The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Just got back from Ray's after the game. Had to have a Great Lake's X-mas Ale to settle down after watching that nerve racking physical / speed demon of team (Hampton) attempt to rip our Flashes apart at the seams...

I have not seen a team come to Kent in many a year that could match Hampton's overall speed, athleticism and endurance. Nolan Richardson would die to coach this team. I'm still trying to figure out how Kent won the game (3's and free throws off the top of my head...)

Excellent win for the Flashes. Not pretty all the time but much better than the Detroit debacle. Getting Chris S. back on Sunday should help a lot as well.

R. Woods showed up hitting 4 - 3's but appears to be only that, a 3-pt shooter who has no inside game (what a waste of a monster body) and at this point, not a finished product at all (turnovers, poor defense) . Mr. Fisher at the point is quick and athletic but came apart at times under the unrelenting Hampton pressure. For all Mincy's offensive shortcomings, he's rock steady at breaking the press and keeping the team composed.

Best news after 2 games is that Mike McKee seems to be coming into his own, finally relaxing on his jumper and playing good defense too for the limited athletic ability he has. He may be the Eric Haut of this years team.

Mike Scott showed Senior leadership down the stretch, canning a ton of free throws. It's quite clear, he's hell bent on making his mark by leading this team to another MAC title and an NCAA tourney win. Go Mike!

Good win for the Flashes. I predict that Hampton will win at least one game in the big dance, upsetting a 4-5 seed. They have a ton of talent.

From everything I have read (because Kzone wasn't working ), it sounds like leadership and FT shooting came through in this one. Seems like a good win to me.

McKee must be watching film of T. Huff and listening to E. Haut. He May be turning into a clone of those two. Toughness, grit, sacrifice... Kent State Basketball!

FF- Your reports are very helpful for those of us folllowng from a distance. Thanks.

We can't underestimate the importance of Scott's influence and senior leadership. He is smart, talented, and on the few occasions I met him, as intense as a 22 year old one might get. Not drama like intensity, but glare in the eye, "we're going to get this done" intensity. Huffman had it, so did Gates, Haut and now Mr. Scott. We are lucky to have him.

:rock:McKee is much more athletic then most of you are giving him credit for. his D was very passible last night and he gives it 100% when on the floor.

Fisher needs to take care of the ball way to many TO's for a point guard. Mincy was rock solid last night!!!!!!!!!!

overall good effort against a very quick and athletic team. Laing said before the game that JC thought this will be the 3rd best team we play this year and I do believe that, there is no one in the MAC with that kind of front line 6'8" across the board and extremely quick and talented in the back court. They will beat some teams and help our RPI.

only problem I had last night was when they started pressing. why are we waiting for them to set up. It's like no one can take the ball out, everyone runs to a position and waits for the D to set up. as soon as the ball is out of the basket grab it and go. that will beat the press much more often then standing around waiting for the other team.

Attendance # of 3,455 was surprising. Last season we didn't have over 3,500 til the Ohio game on January 14th. Last season's home attendance was pitiful both non-conference and MAC.

yes not a bad crowd for the first game of OOC games. student section was pretty full also. considering the weather and it being a Thursday night. not bad.

Heck, I was going to write my detailed review of the game but I can see that KSU fans have become very knowledgeable. I would just confirm Flash Freaks start that Hampton really is good. I would say that thru a long season, if they were in the MAC, they would be in the Championship finals. Also, Woods is not our answer to an inside game, at least at this point. He is very smooth and looks more like a finesse player. He has a great shot release. When Q is playing, he is the best athlete on the floor for either team.

What a shame, Mincy can not shoot. He would be all conference if he could. We still need him badly. I am not sure about Fisher. He has no discipline, but is a good athlete. Does not know how to finish a shot or move. He has typical junior college tendencies. JC and the system is his only hope. I am guessing that there is something physically hurting Sherman. He does not look like the player of last year.

As for McKee, he is the most pleasant surprise of all. I am in agreement with the latter comment that he is a better athlete than given credit for. He can get above the rim and his jump is quick. His defense is sound and he leads by example. I like him a lot and he is a starter and should be. The bigs at the end of the bench just can not play with this team and this style. Knight usually does something good in short stretches.

Everything said here is made with a one game observation. The potential for this team is exciting. The first half defense was a lesson in extreme effort and achievement. Now, if our FB players had the same desire. Oh BTW, our BB coaches had our team well prepared for what they were facing. Or players could have lost their cool because Hampton tried to strip search us in the second half. 4 of our players had to leave the court due to injuries or blood. (really)

In my opinion you guys have it all wrong on Rashad, when asked to play the 4 late in the game he was down there battling for boards and played better defense than in the detroit game. I think he has the best outside shot, I thought Mckee had an incredible stroke, Rashad was shooting 3's with two guys in his face and just stroking it. I think he is the best athlete on this team with Q a very close 2nd but it is going to take time for him to learn the system, from what im told he still has 2 years after this one to play with us, so for him the sky really is the limit.

