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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 3, 2009 0:38:05 GMT -5
thx4 - Tim and the Arts guys were on the floor struggling for a rebound under the Arts basket - jump ball was called - possession to Lions - they seemed to be having a tussle while on the floor when jump was called - I thought the Arts guy even threw a punch at Tim. So now we come down the floor, the Arts guy was on defense in the paint and Tim jogs down nearby - then this Arts thug lunged into Tim and Tim went down holding his middle - I thought it was a knee to a more delicate part of the body but perhaps it was just the midsection. Tim was on the ground doubled up in pain and the refs don't even make a call. A brief injury timeout and somehow the three blind refs became aware of the flagrant foul on Tim and ejected the Arts player. I don't know who they spoke with to find out but they did get the call right. JD missed two free throws and we got the ball inbounds. On a play before, this same guy gave KY an elbow which the refs missed. In fact, the refs missed quite a bit of the game that all the fans saw. That is the cheap shot story.
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Dec 3, 2009 0:48:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the update, wr. It was good to hear Tim come back into the game, and glad the refs got the "thug" out of there before he did permanent damage.
Sounds like Osborne had quite a coming-out party. A few other bright spots, as well, but sounds like the Baseline was open for business (again) all night.
I know we were up 27-16 halfway through the first half. That means we only outscored them by eight points the final 30 minutes, and we had at least two starters on the court at all times in the second half, so it isn't as if we called off the dogs early.
Like golions said, it is nice to get a win, but I concur that we will need to play much better to beat a DI team.
As zags said, we need to learn how to win. We can now check-off the "win a home game" column. If we can just keep improving, even in small increments, and win a handful of games prior to Davis' return, we will be that much stronger heading into league play. Go Lions!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 3, 2009 1:00:03 GMT -5
As to the game, we won! And we kinda lost also. Arts had scored in the 30s in their two prior games and got over 70 on us - 35 in the first half alone. And all our Lion's Den forecasts of game score were way off! We barely outrebounded them 29-27. Baseline drives were vulnerable and Arts shot better than expected. Near the end they were hitting 75% of their 3-pointers and 56% from the floor. Our bright spot was seeing the bench players get some time on the court. Alex Osborne was the star in my view (after Viney of course) - he needs to get a bit more aggressive under the basket on offense and I think he will learn this. He comes from a basketball family, his uncle was there, a former pro with Utah, and has been riding Alex on this point. Alex is a presence inside, got his double on offense, rebounded well, played defense well. Tim D will have a hard time keeping his starting spot against Alex as the season progresses. Alex just has so many more weapons in his arsenal and he is hard to budge when planted under the hoop. The only walk-on who played was Kelsey Chine and he made his first two shots - a three and a two - still shooting 100% from the field. He took our last shot of the first half on an inbounds play with 0.9 seconds on the clock, missed, and screwed up his shooting percentage. Missed another nice jumper later also. Played limited minutes but established a presence on offense and defense. Ashley got good minutes and made a decent showing. He needs to play more, that is it in a nutshell. He tends to get in to foul trouble and played with 4 fouls at the end - the coaches left him in to get experience. Under the hoop on defense, he is a muscle and establishes and holds his position well. Just needs to work on those fouls. Shot needs some improvement but this will come with playing time. Given got lots of good minutes also. This kid has a nose for the ball, rebounding in the middle of the bigs, hustling for loose balls - his 3-point shot isn't working well yet but he is solid underneath on breakaways and layup even when challenged. FTs need improvement also. Teel played his usual game. Viney got 20 (or so) in limited minutes. Tim D played workmanlike game, nothing special though. Sweezy was in during the first half and made a jumper. Encouraged he tried another from the corner on a subsequent possession but this is not his strength. KY - first his hair, the cornrows from the UCSB game are gone, the afro is back. He scored two quick 3 point shots then was quiet while still on the court. Scored another layup or two late in the game. Coaches seem to have some issues with his defense. JD played a normal game for JD, solid on defense, contributed on offense but not one of his "can't miss" nights. One sour note, JD left the game with a limp late. I hear he has a bad heel on his foot and hopefully the injury was just a minor tweak.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 3, 2009 1:25:06 GMT -5
I see the stats now: Teel was 5 of 6 from the field, 7 assists, 3 steals, perhaps an above average game - 15 points. And Alex was 6 for 6 from the field, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block - 16 points in 18 minutes - did foul out late however. Viney 7 of 12, 4 of 6 FT, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 20 points in 30 minutes - another all WCC game! JD 0 for 5 from the field. Tim D 2-3 from field, 2 boards, 1 steal, 4 points in 16 minutes.
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Post by fanblade on Dec 3, 2009 2:01:34 GMT -5
Good: We won! We scored 90 points! Alex Osborne had good minutes, Viney solid, Teel solid. Bad: This is the 2nd non-Division I (our division) school we've beat in Gersten. Still waiting... Ugly: Really disappointed in this team's defensive efforts. The rebounding margin is laughable and we let a very awful shooting team shoot very well. Giving up 70pts to a team that hasn't reached that if we add a few of their previous point totals together. Ack! This is scary. We know that our defense is a weakness but things do not seem to be improving. The weakness is just becoming more glaring. We are not going to win the "big" games playing like this. We need defense. Preaching to the choir but this gives me chills.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 3, 2009 2:04:33 GMT -5
I like your photos fanbalde! Agree with your observations.
