Mercer is a team that just can't seem to get it together in any sort of mental capacity. Perhaps Mercerfan is the best person here to explain the reasoning behind this because I don't understand it.

(02-03-2009 03:06 PM)Bucfaithful Wrote:  

(02-03-2009 12:57 PM)MercerFan Wrote:  Calvin Henry is out for Mercer until the tournament. That's going to create some problems.

Ouch. What happened?

He hurt his knee in a game, and will be out up to 4 weeks they said. So hopefully everything stays on track with his recovery. For his personal sake and the teams. Mercer beat Kennesaw without him, but lost to Campbell.

(02-03-2009 03:16 PM)Goldfinger Wrote:  Mercer is a team that just can't seem to get it together in any sort of mental capacity. Perhaps Mercerfan is the best person here to explain the reasoning behind this because I don't understand it.

Personally I've been following Mercer since 2002. So this is only the second head coach I've seen. The first was not a big game coach. Every big game led to a blow out loss, not even a fight. The tournament became a time to lay down and take the beating. To me that only reflects a lack of motivation from the coaching staff. Whatever they were doing wasn't getting through.

Coach Hoffman has shown improvements in the following areas:
- Turnovers (I've noticed many games where turnovers were in the range of 12-15, versus 20+ in previous years)
- Ability to adapt (read: actually changing a starting lineup based on individual performance.)

The real test will be the fight Mercer shows in the tournament. Do they have a desire to win or not?

I'm not so bias that I think Hoffman can do no wrong. However, I believe he's on the right track.

I REALLY like what the guy at UNF is doing. He's realized finally that his team is very limited on the court talent wise, and he's never going to outrun anyone. Kevin O'Neill did this at Tennessee when he took over the four win team from Wade Houston. They STUNK, so he focused on tenacious defense, ran a very slow, boring offense, dragging the opposition's play down to their level, and he got some wins that way. UNF is doing the same thing, and it's working. That's a school that given some direction could do alot of damage in time.

(02-01-2009 11:26 PM)camelfan Wrote:  Congrats to Jacksonville on the win over ETSU. Win that big game and then lay an egg at Upstate. That was a poor loss for Jacksonville.

Looks like ETSU just survived at North Florida. North Florida is really improving. They beat Upstate earlier in the week. When they played Campbell last week they gave us all we wanted and really outplayed us and probably should have won the game. We were able to pull the game out.

I think the teams are getting a little better. KSU is the weakest team right now. N. Florida and Upstate are moving up and Mercer, Campbell, Stetson are all vying for 4th place.

The strech run should be interesting. JU, Belmont and ETSU are a class apart. Maybe someone can get an upset against one of these teams.

The main word with saying Kilcullen has finally figured something out at UNF is finally, if this is indeed the case.

He's had plenty of time and really has underachieved overall. I know the expectations aren't great, but UNF hasn't even been somewhat competitive until these past few weeks, and that's going back many years. Back in their Peach Belt Conference/D-II days, this program struggled. Granted, he inherited a terrible program, but in 8+ seasons, the team has never really gotten above the level of mediocrity at any time.

I don't mean to sound harsh, Matt Kilcullen is a great individual and a solid basketball mind. Things just haven't panned out at UNF thus far. This program is a hidden gem in the ASun though and does have the ability (location, facilities, etc.) to be very competitive over time.

Being a local down here, I hope UNF improves as it gives another solid option for college hoops in the area. Plus, it would be cool to see the JU/UNF Hoops Rivalry grow into a BU/LU type atmosphere down the road. We'll see though.

Good points Myles, would be great for both programs if UNF could become competitive in basketball.