(11-30-2018 08:21 AM)EverRespect Wrote: We were dominated in the 1st half, no way around that.
It is usually unhelpful to get into semantic arguments on an internet forum. People post in haste, and may not consider the nuance behind their words. But this instance is the exception.
Dominate:
vb: to exert determining or guiding influence on another.
It may have looked different on t.v., but in person there was no point during that miserable first half at which I ever felt that VCU was controlling the game. As sickening as it was to watch, we were in control of what happened to us during that first half, on both ends.
We chose to play at the fast pace, they didn't force that. Our offensive woes were due entirely to our bad (and I mean embarrassingly bad) shooting, not because they were making us take bad shots. On defense, we were the ones dictating play, forcing them to take long threes or attempt a desperate last-second charge at the basket. Many of those long threes went in during the first half, and lots of fouls were called on us during those flailing drives (mostly by Evans). Fortunately, that mostly stopped happening in the second half.
And I really don't think that Jones even made any significant adjustments. I will fully admit to being one of the posters that Razor can legitimately accuse of not knowing much about college basketball, but if there was a significant adjustment in our method of play between the first and second halves, it was too subtle for me to notice. It was more that our guys started playing like they are capable of playing.
Razor does have one good and important point: the instances of us being able to put together a full 40-minute game of solid play is very rare under Coach Jones. That should be a concern for him. I expect it is.