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Post by ALioninWinter on Dec 17, 2013 22:47:15 GMT -5
These guys are really frustrating. They played a great stretch where they attacked the zone, drove the lanes, made good passes and built a 12 point lead. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped doing all the good things. A lazy pass, an unforced dropped ball out of bounds, several possessions where they just lazily passed the ball around the horn. Is there a switch somewhere that gets flipped?
I know we are without Gabe and Deji, but Cal Poly isn't very good.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 22:52:38 GMT -5
We have to control Eversly in the second half.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 22:53:53 GMT -5
You got it right Winter.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 23:00:40 GMT -5
There is your man Winter - CJ - lets hope he finds his touch again tonight.
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Post by pumpfake on Dec 17, 2013 23:23:17 GMT -5
That's twice that Money has found Dickinson with a quick interior pass. That's really a nice part of his game. And yes, Ben did his job and finished.
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Post by pumpfake on Dec 17, 2013 23:23:56 GMT -5
I said it before the announcers did!
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 23:36:37 GMT -5
Don't like this sloppy finish Lions. Com'on don't relax here1
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 23:45:06 GMT -5
Who said this was a cake walk? Moi? Without Gabe no less. Thank you coach of the Mustangs.
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Post by pumpfake on Dec 17, 2013 23:50:26 GMT -5
I am not sure that he scored, but I liked what I saw from Nick tonight on the defensive end. He seemed comfortable and confident and applied consistent pressure. Does anyone know why Gabe was out?
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 23:50:35 GMT -5
pump - you said it first although we couldn't hear you. I like Mornar's play also.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Dec 17, 2013 23:51:36 GMT -5
They said shoulder injury on the pre=game interview with Max. Not sure when it occured - perhaps outside BB play?
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Post by fanblade on Dec 18, 2013 0:10:10 GMT -5
The last spate of losses showed that we aren't quite ready to make noise at the national level. I think tomorrow's game will serve as a gauge of where we will fit into the WCC this year. A loss puts us down with Santa Clara and Pepperdine. A close game probably puts us with USF, Portland and maybe San Diego. A solid win might show that we have the wherewithal to play competitively with the top division. A solid victory after a slow start. Perhaps that will be how the season goes. LMU will be a dark horse.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2013 0:47:03 GMT -5
Excellent victory - guys stepped up- coach made excellent adjustments. Really happy with this win. Go Lions!
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Post by waterboy on Dec 18, 2013 0:59:33 GMT -5
That was the best Offensive attack I have seen in years. Congrats to the coaches for getting the sets across to the boys. No 2d half let down, and some killer instincts shown. Could we be on our way??!! Cj played great as did Nick S. AI was brilliant as usual but has to watch out to taking care of the ball when he gets too excited. Evan Payne played within himself and showed some real unselfishness and was rewarded with 18 points to boot. Monar has amazing reach and played good D. And AO was tough, and Ben solid. Good effort to all!! Lets get consistent, and we'll take over.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Dec 18, 2013 1:42:46 GMT -5
I know I said this game would serve as an indicator of how we will do in the WCC this year. However, after watching the game, I still don't know.
The good news is that we won by 20 points despite not looking all that good ... and while missing Gabe and Deji from the line-up. We had some spurts where everything clicked and we looked ready to take on anyone in the WCC. We also had some dreadful spells where we couldn't do much of anything right. Which team is going to show up for our league games? I suspect we will see this replayed multiple times over the next two months. I think the Lions are a bit more than a dark horse, but less than a real threat to win the league title.
Some observations:
AI - He told Max during the off season that he wanted coach to be really hard on him. If I were Max, I would be all over his rear right about now. Those six turnovers were inexcusable. I actually can accept a few TOs when they are the result of trying to play an aggressive, up tempo game. Tonight, those six TOs were flat out the result of lazy play. AI needs to set the pace for the team and show everyone else that it takes 40 minutes of concentrated effort to win. AI did not set a good example tonight and Max should let him have it.
Interior Passing - It only happened in spurts, but when they were working those inside moves, they worked it very impressively. Yes, Money had a couple of great interior passes. So did AI and a few others. They just need to keep that up for a full game.
19 Assists - I believe that is a high for this year. That's a lot of assists. Excellent!
CJ - He did hit some jumpers tonight and his defense and rebounding were solid. I don't understand why he didn't take some drives into the key. I could see his hesitancy against some of our other opponents who have faster bigs protecting the middle. But CJ had the strength and size to force his way into the lane against Cal Poly. He was doing that as a freshman. We really need that part of his game.
Evan - I know there are times when he has the ball, puts his head down, and the only thing he sees is the basket. Those are the moments when he gets into trouble. He had a couple of those moments tonight but he also had a solid game. He caused several disruptions on defense, shot 7/16 from the field and led the team in assists.
Rotations - I know there are multiple reasons for moving guys in and out of the line-up, but I think Max had too many rotations. It's really hard to get into the game flow if you're pulled too quickly. This is especially true of guys who need a little confidence building. I'm particularly thinking of Ben and CJ. We really need these guys to have big years for us, and they need solid game time to sort out their games.
Gabe - I thought I heard that he hurt his shoulder in the Valpo game. I sure hope it's not serious and that he will be ready for the WCC opener. I would just as soon see some other guys get good game time against La Sierra.
Nino - I understand he broke his ankle. That tells me he's looking at a red shirt year. It's probably just as well. He needs a lot of maturity and time to shake the high school out of his game.
Money - Yes, I saw those smooth interior passes. Keep it up Money!
Too Much Standing Around - Based upon what the guys did when they were playing well, the coaches obviously had them ready to attack Cal Poly's zone. When they were on the attack, they were great. However, once that mystical switch got flipped, they just stood around. The offense was one guy bouncing the ball and four others standing there looking like pillars. Maybe the coaches should invest in some blow guns so they can shoot some darts into the players' rear ends when that happens.
90045 - You shouldn't have let me dissuade you from your original "cake walk" prediction!
Cal Poly's next game is at Pitt. It'll be interesting to see how they do. Pitt was really the only game I didn't think we could/should have won.
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