Just wondering what my GCU peeps think about Majerles comments after the uninspired win over a D2 team yesterday about his team. He really has gone off on Benson and Braun lately, especially after the NMSU and William and whatever game. He also roasted Vernon and has said many unfavorable comments about Shaq Carr on many occasions. He even went off on Fifi Adoo after the William game. He sounds like he is fed up with his team. Has Majerle lost his team? Is the team fed up with Majerle? I would be worried if I was a GCU fan.

This is a bad situation. Dan isn’t wrong; his seniors are underperforming. Benson hasn’t lived up to expectations, but anything short of Russell 2.0 was going to disappoint this year. He was given an impossible act to follow. Braun has been declining for the last two years and I’m glad he’s finally being called out for lack of defense. It’s great that he can drive and shoot it. Like Dan said last night, Braun couldn’t guard the podium he was speaking behind. If you can’t play defense you shouldn’t be on the floor.

He was complimentary of Lever and said he could keep feeding him the ball and could work with him. Same with The other freshmen. He’s just tired of guys performing in practice then getting in a game situation and failing to execute. How many chances do you give players who are inconsistent and lackluster?

I do have some concerns about airing out the dirty laundry in public like that. It’s one thing to acknowledge poor performance as a team and say that it’s an area that needs addressing. But tearing down individual kids isn’t likely to help them improve. That being said, Dan spends more time with these guys than we do and should know their buttons. Maybe he is doing exactly what they need in order to ring them back in. We will see what happens in Orem.

My gut tells me they overlooked an NAIA team and a game they thought would be less competitive than an Intrasquad scrimmage. They got caught by guys from a smaller school looking to impress on the only big stage they’d have all year. It’s tough to snap to once you’ve mentally checked out of a game. The shots were falling early and they built a lead seemingly effortlessly. Heck, they shot 62% from the field last night. But defensively, you just can’t let teams take uncontested shots. Nearly bit them last night.

Dan is hacked off. Rightfully so. I think I he’s also smart enough and experienced enough to know that sometimes a team just has a horrible night and makes mental mistakes. They are college kids after all. It hopefully served as a huge wake up call. Dan isn’t leaving. He will get them ready for Utah Valley. I think they’ll come back strong and steal one from the fellas in Orem.

It's going to be interesting. NMSU surprisedly throttled UVU and GCU comes off playing 3 crappy teams. I think Utah Valley takes this game by 5-6 points.

I wonder how UVU will respond after having NMSU embarrass them so badly. They’re tied with Canyon for second, and the winner will be in sole possession of second place afterward. The winner has a chance to tie for the regular season title if they manage to knock off the Aggies, so it is a significant game. Hoping GCU pulls out the win.

(01-24-2018 10:07 PM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  It's going to be interesting. NMSU surprisedly throttled UVU and GCU comes off playing 3 crappy teams. I think Utah Valley takes this game by 5-6 points.

Should be a close game. However, I predict GCU pulls it out. We don't do well against teams with quick, crafty guards (Jordan Hill, AJ Harris/Zach Lofton, Xavier Bishop) that like to drive through the lane. UVU has Brandon Randolph that kind of fits this type of guard play but he seems a tad slower than the players I mentioned. The Toolson brothers are good shooters but slow like Braun and Benson. Plus we have the size to match up with their size. In short, I think we match up well with UVU.

(01-24-2018 10:07 PM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  It's going to be interesting. NMSU surprisedly throttled UVU and GCU comes off playing 3 crappy teams. I think Utah Valley takes this game by 5-6 points.

KenPom says by 3, but what does he know anyway?

I'll put that prediction right alongside this...

(01-13-2018 07:09 PM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  I'm calling it right now. Chicago State is going to beat GCU in Chicago.

(01-24-2018 06:21 PM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  Just wondering what my GCU peeps think about Majerles comments after the uninspired win over a D2 team yesterday about his team. He really has gone off on Benson and Braun lately, especially after the NMSU and William and whatever game. He also roasted Vernon and has said many unfavorable comments about Shaq Carr on many occasions. He even went off on Fifi Adoo after the William game. He sounds like he is fed up with his team. Has Majerle lost his team? Is the team fed up with Majerle? I would be worried if I was a GCU fan.

