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Game Day (two days early): @NIU
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emu steve Offline
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Game Day (two days early): @NIU
First thought comes to mind: Wednesday's game was an 'outlier.' We probably won't shoot like that again this season.

But it was fun to watch.

That said, centers like Thompson can make high percentage shots so look for him to continue shooting say 60 - 70% while the rest of the team 'returns to earth.' There are decent centers in the MAC but none as dominant as Thompson. Boothe is good but doesn't play the same game as Thompson.

Should be interesting to see the crowd in DeKalb Saturday. They are finally starting to get a little enthusiasm building.

Last night's crowd in DeKalb wasn't big but it was bigger than what they normally get (they, too, have attendance issues).

I've been following mid-majors on ESPN, Detroit News, etc. and Felder is starting to get a ton of coverage for his breakout season.

My guess is that if Thompson has more stellar games he'll start to get some regional and possibly national acclaim. (I thought early on Thompson was three years and to the NBA. Now I think two????).

The match up at center should be good as Maric is playing well for NIU.
01-07-2016 05:20 AM
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EagleSam Online
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
Ahh, good ol NIU. The team that Murphy has dominated since he's been here, with a 9-2 record and the only two losses coming by a combined five points. However, NIU looks much improved this year offensively, but honestly so do we.

They still have a couple guys that seem like they've been there for 10 years in Baker and Armstead. Baker seems to have improved significantly...I used to love when he took jumpers against us, because it was almost always a miss. Maric seems to have taken a big step too. Even if their atrocious OOC schedule inflated their record a little bit, this is still a solid basketball team.
01-07-2016 08:19 AM
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NIU17 Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 08:19 AM)EagleSam Wrote:  Ahh, good ol NIU. The team that Murphy has dominated since he's been here, with a 9-2 record and the only two losses coming by a combined five points. However, NIU looks much improved this year offensively, but honestly so do we.

They still have a couple guys that seem like they've been there for 10 years in Baker and Armstead. Baker seems to have improved significantly...I used to love when he took jumpers against us, because it was almost always a miss. Maric seems to have taken a big step too. Even if their atrocious OOC schedule inflated their record a little bit, this is still a solid basketball team.

Went to my first game at NIU yesterday. You hit on some good points. Baker is night and day from 2 years ago and much better than last year. He can shoot and his assist to TO ratio is very good too. Maric looks so much better than last year. He is confident and his teammates seem to look for him as a main option down low and he can shoot the 3. 5 freshman get playng time. Porter is a scorer and he is tough to guard, but he makes some aggressive mistakes still. Armstead is streaky, but one of the main scoring options. Have a lot of 3 point shooters now. They are fun to watch and Saturday's game should be a good one. I'm hoping the fans start coming out to watch. Students don't start until 1/19.
01-07-2016 08:59 AM
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Bob Wickersham Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 05:20 AM)emu steve Wrote:  First thought comes to mind: Wednesday's game was an 'outlier.' We probably won't shoot like that again this season.

But it was fun to watch.

That said, centers like Thompson can make high percentage shots so look for him to continue shooting say 60 - 70% while the rest of the team 'returns to earth.' There are decent centers in the MAC but none as dominant as Thompson. Boothe is good but doesn't play the same game as Thompson.

Should be interesting to see the crowd in DeKalb Saturday. They are finally starting to get a little enthusiasm building.

Last night's crowd in DeKalb wasn't big but it was bigger than what they normally get (they, too, have attendance issues).

I've been following mid-majors on ESPN, Detroit News, etc. and Felder is starting to get a ton of coverage for his breakout season.

My guess is that if Thompson has more stellar games he'll start to get some regional and possibly national acclaim. (I thought early on Thompson was three years and to the NBA. Now I think two????).

The match up at center should be good as Maric is playing well for NIU.
Can you imagine if Felder's dad (EMU alum) persuaded his son to follow in his footsteps?
01-07-2016 09:02 AM
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emu steve Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 09:02 AM)Bob Wickersham Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 05:20 AM)emu steve Wrote:  First thought comes to mind: Wednesday's game was an 'outlier.' We probably won't shoot like that again this season.

But it was fun to watch.

That said, centers like Thompson can make high percentage shots so look for him to continue shooting say 60 - 70% while the rest of the team 'returns to earth.' There are decent centers in the MAC but none as dominant as Thompson. Boothe is good but doesn't play the same game as Thompson.

Should be interesting to see the crowd in DeKalb Saturday. They are finally starting to get a little enthusiasm building.

Last night's crowd in DeKalb wasn't big but it was bigger than what they normally get (they, too, have attendance issues).

I've been following mid-majors on ESPN, Detroit News, etc. and Felder is starting to get a ton of coverage for his breakout season.

My guess is that if Thompson has more stellar games he'll start to get some regional and possibly national acclaim. (I thought early on Thompson was three years and to the NBA. Now I think two????).

