Not going to lie, I struggled with this today. Curious to see what else you guys would add.
Three Observations
1) It's good to have Brandan Stith back. Sure, it was against a team with no size (much like Charlotte), but he really seemed to slow down and let the game come to him. Not only was he great offensively, we only gave up 4 buckets inside the arc. In fact, Rice attempted more 3's than they did 2's for the game. Hopefully, the ankle can continue to heal and we have him for the rest of the games down the stretch.
2) Denzell Taylor was fantastic. Koulechov was able to score 12 poitns down the stretch, but the game was basically out of hand before he was able to get going. It was so clear that Denzell knew the scout so well and knew exactly what he had to do to keep Koulechov from getting what he wanted. Sure, he had a couple of open shots he missed, but having to work so hard to get open takes a toll on a player mentally that affects his ability to make the open ones. And, of course, he also gave us 5 extra possessions via offensive boards.
3) Trey Porter MUST find a way to stay on the court. We simply do not have the post depth to get away with him only playing 9 minutes against teams with any size. I really do believe he is on the verge of a breakout, but that can't happen if he's sitting next to Jeff Jones. There is little doubt in my mind that the third foul was a flop by Letcher-Ellis, but the kid flopped like that a bunch of times at the TED, so Trey has to know it's coming and try a different move against the flop artist rather than daring the refs to call it.
Two Questions
1) How will Brandan's ankle respond? High ankle sprains can be tough and take a LONG time before they are truly healthy again. After 27 minutes of pounding, I'd be curious as to how it is feeling today, heading into tomorrow's matchup with North Texas.
2) How will North Texas respond? They are still winless in conference and blew a big halftime lead to Charlotte last night. Benford is likely to get canned at the end of the year, but will his team quit on him at this point, or will they play desperately, trying to get their first conference win.
One Prediction
1) I'm going to go out on a limb and predict last night's was the first of a little 4-game streak for us. This is the easiest stretch of the conference season, we need to get these wins before we head on a tough roadie to Middle and UAB. I think the boys get it done tomorrow and win by 12.
Well, with a healthy Stith we won by just 7. Of course, we shot 28% from the field, but made up for it with 20-some offensive rebounds. With Stith less than 100% and playing there (even if it's empty), I'll be happy with a 1-point win. I've come to accept this team's erratic nature as part of its personality. I just want us to hang on any way we can.
(01-27-2017 01:20 PM)jumpshooter Wrote: [ -> ]Well, with a healthy Stith we won by just 7. Of course, we shot 28% from the field, but made up for it with 20-some offensive rebounds. With Stith less than 100% and playing there (even if it's empty), I'll be happy with a 1-point win. I've come to accept this team's erratic nature as part of its personality. I just want us to hang on any way we can.
I think you meant 28% from behind the 3 point arc, as they shot over 54% from the floor overall. They only won by under double digits because of a last second 3 pointer.
jump shooter might have been talking about the last game.
Stith looked pretty gimpy last night. He's still not 100%, but it didn't seem to slow him down. Hopefully its one of those things where the injury won't get any worse by playing on it. Although that seems doubtful considering its a high ankle sprain.
Jump shooter was talking about the home game against North Texas.
The MLE flop was not Dillon Brooks-esque, but it was the typical one where the Porter got the ball on the block, straightened his back to feel for the defender, and the defender fell over like he was hit by a truck. So, on the scale, probably a 5 or 6, as it is far too common in hoops these days.
(01-27-2017 01:42 PM)ODU_NYG Wrote: [ -> ]jump shooter might have been talking about the last game.
Stith looked pretty gimpy last night. He's still not 100%, but it didn't seem to slow him down. Hopefully its one of those things where the injury won't get any worse by playing on it. Although that seems doubtful considering its a high ankle sprain.
Yes, after reading his post again I think he was talking about the first game. Sorry jumpshooter. I also hope Stith playing won't make his injury worse, we're going to need him big-time down the stretch.
Seems like Randy is pretty streaky. Sometimes he plays well, sometimes he doesn't, and sometimes he just doesn't play at all. With him and BJ on, that was nice since we needed them to step up with Baker out. A big question to me is can Randy and BJ cut out the streakiness and put together a solid night out where they can both score 10 and play defense.
1). Randy Haynes jump-started the 'narchs in the first half (10 points, 10 point lead...coincidence?), but got minutes in the second half despite cooling off by keeping his feet under him on defense and hustling (2 pts off put-back stuff on the fastbreak). Thus, in one game he played more minutes and took more shots than the last seven games combined. Hopefully he realizes the connection and ODU will have another (perhaps inconsistent) threat off the bench.
2). With Brandon as the last line of defense, ODU is much more effective against penetration off the dribble...only 4 2-pt FGs! If ODU stops the gratuitous fouling on the dribble, opponents will have little recourse than shoot 3s.
3). Caver did not have his shot last night, but played smart...only 7 FG attempts (much better than earlier games of 12+ shots (14 games)) and when he drove, he drew contact. Also, in the last 2 games 9-11 FTs and in the last 7 games 27-34 (.794). One of my criteria for effective PG play is making FTs, especially late...hopefully Caver has turned a corner in this regard.
(01-27-2017 01:20 PM)jumpshooter Wrote: [ -> ]Well, with a healthy Stith we won by just 7. Of course, we shot 28% from the field, but made up for it with 20-some offensive rebounds. With Stith less than 100% and playing there (even if it's empty), I'll be happy with a 1-point win. I've come to accept this team's erratic nature as part of its personality. I just want us to hang on any way we can.
