Down 18 points on the road. Will Neighbour sick. We come back and take the lead and Will scores 19. Probably the best team we play the rest of the season other than Kentucky. We are now officially 0-0 entering conference play. I don't like the fact that we open on the road against 2 of the top 3 or 4 teams in the league.

I don't think effort is our problem. Those kids play hard every game. But the coaches need to start defining roles more strongly. Dre and Chucky are taking too many shots for players who don't shoot the ball that well. Pappy has pointed out the stats.

(12-21-2011 09:41 AM)outsideualr Wrote:  I don't think effort is our problem. Those kids play hard every game. But the coaches need to start defining roles more strongly. Dre and Chucky are taking too many shots for players who don't shoot the ball that well. Pappy has pointed out the stats.

Weren't you advocating taking more and quicker shots? Dre and Chuckie are our most experienced outside shooters and maybe our best shooters outside of WN. Maybe Taggarts and Dillards percentages are better, but they have taken far less shots, and they haven't demonstrated the ability to create shots on their own. I think any of the 4 could hit a decent percentage if they get an open look with their feet set.

(12-21-2011 10:07 AM)mjs Wrote:  Dre and Chuckie are maybe our best shooters outside of WN.

Not so far this year.

(12-20-2011 11:43 PM)mjs Wrote:  Down 18 points on the road. Will Neighbour sick. We come back and take the lead and Will scores 19. Probably the best team we play the rest of the season other than Kentucky. We are now officially 0-0 entering conference play. I don't like the fact that we open on the road against 2 of the top 3 or 4 teams in the league.

I agree that it is great that the team didn't just fold when it got down so big on the road. The fight of this team is commendable.

I visited with a very knowledgable UALR fan after last night's loss and he's predicting a 10-6 record in conference play. Boy, I sure hope he's right. That would be a huge turn around from the non-conference results. But personally, I think the SBC is going to be pretty rough sledding. Especially, as you point out, that we have to begin conference play on the road at two of the stronger teams in the league.

But the great thing about it is that we get a new start at 0-0. So you never know.

I'm thinking sort of the same thing as your friend. We're playing very good teams close with a lineup that's still a work in progress. I have to believe we're ready to break out in conference play. I said earlier that I thought we'd be fairly formidable by SBC tournament time, and I still believe that, but I think we could be better than average by conference play. Let's hope so anyway. By the way. Ray Tucker mentioned a stat the other night that Steve's teams have won the game 94% of the time when they're leading in the last five minutes of play. Problem in the OOC this year, we haven't been leading very often in the last five minutes. But that's an interesting stat.

(12-21-2011 12:28 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  We're playing very good teams close with a lineup that's still a work in progress.

Our Strength of Schedule according to Sagarin is 126 out of 345 teams, so not too bad.

(12-21-2011 12:28 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  I said earlier that I thought we'd be fairly formidable by SBC tournament time, and I still believe that

I agree. I think we will be one of the most improved teams in the conference over the course of the season. Stands to reason.

I can see us finishing as high as fourth in the conference, and with some luck, maybe higher during the regular conference season. Tournamen time. We could be the team nobody wants to play.

(12-21-2011 04:17 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  I can see us finishing as high as fourth in the conference, and with some luck, maybe higher during the regular conference season. Tournamen time. We could be the team nobody wants to play.

4th in the Division, or 4th in the conference? I would be thrilled if we could finish ahead of ULM (I'm confident that will happen), ULL, and ASU. That would be 2 spots higher than anyone predicted.

(12-21-2011 08:23 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(12-21-2011 04:17 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  I can see us finishing as high as fourth in the conference, and with some luck, maybe higher during the regular conference season. Tournamen time. We could be the team nobody wants to play.

4th in the Division, or 4th in the conference? I would be thrilled if we could finish ahead of ULM (I'm confident that will happen), ULL, and ASU. That would be 2 spots higher than anyone predicted.

I was thinking fourth in the league, but seeing what some of our SBC teams are doing against really good competition from high ranking conferences, we might be lucky to win a conference game. Just kidding. I think we'll be at least .500 in the conference.