The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/27/sa...rd-to-5-0/

The St. Mary's beat reporter's view:

"Saint Mary’s did a good job of limiting UAB’s shot selection at key moments. The defensive stops allowed St. Mary’s to go on significant runs to keep the Blazers well behind.

The Gaels also did a much better job of not getting beat off the dribble, something SMC coach Randy Bennett was looking for during the Gaels’ trip to Las Vegas, they did a good job of limiting UAB’s shot selection at key moments."

It's equally frustrating and promising to watch the last few games. We played disjointed on offense and allowed a deluge of open threes on defense, yet we were [sort of] within striking distance of two top fifteen teams.

As a team, we need to find our offensive identity, or at the very least, improve efficiency—particularly from the backcourt. A possession that ends in a Hak shot is a wasted possession. It's not just that Hak is shooting .300, but anytime he takes a shot, that's one less shot for our better players.

Watts adds some much needed shooting to our backcourt. The sooner he starts over Hak, the better. We could do a lot worse than a Watts/Lavender/Dirk backcourt.

(11-28-2016 01:56 AM)jthrashr Wrote:  It's equally frustrating and promising to watch the last few games. We played disjointed on offense and allowed a deluge of open threes on defense, yet we were [sort of] within striking distance of two top fifteen teams.

As a team, we need to find our offensive identity, or at the very least, improve efficiency—particularly from the backcourt. A possession that ends in a Hak shot is a wasted possession. It's not just that Hak is shooting .300, but anytime he takes a shot, that's one less shot for our better players.

Watts adds some much needed shooting to our backcourt. The sooner he starts over Hak, the better. We could do a lot worse than a Watts/Lavender/Dirk backcourt.

I agree watts is a good shooter, we may need him to be more selfish. I really think darling needs to get involved too. His shooting is something we need. It would also open things up for everybody else.

On a side note, I cannot believe how insignificant some of you believe the loss of Norton is. That was something that was going to take a month or two to overcome, not a few weeks.

How many shots has Darling actually taken? Mostly he catches the ball, thinks about shooting, then immediately passes. Looked it up, he's 3 for 5. He's pretty much a defensive loss at this point.

Losing Norton took us from a very solid team with legitimate high expectations to crippled. Simple as that. They'll work around it and try to overcome, and they'll win some games, but the Blazers are simply not the same team without him.

I think UAB needs to mix in some zone defense with William Lee at top. Just like MTSU uses Upshaw.in 1-3-1... Teams are able to move ball too easily against UAB's small guards. That might stop some of the open 3s and stop some of the opponent easy ball movement.

I think the next few games will be a true measure of whether we've improved any or not. Last year, 6 games in we were 3-3. While we haven't necessarily beaten anyone all that much better this year (maybe George Washington...we'll see), the teams we have lost to have been much, much better than those we lost to at this point in the season last year.

In other words, the only way to measure improvement from last year would have been to beat Kansas or St. Mary's. That would have been a tall order even if we were ranked in the top 25. Those are great programs whether you want to admit it or not. Yes, we lost to Furman, but every year you have power teams that lose a game of that fashion, so that's not really an adequate indicator of whether we are better or worse than last year.

Let's see if we can give Auburn some pay back, beat SFA on the road like we did at home last year, get the Memphis monkey off our back...I think those games are a much better indicator of where we are as a team going into conference play than what we've played so far.

(11-28-2016 01:56 AM)jthrashr Wrote:  It's equally frustrating and promising to watch the last few games. We played disjointed on offense and allowed a deluge of open threes on defense, yet we were [sort of] within striking distance of two top fifteen teams.

As a team, we need to find our offensive identity, or at the very least, improve efficiency—particularly from the backcourt. A possession that ends in a Hak shot is a wasted possession. It's not just that Hak is shooting .300, but anytime he takes a shot, that's one less shot for our better players.

Watts adds some much needed shooting to our backcourt. The sooner he starts over Hak, the better. We could do a lot worse than a Watts/Lavender/Dirk backcourt.

So u want both PG's starting? I notice Watts sorta calms things down since this is his fourth year at point.

At this point im looking to see how we get the 9th-11th guys to play better we need them. J.D. started off strong against SWAC competition and has gone missing. Darling can shoot it or get open to create a shooting opportunity. Smallwood has a nice shot and need minutes too.

(11-28-2016 08:55 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  How many shots has Darling actually taken? Mostly he catches the ball, thinks about shooting, then immediately passes. Looked it up, he's 3 for 5. He's pretty much a defensive loss at this point.

Losing Norton took us from a very solid team with legitimate high expectations to crippled. Simple as that. They'll work around it and try to overcome, and they'll win some games, but the Blazers are simply not the same team without him.

Norton is a very good point guard, and we obviously miss his playmaking and leadership, but our offensive system doesn't require a traditional point guard. We do miss his ability to lead a fastbreak and salvage a possession when a play breaks down, but we miss his three-point shooting the most.

(11-28-2016 10:18 AM)Big Dee Wrote:  

(11-28-2016 01:56 AM)jthrashr Wrote:  It's equally frustrating and promising to watch the last few games. We played disjointed on offense and allowed a deluge of open threes on defense, yet we were [sort of] within striking distance of two top fifteen teams.

As a team, we need to find our offensive identity, or at the very least, improve efficiency—particularly from the backcourt. A possession that ends in a Hak shot is a wasted possession. It's not just that Hak is shooting .300, but anytime he takes a shot, that's one less shot for our better players.

Watts adds some much needed shooting to our backcourt. The sooner he starts over Hak, the better. We could do a lot worse than a Watts/Lavender/Dirk backcourt.

So u want both PG's starting? I notice Watts sorta calms things down since this is his fourth year at point.