I think you meant 28% from behind the 3 point arc, as they shot over 54% from the floor overall. They only won by under double digits because of a last second 3 pointer.
Thanks for the correction, skimming old VP article because I thought it closer than I was comfortable with. . . . yes, I was talking the first NT game at the Ted. Anyway, we were crappy on offense, I think, but won.. I'd take it again
I thought the charge on Porter was a legitimate call. The defender backed up and gave him some space. Porter didn't sense the space and leaned back expecting a body there and backed right into him. There was some flop, maybe a 5, but still a charge. Porter still doesn't seem comfortable with the ball in the low post. He needs to recognize the double teams faster and get it out to the open man. He also needs to limit his dribbling down low, too many guards dropping down and sticking their hands in there. With his height he should try some turnaround jumpers.
I was impressed with Haynes performance. Loved the hustle on the put back dunk. Also liked that Caver pushed it on that play even though there was a defender back.
Also, my peeve this week is fouling on drives way too much. I was yelling for them to stop fouling but apparently they didn't hear me. The last thing we want to do is put 80%+ FT shooters on the line.
As mentioned in the game thread, I thought the overall energy level was higher last night than it has been all season. I've seen the team play a lot this year, and I don't recall a game this year that we have played start to finish at this high energy. Maybe the Richmond game comes close. Maybe partially at Charlotte. So, why? Maybe Branden coming back gave the team a lift? Playing in a mostly empty Rice fieldhouse wouldn't do it. They just seemed to find a flow on both ends of the court after being down early and the rest of the game was exciting to watch. Any thoughts?
(01-27-2017 07:38 PM)RoanokeMonarch Wrote: [ -> ]As mentioned in the game thread, I thought the overall energy level was higher last night than it has been all season. I've seen the team play a lot this year, and I don't recall a game this year that we have played start to finish at this high energy. Maybe the Richmond game comes close. Maybe partially at Charlotte. So, why? Maybe Branden coming back gave the team a lift? Playing in a mostly empty Rice fieldhouse wouldn't do it. They just seemed to find a flow on both ends of the court after being down early and the rest of the game was exciting to watch. Any thoughts?
Not sure about that. Richmond is a much better team than Rice. Let's see if we can string some good games together. At this point we are just as likely to lay a stinker tomorrow at North Texas as we are to win. I wouldn't bet money either way.
(01-27-2017 07:38 PM)RoanokeMonarch Wrote: [ -> ]As mentioned in the game thread, I thought the overall energy level was higher last night than it has been all season. I've seen the team play a lot this year, and I don't recall a game this year that we have played start to finish at this high energy. Maybe the Richmond game comes close. Maybe partially at Charlotte. So, why? Maybe Branden coming back gave the team a lift? Playing in a mostly empty Rice fieldhouse wouldn't do it. They just seemed to find a flow on both ends of the court after being down early and the rest of the game was exciting to watch. Any thoughts?
Not sure about that. Richmond is a much better team than Rice. Let's see if we can string some good games together. At this point we are just as likely to lay a stinker tomorrow at North Texas as we are to win. I wouldn't bet money either way.
Shots falling <-> high energy
Shots not falling <-> low energy
(01-27-2017 01:06 PM)ODUCoach Wrote: [ -> ]Not going to lie, I struggled with this today. Curious to see what else you guys would add.
Three Observations
1) It's good to have Brandan Stith back. Sure, it was against a team with no size (much like Charlotte), but he really seemed to slow down and let the game come to him. Not only was he great offensively, we only gave up 4 buckets inside the arc. In fact, Rice attempted more 3's than they did 2's for the game. Hopefully, the ankle can continue to heal and we have him for the rest of the games down the stretch.
2) Denzell Taylor was fantastic. Koulechov was able to score 12 poitns down the stretch, but the game was basically out of hand before he was able to get going. It was so clear that Denzell knew the scout so well and knew exactly what he had to do to keep Koulechov from getting what he wanted. Sure, he had a couple of open shots he missed, but having to work so hard to get open takes a toll on a player mentally that affects his ability to make the open ones. And, of course, he also gave us 5 extra possessions via offensive boards.
3) Trey Porter MUST find a way to stay on the court. We simply do not have the post depth to get away with him only playing 9 minutes against teams with any size. I really do believe he is on the verge of a breakout, but that can't happen if he's sitting next to Jeff Jones. There is little doubt in my mind that the third foul was a flop by Letcher-Ellis, but the kid flopped like that a bunch of times at the TED, so Trey has to know it's coming and try a different move against the flop artist rather than daring the refs to call it.
Two Questions
1) How will Brandan's ankle respond? High ankle sprains can be tough and take a LONG time before they are truly healthy again. After 27 minutes of pounding, I'd be curious as to how it is feeling today, heading into tomorrow's matchup with North Texas.
2) How will North Texas respond? They are still winless in conference and blew a big halftime lead to Charlotte last night. Benford is likely to get canned at the end of the year, but will his team quit on him at this point, or will they play desperately, trying to get their first conference win.
One Prediction
1) I'm going to go out on a limb and predict last night's was the first of a little 4-game streak for us. This is the easiest stretch of the conference season, we need to get these wins before we head on a tough roadie to Middle and UAB. I think the boys get it done tomorrow and win by 12.