(02-07-2016 08:03 AM)rosewater Wrote:  I had this game rung up as a loss. Memphis was due to get hot after the thrashing on thursday. We had a quick turnaround on the road. Moreover we could not hit a shot evans and cobb a combined 3 of 17 nor rebound or get a loose ball. I was surprised we were close.

Never had a good feeling about this game either. I am little worried about Tuesday but believe that Cats come out and play hard.

(02-07-2016 08:24 AM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  

(02-07-2016 08:03 AM)rosewater Wrote:  I had this game rung up as a loss. Memphis was due to get hot after the thrashing on thursday. We had a quick turnaround on the road. Moreover we could not hit a shot evans and cobb a combined 3 of 17 nor rebound or get a loose ball. I was surprised we were close.

Never had a good feeling about this game either. I am little worried about Tuesday but believe that Cats come out and play hard.

Me too

Not sure about having Opie Taylor on the team, but I wouldn't mind Opie Cunningham.

(02-06-2016 10:40 PM)BeerCat Wrote:  I probably should not have posted this question right after an ugly loss, I was just cruious. Mark basically agreed but he did his best not to agree with me.

My bottom line is that I ultimately watch sports for entertainment, the losses against ISU and Butler were entertaining even though they were losses, games like today are not entertaining, they are frustrating and I just wish I had the will power to turn it off.

I Did.
How The F can't you be ready to start killing it right out of the locker?

(02-07-2016 08:03 AM)rosewater Wrote:  I had this game rung up as a loss. Memphis was due to get hot after the thrashing on thursday. We had a quick turnaround on the road. Moreover we could not hit a shot evans and cobb a combined 3 of 17 nor rebound or get a loose ball. I was surprised we were close.

And how many of the F misses were AIR BALLLS..PATHETIC..

(02-07-2016 10:54 AM)Brian_Johnson Wrote:  Not sure about having Opie Taylor on the team, but I wouldn't mind Opie Cunningham.

Idk, I remember him missing a free throw in the big game.

(02-07-2016 07:25 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(02-06-2016 05:47 PM)BigDawg Wrote:  It was a horrible loss, but Memphis has some talented players, just a bad coach. We played with 0 passion in the first half and missed a ton of wide open looks and still almost won the game. Didn't help to have a short-turnaround and have to travel, but that is no reason for that horrid 1st half. I'm not happy about the loss, far from it, but I know it is not end of the world. Just get into the dance and anything can happen. There room for error is less, but this team had been playing much better of late. Heck Cobb is the top 3 point shooter in the conference (I think he is still in the top 20 nationally and he missed a lot of wide open looks).

I blame this loss on Mick and Ellis. Up until this game, Ellis is subbed out once he gets the first foul of the first half. For whatever reason, Mick leaves him in to get the second foul right away. I'm thinking it was because he was playing in front of his home town. Now Ellis doesn't play the rest of the half, and Mick is forced to use Quadri.

Ellis isn't smart enough to realize that his play is looked at differently by the refs than anyone else on this team. Plus the fact that these were the same refs that T'd him up in the USF game. Granted that was a questionable call, and the ref didn't call the foul until after the USF bench/coach said something to the ref.

He wasn't "forced" to do anything. The 2 foul autobench is a joke and Deberry is a good player that should easily be able to fill out 40 minutes of rotation with Ellis. Moore and Jennifer playing in tight games is hurting us.

(02-08-2016 10:09 AM)uccheese Wrote:  

(02-07-2016 07:25 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(02-06-2016 05:47 PM)BigDawg Wrote:  It was a horrible loss, but Memphis has some talented players, just a bad coach. We played with 0 passion in the first half and missed a ton of wide open looks and still almost won the game. Didn't help to have a short-turnaround and have to travel, but that is no reason for that horrid 1st half. I'm not happy about the loss, far from it, but I know it is not end of the world. Just get into the dance and anything can happen. There room for error is less, but this team had been playing much better of late. Heck Cobb is the top 3 point shooter in the conference (I think he is still in the top 20 nationally and he missed a lot of wide open looks).

I blame this loss on Mick and Ellis. Up until this game, Ellis is subbed out once he gets the first foul of the first half. For whatever reason, Mick leaves him in to get the second foul right away. I'm thinking it was because he was playing in front of his home town. Now Ellis doesn't play the rest of the half, and Mick is forced to use Quadri.

Ellis isn't smart enough to realize that his play is looked at differently by the refs than anyone else on this team. Plus the fact that these were the same refs that T'd him up in the USF game. Granted that was a questionable call, and the ref didn't call the foul until after the USF bench/coach said something to the ref.

He wasn't "forced" to do anything. The 2 foul autobench is a joke and Deberry is a good player that should easily be able to fill out 40 minutes of rotation with Ellis. Moore and Jennifer playing in tight games is hurting us.