I personally do not think Majerle has lost the team. There is a lot of respect across the board which allows him to speak out as he does.
However, I do think he needs to adjust his coaching style to fit the team he has. I know some GCU fans on here do not think the defense is the problem, but I beg to differ. Dan almost seems more proud of his team's defensive ranking nationally then he is about winning. Unfortunately, teams are starting to figure out his defense and exploit it. And it is easy to exploit if you can develop mismatches by causing our bigs to have to switch and cover a quick guard at the top of the key who can then either shoot over the top or drive right around the slower big. This type of switching defense worked last year because we were shorter, faster and able to adjust quicker. Blumbergs and Lever cannot play this way and we shouldn't want to have them so far out of position when it comes time to get a rebound.
I say pack it in by periodically playing zone. We should be taking advantage of our height rather than letting our height be exploited. Make quicker, shorter teams beat you from the outside. At least switch it up now and then so we are not so predictable.

It just sounds to me Majerle had very unrealistic expectations. I'm not saying GCU still couldn't go on a tear and win the WAC tourney, get a #16 seed and get dismantled. That could still happen but highly unlikely. The fans expectations for Benson were ridiculous and Braun being picked preseason WAC MVP was absurd. Picking GCU as WAC preseason champ was also crazy. GCU is decent and Majerle should be tickled pink where his program is at. Maybe he's feeling pressure cause he's making absurd money. I don't know but the vibe around the GCU program is off kilter right now IMO.

(01-25-2018 09:44 AM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  It just sounds to me Majerle had very unrealistic expectations. I'm not saying GCU still couldn't go on a tear and win the WAC tourney, get a #16 seed and get dismantled. That could still happen but highly unlikely. The fans expectations for Benson were ridiculous and Braun being picked preseason WAC MVP was absurd. Picking GCU as WAC preseason champ was also crazy. GCU is decent and Majerle should be tickled pink where his program is at. Maybe he's feeling pressure cause he's making absurd money. I don't know but the vibe around the GCU program is off kilter right now IMO.

I don't agree with some of your assertions. Several appear to be based on hindsight. On paper, GCU had the best team and UVU was right there with them. NMSU had a ton of question marks, including a brand new head coach with 1 year of D1 HC experience. No one expected Lofton to be the player he is. And it was conceivable that Benson could have been just as good as Lofton. No one knew for sure. We all thought Harris would be good, but we didn't know for sure until he played. Heck, everyone thought Chuha was perhaps the best player in the conference and he doesn't even start. It was very logical to pick Braun as the preseason POY based on his history.

The only thing I thought was unrealistic was there seemed to be a foregone conclusion that since GCU was finally tourney eligible, they were automatically gonna make the NCAA tourney. It doesn't work that way...

(01-25-2018 11:56 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(01-25-2018 09:44 AM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  It just sounds to me Majerle had very unrealistic expectations. I'm not saying GCU still couldn't go on a tear and win the WAC tourney, get a #16 seed and get dismantled. That could still happen but highly unlikely. The fans expectations for Benson were ridiculous and Braun being picked preseason WAC MVP was absurd. Picking GCU as WAC preseason champ was also crazy. GCU is decent and Majerle should be tickled pink where his program is at. Maybe he's feeling pressure cause he's making absurd money. I don't know but the vibe around the GCU program is off kilter right now IMO.

I don't agree with some of your assertions. Several appear to be based on hindsight. On paper, GCU had the best team and UVU was right there with them. NMSU had a ton of question marks, including a brand new head coach with 1 year of D1 HC experience. No one expected Lofton to be the player he is. And it was conceivable that Benson could have been just as good as Lofton. No one knew for sure. We all thought Harris would be good, but we didn't know for sure until he played. Heck, everyone thought Chuha was perhaps the best player in the conference and he doesn't even start. It was very logical to pick Braun as the preseason POY based on his history.

The only thing I thought was unrealistic was there seemed to be a foregone conclusion that since GCU was finally tourney eligible, they were automatically gonna make the NCAA tourney. It doesn't work that way...