The match up at center should be good as Maric is playing well for NIU.
Can you imagine if Felder's dad (EMU alum) persuaded his son to follow in his footsteps?

Recruitniks, like Hoopster, know the story.

I hope I have the sequence of events correct:

We got a commitment from Talley to transfer. Talley was a legit D-I PG and Murphy was desperate for one who could play from day one. Anyone remember the PG from the western MI JUCO who was a desperation signee (later Lampley played PG beating this guy out).

As is frequently the case in MID-MAJORS, getting a probable starter kills the hope of getting another possible starter at the same position. (Hint: Don't expect many good centers to come calling while Thompson is around).

Potential starters don't want to sit on MAC or Horizon benches... They probably would be willing to be backups in the B1G, though.

So unless I got my facts wrong, we got Talley and OU scooped up Felder. It was a win-win although the Oakland fans are very, very happy with their good fortune.
01-07-2016 09:40 AM
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Bob Wickersham Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
You are thinking about Harper? The juco transfer we had briefly.

Felder or Talley? Hindsight is 20/20 but oh my, what a lopsided deal that turned out to be!
01-07-2016 09:46 AM
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emu steve Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 09:46 AM)Bob Wickersham Wrote:  You are thinking about Harper? The juco transfer we had briefly.

Felder or Talley? Hindsight is 20/20 but oh my, what a lopsided deal that turned out to be!

Felder was a good prospect out of high school, but I doubt many thought he'd be THIS good.

One never knows who will go 'from good to great'...
01-07-2016 10:00 AM
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emu steve Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
BTW, according to the Sagarins, we are about 1.5 points better than NIU, BUT they get say 3 points for the home court.

I'd guess NIU by 2.

BTW, the oddsmakers (and betting public) seemed to disregard Central's unimpressive start this year and made them the favorite, for a game which should have been pick em or EMU a very slight favorite.

Should be interesting if anyone gets psyched by Eastern's big win Wednesday and jumps on our band wagon?
01-07-2016 10:05 AM
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NIU007 Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
Should be an interesting game. I hope we don't get that officiating crew that calls fouls and travelling on EVERYTHING. Makes it hard to watch. We have some interesting players - nobody that looks fantastic but a lot of depth.

This time I'm sure we'll score more than 4 points in a half. LOL
01-07-2016 02:18 PM
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Luckeyone Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
Come on NIU007, I saw you guys play against OSU and almost beat them at their place.NIU is a good team. Not to be skeptical, but there's no way EMU is going to shoot like we did against CMU because we do not run plays, we just allow the guy on offense to try and beat his man. NIU has talent and a structured offense and tenacious defense.

I hope EMU wins but I predict our first conf loss
01-07-2016 03:43 PM
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EagleSam Online
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 03:43 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  Come on NIU007, I saw you guys play against OSU and almost beat them at their place.NIU is a good team. Not to be skeptical, but there's no way EMU is going to shoot like we did against CMU because we do not run plays, we just allow the guy on offense to try and beat his man. NIU has talent and a structured offense and tenacious defense.

I hope EMU wins but I predict our first conf loss

Must not have watched the CMU game, since we definitely had some offensive sets in there, surprisingly enough. Several of them got open threes for Price...it was weird to see from Murphy.

The ball movement has been very good since the Detroit game.
01-07-2016 03:48 PM
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 02:18 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  Should be an interesting game. I hope we don't get that officiating crew that calls fouls and travelling on EVERYTHING. Makes it hard to watch. We have some interesting players - nobody that looks fantastic but a lot of depth.

This time I'm sure we'll score more than 4 points in a half. LOL

agreed. it seems like we get one of those officiating crews for at least one of our two games against you every season. glad to hear you all are getting excited for your team this year.
01-07-2016 04:16 PM
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 03:43 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  Come on NIU007, I saw you guys play against OSU and almost beat them at their place.NIU is a good team. Not to be skeptical, but there's no way EMU is going to shoot like we did against CMU because we do not run plays, we just allow the guy on offense to try and beat his man. NIU has talent and a structured offense and tenacious defense.

I hope EMU wins but I predict our first conf loss

They've come a long way from a few years ago, that's for sure. We're cautiously optimistic, basically. The defense and rebounding has been a strong point, the outside shooting has always been a weak point and that has killed NIU when playing EMU in the past. We have a little more athleticism now, and a little more outside shooting, but that's still a bit suspect. I can't wait to see Maric go up against your big guy, and I like to see the freshmen come in and make some of those bunnies that we've missed far too often in the past.