I'm pretty concerned with the PG position after next year. Looks to me like Mick will need a JUCO fill in.

(02-08-2016 10:09 AM)uccheese Wrote:  

(02-07-2016 07:25 AM)Edgebrookjeff Wrote:  

(02-06-2016 05:47 PM)BigDawg Wrote:  It was a horrible loss, but Memphis has some talented players, just a bad coach. We played with 0 passion in the first half and missed a ton of wide open looks and still almost won the game. Didn't help to have a short-turnaround and have to travel, but that is no reason for that horrid 1st half. I'm not happy about the loss, far from it, but I know it is not end of the world. Just get into the dance and anything can happen. There room for error is less, but this team had been playing much better of late. Heck Cobb is the top 3 point shooter in the conference (I think he is still in the top 20 nationally and he missed a lot of wide open looks).

I blame this loss on Mick and Ellis. Up until this game, Ellis is subbed out once he gets the first foul of the first half. For whatever reason, Mick leaves him in to get the second foul right away. I'm thinking it was because he was playing in front of his home town. Now Ellis doesn't play the rest of the half, and Mick is forced to use Quadri.

Ellis isn't smart enough to realize that his play is looked at differently by the refs than anyone else on this team. Plus the fact that these were the same refs that T'd him up in the USF game. Granted that was a questionable call, and the ref didn't call the foul until after the USF bench/coach said something to the ref.

He wasn't "forced" to do anything. The 2 foul autobench is a joke and Deberry is a good player that should easily be able to fill out 40 minutes of rotation with Ellis. Moore and Jennifer playing in tight games is hurting us.

Agreed. Jenifer just needs to slow down a little and I think he'll be fine; Moore operates at the other end of the spectrum--almost slow motion when playing against this level of competition. For his sake, I don't know that it's in his best interest to compete at this level. If Mick could find him a home in the OVC or MAC and find a transfer who could offer meaningful minutes most anywhere on the floor the team would benefit.

Regardless of whether this group slips into the NCAA this year, we should expect next year's team to be held to a higher standard of achievement. It's been a disappointing year.

(02-06-2016 02:58 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  We're averaging 75 points a game, good for fourth in the league. While not a juggernaut I wouldn't say we're a bad offensive team either. I wouldn't say our problem is on either end of the court as much as its between our ears.

take away the games against USF and Tulane and this team is only averaging 65 ppg in conference.

(02-08-2016 10:19 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  I'm pretty concerned with the PG position after next year. Looks to me like Mick will need a JUCO fill in.

+1

I just don't see the JJ ever being a reliable primary ball handler. I think his ceiling is a Jermaine Sanders level solid contributor and that's just not a position where you can afford to not have a difference maker.

We definitely need immediate depth at guard for next year and a high level PG to replace Troy is necessary. Probably not going to be available in this class but next year is a must.

Since conference play began UC's offense has essentially been what it was last year, which is to say not very good. I firmly believe the biggest difference since conference play began is that UC has gotten absolutely ZERO production out of the 3 (Evans and Shaq) almost every single game and Ellis has spent too much time ridding the pine because of foul trouble. In the nonconference (mostly even against the good teams) UC got production from either Evans or Shaq (Evans was really effective almost the entire nonconference slate) and Ellis rarely was in foul trouble. Since conference play began Evans has been nonexistent other than the end of the UConn game (his shooting has fallen off a cliff) and Shaq has been a nonfactor other than a couple games, which not coincidentally the offense thrived in. Really you can add KJ to the list of perimeter guys who consistently have given UC nothing on offense. That puts a ton on Troy (who has been great) and Cobb (who mostly has shot the ball great, but really doesn't create his own offense). If Evans can find his shot again it will solve a lot of issues. Shaq is what he is... a hit or miss guy, who when he gives UC offense makes UC a significantly better basketball team, but really can't be counted on to do that night after night.

(02-08-2016 10:46 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(02-08-2016 10:19 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  I'm pretty concerned with the PG position after next year. Looks to me like Mick will need a JUCO fill in.

+1

I just don't see the JJ ever being a reliable primary ball handler. I think his ceiling is a Jermaine Sanders level solid contributor and that's just not a position where you can afford to not have a difference maker.

We definitely need immediate depth at guard for next year and a high level PG to replace Troy is necessary. Probably not going to be available in this class but next year is a must.

I'm higher on JJ than that in the long run. I just don't care about that in February in tight road games in a season where we're on the fringe and every game could be NCAAs life or death.

He's probably going to be a good player here, but he's not right now. This isn't the time for charity minutes. We have better players who can do it, just shorten the rotation.

