(01-04-2021 09:34 AM)Bill Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 08:38 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(01-03-2021 06:34 PM)Halz87 Wrote:  Who said they didn’t shoot the 3 ?


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Hey, they only shot 19 threes a game coming into tonight. Then they shot almost double that number against JMU. Must be something about the Dukes that causes everyone to start jacking up long range shots.

like leaving them wide open or playing defense with your hands below chest level?

Could be. I didn't watch the game last night.

(01-04-2021 09:12 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  We are transitioning from one of the worst coaches we've ever had in JMU history. This isn't going to get fixed overnight, and that would be under normal circumstances.
Add on to that Covid, limited practices, reduced time in off season, transfers, schedule issues, etc and there is no wonder we are struggling.
I don't blame Byington. He is doing the best that he can. He isn't making any excuses for this team.
If they have a normal off season this year and this team isn't playing any better, then I would say there's room for concern. But to make a judgement based on what has happened in less than a year (and a messed up year at that) is incredibly unfair.

So, the Morgan states of the world haven’t faced the same obstacles somehow?

Let’s remember folks, road wins in the college basketball world are hard to come by...

Allowing 13-2 runs to end games makes that much easier.

(01-04-2021 09:34 AM)Bill Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 08:38 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  

(01-03-2021 06:34 PM)Halz87 Wrote:  Who said they didn’t shoot the 3 ?


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Hey, they only shot 19 threes a game coming into tonight. Then they shot almost double that number against JMU. Must be something about the Dukes that causes everyone to start jacking up long range shots.

like leaving them wide open or playing defense with your hands below chest level?

That's when they were within range to contest the shot (which wasn't often).
The frustrating thing is that we should have won the game. We had leads for most of the game and then would give it away and let them back in the game.
Credit to Morgan State for not giving up.
When a team has been so bad for so long, games like this are bound to happen. We still don't have the killer instinct we need.

It looked like we played a zone a lot yesterday- it was shaky at times- they got the ball inside and with another pass often got a look at a layup or an open outside shot.

We need to finish games but it sure I see a corollary between this and last- the team has pretty much all turned over.

some other notes from yesterday that frustrate me

18 turnovers and only 14 assists (wooden with 4, and our two best guards, lewis and strickland with 3)

Got outrebounded (again)

Mensah still very soft. How do you cure a non aggressive post player?

harvey sub late was a head scratcher. maybe for defensive purposes?

shooting 58% from the FT line and missing the front end of the 1 and 1s was very frustrating.

Lewis 1-7 from 3 made me sad

Good news is we have a lot we can improve on!

I am not down on the tean or Byington, however, the quickest way to chase me off is to continue playing unfundamental basketball.

At least we can beat Morgan State 63 -12 with the breaks on playing dII football and that keeps our Harrisonburg local donors that go to their FBS alma maters for their football entertainment happy.

We got that going for us!

Brakes#

We need to go back to basics. It was a different time, but Coach B needs to do what my HS coach would do when we were struggling to get good shots offensively and that is you must pass the ball a certain number of times before a shot goes up unless it is a layup or dunk. Tougher to do in college as there is a shot clock, but it really makes a team concentrate on getting a good shot each time down the floor. The guys need to understand that we can get a contested shot any time in a possession so there is no reason to force a shot until the clock is under 10. This is all about basketball IQ and court awareness which I am not sure is something that is taught at younger levels anymore.

(01-04-2021 11:25 AM)jmu98 Wrote:  We need to go back to basics. It was a different time, but Coach B needs to do what my HS coach would do when we were struggling to get good shots offensively and that is you must pass the ball a certain number of times before a shot goes up unless it is a layup or dunk. Tougher to do in college as there is a shot clock, but it really makes a team concentrate on getting a good shot each time down the floor. The guys need to understand that we can get a contested shot any time in a possession so there is no reason to force a shot until the clock is under 10. This is all about basketball IQ and court awareness which I am not sure is something that is taught at younger levels anymore.

i actually thought our shot selection wasnt terrible, they just werent going in. I think there were probably one or two that I would have asked for back, but Lewis (and others) had plenty of open looks at the basket.