We've also failed to put teams away by hitting 55% or 65% on free throws a lot of games. In what I expect to be a lot of close games in the MAC, that makes a difference. Oddly enough the freshmen are most of the best FT shooters for us.
01-07-2016 05:40 PM
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EagleSam Online
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
I love how Luckyone is trolling both us and WMU at the same time on their board. Impressive.
01-07-2016 05:50 PM
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emu79 Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 03:48 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 03:43 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  Come on NIU007, I saw you guys play against OSU and almost beat them at their place.NIU is a good team. Not to be skeptical, but there's no way EMU is going to shoot like we did against CMU because we do not run plays, we just allow the guy on offense to try and beat his man. NIU has talent and a structured offense and tenacious defense.

I hope EMU wins but I predict our first conf loss

Must not have watched the CMU game, since we definitely had some offensive sets in there, surprisingly enough. Several of them got open threes for Price...it was weird to see from Murphy.

The ball movement has been very good since the Detroit game.

Actually ball moment has been very good since the second half of the Detroit game. I agree with you the ball movement and guard play has improved since then.
01-07-2016 07:02 PM
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 09:02 AM)Bob Wickersham Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 05:20 AM)emu steve Wrote:  First thought comes to mind: Wednesday's game was an 'outlier.' We probably won't shoot like that again this season.

But it was fun to watch.

That said, centers like Thompson can make high percentage shots so look for him to continue shooting say 60 - 70% while the rest of the team 'returns to earth.' There are decent centers in the MAC but none as dominant as Thompson. Boothe is good but doesn't play the same game as Thompson.

Should be interesting to see the crowd in DeKalb Saturday. They are finally starting to get a little enthusiasm building.

Last night's crowd in DeKalb wasn't big but it was bigger than what they normally get (they, too, have attendance issues).

I've been following mid-majors on ESPN, Detroit News, etc. and Felder is starting to get a ton of coverage for his breakout season.

My guess is that if Thompson has more stellar games he'll start to get some regional and possibly national acclaim. (I thought early on Thompson was three years and to the NBA. Now I think two????).

The match up at center should be good as Maric is playing well for NIU.
Can you imagine if Felder's dad (EMU alum) persuaded his son to follow in his footsteps?

I'm quote sure he didn't finish his four seasons at EMU. I think he played here only two.
01-07-2016 10:25 PM
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 05:50 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  I love how Luckyone is trolling both us and WMU at the same time on their board. Impressive.

You have a sensitive definition of the term "trolling".
01-07-2016 11:28 PM
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rayEMU Offline
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 07:02 PM)emu79 Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 03:48 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 03:43 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  Come on NIU007, I saw you guys play against OSU and almost beat them at their place.NIU is a good team. Not to be skeptical, but there's no way EMU is going to shoot like we did against CMU because we do not run plays, we just allow the guy on offense to try and beat his man. NIU has talent and a structured offense and tenacious defense.

I hope EMU wins but I predict our first conf loss

Must not have watched the CMU game, since we definitely had some offensive sets in there, surprisingly enough. Several of them got open threes for Price...it was weird to see from Murphy.

The ball movement has been very good since the Detroit game.

Actually ball moment has been very good since the second half of the Detroit game. I agree with you the ball movement and guard play has improved since then.

They keep setting double picks too. They have been doing it at least since the Louisville game. That is clearly a set play and I don't recall seeing that in previous years. And yes the ball movement has indeed looked crisp in the last few games. My guess is that is a product of having practiced offense this year.

Another notable change in Murphy's strategy is the short rotation. Partly due to the makeup of the team, but seems to have gone well beyond just that. ie, Alvano
01-07-2016 11:40 PM
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EagleSam Online
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-07-2016 11:28 PM)rayEMU Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 05:50 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  I love how Luckyone is trolling both us and WMU at the same time on their board. Impressive.

You have a sensitive definition of the term "trolling".

Uhh, he posted a thread on the WMU board titled "WMU isn't that good this year", or something like that. What purpose is there to do that other than to ruffle some feathers? Hence the term "trolling".
01-08-2016 12:00 AM
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RE: Game Day (two days early): @NIU
(01-08-2016 12:00 AM)EagleSam Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 11:28 PM)rayEMU Wrote:  
(01-07-2016 05:50 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  I love how Luckyone is trolling both us and WMU at the same time on their board. Impressive.

You have a sensitive definition of the term "trolling".

Uhh, he posted a thread on the WMU board titled "WMU isn't that good this year", or something like that. What purpose is there to do that other than to ruffle some feathers? Hence the term "trolling".

I checked it out. The thread was started by the WMU posters questioning whether NIU is good or not. Luckeyone weighed in with his prediction of the NIU and WMU conference record- both were reasonable predictions. I think it is questionable if that is trolling.

Further, is he trolling the EMU board? He is a very dedicated EMU fan who has some criticisms- albeit excessive ones. Nonetheless, I think many would not regard that as trolling either, however disagreeable it is to them.
01-08-2016 08:38 AM
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