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Post by ironlions on Dec 3, 2009 2:15:06 GMT -5
We were almost out rebounded by A of A. Over all the defensive effort was very bad. I'm not sure what the coaches are going to have to do to get them to buy into playing better D. Wyomig is a game we should win if we play D. I'm glad to see Ash on the floor... AO could be getting a lot of playing time if he keeps up the good play.
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Post by ironlions on Dec 3, 2009 2:30:19 GMT -5
Hats of to Vernon he is averaging 6.3 apg He has cut down his TOs and improved his FTs
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Dec 3, 2009 7:15:51 GMT -5
If DuBois seriously injured his heel in the final minutes of the game on Wednesday, I will be beyond furious. That is exactly what I was fearing in my earlier posts prior to the game.
There was no reason for our four main starters to be anywhere close to the court the final five minutes, yet DuBois, Teel, Young, and Tim D were all in there (two at a time) down the stretch. Let Given and Chine play guard for the final five minutes. Maybe we only win by 14 instead of 19, but better that than losing DuBois for any stretch of time.
I know Viney sat out the last 6-7 minutes, which made sense, but if DuBois hurt himself at the end of that game, it would be a real shame. C'mon Lions!
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Dec 3, 2009 7:29:52 GMT -5
Just checked the box score. Nice to see all 11 players score, and 10 of 11 had at least one steal (oddly, Given was the only player without a steal).
Also noticed we were up 20-9 five minutes into the game. To update my earlier note, that means we only outscored them by eight points (71-63) in the final 35 minutes!! That is pretty deplorable. "Ack!" indeed, fanblade.
Let's just hope we played to the level of the competition (although our defense is allowing everyone to shoot like Jerry West), and can pick up our game in Laramie on Saturday. Go Lions!
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Post by ironlions on Dec 3, 2009 10:08:34 GMT -5
I don't believe JD is hurt. I don't remember him going down and wasn't he in at the end of the game. Did I miss something?
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 3, 2009 10:55:52 GMT -5
Iron - JD limped off near the end of the game. Hopefully just a tweak but who knows? There was not an apparent cause on the court, he must have just come down wrong on his foot (or something). I think it was his left foot.
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Post by irishlion on Dec 3, 2009 11:23:43 GMT -5
Addressing the "leaving the starters in" - we won by 19. Without those starters - the win was in jeopardy (sad to say). In addition - JD and Kevin were both playing, less than good to put it politely, and were most likely trying to address that. There were some bright spots:
Alex looked very good. Yes, it was against a DII team with no post presence - but his hands, his touch around the basket and his footwork were solid. Next step - let's see how he handles a post. But my money is on him doing really well.
Kelsey - that walkon is willing to play pretty good on ball defense (the only guard on the team that can), and is an excellent shooter. He'll work his way into some solid minutes.
Ash - he has a nose for rebounding, which is a nice addition. He is athletic, and strong. I'll overlook any mistakes because he is fresh out of the gates.
Viney - he's just really, really good. On both ends of the court. His rebounding (leads the team in D rebs), steals and blocks are a great addition to his scoring.
Now - a couple of points I wasn't so happy about.
Why can't our guards stop even the worst of ball handlers from penetrating? We give them too much room (sagging off 6-8 feet), and then still can't keep them in front of us. It is embarassing. JD and Given BOTH try to swipe at the ball, and get caught off balance - then the guy is past them. For the very small number of on ball steals we get, we give up MULTIPLE baskets. Stop gambling, and just play 5 seconds of defense.
Kevin can't guard my grandmother. The first 8 points were on him, and it just kept going that way the whole game. His defense is responsible for at least 30 points given last night. And its been like that all 8 games. That is just not acceptable. Either fix it, or sit him. Yes, thank you for the 40 minutes a game last year, and working hard. But this year - you have to play BOTH ends of the floor.
Very, very sad to see the limited minutes by Sweezy. Especially with how poorly KY is playing. Investing in the future is one thing - disrespecting the heart and soul is another.
Selfish play lives and breathes. Is it selfish, or just poor decision making? Hmmmm. Examples - LaRon - please pass the ball to Vernon on the fast break. Ashley - give it back to Viney on the fast break. Vernon - hit AO RIGHT when he's open, don't wait so long. JD - pass the ball up the court to the open man. You really, really don't have to dribble it all the way into the defense. JD, again, how about,just one time, you pass the ball to Viney's side of the court, instead of Kevins? Because I'm really tired of wasting possessions. Given - get that damn ball to the open man, instead of over dribbling and gambling. (Vernon was open, Given. No need for the turnover). Those are just a short list of last nights questionable decisions. I was hoping that with a less demanding opponent, we could address those things. But nope. Still there.
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Post by dedicatedlionfan on Dec 3, 2009 12:16:05 GMT -5
I liked the fact that Kesly Chine got some minutes.....He did pretty good for the time he played.....would love to see him on the hardwood much more
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Post by lambdachi1988lion on Dec 3, 2009 14:00:50 GMT -5
It is funny that we lead the conference in steals, but are terrible in defense.
I think that players think it would be better for them to go for the steal every time, than play good solid defense and make them miss a shot or turn it over. Hopefully we can figure that out.
Go Lions
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