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

Wow. That was painful to listen to. I feel bad for yall that went. Again, I will go with the running theme I've said for weeks now.. Immaturity. Man, I hate rebuilding seasons.

Disagree on the running theme. The running theme is interior defense. Every loss that has been the problem, and it will continue to be the problem. You can push tempo, defend full-court and use the athletic gifts your young players have, or be stubborn and say that is not "Kent State" basketball and watch teams continue to manhandle the bigs in half-court situations.

The offense was fine tonight. For having Greene in foul trouble, they got good shots, did not take bad 3s, a few too many turnovers but to be expected in a high-intensity game.

That's a good point. Maybe it's time to try something different. The 4's just don't look like they are going to develop quickly enough. I thought we had the tie for a second but it just did not go in.

If the announced attendance on TV was right...5000+, Akron did a good job of getting people off the street to get to the game. I am not sure we would have been able to do that if our students were not here.
I was disappointed in how we let Zeke look like an all mac player. He needs to be kept off the boards as the majority of his points come off rebounds.
McKnight shows our weakness in not having another big man that can help Greene, both offensively and defensively.
It is still early in the MAC....I'm not totally down with the loss but if Tuesday proves to be another down game, then it could be a long conference season.

Akron's inside depth of Marshall, McKnight and Centinovic plus their experience bench won out tonite. Zips were cold from behind the arc. Kent State didn't have enough depth to over come Akron's inside game. I though Kent State played well despite the foul trouble of Green and their lack of depth. Short rotation for Geno. This game definately had intensity of the MAC tournament. Both team came out a little too jacked up.

(01-08-2011 09:54 PM)OhioBobcatJohn Wrote:  Kent State didn't have enough depth to over come Akron's inside game.

Kent State has plenty of guys to choose from. None of them are experienced or developed enough yet to do what Geno wants. I would like to say a 3-point loss on the road to a fellow contender is not a bad start, but I wish the same issue was not popping up. BG has a couple nice inside pieces this week, and I shudder to think about how Miami will carve this team up at both ends in the halfcourt down the road.

Well we may or may not still "own the MAC" until further notice but that's like bragging about owning the only neighborhood slinky. Just ain't as cool anymore. How did this conference (men and women's sides) fall so far so fast? Yikes.

Why were the STO guys {both real bad} wearing Akron gear, I thought this was Mac produced game???

(01-09-2011 08:17 AM)theoldflash Wrote:  Why were the STO guys {both real bad} wearing Akron gear, I thought this was Mac produced game???

I believe that last summer Akron signed a seperate deal (football and BB) with STO that's in addition the regular MAC - STO deal. For last nights game, I think Reghi was working for the Zip (thru STO).

A few things that from last night (that I've seen as trends lately) that IMO are killing this team:

* Greene trying to do too much - With only Sherman as another consistent scorer, I imagine Greene's feeling pressure to lead the way but he has to realize that just because he gets the ball, he doesn't have to shoot it. On many of his attempts, it looked like he just threw it up there (bad angles, off balance, high arc trying to lift it over Marshall, etc). Unless the shot clock is at 5, its better to throw it back out and top and reset. His passing has been terrible all year as well. When the double team comes, he's gotta relax and throw good passes (again, not force it!).

* Holt leading the 2 on 1 the break - He needs to pass the ball! He's taking it to hole everytime , getting in too deep and then he's trapped (with no play to make), blowing what should be an easy play. Jr High coaches teach kids the proper execution of this play.

* Jumpers from people who can't shoot them - I love Porrini but he's not a jump shooter (that 2 handed form will never be consistent). So stop shooting them. Gaines took a jumper as well and at this point, that's not his game. Know you're role and stick to it!

I wonder how much of the above is coaching? When my coach told one of us not to take a bad shot, we pretty much did what he told us to do. W/O Guyton, this team struggles to score points so for them to win, they need to very good with the basics (taking good shots, reducing turnovers, defensive rebounding and and making free throws). Why do our guys keep making the same mistakes over and over?