I dont know if anyone was there as early as me but Gabe has def got some range for a big man, he literally hit 15 consecutive 3pters and it was a pretty shot. on the other hand when they were doing drills he missed 3 baby hooks. but just wanted to let you guys know the range he has with his shot.

Here some observations i had:

- McKee is far and away the most improved and physically as well as he has gotten significantly stronger

- Woods while good 3 pt shooter he appeared to struggle mightily at the defensive end and that will hurt him in this system

- Q has great energy. I do think he needs more looks down low but may have been limited due to Hampton's size.

- Knight must be the worst practice player ever as he doesn't get minutes but when he does he seems to deliver. Realize opportunities are limited with Q, Scott, and Sully.

- Need to see some more games to make my assessment on the LT outcome of this team. I'm am a little concerned about the PG position based on the large # of turnovers last night (may realize they may be product of Hamptons style.)

An article speaking to Scott's leadership...well, kinda...

http://www.ohio.com/sports/kent_state/11421571.html

NOT A BIG FAN OF STEPHANIE STORM, OFF COURSE THE ALT IS ELLEN FROM THE PD.

DAVID CARUCCI IS STILL THE BEST WHEN IT COMES TO COVERING THE FLASHES.

It was noted somewhere that Sherman had off-season knee surgery. Undoubtedly accounts for his shaky start.

I agree with just about everything posted so far.

I would add that Mincy did a great job penetrating their D at times.

Mckee looks very good this year, he has that bull dog attitude and leaves everything on the court.

Woods played a better game defensively, but he's still lost on defense and still getting used to the offensive system. He does have a very quick release and proved he can score in bunches. Him and Mckee give us a nice combo threat from outside. Also Woods appears to be an excellent free throw shooter, match him up again with Mckee and Scott and we have at least three guys that should be able to make free throws down the stretch.

One last comment, Hampton might be one of the most athletically talented teams that I've seen us play, but they also could be one of the worst coached teams as well. I dont think Hamptons coach drew up one play during a timeout. Instead he used the time to relentlessly scream at his players. If he taught them just one thing about x's and o's they could be a top fifty team. All they really did on offense was one on one moves with their two guards and try to feed their big man down low for more one on one action(spoiled by the great defense of Q and Scott)

Anyways, it was a good win, this team will have its growing[/align] pains just like last year and the year before, but they have the potential to be a very, very good team

GO FLASHES!

I agree with the game assessment. I'm not sure about the attendance. I do agree the students showed more than I have ever seen them show up for an early season game. A good sign because they sure liven up the place. The upper level was pretty empty. Didn't look like a 3500 type crowd. Also at the 10 minute mark of the first half there were 174 empty chairbacks. Maybe they were no shows although the bulk of the empty seats were in sections A and E indicating to me that a good chunk of them were not sold. Does anybody know if the chairbacks are sold out for the season? Just curious how the $500 for 2 seats thing really worked.

flashgrad03 Wrote:One last comment, Hampton might be one of the most athletically talented teams that I've seen us play, but they also could be one of the worst coached teams as well. I dont think Hamptons coach drew up one play during a timeout. Instead he used the time to relentlessly scream at his players. If he taught them just one thing about x's and o's they could be a top fifty team. All they really did on offense was one on one moves with their two guards and try to feed their big man down low for more one on one action(spoiled by the great defense of Q and Scott)

I thought that Hampton was very well coached. The coach was active and used his bench, which was mucho deep, better than almost anyone I have seen lately. As an aside, drawn up x's and o's is not what most fans believe. The number of times that in game drawn up plays come off as designed is in nearly always never. Most coaches know this but will not admit it. The x's and o's that are meaningful occur during the practices before the game. A drawn up play during the game merely gives players a road map to fall back on during play. It tends to give the players an fall back confidence that they are doing something as a team. A well coached team will function very well in a game without over coaching with drawn up plays. This is a bit heavy and sometimes the drawn up final play happens as designed, but this is not the way to look for good coaching.

JC will tell you, Hampton is good and well coached.

Fisher,Sherman and Mincy 6-12 . 50 % from the field, that will win games ,Mckee will be off and on all year but those 3 pointers will put some teams away during the season , he hit 2 of them within 90 seconds thursday ......Does anyone know if Knight is hurt or in JC's dog house? i know is hard to believe but Hampton out rebounded us, i just find it very hard to believe that Knight cant earn playing time....

I agree he did a good job of getting guys in and out so that they could continue pressing. he had one group that would press and play defense and another he would sub in for all offense. it worked sometimes, but when he couldnt get his defensive subs out they had NO offense. Also did you see any set plays on offense??? I didnt see much. No doubt he had his players giving everything they had, but I saw no offensive game plan and the only defense they showed us was a press, that we effectively broke most of the time and a zone, which we passed around and got open three pointers. Its just my opinion, but were our players that much better or did we play a very talented team that didnt really know how play sound fundamental basketball?

I might've been a little harsh to say they[/align] were the worst coached team, but usually in a time out you see coaches teaching. I didnt see that from him, just my perspective.