I think the feeling was Majerle was building his program to make a big NCAA splash in GCU's first season of eligibility. Braun was a senior and this season was suppose to be the big crescendo to his college career. However, this Lope team has failed exceed the performances of prior GCU teams under Majerle. The team with Grandy Glaze appears to be better than this one. And, that was two years ago. There is still a lot of basketball to be played but GCU will need to toughen up if they want to get passed NMSU and UVU in the WAC tourney.

(01-25-2018 09:44 AM)dancingNMSUaggie Wrote:  It just sounds to me Majerle had very unrealistic expectations. I'm not saying GCU still couldn't go on a tear and win the WAC tourney, get a #16 seed and get dismantled. That could still happen but highly unlikely. The fans expectations for Benson were ridiculous and Braun being picked preseason WAC MVP was absurd. Picking GCU as WAC preseason champ was also crazy. GCU is decent and Majerle should be tickled pink where his program is at. Maybe he's feeling pressure cause he's making absurd money. I don't know but the vibe around the GCU program is off kilter right now IMO.

I completely agree that something is off right now. I think that the team itself had these expectations that they were going to be the best team this program has had, but I don't think all of the guys wanted to put in the effort that it required. I also think they expected some teams to just lay down and give them wins, which is why they haven't been good in close and competitive games. I think expectations for Benson were there for Benson based off the numbers that he put up in the third best conference in the country and the WAC is at a lower level than that. It would have been better to look at the tape as opposed to the numbers because I think some of those numbers were inflated based on the talent that he was playing with. I think in the last game guys looked at it as a game where they could stuff the stat sheet with gaudy numbers without much effort and that showed with the game. The guys need to realize that everyone has got to play their best basketball right now because there are still big games left to be played this season.

I had great expectations for Casey as well. However, he is actually playing better at GCU, than he did at Oregon. He turns the ball over a bit more at GCU. I think this may be due to him pushing a bit. I think Dan leaned on Casey to be more of a "scorer". He is not that. I don't even thing he is a Point Guard. He should probably be playing the 2 guard and JB should come off the bench.

I think fans who really watch the games realized that JB was not even going to come close to competing for the WAC POY. He has regressed quite a bit and I think his body is just failing him. I imagine he is in a great deal of pain after each game. As far as DM, I appreciate his honesty and passion in those post game tirades, but I am tired of hearing them. Rip kids all you want to their face... fans don't need to hear it, not like that. I still think DM is a good coach, but things need to be shaken up a bit. JB should not be starting. I am not even sure Casey should be starting. I'd like to see Aidoo or Carr (when healthy) run the point, Have Casey and JB alternate at the 2, Oscar and Rob at the 3, Matty, Gerard, and Vernon can work the 4. Ali, should play the whole game! lol He's GCU's most efficient player and the offense should run through him currently. I love Damari, but he seems confused to me on the court, looks down a lot, and picks up his dribble much too quickly. Being a freshmen who handles the ball is a lot tougher than being a freshmen who plays in the post. He will be fine in time, I believe.

(01-25-2018 03:32 PM)LopesUp Wrote:  I had great expectations for Casey as well. However, he is actually playing better at GCU, than he did at Oregon. He turns the ball over a bit more at GCU. I think this may be due to him pushing a bit. I think Dan leaned on Casey to be more of a "scorer". He is not that. I don't even thing he is a Point Guard. He should probably be playing the 2 guard and JB should come off the bench.

I think fans who really watch the games realized that JB was not even going to come close to competing for the WAC POY. He has regressed quite a bit and I think his body is just failing him. I imagine he is in a great deal of pain after each game. As far as DM, I appreciate his honesty and passion in those post game tirades, but I am tired of hearing them. Rip kids all you want to their face... fans don't need to hear it, not like that. I still think DM is a good coach, but things need to be shaken up a bit. JB should not be starting. I am not even sure Casey should be starting. I'd like to see Aidoo or Carr (when healthy) run the point, Have Casey and JB alternate at the 2, Oscar and Rob at the 3, Matty, Gerard, and Vernon can work the 4. Ali, should play the whole game! lol He's GCU's most efficient player and the offense should run through him currently. I love Damari, but he seems confused to me on the court, looks down a lot, and picks up his dribble much too quickly. Being a freshmen who handles the ball is a lot tougher than being a freshmen who plays in the post. He will be fine in time, I believe.