(01-09-2011 09:06 AM)Flash FreaK 81 Wrote:  A few things that from last night (that I've seen as trends lately) that IMO are killing this team:

* Greene trying to do too much - With only Sherman as another consistent scorer, I imagine Greene's feeling pressure to lead the way but he has to realize that just because he gets the ball, he doesn't have to shoot it. On many of his attempts, it looked like he just threw it up there (bad angles, off balance, high arc trying to lift it over Marshall, etc). Unless the shot clock is at 5, its better to throw it back out and top and reset. His passing has been terrible all year as well. When the double team comes, he's gotta relax and throw good passes (again, not force it!).

* Holt leading the 2 on 1 the break - He needs to pass the ball! He's taking it to hole everytime , getting in too deep and then he's trapped (with no play to make), blowing what should be an easy play. Jr High coaches teach kids the proper execution of this play.

* Jumpers from people who can't shoot them - I love Porrini but he's not a jump shooter (that 2 handed form will never be consistent). So stop shooting them. Gaines took a jumper as well and at this point, that's not his game. Know you're role and stick to it!

I wonder how much of the above is coaching? When my coach told one of us not to take a bad shot, we pretty much did what he told us to do. W/O Guyton, this team struggles to score points so for them to win, they need to very good with the basics (taking good shots, reducing turnovers, defensive rebounding and and making free throws). Why do our guys keep making the same mistakes over and over?

I still think its because of inexperience. then add in the loss of Guyton, everyone is probably pressing a bit, even Gaines and Porrini.

Even though Mcknight got the better of him a couple of times, I was generally pleased with Henniger last night. If this team is going to compete in March, they need to settle that four spot. I think it would worth a shot to extend his minutes and let him learn on the fly, If he develops this year and can give you solid production, it might give us a shot come March. He did not back down from Mckinght and he did a good job going after rebounds.

This team would be so much better at this point had they not lost Guyton. Teams CANNOT double team Greene if he is on the floor and if Greene has to sit, Guyton is the only guy that can consistently create for himself.

Akron is going to continue to get better. They look like a more comlete team. They have a PG, a bunch of shooters, two PFS, and a legit center.
Hopefully we get Guyton's case gets sorted out and he comes back so we can be more complete as well

(01-09-2011 09:26 AM)flashgrad03 Wrote:  

(01-09-2011 09:06 AM)Flash FreaK 81 Wrote:  A few things that from last night (that I've seen as trends lately) that IMO are killing this team:

* Greene trying to do too much - With only Sherman as another consistent scorer, I imagine Greene's feeling pressure to lead the way but he has to realize that just because he gets the ball, he doesn't have to shoot it. On many of his attempts, it looked like he just threw it up there (bad angles, off balance, high arc trying to lift it over Marshall, etc). Unless the shot clock is at 5, its better to throw it back out and top and reset. His passing has been terrible all year as well. When the double team comes, he's gotta relax and throw good passes (again, not force it!).

* Holt leading the 2 on 1 the break - He needs to pass the ball! He's taking it to hole everytime , getting in too deep and then he's trapped (with no play to make), blowing what should be an easy play. Jr High coaches teach kids the proper execution of this play.

* Jumpers from people who can't shoot them - I love Porrini but he's not a jump shooter (that 2 handed form will never be consistent). So stop shooting them. Gaines took a jumper as well and at this point, that's not his game. Know you're role and stick to it!

I wonder how much of the above is coaching? When my coach told one of us not to take a bad shot, we pretty much did what he told us to do. W/O Guyton, this team struggles to score points so for them to win, they need to very good with the basics (taking good shots, reducing turnovers, defensive rebounding and and making free throws). Why do our guys keep making the same mistakes over and over?

I still think its because of inexperience. then add in the loss of Guyton, everyone is probably pressing a bit, even Gaines and Porrini.

