Typing as I listen… I thought we competed ok… not enough offense and that eventually bled into end score. I thought we competed better than we did versus West Virginia. Gotta make shots and we just didn’t do that. UConn is really good defensively… really good job of bothering and not letting you initiate offense. They cover everything up … think you have an angle or a shot, and guys fly in to block. There is a reason why they are 10-0 and beating everyone by 10+. Kugel and fudge both had moments. Neither were scared …Alex had really good drives, and Riley was aggressive getting to the ft line.., 9 attempts. Gotta put a couple more in. We need to have the confodence we can come and get this done. As a coaching staff, felt confident if we played well, we’d be in good shape. 28% shooting put us in a bind, and we gambled in second half. We gotta build that confidence. That Won’t happen over night but this team will be better.
Thanks for posting but Golden looks lost right now. This is the type of speech a coach of a mid major would say. Glad we only lost by 23 instead of 29 vs WV. If we shot well, than maybe we'd only lose by 10. How about why is this team shooting poorly? Are you putting guys in position to succeed? Are you creating turnovers to get easy transition buckets the other way? Do you have a good plan that's easy to follow and grow from and are you fielding the best players that can play as a unit together. It's beyond frustrating that I've seen 0 growth from this team and he continues to rely on the same players that have led to a really bad start. I guess he thinks these guys he keeps playing will gel, but we're 10 games in and still look like a below average team. Maybe it's time to change something up, but I don't believe this will happen. I'm now a little worried about the direction of the program with what I've seen so far this season. Of course this is only year 1, but there is enough talent to be competitive and we haven't been. Going to be a very long season and I see no cohesiveness to think we'll actually improve. Hope this is a learning curve and Golden will right the ship but so far he's shown me nothing to believe that it will. Of course will always root for Gator basketball. It would be nice to think this team will at least be on the bubble, but you actually have to beat good teams for this to happen and not get blown out. Not righting Golden off as it's way too early, but at least give the fans something we can look forward to.
The guys aren’t mentally strong, they fold against physical teams, and lack leadership. Good defense is about will, and right now they aren’t willing like WVU or UConn players are. Golden has his work cut out, and ultimately this may be a recruiting fix. After seeing what I have seen so far, I am personally going to give him a year 1 pass like Billy.
Seems to me Reeves made an early shot, then started throwing up prayer type shots that had no chance of going in and that set the tone for the rest of the game. Just my observation.
This team looks hesitant on offense and defense. I love TG and I am fully behind him, that is just what I see. Guys who are unsure of what they are doing.
Why do you say that? Because I'm frustrated over the current state of the team. The team doesn't look good right now and just got blown out badly twice within a short period of time. I still try and watch most games and comment good or bad year round in this board. An entitled fan would just stop watching or caring if the team isn’t doing well, which is the case for most of my Gator friends. You can say maybe I overreacted, but I don't think its fair to call me entitled.
From your comments: This is the type of speech a coach of a mid major would say. Glad we only lost by 23 instead of 29 vs WV. If we shot well, than maybe we'd only lose by 10. How about why is this team shooting poorly? Are you putting guys in position to succeed? Are you creating turnovers to get easy transition buckets the other way? Do you have a good plan that's easy to follow and grow from and are you fielding the best players that can play as a unit together. You seem to imply that coaching alone can overcome the huge talent gap between the teams last night where UCONN is better than us at every position., but you want CTG to create "easy baskets". I guess he thinks these guys he keeps playing will gel, but we're 10 games in and still look like a below average team. We're only 10 games into it and you want results NOW. Gelling takes time that you don't seem to want to give them. I'm now a little worried about the direction of the program with what I've seen so far this season. Again, we're only 10 games into the season. We're Of course this is only year 1, but there is enough talent to be competitive and we haven't been. Going to be a very long season and I see no cohesiveness to think we'll actually improve. True, but they haven't gelled, playing as a team. Maybe they never will this year, give them time. I don't like the results either, but I'm willing to give them time to work it out. I thought he should have played JJ more to give CC more rest. After CC got tired late, he stopped playing D and got lazy on O, but I'm not going to bitch about every little thing. BTW, I'll be there to watch them in Tampa next week.
The team is improving. Just look at the defense last evening. Guys were moving their feet better. As to the low score, I think they did about as well as possible running a desperate no pass offense as much as they did against a better team.
Thanks for your response. I was definitely frustrated watching last night and I certainly do hope this team improves. Will it be enough to compete in the SEC? Imo, Felder needs more PT for his ability to rebound and provide a big body. Guess I can give up on Lane ever playing, even though I'm confident he could definitely make a positive contribution as he brings a different skill set. I'd personally put Felder in the starting lineup at the 4, Fudge as the 3 and Lofton at pg. Think Bonham can be a spark off the bench and I believe Kugel might be better served also coming off the bench.
These are legitimate concerns and tough decisions. Felder got the start at the beginning of the season and outperformed Fudge. Now, I believe that Fudge is outperforming Felder, and continuing to get better. However, against UConn, Felder might have been better because of his physical nature in the paint. Playing Fudge and Felder together might be an interesting experiment. Might be worth a look to start Lofton, Richard, Fudge, Felder, and Castleton. With Kowacie, Kugel, and Bonham the first group off the bench. Tough decisions to be made. Kowacie and Kugel have higher ceilings than Felder, so do you play them more to speed their progress? Or go with who helps the most at this moment in time. As a coach, I would put the premium on the game right in front of you, not on the game in late February. If we don't win games NOW, there won't be a March to care about.
I don’t think Felder is being used very well, at all. A year ago, he led the team in 3-point percentage at nearly 39%. This season, he has shot exactly two more three-pointers than Jitoboh, and is 9th on the the team in attempts. I’m not saying I want him bombing away, but it should be part of our arsenal, and could be very effective with spacing, or at the top of some hi/low sets. For whatever reason, we just haven’t gotten him involved in the offense…. And that is an oversight, imo.
We were playing a better team and a much more physical team and the whistle was favoring the more physical team. We had no chance. I left at halftime as there was no way we had a chance. It wasn't a game.
I have my concerns also… And I know cc isn’t the answer to everything but sometimes I find myself asking why we do not try to get him more shots. I did not watch the Connecticut game but in the last 3 to 4 games before that for some reason it looks like he’s our third or fourth option and we are going to continue to lose if he doesn’t become the guy that gets 13-14 shots a game.
Agree, I know I’m talking hypotheticals but, here’s how I see it breaking down or would like to see it pointwise: CC -18-20 Ppg Richard 11-12 Felder 8-9 Lofton 8/9 Reeves 7/8 Kugel 5-6 Fudge 5-6 Bonham 5-6 Kugel 5-6 Jones 3-4 Jitiboh 2-3 balanced behind CC with 4-5 guys on any given night that can get ya 10-12 but gotta start with CC which allows us to work inside out. I didn’t see UConn game but, I’ve seen enough to know CC cannot be our second or third option. Gotta find more opportunities for him.