At this point im looking to see how we get the 9th-11th guys to play better we need them. J.D. started off strong against SWAC competition and has gone missing. Darling can shoot it or get open to create a shooting opportunity. Smallwood has a nice shot and need minutes too.

Lavender isn't a point guard, and moving him off the ball places him back in his comfort zone. Plus, we need playmaking from the other guard position.

Norton covered a lot of our weaknesses on offense and helped get them in position on D. I said we would not recover until conference play. Right on target.

No way would I start Watts and RE is not going to do that anyway. Someone has to come off thee bench to play point. YOu tart Watts and you cause more harm than good IMHO.

I was wrong about SMC game. I thought we would lose by 20 or more. We did play better. Only about half the shots they hit from three were wide open. Kept our turnovers under 10. (I did say if we turned it over like we did against KU we would lose by 20+). Don't underestimate how good that team is. They will be an at large if they don't win it all. Three bid league this year for the WCC.

This team should be running and pressing the whole game. They are built for that. I would play everyone in uniform. I do think the Darling should get more PT. He has not shot it much in games but he is deadly in practice and has deeper range than Nick. The team needs offensive punch from outside the arc and he can provide that. I see him as a more athletic Derrick Broom with greater range.

PG spot will be fine. they just need time. Other than the threes the game was pretty even.

I would come out and put the other teams three point shooters on their ass early. You can play good defense in the second half but if you allow streak shooters to get hot early because you don't guard them in the first 6-10 minutes they get confident and you can run them over in the second half and they will still hit it. I are one. ;-)

(11-28-2016 10:24 AM)jthrashr Wrote:  

(11-28-2016 10:18 AM)Big Dee Wrote:  

(11-28-2016 01:56 AM)jthrashr Wrote:  It's equally frustrating and promising to watch the last few games. We played disjointed on offense and allowed a deluge of open threes on defense, yet we were [sort of] within striking distance of two top fifteen teams.

As a team, we need to find our offensive identity, or at the very least, improve efficiency—particularly from the backcourt. A possession that ends in a Hak shot is a wasted possession. It's not just that Hak is shooting .300, but anytime he takes a shot, that's one less shot for our better players.

Watts adds some much needed shooting to our backcourt. The sooner he starts over Hak, the better. We could do a lot worse than a Watts/Lavender/Dirk backcourt.

So u want both PG's starting? I notice Watts sorta calms things down since this is his fourth year at point.

At this point im looking to see how we get the 9th-11th guys to play better we need them. J.D. started off strong against SWAC competition and has gone missing. Darling can shoot it or get open to create a shooting opportunity. Smallwood has a nice shot and need minutes too.

Lavender isn't a point guard, and moving him off the ball places him back in his comfort zone. Plus, we need playmaking from the other guard position.

Honestly i see what youre saying the spot that needs the most improvement is the 2 guard spot Hak and JD totally agree. im still on the bench Hak bandwagon. I would start JD just to change it up a bit. Would like to see Watts,Darling,and Hak come off the bench together and help the young pups out with vets around them.

Lavender gives us a PD3/CF13 type of point and Deion has better talent around him than what Frazier or Delaney had their year on running the show. I think Lavender will change some opinions quickly. I think he could average seven assists on the season if we fix the 2 guard spot. I see some jump on Lavender but we have a fourth year backup point who doesnt get many assists also, they have to balance it out. Deion could very well be close to averaging a triple double if we change things up and let them play. Kinda tired of "If we had Nick this and. Nick that" still wouldve lost. Im just going to sit back and watch the Cokley, Dirk Williams, and Lavender show.



Now frontcourt wise i could bench HaHa and the blockingham thing (i like the girls one better) until he's consistently playing like he should. Also are we really going to expect anything from Smallwood as a junior when we dont get him minutes this year? Heck i dont think ive ever seen us get him a shot in the point isolation or not. I would start Thomas and play him until he picks up his third foul and then finish with my vets. I love TMad but he's somewhat halting TSmall development. Cokley's the man and i would market his stare. I think UAB missed the ball on that one.

(11-28-2016 10:36 AM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  Norton covered a lot of our weaknesses on offense and helped get them in position on D. I said we would not recover until conference play. Right on target.

No way would I start Watts and RE is not going to do that anyway. Someone has to come off thee bench to play point. YOu tart Watts and you cause more harm than good IMHO.

I was wrong about SMC game. I thought we would lose by 20 or more. We did play better. Only about half the shots they hit from three were wide open. Kept our turnovers under 10. (I did say if we turned it over like we did against KU we would lose by 20+). Don't underestimate how good that team is. They will be an at large if they don't win it all. Three bid league this year for the WCC.

This team should be running and pressing the whole game. They are built for that. I would play everyone in uniform. I do think the Darling should get more PT. He has not shot it much in games but he is deadly in practice and has deeper range than Nick. The team needs offensive punch from outside the arc and he can provide that. I see him as a more athletic Derrick Broom with greater range.

PG spot will be fine. they just need time. Other than the threes the game was pretty even.

I would come out and put the other teams three point shooters on their ass early. You can play good defense in the second half but if you allow streak shooters to get hot early because you don't guard them in the first 6-10 minutes they get confident and you can run them over in the second half and they will still hit it. I are one. ;-)

I don't think we can effectively pressure teams. We don't seem to have the quickness and length in the backcourt to prevent the opposing guard from just pushing it up the floor and dishing for open corner threes or layups. If JD is ready by conference play, perhaps we can press at certain times

If you start a lineup of Watts and Lavender, you can bring Hak off the bench for spot minutes at the two, so that means we always have either Watts or Lavender on the floor. It really doesn't matter if Watts starts or not, he just needs more minutes than Hak.