It’s our job as fans to overreact to wins and losses - it’s what we do. Bad game and disappointing outcome. There’s a lot to work on and still some questions obviously with this team and lineups personnel etc but still some positives. Let’s see how they respond tomorrow afternoon.

(01-04-2021 10:15 AM)JMUDunk Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 09:12 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  We are transitioning from one of the worst coaches we've ever had in JMU history. This isn't going to get fixed overnight, and that would be under normal circumstances.
Add on to that Covid, limited practices, reduced time in off season, transfers, schedule issues, etc and there is no wonder we are struggling.
I don't blame Byington. He is doing the best that he can. He isn't making any excuses for this team.
If they have a normal off season this year and this team isn't playing any better, then I would say there's room for concern. But to make a judgement based on what has happened in less than a year (and a messed up year at that) is incredibly unfair.

So, the Morgan states of the world haven’t faced the same obstacles somehow?

Let’s remember folks, road wins in the college basketball world are hard to come by...

Allowing 13-2 runs to end games makes that much easier.

There's no doubt that every team has faced obstacles. However, they didn't just hire a new coach. They weren't instilling a new system. It's a challenge with any new staff, but that problem is compounded with limited practice and time to spend with the team. Other teams had a system in place and the teams were mostly intact. We have a LOT of new pieces and many of them are Freshmen.
In a normal year I would say this team needs time to figure it out. In a year like this, I don't know how we can expect this team to have figured it all out despite all of the challenges and the ones I mentioned above.
If you know me, you know I don't pull any punches when it comes to criticizing MBB. Normally I would give a new coaching staff time to figure it out, and if anything this staff needs even more time despite everything else.
Just saying I do not think this year of all years is a fair assessment of what Coach B and his staff are capable of doing.

(01-04-2021 11:13 AM)Purplehazed Wrote:  I am not down on the tean or Byington, however, the quickest way to chase me off is to continue playing unfundamental basketball.

exactly, we can make excuses for things like "transitioning", "new coach", "Covid", whatever, but fundamentals are still fundamentals.

(01-04-2021 09:12 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  We are transitioning from one of the worst coaches we've ever had in JMU history. This isn't going to get fixed overnight, and that would be under normal circumstances.
Add on to that Covid, limited practices, reduced time in off season, transfers, schedule issues, etc and there is no wonder we are struggling.
I don't blame Byington. He is doing the best that he can. He isn't making any excuses for this team.
If they have a normal off season this year and this team isn't playing any better, then I would say there's room for concern. But to make a judgement based on what has happened in less than a year (and a messed up year at that) is incredibly unfair.

I'm leaning more towards this (although I tend to be a bit optimistic).

I think the parts are a definite upgrade, but the team ball and discipline is not at this time, which has at least in part to do with the unusual circumstances of this year and a complete lineup turnover.

They should have put this team away but wasted quite a few possessions and then couldn't find the foul shots or otherwise to go in when they needed. I'm still thinking we are going to see some good complete games this year out of this squad.

It is too early to pass judgement but it certainly feels like we should see something to believe in by now. The team could lose tomorrow again and then go 12-6 in the CAA and everyone will be happy to see progress vs the last 4 years. It doesn’t even feel like there is a set rotation or consistent style right now. The Dukes are 1-4 against D-1 competition so we do need to see some positive results as the strength of schedule has been weak. There are still 19 Regular season games left to go.(Hopefully)

What is certain is there are no mulligans in season one when you build a $100 million arena. Excuses are not acceptable when you spend that kind of money which is more than SEC schools Auburn and Ol’ Miss spent on their new arenas.


*Maybe some people are rethinking that Rowe should have been fired In 2018 or in 2019 instead of letting him coach into 2020 and then asking a new coach to rebuild the mess in the very same year that the purple palace opened. COVID or no COVID there were massive errors by Bourne on failing to prepare the program for the grand opening year.

7 made 3's out of 26 attempts, 11 offensive rebounds, 14 assists and 18 turn overs. Hard to win against anyone with those numbers. Call it what ever you choose; attitude, mental toughness, chemistry....whatever. fundamentals wouldn't be at the top of my to do list.

