East Carolina

[waterhead]

I've read through some of the comments on the board. A few that stand out...

Cobb isn't nearly as effective running point as Caupain. IMO he may not be that much more effective at PG than a couple of the other guys. That's another reason I think we should start Cobb at the 2. Troy is going to be in the game for 32-36 minutes VS the best teams. That is only 4-8 minutes we need to cover. Sitting Cobb for 5 minutes to start every half seems moronic when you look at it this way...ESPECIALLY if he's not that effective anyway. I do like him at PG if we need someone to make a play though...he's just not that good at getting the offense moving.

Ellis and Clark are making this team look legit. They are so active with rebounds, blocks, steals, put backs, dunks, etc. Their passing has been some of the best interior passing we have seen here in a while and we have two guys which makes it even better because we now have the option to pass to each other. That option has been missing forever. The defense can't SAG to one side and if they do...watch out.

 

[cincrulz11]

This team looks a lot better under LD, kids are playing loose and free. Let's see what happens against some better competition.

I think the team has looked much better lately, but I'd attribute it more towards a young team getting some games under their belts. Guys are becoming more comfortable in their roles and that goes a long way.

 

[UCBearcats]

Careful. They look great lately, and I give a lot of credit to Davis, but that sounds like you're saying he's coaching better than Cronin, which is a bold statement.

Take it however you want, but you can't deny they're playing a lot looser and more freely since LD has been on the sidelines.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

GARY. CLARK.

 

[waterhead]

Take it however you want, but you can't deny they're playing a lot looser and more freely since LD has been on the sidelines.

"looser" and "freely" are pretty subjective terms. I will point out some numbers since (after) the VCU game that are a little more objective although I encourage everyone not to read too much into them...it's only a 4 game sample. Giving the team a break for the VCU game.

Points Per Possession is 1.1 over the last 4 and was 1.03 before VCU.

Effective Field Goal % is 54.23 and before was 47.8

I think Wagner, SMU, ECU, and NCST is a decent mirror of games before VCU



Again, I am not supporting or supposing anything regarding LD vs MC...but I think LD has done a good job so far. MC is still pulling strings you know

 

[TheLongHaul]

Are you new to following basketball?

Been playing and following all my life. Are you?

 

[TheLongHaul]

It doesn't matter to me who starts. One thing I don't get though is why the starters have to start the 2nd half no matter what. KJ was beyong bad in the 1st half vs SMU but he was back out there after halftime. I didn't like that.

It should. Obviously runs happen in basketball but how you start a game is huge. It's why 99.9% of teams start their best players. The "it doesn't matter who starts but who finishes" is a nice catchphrase but that's all it is.

 

[BCM]

"looser" and "freely" are pretty subjective terms. I will point out some numbers since (after) the VCU game that are a little more objective although I encourage everyone not to read too much into them...it's only a 4 game sample. Giving the team a break for the VCU game.

Points Per Possession is 1.1 over the last 4 and was 1.03 before VCU.

Effective Field Goal % is 54.23 and before was 47.8

I think Wagner, SMU, ECU, and NCST is a decent mirror of games before VCU



Again, I am not supporting or supposing anything regarding LD vs MC...but I think LD has done a good job so far. MC is still pulling strings you know

Stats can't track how a team looks doing it, though.

 

[waterhead]

It should. Obviously runs happen in basketball but how you start a game is huge. It's why 99.9% of teams start their best players. The "it doesn't matter who starts but who finishes" is a nice catchphrase but that's all it is.

One thing is for sure. You cannot maximize a player's minutes if he does not start the game (or each half). If he starts the game you have 40 minutes to figure out how to use him. If you don't bring him in for 5 minutes to start each half...you have limited the amount of minutes he can get to 30...and then whatever break he may need or game situation substitution we may need.

It's dumb...and he's not that much more effective at starting the offense than a couple other players. He doesn't turn the ball over but that's about it. He's better used at PG when we need something to happen late in the clock...not to start the offense. Oh and he's good at bringing the ball up the court.

 

[TheLongHaul]

One thing is for sure. You cannot maximize a player's minutes if he does not start the game (or each half). If he starts the game you have 40 minutes to figure out how to use him. If you don't bring him in for 5 minutes to start each half...you have limited the amount of minutes he can get to 30...and then whatever break he may need or game situation substitution we may need.

It's dumb...and he's not that much more effective at starting the offense than a couple other players. He doesn't turn the ball over but that's about it. He's better used at PG when we need something to happen late in the clock...not to start the offense.

Totally agree. And considering TC has only accumulated 4 fouls twice in his career it's not like you have to worry about foul trouble.

 

[Scheids21]

I'll be interested to see if Shaq starts Saturday. Was him not starting a wake up call or the way things are from now on? He did seem to play very hard once he did finally get in the game. He climbed the ladder for a couple rebounds.

