11:42 left in the 2nd half and no thread? Rice down 59-44 according to Twitter. Game on ESPN 3.

Not sure how we can continue justifying ~28 three point attempts per game when we can't even shoot 30% from beyond the arc. Of course, we also can't shoot free throws or layups either, so might as well just chunk it up from wherever and pray.

(12-09-2017 05:34 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Not sure how we can continue justifying ~28 three point attempts per game when we can't even shoot 30% from beyond the arc. Of course, we also can't shoot free throws or layups either, so might as well just chunk it up from wherever and pray.

30%? Didn't even shoot 6% today from 3. 1-17.

Thanks Mike Rhoades! A waste of 3 years.

Getting Lapray back would be a big help.

(12-09-2017 07:24 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  Thanks Mike Rhoades! A waste of 3 years.

Yeah, but I bet he ran hard practices like Bear!

(12-09-2017 07:24 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  Thanks Mike Rhoades! A waste of 3 years.

Yeah. Honestly...

I was right about him being a good basketball coach; I was wrong about him caring about our program.

I have no doubt that the Rhoades outcome impacted JK's hiring calculus significantly. Consequently, I think it was almost inevitable that we would get someone from a like-minded institution to replace Bailiff.

Rhoades hasn't come in for enough criticism from our end IMO. I don't want to start spitting venom again now that we can celebrate having hope in football, but... Rhoades can get bent. He never cared about Rice one iota, and he contributed to the decimation of our program on his way out after teasing us with success. That's a really special kind of achievement. I'll leave it at that.

I hope Rice has learned some useful lessons from the last decade-plus of chaos in our athletics. I'm not sure we can endure another era of disastrous hires and baffling extensions.

My biggest problem this year is that rather than adjusting the system to the talent we are still seemingly expecting the talent to adjust to the system. Obviously not working very well

We are definitely going to be worse this year than I expected. I agree that we're taking too many 3's. I also don't understand why Meyer and Harrison are buried so deep on the bench. I get that they're not super defensively but they may be our best two shooters on the team and their presence would allow us to move the ball inside and not shoot so many 3-pointers.

If Rhoades has gone anywhere but VCU, I would feel much worse about him. As is, it is hard for me to feel too negative.

I agree with FBO that I am ready to downgrade my hopes for this season.

Weird to feel more excited about football than men’s basketball after the last few years of football!

(12-09-2017 05:58 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(12-09-2017 05:34 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Not sure how we can continue justifying ~28 three point attempts per game when we can't even shoot 30% from beyond the arc. Of course, we also can't shoot free throws or layups either, so might as well just chunk it up from wherever and pray.

30%? Didn't even shoot 6% today from 3. 1-17.

Sorry, should have specified...less than 30% on the year. It's ridiculous that we're taking this many attempts.

(12-09-2017 08:18 PM)owlatheart Wrote:  My biggest problem this year is that rather than adjusting the system to the talent we are still seemingly expecting the talent to adjust to the system. Obviously not working very well

Yep, exactly.

(12-09-2017 11:04 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(12-09-2017 08:18 PM)owlatheart Wrote:  My biggest problem this year is that rather than adjusting the system to the talent we are still seemingly expecting the talent to adjust to the system. Obviously not working very well

Yep, exactly.

What adjustments should we make to the talent?

I think this team will struggle to win 10 games this year. Coach Pera is really going deep on his bench looking for the right combinations. It is really tough when you do not have the shooting talent and your guards struggle to break down an opponent off the dribble. Having A.J. Lapray out due to injury likely cost the Owls the game at UTRGV. I doubt that the Owls would have won against SFASU, but it may have been closer. I am happy to see the extended minutes for Malik Osborne. In two consecutive games he was able to secure a rebound from his own team's errant free throws, which is really difficult to do. For while this season it looked like Rice was going to redshirt Naaja Hunter, but he played for 7 minutes against SFA and secured 4 rebounds but missed all of his field goal attempts (0-3) and half of his free throws (2-4).

It does little good bemoaning last years transfer situation or debate whether Coach Rhoades helped or hurt the program at this point. I prefer to focus on how this team needs to improve this year, make sure that Rice has limited transfers after the season and keep the strong recruiting class that has been assembled.

(12-09-2017 10:40 PM)mrbig Wrote:  If Rhoades has gone anywhere but VCU, I would feel much worse about him. As is, it is hard for me to feel too negative.

I agree with FBO that I am ready to downgrade my hopes for this season.

Weird to feel more excited about football than men’s basketball after the last few years of football!

i think Rhoades was a net positive, not certain on the Toad. Really can't blame him for returning to VCU and the Toad returned to Tulsa, but that one is not near the same. My biggest sticking point on Rhoades is that he should have had the class to tell everyone of those players who transferred that to stay and be part of something awesome under Coach Pera. Unfortunately not....

(12-11-2017 12:26 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  

(12-09-2017 10:40 PM)mrbig Wrote:  If Rhoades has gone anywhere but VCU, I would feel much worse about him. As is, it is hard for me to feel too negative.

I agree with FBO that I am ready to downgrade my hopes for this season.

Weird to feel more excited about football than men’s basketball after the last few years of football!

i think Rhoades was a net positive, not certain on the Toad. Really can't blame him for returning to VCU and the Toad returned to Tulsa, but that one is not near the same. My biggest sticking point on Rhoades is that he should have had the class to tell everyone of those players who transferred that to stay and be part of something awesome under Coach Pera. Unfortunately not....

I still think we should’ve banned Rhoades from taking our players.

I don't know the answer on the transfer issue.

Reflexively, I believe that aggressively seeking transfers in is a partial antidote, because it sort of immunizes you from bare cupboard syndrome.

It would seem to make sense for JK and Peera to aim for 1 grad transfer and 1 undergrad transfer in every fall's entering class. If we assume the grad transfer has one year of eligibility left and undergrad transfer has 3, then at steady state we would be suiting up 4 transfers, with a 5th scholly held by a kid sitting out the mandatory year.

the way to get transfers in, in turn, especially at undergrad level, is to focus on kids you have recruited but didn't sign and stay close to their parents and high school coaches.

A kid who transfers in will struggle to transfer out, although Egor did it. The vast majority of our defections both after Braun's one good year and last season were freshmen and sophomores signed out of high school.

Also always knowing you are adding two decent experienced players via transfer can perhaps mitigate the "fire in a crowded theater" element of what we have gone through.

(12-11-2017 12:27 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  I still think we should’ve banned Rhoades from taking our players.

Not saying I disagree ... but he only took two of them. I can't imagine Evans would have stayed at Rice and I don't see any reason to believe Douglas would have stayed. Same for all the other transfers. It seemed like the kind of situation where either perhaps a majority of them stay if Rhoades stays, but once the flood gates opened, anyone with an inkling of transferring didn't want to be here for the rebuild year. I'm happy for the guys who graduated, even though we miss them, thrilled for the guys who stayed, and don't really care one bit for the guys that left.

Rhoades' time at Rice was like a pretty good movie with a bad ending. Does the bad ending ruin the whole movie? For some people, yes. For others, no.