Typing as I listen… Talked at halftime not pleased with effort and energy in first half. I think a big key for our group is understanding that we have capacity to be a very good team but we are not there yet. And to get there you have to attack a game against Merrimack or FAMU the same way you attacked that game against fsu a few weeks ago. And if you do that, I think this game maybe separates a little earlier and we don’t have to go into halftime down one; or ip one.. whatever it was. So just understanding we aren’t there yet and have to dig in everday to get better and hold ourselves more accountable with our effort and energy. Walter is a just a fighter. I though he was a little loose with ball in first half. In the second half he really locked it in. He did a great job banging big shots. Just a a fighter… a guy you know when he is out there he is gonna give his all for the greater good of the team. He really stepped up; hit some big shots; got some momentum going. I think he hit the first two baskets of the second half which kind of relaxed us a little bit and find a little rhythm. He did a great job tonite. Alex condon is effort, energy … a fighter. He is a guy who will always go out there… regardless if he is going up against a senior or a freshman… he is gonna compete his tail off. You know… 16 rebounds is really hard to do. He did a great job controlling the offensive glass in the second half and a better job finishing around the rim. Micah had enough to give it a go tonite. Obviously In that first rotation it didn’t go well for us as a team. I probably should’ve given him another run. But I thought we needed someone who was a little more of a sure thing and a little more confident in their abilities. I think he will be ready to go on Saturday with a really good effort.
I'm sure it factored into it a little bit. If Condo weren't playing at a high level last night, Micah would have come back in.
I'd guess that zone was also a factor. Hard to get your feet back under you and get back in sync with your team at game speed when you have to play high post v a swarming, collapsing, tenacious zone.
I’m not putting much stock into this game. Their zone was something we haven’t seen but a few minutes all year and they run it very effectively. It’s good to be sloppy in these types of games honestly.
Throwing casual passes, which CTG said his play was casual. More than once I yelled at the tv, take him out and discuss floating casual passes don’t get in D1 basketball and definitely not in the pros, you are hurting your team and chances at a high draft choice. Riley has insane ability but needs a passing clinic on how to be effective when he is covered tight defensively. He will get better but every time he does this, is playing with riding the bench. I hope coach will instill this consequence.
Billy D used to schedule pre-season games with teams that played different styles to get the players experience. Golden might be doing the same thing
Great post because free-throw shooting has been a problem all the way through the early season. Gotta work on that because sooner or later it’s going to come down to the end of the game and we gotta make them. Something that should be correctable in practice and in the gym.
I posted something in another thread but will repost it here. During the halftime shoot around Riley was using a foam roller mostly on his hamstrings and doing various stretches. I used to bike race and sometimes things got really tight in my legs. Mostly it was IT band issues but sometimes it was hamstrings. It hurts and the massage therapy to help it also hurts. When I watched him on the foam roller I knew how bad that felt. It soon became pretty clear that we didn't need him on the court to win the game so giving him some rest made sense from a coaching perspective. BTW foam rollers are not like nerf. They are pretty stiff. Deep tissue massage can also help. BTW that is one of the reasons why pro bike racers shave their legs. There are other reasons, like keeping hair out of road rash, but mostly it is just tradition and a sign of being in that brotherhood for us lesser racers.