We've all said it but he can't shoot so he has to keep driving and cutting to the basket to use his athleticism where it counts. His baseline lay up was a thing of beauty. Compare that to his patented hard crossover followed by a contested three (which I was thankful Davis pulled him for).

 

[bearcat jeff]

Take it however you want, but you can't deny they're playing a lot looser and more freely since LD has been on the sidelines.

Does that include VCU and the first half against SMU? I agree it is more a function of a young team with many new parts learning and growing. I give LD props and I'm sure there are things he does differently but much of this is a natural maturation process most of us acknowledged at the beginning of the season we would see. Mick Cronin's hand is intimately still involved in every aspect of each game. Perhaps Davis is a better teacher and Mick a better game planner? Who can say? But this team has talent and with experience together was going to get better.

KJ said it best last night after the game. This teams best basketball is still ahead of it.

 

[Chad Brendel]

Nothing more than a young team developing over Winter break when practice time is unlimited...

 

[bearcat jeff]

Nothing more than a young team developing over Winter break when practice time is unlimited...

Thank you.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

One thing is for sure. You cannot maximize a player's minutes if he does not start the game (or each half). If he starts the game you have 40 minutes to figure out how to use him. If you don't bring him in for 5 minutes to start each half...you have limited the amount of minutes he can get to 30...and then whatever break he may need or game situation substitution we may need.

It's dumb...and he's not that much more effective at starting the offense than a couple other players. He doesn't turn the ball over but that's about it. He's better used at PG when we need something to happen late in the clock...not to start the offense. Oh and he's good at bringing the ball up the court.

Cobb's season high is 31 minutes. We don't need him (or anyone really) going over that right now.

 

[IDC]

Nothing more than a young team developing over Winter break when practice time is unlimited...

So you're saying they practiced offense?

I think this season is going exactly how we all thought it would in the summer time. Actually I think it's going better. Dominating bigs so far, which was an area of concern in the summer. I think we were all worried about if a young team can compete on the defensive end how Mick wants them to without the 3 seniors. They have. And now guys seem to be getting more comfortable in their roles. EVERY player on this team has a new role this year.

Hopefully Morman and Johnson will continue to show improvement, and this talk about Cobb not starting will stop because I think both these guys are capable of producing. I love how Morman attacks the basket. Yes he needs to be a bit more in control, but it seems like he can get to the rim at will. Johnson showed confidence in his shot last night, hopefully he continues to build on this game. We all say we're a shooter short. I think the coaching staff believes Johnson can be that guy.

 

[IDC]

And that Ole Miss loss isn't as bad as we thought. Their game with UK just shows that when a team gets hot, anybody can beat anybody in college bb.

 

[Bearcatboy]

I was pretty close

I enjoyed this game. Unfortunately, my first thought was "wow, ECU is just abysmal. On another level bad." And they're not even the worst team in the AAC!

The big guys all really impressed me. Ellis and Clark were great rebounders and very versatile around the hoop. I absolutely love the touch DeBerry has shown so far around the rim. Although his stats may not show it, he might be my biggest surprise this year so far. I thought he may be another Biggie/Hrycaniuk/Nyarsuk, but he's already better than all three.

Nice to see Kevin Johnson start to hit some shots (despite bearcatboy's inexplicable effort to undermine everything he does). His turnovers are still really embarrassing, and he's got to work on this. I just hope, for now, that he gets his confidence in his shot back and can start becoming that long range threat that Mick has talked up. That's really all we need right now, is a serious, consistent 3 point threat. I can deal with a couple turnovers if he shoots 38% from three.

This team is really starting to come around. As others mentioned, this team WILL be ranked next year, and possibly top 15. You can see then grow and get smarter as every game passes.

It's just annoying how he scores 12 points vs a crappy team and some people say he's got his confidence and then Saturday when we play a good team (uconn) he will score 3 or 4 and some will say oh he lost his confidence. Until a player has two or three games of double digits like (Caupain, Ellis, Clark) there's no reason to start talking about it. KJ and Morman are fighting for the title worst player on the team.

 

[Scheids21]

And that Ole Miss loss isn't as bad as we thought. Their game with UK just shows that when a team gets hot, anybody can beat anybody in college bb.

I was thinking the same thing. I'm more worried about Nebraska looking bad; I can't believe how much they've struggled.

 

[#BearcatNation]

It's just annoying how he scores 12 points vs a crappy team and some people say he's got his confidence and then Saturday when we play a good team (uconn) he will score 3 or 4 and some will say oh he lost his confidence. Until a player has two or three games of double digits like (Caupain, Ellis, Clark) there's no reason to start talking about it. KJ and Morman are fighting for the title worst player on the team.

This probably isn't worth responding to, but remember when Cobb only had one good game and you were freaking out, dropping "I told you so"s everywhere you could? Quit being a hypocrite. Kevin shot well today. I assume we all hope that continues.