By comparison, I'm glad that Jans had the guts to bring Chuha off the bench. Chuha has been playing his best basketball now that the WAC season started, yet Jans just said this week "I don't think anyone's ever called Eli Chuha a good defender".

(01-25-2018 03:32 PM)LopesUp Wrote:  I had great expectations for Casey as well. However, he is actually playing better at GCU, than he did at Oregon. He turns the ball over a bit more at GCU. I think this may be due to him pushing a bit. I think Dan leaned on Casey to be more of a "scorer". He is not that. I don't even thing he is a Point Guard. He should probably be playing the 2 guard and JB should come off the bench.

I think fans who really watch the games realized that JB was not even going to come close to competing for the WAC POY. He has regressed quite a bit and I think his body is just failing him. I imagine he is in a great deal of pain after each game. As far as DM, I appreciate his honesty and passion in those post game tirades, but I am tired of hearing them. Rip kids all you want to their face... fans don't need to hear it, not like that. I still think DM is a good coach, but things need to be shaken up a bit. JB should not be starting. I am not even sure Casey should be starting. I'd like to see Aidoo or Carr (when healthy) run the point, Have Casey and JB alternate at the 2, Oscar and Rob at the 3, Matty, Gerard, and Vernon can work the 4. Ali, should play the whole game! lol He's GCU's most efficient player and the offense should run through him currently. I love Damari, but he seems confused to me on the court, looks down a lot, and picks up his dribble much too quickly. Being a freshmen who handles the ball is a lot tougher than being a freshmen who plays in the post. He will be fine in time, I believe.

I hope Damari will get better. Right now he just seems way to stiff out there on the court and isn't playing very loose when he is getting meaningful minutes.

Still a lot of basketball yet to be played. Dan might just be using that to fire up his team to let them know it’s not an easy road to the tournament. Getting to the tournament is not just given, it’s a lot of hard work and earned. Right now the Aggies are playing the best in the WAC but the automatic bid is still up for grabs to whoever wins the tournament.

Yep, I just keep saying, all you have to do is win 3 games in March and you are in. I still think GCU is one of the top 3 teams. We shall see how things go on Saturday at UVU. I give the edge to the home team here, but I think GCU has a shot if Lever plays well and they guard the 3. As always, expectations get the best of us. That is GCUs fault, they put winning the WAC in year 1 into existence. Now it's time to put up or shut up.

(01-25-2018 08:32 PM)LopesUp Wrote:  Yep, I just keep saying, all you have to do is win 3 games in March and you are in. I still think GCU is one of the top 3 teams. We shall see how things go on Saturday at UVU. I give the edge to the home team here, but I think GCU has a shot if Lever plays well and they guard the 3. As always, expectations get the best of us. That is GCUs fault, they put winning the WAC in year 1 into existence. Now it's time to put up or shut up.

I think GCU can knock off UVU in Orem. I watched the Wolverines get absolutely owned by the Aggies. It was almost surreal, given the hype about that game for conference positioning. If you didn't know the teams' records, it's doubtful you'd have thought that was a battle for first place.

It's hard to beat the Aggies in Las Cruces (my beloved Lopes are yet to accomplish this feat), so I can't fault UVU for not doing it. I think it's just the absolute level of domination we saw that makes me question UVU's ability to win the game against GCU.

You're absolutely right; expectations this season were unreasonable. Everyone thought Benson would come in, and together with Braun, drive us all the way to the Big Dance. That being said, I'm not willing to concede the season at this point. We've only lost one conference game. If we win on Saturday, we'll be in a good position for the tournament seeding. There's still a chance that Canyon can pull out an upset in Las Cruces, but i'm not holding my breath.

If GCU wins tourney they will be a #16 seed and bounced hard and fast from the Big Dance. NMSU has the horses to pull an upset and if we go through unscathed the rest of the season we should be a 10-12 seed.