Here's what I see for what it's worth:

1. This not a good team, which has been readily apparent since the Norfolk State game. I think there's been a talent and experience disparity in every D-1 game, save the Radford game. The comeback in the VCU game in the second half lifted everyone's spirits, of course. That VCU team, by the way, was one of the most talented teams that I've seen from the Rams in years.
2. What concerns me in watching the team is that I get the impression that Byington is the sort of coach that plays his style regardless of the talent on hand, rather than employing a style of play that best suits the talent on hand. I also think he's clearly partial to his freshman class, which gets minutes over perhaps more deserving players.
3. With the simple eye test, I think that Christmas is the most talented player on the team and should be a key focal point. Instead, he sits most of the second half yesterday so that Edwards can play. The second half is when the game got away from them after overcoming a slow start.
4. Back to my point regarding forcing a square peg into a round hole, I wholeheartedly agree that a guy like Wooden should be playing in the low post (camped out there) rather than on the perimeter, where he's ill-suited. Meanwhile, a guy like Taylor, one of the best athletes on the team, doesn't play, when he could perhaps be productive on the low block as well.
5. Team shoots poorly from three point range and from the free throw line and is also turnover prone.
6. It's a flawed team, no question, and he's addressed some of their issues, it would seem, with the 21 class (ball handling, shooting, playmaking). I also see a team that perhaps doesn't best utilize the talent on hand in terms of how they play.
7. Morgan State, like the Norfolk State team, has ample talent and their coach is in his second year, I believe. JMU, a year ago, trounced East Carolina, only to have the favor returned this season.

84 you are one of my favorite fellow hoops posters but I think you need to take a deep breath. Coach B has said that he will fit the style to the team. I trust what he has seen in this on and off again season from his players and who he is giving minutes to.

The fact is that the freshmen are assertive and energetic and some of the other guys have moments where they go on cruise control. I saw a time yesterday where Edwards made a bad play and he was taken out but by in large when he was in there he made some nice things happen.

Amadi and Strickland are making things happen on both ends. That said in order for this team to be good they will need more consistency from Christmas and Wooden, Morse to contribute like he did early and I think more minutes from Jacobs and or Mensah.

As for Taylor I’m not sure if he’s our best athlete - I think people are just assuming that based on some stats from his time at Wyoming without any real context. None of us have seen him play and so I think there is a reason for that.

If you expect Taylor to be in the rotation or the style to be more traditional half court I think you’ll continue to be disappointed.

(01-04-2021 04:07 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  What is certain is there are no mulligans in season one when you build a $100 million arena. Excuses are not acceptable when you spend that kind of money which is more than SEC schools Auburn and Ol’ Miss spent on their new arenas.


*Maybe some people are rethinking that Rowe should have been fired In 2018 or in 2019 instead of letting him coach into 2020 and then asking a new coach to rebuild the mess in the very same year that the purple palace opened. COVID or no COVID there were massive errors by Bourne on failing to prepare the program for the grand opening year.

Very well said

(01-05-2021 06:29 AM)Dukeman2 Wrote:  

(01-04-2021 04:07 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  What is certain is there are no mulligans in season one when you build a $100 million arena. Excuses are not acceptable when you spend that kind of money which is more than SEC schools Auburn and Ol’ Miss spent on their new arenas.


*Maybe some people are rethinking that Rowe should have been fired In 2018 or in 2019 instead of letting him coach into 2020 and then asking a new coach to rebuild the mess in the very same year that the purple palace opened. COVID or no COVID there were massive errors by Bourne on failing to prepare the program for the grand opening year.

Very well said

I know for Hart and some others it isn’t hindsight because they thought Rowe should be gone quickly. I’m not sure that the outcome would have been any different had they acted faster.

I think what we have learned in reading the tea leaves is that the JMU job while a sleeping giant hasn’t been in high demand. The salary range plays a role in that and I think if they were on the hook for more $ to Rowe the amount that would have allocated to a replacement and staff would have been less.

The promise of the new arena for the replacement would have been further out and less tangible as well so I’m not sure you would have gotten a Byington caliber (existing mid major Coach) to jump and see the potential. You would have been hiring an assistant who more than likely would have had a longer runway to get the program turned around.