Even though Mcknight got the better of him a couple of times, I was generally pleased with Henniger last night. If this team is going to compete in March, they need to settle that four spot. I think it would worth a shot to extend his minutes and let him learn on the fly, If he develops this year and can give you solid production, it might give us a shot come March. He did not back down from Mckinght and he did a good job going after rebounds.

This team would be so much better at this point had they not lost Guyton. Teams CANNOT double team Greene if he is on the floor and if Greene has to sit, Guyton is the only guy that can consistently create for himself.

Akron is going to continue to get better. They look like a more comlete team. They have a PG, a bunch of shooters, two PFS, and a legit center.
Hopefully we get Guyton's case gets sorted out and he comes back so we can be more complete as well

I actually agree with both of you. Teams have found out double down on Greene, and let KSU's below average shooters take themselves out of games. Porrini, Holt, and Sherman must develop more consistency, because who knows how long Guyton will be out. He is really missed. We had a chance to take Akron right out of that game in the second half, and just couldn't get it done. Hope it's not a trend.

At this point there is only one scholarship available for next season, assuming the player from Memphis qualifies. I hope they get someone who can really shoot it. Does anyone know if they player from Memphis (I don't recall his name) or Patrick Jackson are good shooters?

I note that Wilds has been added to the roster. At least now they have enough practice players.

The Memphis player, Jarekious Bradley, shot 32 of 58 from 3 point range last year for 55% in 25 games according to Maxprep.com. The season before he was 32 of 56 for 57% in 20 games. I'm sure dannyb can tell us more about him but based on the numbers he can shoot it pretty well. Here's his total stats if anyone is interested. Keep in mind he put those up playing in one of the best high school basketball cities in the country.

http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/7oRR8fa...radley.htm

Patrick Jackson was 0-11 on threes his freshman year at Rutgers, and 8 of 39 for 21% his sophomore year. So it doesn't seem he's a great shooter but if he attempted 39 threes he either thinks he can or went through a shooting slump last year.

If they are really looking for a 3 point shooter with that final scholarship they might want to consider former Kent Roosevelt star Andre Paulk. He is a 6'4" guard currently in his sophomore season at Cincinnati State Tech & CC. Through 9 games he is averaging 21.9 ppg and is 23 of 50 on threes.

I kind of suspect they will be looking for a young big with that last scholarship though.

Time to just sit and watch the ride for 2011. The bright side is that we only have to be the best of the worst by March.

The MAC has slid so much that I honestly think some of Kent State's second units from the years 99 through 02, especially 99, could beat this year's Kent State team and challenge for the MAC. I know that at first glance it may sound farfetched, but go look at the benches from those teams.

Wow. Watching Miami and OU head to the third overtime...

What I liked about last night's game is that Kent's players were not afraid to take the ball to the rack or take open looks. This is not a team that is going to score in the 70's much. But at least they were active last night.

Another thing I heard, but wasn't sure of from listening to WNIR's feed. We sent Akron to the bonus with 12 minutes left in the game. What was the cause of that? Where we that sloppy or was Akron that skilled at pulling our ropes?

I'm still not pulling for a lot for this season. I'm sorry to sound like a downer, but rebuilding is what it is. If Guyton comes out clean, then crazier things have happened (like OU blowing past us last year and landing in the Sweet 16).

BTW, other than if's and when's, I havn't heard what is up with Guyton? A friend of mine told me that that he would be lucky if Ford lets him back in the building, but I don't really know the insight he has.

(01-09-2011 05:22 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote:  BTW, other than if's and when's, I havn't heard what is up with Guyton? A friend of mine told me that that he would be lucky if Ford lets him back in the building, but I don't really know the insight he has.

In this case, that's poor insight.

Also, I agree with the comments on Reghi. He is also the voice of the MAC game of the week where he is presumably a neutral voice. Which he would be when STO airs a KSU home game as the game of the week. They should bar his screwball rear end from the building.