(02-08-2016 10:47 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Since conference play began UC's offense has essentially been what it was last year, which is to say not very good. I firmly believe the biggest difference since conference play began is that UC has gotten absolutely ZERO production out of the 3 (Evans and Shaq) almost every single game and Ellis has spent too much time ridding the pine because of foul trouble. In the nonconference (mostly even against the good teams) UC got production from either Evans or Shaq (Evans was really effective almost the entire nonconference slate) and Ellis rarely was in foul trouble. Since conference play began Evans has been nonexistent other than the end of the UConn game (his shooting has fallen off a cliff) and Shaq has been a nonfactor other than a couple games, which not coincidentally the offense thrived in. Really you can add KJ to the list of perimeter guys who consistently have given UC nothing on offense. That puts a ton on Troy (who has been great) and Cobb (who mostly has shot the ball great, but really doesn't create his own offense). If Evans can find his shot again it will solve a lot of issues. Shaq is what he is... a hit or miss guy, who when he gives UC offense makes UC a significantly better basketball team, but really can't be counted on to do that night after night.

I swear the offense is better when Deberry is in. Ellis mostly just sets BS screen then posts up and doesn't move and they try to force him the ball and everyone watches. Deberry seems to understand how to give the guards and Shaq more room to operate and score the ball quickly when he does get it down low.

Evans feels like he has been "Bearcatized" already. He was extremely aggressive and confident on offense earlier in the season, now everything is slow and tentative on offense for him.

We cannot afford to have a 3 who is not a constant threat on offense anymore. The ship has sailed with Shaq, hopefully Evans actually improves.

(02-07-2016 11:31 AM)BearcatBeta Wrote:  

(02-07-2016 08:03 AM)rosewater Wrote:  I had this game rung up as a loss. Memphis was due to get hot after the thrashing on thursday. We had a quick turnaround on the road. Moreover we could not hit a shot evans and cobb a combined 3 of 17 nor rebound or get a loose ball. I was surprised we were close.

And how many of the F misses were AIR BALLLS..PATHETIC..

+1. It was just an embarrassing effort. No other way to put it.

(02-08-2016 10:46 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(02-08-2016 10:19 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  I'm pretty concerned with the PG position after next year. Looks to me like Mick will need a JUCO fill in.

+1

I just don't see the JJ ever being a reliable primary ball handler. I think his ceiling is a Jermaine Sanders level solid contributor and that's just not a position where you can afford to not have a difference maker.

We definitely need immediate depth at guard for next year and a high level PG to replace Troy is necessary. Probably not going to be available in this class but next year is a must.

Ugh, unfortunately I agree, I didn't want to be the first one to say it, but his shot is about as slow as Sanders'. And if you are vertically challenged you had damn well better be quick with the ball and I just don't see it. I'd love to have a true PG, but you have to have a shot that will keep the defense honest and his looks pretty inconsistent to me.

I think people are too critical of Jennifer as a freshman. He's shown flashes of what he can do, but I just don't think he's adjusted to the speed of the game yet. He's a guy who wants to play fast and make things happen, but it's harder to do at this level and he'll eventually improve and learn how to adjust to it. On a team with a lesser point guard, Justin still may be able to steal some minutes despite his faults, but the drop off from Troy to Jennifer right now is the biggest drop off on the roster and they just can't afford to give him many minutes.

I hope you're right Mark. I personally don't see it but I hope you're right. I just feel like if you're going to be a top half of the league PG playing 30+ min as a junior and senior that you should be able to contribute 10-15 minutes against quality opponents as an underclassmen.

(02-08-2016 11:08 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  I hope you're right Mark. I personally don't see it but I hope you're right. I just feel like if you're going to be a top half of the league PG playing 30+ min as a junior and senior that you should be able to contribute 10-15 minutes against quality opponents as an underclassmen.

Agreed. In this day and age you can usually tell very early if a freshman has it or doesn't. Grooming guys for a few years to be "solid" veterans simply by being around the program for a while doesn't really lead to the kind of success that it once did in basketball. Guys are too talented, too fast and too athletic now. If you don't have those from the get go, you're development and success is going to be minimal no matter how long you are in a program. I think we've seen this played out with a few UC guys over the last few years.

(02-08-2016 11:40 AM)Marcus Wrote:  

(02-08-2016 11:08 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  I hope you're right Mark. I personally don't see it but I hope you're right. I just feel like if you're going to be a top half of the league PG playing 30+ min as a junior and senior that you should be able to contribute 10-15 minutes against quality opponents as an underclassmen.

Agreed. In this day and age you can usually tell very early if a freshman has it or doesn't. Grooming guys for a few years to be "solid" veterans simply by being around the program for a while doesn't really lead to the kind of success that it once did in basketball. Guys are too talented, too fast and too athletic now. If you don't have those from the get go, you're development and success is going to be minimal no matter how long you are in a program. I think we've seen this played out with a few UC guys over the last few years.

Excellent point. And we need look no farther than a couple of miles over to Victory Parkway for a freshman guard averaging 11 points a game. Let's hope our prized recruit from Wilmington can have that kind of immediate impact next season.