Hawks look to bounce back from a lackluster effort against in state rival Elon. Elon will play mostly zone but will likely put a target on White tonight and will work hard to stop him so he will have to smart with the ball on outlets from mid- high post catches for high percentage low feeds or power through some like last time.
Hawks needs a win to get rolling again. If it takes a village, so be it. We need energy. If Shy still unavailable, others have to step up. There are plenty of options.
Hawks are a 14.5 point favorite. I picked Elon to beat the spread so that definitely gives UNCW a boost hopefully since I suddenly can’t get a feel at all on CAA hoops. Last year I got over 75 percent right ATD but now batting below.500 lately. Good thing I don’t really wager!
(This post was last modified: 01-16-2023 03:56 PM by billthebighawksfan.)
The last time we lost 3 straight was the Jacksonville debacle back in 2021 (77-48 loss after having lost to Southern Miss and Norfolk St.). Unless of course you want to count the UNC-Oklahoma-UCONN stretch where our only win in between was a non-D1 (Allen).
I don't see this team losing 3 straight again any time soon under Siddle. It can't happen tonight.
Unimpressive start on offense. We don't pass the ball enough against zone defenses. Move the zone. You can't move it with the dribble and/or just standing around.
(01-16-2023 10:29 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote: It’s pretty quiet around here. Either you’re a fan or not. I appreciate all of y’all that post even when we aren’t looking as good. Go Hawks!!
Understood. I have had some thoughts. But have not wanted to post things that might be taken as negative toward the young men playing the game.
That being said, it has occurred to me that what has separated us from the Charlestons of the world is the instinct to jump out ugly early in the game , keep one the foot on the gas peddle and the other foot on opponents necks, and never let up. There has been a tendency to play to the level of our opponents ( tonight being another example), and sooner or later that will catch up to you.
That put us into a hole against Charleston, gave us an unfortunate and unnecessary loss against W&M, and very nearly cost us a game against Elon.
We are a better team than nearly everyone in the conference, but not THAT much better. Meaning that there is almost no one we are not completely capable of losing to.
If UNCW gets itself right mentally in that regard we can do special things this season. But games like this game against Elon (following the last two) are why outside basketball observers are underwhelmed by things like our 13 game winning streak and view our otherwise fine record as 'luck'. If we are really that good we should be dominating instead of just getting by.
I think we have all the pieces, but they still aren't functioning together consistently in the way they should.
(01-16-2023 10:29 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote: It’s pretty quiet around here. Either you’re a fan or not. I appreciate all of y’all that post even when we aren’t looking as good. Go Hawks!!
Understood. I have had some thoughts. But have not wanted to post things that might be taken as negative toward the young men playing the game.
That being said, it has occurred to me that what has separated us from the Charlestons of the world is the instinct to jump out ugly early in the game , keep one the foot on the gas peddle and the other foot on opponents necks, and never let up. There has been a tendency to play to the level of our opponents ( tonight being another example), and sooner or later that will catch up to you.
That put us into a hole against Charleston, gave us an unfortunate and unnecessary loss against W&M, and very nearly cost us a game against Elon.
We are a better team than nearly everyone in the conference, but not THAT much better. Meaning that there is almost no one we are not completely capable of losing to.
If UNCW gets itself right mentally in that regard we can do special things this season. But games like this game against Elon (following the last two) are why outside basketball observers are underwhelmed by things like our 13 game winning streak and view our otherwise fine record as 'luck'. If we are really that good we should be dominating instead of just getting by.
I think we have all the pieces, but they still aren't functioning together consistently in the way they should.
We have an aggessive defense but not an aggressive offense, that's why we can't put anyone away. Sure, we can stop you from scoring for three minutes, but we can go on a four minute scoring drought just as easily. CofC shoots almost half their shots from three, but they can afford to do that because they are relentless on the offensive boards and, as a result, have more possessions and FG attempts in almost every game. There is a method to their madness. They also drive to draw fouls or score and are the best FT shooting team in the conference. We don't have an offensive scheme or style that I can observe while theirs is obvious. In our loss the game was close only because we kept them off the offensive boards in the second half. But we didn't have the offense to beat them in a close game which is why they went on a 7-0 run at the end to get the W and we were launching missed three's. Our failed final shot was the epitome of our offense. Down one, we took the least aggessive shot possible with an isloation pull up jumper that had no chance of even drawing a foul. Contrast that with CofC taking the lead on a drive to the basket where they got an "and 1" three point play. That's all you need to know.
(01-17-2023 02:22 AM)70shawk Wrote: We are a better team than nearly everyone in the conference, but not THAT much better. Meaning that there is almost no one we are not completely capable of losing to.
I'm not sure that we can say this is true just yet. This week on the road will be telling, especially without Ross, and with Shy being banged up. I think looking at the past 6 days and saying we played down to our competition ignores the effort and energy exerted against CofC, as well as the health of our players. 3 games in 6 days, no Shy against W&M and down two starters last night.
This week isn't why we aren't getting national attention or credit. Voters are reluctantly voting for Charleston because they don't have a choice. One slip up by them (which is normal in CBB) and they'll be out of the top 25.
(This post was last modified: 01-17-2023 09:24 AM by bricksnivy.)
I was thinking about JHarv myself. Hope he gets his mojo back. It seems we win when he is playing well. He seems like a great teammate too!
Hate that Noah got hurt, love what he brings defensively especially but has good skills as well. We will now see more of Eric and Nolan. I really like both of them too. They are both long and very skilled albeit different. Eric can flat out shoot it and can pass. Nolan is more of a point forward that has a little of everything in his game- deck it and can shoot the ball pretty good too.
(This post was last modified: 01-17-2023 11:11 AM by billthebighawksfan.)
(01-17-2023 10:20 AM)billthebighawksfan Wrote: I was thinking about JHarv myself. Hope he gets his mojo back. It seems we win when he is playing well. He seems like a great teammate too!
Hate that Noah got hurt, love what he brings defensively especially but has good skills as well. We will now see more of Eric and Nolan. I really like both of them too. They are both long and very skilled albeit different. Eric can flat out shoot it and can pass. Nolan is more of a point forward that has a little of everything in his game- deck it and can shoot the ball pretty good too.
I love Ross too, and it sucks he's played too much to be eligible for a redshirt too. That said it will definitely open it up for guys like Hodge and VDH. VDH played really well last night.
