteran guards and could be down overall next season.

Depending on the schedule, I can see us threatening .500 overall and in conference.

I'd love you you to be right and me to be wrong We shall see.

I'm very curious to see how things look next fall. That first summer after you've seen the college game, and know what your strengths and weaknesses are at this level, and how you improve/address those always tells a ton. They say you make the biggest jump that summer, and I think it's because you either can address your weaknesses or you cannot.

We'll know a LOT come November about the trajectory of this class.

 

[Cedric Dempsey]

One more attempt. Six players walked/ineligible when change was made (4 returners, 2 commits?). DP put together a group in May and is trying to compete in the A10. Who is kidding whom. If it is a competitive woodie you want after 8 months then check-out now and come back later. Those who truly enjoy watching a developing story should hang around in my opinion. Life's a process. It takes minutes to piss a program down the tubes, but patience will reward.

 

[gmujim92]

Clearly, they told Marquise to not even bother doing what he does best - finding creative ways to drive to the basket. He's far from 100 percent, and I'm not even sure it's worth having him in there until he is.

Throughout this game, something Dane Fischer said rang true to me. Next year's class is important because they'll be competition at guard positions. Outside of Moore, I think minutes will be up for grabs. I like the freshman that Paulsen brought in with not much time to spare, but I'd look for Newman, Boyd and the kid from Virginia to grab a bunch of minutes next year.

Your point about competition for minutes is well-taken. Looked at another way, hopefully it means our guards won't have to log 35 mpg because DP will have other guys he trusts.

That said, unless he gets hurt, Otis will have one of the starting guard spots for the next 3 years. If I know anything about anything, I know that.

 

[gmujim92]

Also, Abram has really shown flashes when he's gotten a chance to start and play major minutes.

I'm pretty sure Marko was suspended when Abram had 24 and 27 in back-to-back games earlier this season.

Over the last 5 games since Marquise got hurt, Abram has been in double figures 4 times -- scoring 16, 13, 13, 11 and 8.

Now that he's showing the ability to score off the drive, he could be very dangerous going forward. Could see him playing a lot of minutes as a stretch 4 next season.

 

[JimP]

1 - 18 from 3 and critical misses at the free throw line sealed the deal.

I like Jaire's game on the whole, but I think he's got something going on in his head as far as free throws. Think he started 9-9 or 10-10 to begin the year but has struggled since then.

 

[GMUgemini]

I like Jaire's game on the whole, but I think he's got something going on in his head as far as free throws. Think he started 9-9 or 10-10 to begin the year but has struggled since then.

My guess is fatigue. It's a pretty demanding first year Jaire and Otis have had. He did start 10-10, but after Colgate (where he went 4-4) he didn't shoot a free throw against Mercer, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, or UVA, until going 4-4 against Manhattan.

 

[KAOriginal]

I spent 8 hours on a dog sled, anther 4 in the air by float plane and then drove down to Amherst from Maine.

My first in person view of this team:

YOUNG and TIRED. They looked like 12 year olds versus the parolees from UMass. And very tired.

From what I saw tonight, I bet the physicality of the game at this level has taken its toll.

As someone said above, if you were expecting a huge turn around just because of the coaching, then take a break and come back. Most of these kids would never see the floor except in few minutes even in the Larranaga days of the CAA, till they adjusted and proved themselves.

Paulsen has no choice. Bad now...sure....but the pay off will come.

 

[JimP]

My guess is fatigue. It's a pretty demanding first year Jaire and Otis have had. He did start 10-10, but after Colgate (where he went 4-4) he didn't shoot a free throw against Mercer, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, or UVA, until going 4-4 against Manhattan.

Perhaps - seems something more than that though at 10 for his last 27. I wouldn't even have realized how much he was struggling from the line if Bill Rohland hadn't mentioned it in a recent game. (then he had a chance to make it 64-62 and I thought of it again)

 

[GMU92]

It was interesting that they were pointing out the banner honoring Calipari in the UMass arena. Not all were so excited about that celebration last year, as the following article points out. Note the banner states the number of wins, not the Final Four, which was vacated by the school because Camby had already taken tons of loot as a pro.
I think it was great to wear our Final Four uniforms this game; remind them that OCM and DP have class and that our banner still stands.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/...ipari-honor/jpNlS6DG2VJPlyMiNXpX6K/story.html

 

[KAOriginal]

It was interesting that they were pointing out the banner honoring Calipari in the UMass arena. Not all were so excited about that celebration last year, as the following article points out. Note the banner states the number of wins, not the Final Four, which was vacated by the school because Camby had already taken tons of loot as a pro.
I think it was great to wear our Final Four uniforms this game; remind them that OCM and DP have class and that our banner still stands.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/...ipari-honor/jpNlS6DG2VJPlyMiNXpX6K/story.html

They still have the Final Four noted on a "regular" post season banner by the way........ across the gym from the Calipari banner.....

 

[GMU92]

They still have the Final Four noted on a "regular" post season banner by the way........ across the gym from the Calipari banner.....

Interesting, I guess the NCAA sanctions don't allow them the official NCAA Final Four banner.
I still remember the "Refuse to Lose", my boss at the time was a UMass alum and we would talk about the team's success. Calipari ended up taking that with him too when he left for the Nets (Refuse to Lose trademark).

 

[TweederGMU]

I agree with all of your points except No. 4.

Our most glaring weakness -- perimeter shooting -- is one that should improve dramatically as our freshmen become sophomores and the pace of the game slows down for them. There is nothing fundamentally that says all 4 of our freshman guards won't become dependable shooters in time.

Barring defections, we'll have seniors at the 1 and the 5 -- and given the progress he has made in less than a year under DP, I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that Jalen could be a monster next season.

Plus, we have at least 4 young guys coming in who will add athleticism, scoring ability and the same winning pedigree that Otis and Jaire have.

We're likely to be thin up front, but college basketball is a guard's game and we have a coach who knows how to use them. Plus, the rest of the A-10 loses a bunch of veteran guards and could be down overall next season.

Depending on the schedule, I can see us threatening .500 overall and in conference.

Yea next year should be an interesting year, we could actually turn some heads next year. The top 8 teams in the current standings all have 3-5 seniors leaving after this year. Some of those teams have the ability to reload while some will drop off to a rebuilding year. However, the remaining teams, including us, are all very young and feature a lot of freshmen and sophomores. There will be some interesting and close games next year for sure and that's where our development will either shine or fold under these coaches tutelage.

Ian Boyd will probably start at some point during the season. Kid brings a dynamic shooting ability that we desperately need.