Well, we're officially an above average A-10 program

[GMU_DCU]

Duquesne guys! We are talking about Duquesne being and finishing better than us with a 2nd year coach most have never heard of. We are in year 4. Jim is right. Things do happen and it's life. We just have zero margins protecting whats important. Mar goes down and Miller steps right in. One example of how we were able to respond. With everything else we weren't. We are stuck in a vortex it seems.

I would argue that Mar going down and Miller stepping in was actually a net positive for the team. As much as I hate saying it Mar was pretty atrocious before the injury.

 

[patriotchild]

Ah yes, the other positive/silver lining I meant to mention...

the overall outcome, in conference, is pretty good if you want to frame the season as one where we overcame injuries and still managed to be a top 7 team.

Did injuries cost us? Probably. Should they have? Debatable, but I think its a legit reason. Shifting lineups all the time creates issues.

Correct me if I am wrong:

Hartwell was out for vcu and Richmond
Calixte was out for Umass(2), Bona(2), Duq. - 2 critical tiebreak games
AJ was out, but I don't remember if it was in conference or it really mattered
Mar out starting @URI
Grayer DNP conference
​

This does seem to be an overlooked and valid point that Jim raises frequently. I can get on the positive train for this one.

 

[PoorManProfit]

Do we have any players that other teams fear?

I'm a pessimist for sure.

Uh, no.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Do we have any players that other teams fear?

I'm a pessimist for sure.

No.

 

[mkaufman1]

I would argue that Mar going down and Miller stepping in was actually a net positive for the team. As much as I hate saying it Mar was pretty atrocious before the injury.

I agree that it was a net positive offensively, but I don’t think Miller defends like Mar can (yet). So they did lose the defensive ability. Put Mar on some shooters and they probably end up missing a lot more.

 

[gmujim92]

Ah yes, the other positive/silver lining I meant to mention...

the overall outcome, in conference, is pretty good if you want to frame the season as one where we overcame injuries and still managed to be a top 7 team.

Did injuries cost us? Probably. Should they have? Debatable, but I think its a legit reason. Shifting lineups all the time creates issues.

Correct me if I am wrong:

Hartwell was out for vcu and Richmond
Calixte was out for Umass(2), Bona(2), Duq. - 2 critical tiebreak games
AJ was out, but I don't remember if it was in conference or it really mattered
Mar out starting @URI
Grayer DNP conference
​

This does seem to be an overlooked and valid point that Jim raises frequently. I can get on the positive train for this one.

Don’t forget Boyd — not sure exactly when he hurt his wrist, but losing his 8-10 ppg was pretty significant for a team that doesn’t have a ton of weapons. He seems very reluctant to shoot now unless he’s right at the rim.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Do we have any players that other teams fear?

Unless one of our players have murdered their family and got away with it, I would say no.

 

[GMU_DCU]

I agree that it was a net positive offensively, but I don’t think Miller defends like Mar can (yet). So they did lose the defensive ability. Put Mar on some shooters and they probably end up missing a lot more.

Possibly, but to me it didn't seem like we were playing great defense early in the year with Mar playing 30+ minutes either.

 

[Patriotsince81]

The problem we are having right now is we can't/won't/don't defend hard for 40 minutes and we struggle to score. Not exactly a recipe for short term or long term success.

 

[patriotchild]

Don’t forget Boyd — not sure exactly when he hurt his wrist, but losing his 8-10 ppg was pretty significant for a team that doesn’t have a ton of weapons. He seems very reluctant to shoot now unless he’s right at the rim.

Yes agree. Although he wasn't giving us 8-10 points ppg. More like 6 and a few rebounds.

Hard to tell when he got hurt and correctly assess how much this potentially impacted the team. He didn't see a significant drop in minutes until the second Bona game, but his play was not great well before that.

Seems likely that he tried to play through it. As he did the other day against Richmond and St. Louis. He's clearly still hurt and not shooting from deep. Would be nice to get some sort of info from the staff.

Fun Fact: Boyd has only made 1 3pt fg since we played Dayton Jan 23. He has not attempted a 3pt fg since we played LaSalle Feb 10, also the last time he made a 3pt fg.

