(01-03-2018 12:52 PM)Rocco Wrote:  Twice this week you've written condescending, paternalistic posts telling me what I should write about. I don't care for it or appreciate it. I'm here to talk about W&M and I do so within the rules. If that's a problem ask Tribal to ban me and make you happy. If not please let me post as I wish as I let you ramble on about Purdue and the CBI.

Why are you suggesting censorship? Don't be ridiculous. You're not only moving the goalposts, you've gone out of the stadium with the goalposts.

You still don't get it.

You snark; there will be push back.

You go overly negative; there will be push back.

You misrepresent or move the goal posts / basketball nets; there will be push back.

You want to talk about W&M; I want to support W&M.

You want to talk defense; Purdue's motto is "defense lives here".

Clearly, the only thing we have in common is that we post here. Maybe some day our paths will cross. I'll be wearing gold ... with either green or black to compliment it ... depending on which team is playing.

:-)

(01-03-2018 01:12 PM)wml33t Wrote:  

(01-03-2018 12:58 PM)Rocco Wrote:  

(01-03-2018 07:19 AM)Pete24 Wrote:  A few observations & opinions about the season so far ...

-- Tribe is shooting 82% from the line in CAA play (80% on the season). Clutch.

There's still some small samples at work but everyone with more than 10 FT attempts on the season is shooting at least 70% from the line. Knight has almost as many attempts as Cohn, Pierce and Milon (2, 3 and 4 on the list of FTs attempted) and is shooting 78% so teams can't just hack him and get away with it.

Huge factor in close games late, like last night. We can leave Knight on the floor for rebounding, defense, etc if something goes wrong but not worry about a Hack-A-Nathan scenario.

Knight and Whitman were 60% FT shooters last year. W&M's basically merged them in to one 80% FT shooter. Cohn had a down year from the line last year but has bounced back. It's still hard to say if the improvement is really team-wide or just due to Knight being better and no Whitman/Prewitt mostly because no one else is shooting a lot of FTs but the evidence is suggesting the work has paid off.

(01-03-2018 01:28 PM)tribeintexas Wrote:  I am really impressed with the growth of Pierce. He looks like a different player and has become a difference maker.

Someone else may have it more specific though I remember a storyline when he signed with W&M, still in HS, that he wanted to be part of the first team here that ever went to the NCAA Tourney.

I am hoping his dream comes true. If it does happen, I'm certain he will be a major reason for it.

There likely are many reasons for the early success of this year's team. While we can likely point to Oliver Tot's half court shot as an igniter, it may have begun with the overseas trip. It is a fun team that we are all rooting for. The big two things that they are doing in the close games consistently is making their free throws down the stretch(and a much higher percentage overall) and also hitting key buckets late. The defense is also slightly better than at the beginning of the season(and vastly better than the High Point game). It has been said here by several of you "we cannot come back without getting a few stops". The Tribe got some last night during the critical 10+ minute stretch when we rallied from 14 down. Some of those are from switching defenses, some is from athletic blocks, some from good rebounding. There might be limitations and it is a long way from excellent defense, but effort is being made. The key is can decent defense be played without fouling? The dropoff from the starters to the reserves is as dramatic as it has ever been. We have gotten good minutes in spurts from Loewe, Tot, and Harrison. But none of those guys are even playing 10 minutes a game.

(01-03-2018 03:04 PM)Sitting bull Wrote:  

(01-03-2018 01:28 PM)tribeintexas Wrote:  I am really impressed with the growth of Pierce. He looks like a different player and has become a difference maker.

Someone else may have it more specific though I remember a storyline when he signed with W&M, still in HS, that he wanted to be part of the first team here that ever went to the NCAA Tourney.

I am hoping his dream comes true. If it does happen, I'm certain he will be a major reason for it.

This is the mantra repeated by many of our recruits. I remember Marcus, Daniel, and Omar saying something similar. They were all about the challenge of trying to make history.

(01-03-2018 01:28 PM)tribeintexas Wrote:  I am really impressed with the growth of Pierce. He looks like a different player and has become a difference maker.

I'd argue that he's mostly the same player with more minutes this year. He is more confident than he was as a freshman, but there just weren't minutes available for him last year. I'm hoping we see the same thing from Jihar next year.

(01-03-2018 07:11 PM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  

(01-03-2018 01:28 PM)tribeintexas Wrote:  I am really impressed with the growth of Pierce. He looks like a different player and has become a difference maker.

I'd argue that he's mostly the same player with more minutes this year. He is more confident than he was as a freshman, but there just weren't minutes available for him last year. I'm hoping we see the same thing from Jihar next year.

+ 1 ... I mean we have recruited gym rats and that’s what Pierce is as is Luke L.

I think you’ll see a lot more from both Luke and Jihar next year, but it’s going to be a fierce competition (a good thing) for minutes in the backcourt with this freshman class coming in.

Luke is a different style of player than David but he is going to be really good.

The freshman next year will experience this as well. There will be periods of uncertainty and just trying to find their place in the lineup. Talent still has a way of shining through though, and if they are ready they will get PT.

On an aside. I've seen comments marveling about the chemistry and unselfish play. Makes me wonder if that extra bonding time in Jamaica is paying dividends.

I think we saw similar team values when Omar & Daniel were freshmen and the team had a similar preseason trip. That squad ended up in the CAA Finals so... no pressure.

I think that the leaders on this team are focused on Team and not individual performance. Shaver and the team leaders probably drove that home starting last spring, over the summer, in Jamaica, and in pre-season.

I don't see any of the same reactions from Tony as last year. No more slamming the scorers table, no more eye rolling, no more staring down players, no more calling out team behavior in post game interviews, etc.