 

[mkaufman1]

Possibly, but to me it didn't seem like we were playing great defense early in the year with Mar playing 30+ minutes either.

They weren’t, but by the time the team started rolling (around the jmu game) he was a piece of the defensive success.

 

[GMU_DCU]

They weren’t, but by the time the team started rolling (around the jmu game) he was a piece of the defensive success.

agree to disagree The stats show Miller is a better rebounder and averages more blocks and steals than Mar. Now Mar might be better at positioning but I have all confidence that Miller will be just as good as Mar at that with comparable playing time.

 

[GMUgemini]

Duquesne guys! We are talking about Duquesne being and finishing better than us with a 2nd year coach most have never heard of. We are in year 4. Jim is right. Things do happen and it's life. We just have zero margins protecting whats important. Mar goes down and Miller steps right in. One example of how we were able to respond. With everything else we weren't. We are stuck in a vortex it seems.

Dambrot was at Akron for 13 seasons and is their winningest coach in school history. He didn’t come out of nowhere.

 

[Patriotsince81]

agree to disagree The stats show Miller is a better rebounder and averages more blocks and steals than Mar. Now Mar might be better at positioning but I have all confidence that Miller will be just as good as Mar at that with comparable playing time.

Miller also just has nose for the ball. It seems to find him and he seems to find it.

 

[GMU_DCU]

Dambrot was at Akron for 13 seasons and is their windiest coach in school history. He didn’t come out of nowhere.

very gassy

 

[GMUgemini]

agree to disagree The stats show Miller is a better rebounder and averages more blocks and steals than Mar. Now Mar might be better at positioning but I have all confidence that Miller will be just as good as Mar at that with comparable playing time.

If Mar comes back playing more like his freshman season, I want them both on the floor at the same time. Mar is stronger and can hold his own in the post s little better. Miller gets pushed around a lot, but he’s got the length and althleticism to defend out on the perimeter.

 

[GMU_DCU]

If Mar comes back playing more like his freshman season, I want them both on the floor at the same time. Mar is stronger and can hold his own in the post s little better. Miller gets pushed around a lot, but he’s got the length and althleticism to defend out on the perimeter.

I want nothing more than Mar to return to the play he showed his freshman year. We were all expecting even more of a leap forward this year but I'm sure we can all agree he was a major disappointment before the injury.

 

[PoorManProfit]

The problem we are having right now is we can't/won't/don't defend hard for 40 minutes and we struggle to score. Not exactly a recipe for short term or long term success.

Other than those minor issues a high quality team...

 

[gmutom]

Fun Fact: Boyd has only made 1 3pt fg since we played Dayton Jan 23. He has not attempted a 3pt fg since we played LaSalle Feb 10, also the last time he made a 3pt fg.

Great stats, patriotchild, for a few reasons: 1. Our opponents pretty much know that Boyd — one of our best threats from deep when he is healthy — isn't going to shoot, which allows to them to sag defensively; 2. Ian knows he is limited from the perimeter, which is why we've seen him force dribbles into the paint the last few games and turn the ball over.

I understand why Dave is so tempted to play Boyd even at 65%, but I'm wondering if he should save him the last two games with the hopes he gets healthy for Brooklyn. At this point, a healthy Douglas-Stanley can provide more offense, assuming he gets out of Dave's doghouse.

 

[gmujim92]

Great stats, patriotchild, for a few reasons: 1. Our opponents pretty much know that Boyd — one of our best threats from deep when he is healthy — isn't going to shoot, which allows to them to sag defensively; 2. Ian knows he is limited from the perimeter, which is why we've seen him force dribbles into the paint the last few games and turn the ball over.

I understand why Dave is so tempted to play Boyd even at 65%, but I'm wondering if he should save him the last two games with the hopes he gets healthy for Brooklyn. At this point, a healthy Douglas-Stanley can provide more offense, assuming he gets out of Dave's doghouse.

Offense isn’t Jason’s problem. If he’s in Dave’s doghouse it’s because he can’t guard his own shadow. Even Boyd at 50 percent is an upgrade on defense.