The Bucs finally come to town....neither team playing well, and Kennesaw always plays much better at home....hopefully we get our act together and come out ready to compete. This is a huge game for our team.

I am uncertain of which Buc team will show up on Thursday, which is probably the hallmark of most young, inexperienced squads. It appears as if you guys have some of that going on as well. In any case, we've looked great this season at times; we've looked dreadful at times. Our starting lineup and top 8-9 is starting to take shape, though it is still in flux. We are, without question, a different looking team than last year's Tiggs, Pigram, and Smith version. While we lack the offensive firepower without those 3, we're an overall better defensive team. Right now, Tommy Hubbard has recreated his game and has been our best, most consistent player. Tubbs, Williams, and Brown have had strong performances, but have been less consistent than Hubbard. While we are 3 deep at guard, we are thin in the post with the graduation of Hamlin and the tragedy of "our boy Coy". We may also be in trouble if Isiah Brown does not play Thursday. He was hurt against Upstate, though I don't know the extent of his injury.

I hope that Brown is ok, never want injuries to happen to anyone. To say that our team is in flux is a major disservice to the word flux. We still have yet to put together a complete ballgame. At times during games we will be almost unstoppable, and then at times we can't stop anyone. We have more athletic, talented players this year, but we have not been able to develop much chemistry.

Tomorrow's game will be a huge game for our guys. No one expects us to win to be honest, but a win could be a huge building block for our season. At 1-3 we need some life, and the Bucs might be able to provide that. We traditionally play much better at home than on the road...we will see what happens on Thursday.

well the game has been moved to 530 which means i cant make it now.

Why all the early games? Upstate was at 2 and now this at 530? This is not improving my A-sun convictions. I don't like that one bit.

I am sure they are moving this game so that it doesn't interfere with people's plans to watch the BCS national championship.

Oh yeah...I forgot about that. I miss bowls ending on Jan 1st.

Mercer is playing Campbell at the same time. I will be interested to see how this ETSU/KSU game goes. Will really give us a read on both teams.

(01-05-2010 12:16 PM)KennesawBasketball Wrote:  To say that our team is in flux is a major disservice to the word flux.

LOL - True

The thing we have to remember is that this sort of stuff happens in college athletics. It isn't pretty, and we don't want it, but we are dealing with kids here. They are going to have good days and bad days, and sometimes all the bad days coincide with a rough day for the coaches. It happens. To be honest, I think we come out and compete tomorrow night. It would fit the pattern :) Play inconsistent on the road, and pretty well at home. I am not sure if we will win or not, but I think we come to play.

Last year at this point in time I knew that we would have to luck our way into a win at any point. This year I feel like we can compete. The question is...will we compete? By the end of the year it should be interesting to look back and see the peaks and valleys this team has gone through. Hopefully we start climbing back up the mountain tomorrow.

(01-06-2010 12:36 PM)KennesawBasketball Wrote:  The thing we have to remember is that this sort of stuff happens in college athletics. It isn't pretty, and we don't want it, but we are dealing with kids here. They are going to have good days and bad days, and sometimes all the bad days coincide with a rough day for the coaches. It happens. To be honest, I think we come out and compete tomorrow night. It would fit the pattern :) Play inconsistent on the road, and pretty well at home. I am not sure if we will win or not, but I think we come to play.

Last year at this point in time I knew that we would have to luck our way into a win at any point. This year I feel like we can compete. The question is...will we compete? By the end of the year it should be interesting to look back and see the peaks and valleys this team has gone through. Hopefully we start climbing back up the mountain tomorrow.

We will.

I like your optimism GFWO :) I have it too...it is guarded of course as we have obviously not played well lately, but I still feel like this team can put it together. It is like every link in the chain right now is a half second off, and it is throwing off the whole engine. If we could just tune up a few things we would be right in the hunt, but those abundance of small things is throwing off the whole mechanism.

I am excited for tomorrow night's game.

(01-06-2010 01:01 PM)KennesawBasketball Wrote:  I like your optimism GFWO :) I have it too...it is guarded of course as we have obviously not played well lately, but I still feel like this team can put it together. It is like every link in the chain right now is a half second off, and it is throwing off the whole engine. If we could just tune up a few things we would be right in the hunt, but those abundance of small things is throwing off the whole mechanism.

I am excited for tomorrow night's game.

Me too and the true players will step up tomorrow. We will see a different team ... probably more like what we saw against Lipscomb.

The question is not what type of Kennesaw team will you see for you are at home and have played well there most of the season. The question is what kind of an ETSU team will you see? Will it be the ETSU that played Jacksonville or the one who played upstate? I suspect upstate.

(01-06-2010 03:31 PM)Goldfinger Wrote:  The question is not what type of Kennesaw team will you see for you are at home and have played well there most of the season. The question is what kind of an ETSU team will you see? Will it be the ETSU that played Jacksonville or the one who played upstate? I suspect upstate.

Well I have confidence in tomorrow because we sure as hell ain't gonna win at your place Gold!

(01-06-2010 03:31 PM)Goldfinger Wrote:  The question is not what type of Kennesaw team will you see for you are at home and have played well there most of the season. The question is what kind of an ETSU team will you see? Will it be the ETSU that played Jacksonville or the one who played upstate? I suspect upstate.

It is really strange to think that going into this game neither side has NO IDEA what team will show up. I personally don't think that even if Kennesaw plays its best and ETSU plays terrible that we would blow you out, but I think we could win comfortably in the right situation. I am fully confident that if we don't show up and you do that you could run us out of the gym.

That means going into this game we could have anything from a 15 point Kennesaw win to a 25 point ETSU game. That is wild to think about. I hope both teams bring it. I think if both of us do it will be a tight battle, and would be one heck of a game to watch.

You all know me and my strong opinions concerning this league. I don't say this lightly. I don't think we have the guns to blow you out. Not on the road. Not right now. They don't like for me to say this on the ETSU boards....but I think we're down. More so than any year we've been in the A-sun.

It should be interesting for sure Gold.

Thought you KSU fans might me interested in this article. It was from today's (1/07/09) Johnson City Press:

Tough transition come to an end for Kennesaw
By Joe Avento
Press Sports Writer
javento@johnsoncitypress.com


Tony Ingle knew leading the Kennesaw State basketball program on its trek to Division I would be an uphill climb.
What he didn’t know was that he’d be climbing Mount Everest.

Ingle’s team is finally a full-fledge member of Division I after the long four-year transition period, one that tested his patience on more than one occasion.

“It was tougher than pulling a hair out of your mother-in-law’s biscuit,” Ingle said Wednesday.

Then his tone got serious as he let out a heavy sigh.

“It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be,” said Ingle, whose team plays host to East Tennessee State today. “I really had no idea. Just the whole transition. The demands, the paperwork, the preparation, the commitment level ... It goes to another level.”

That transition period was four years that Ingle’s teams knew they wouldn’t be playing in the postseason. No Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. No chance at the NCAA. No March Madness of any kind. All he could tell his teams was to play a spoiler role for four years.

“It was like inviting someone over to Thanksgiving dinner and when they get there, you tell them ‘By the way, we’re having grilled cheese sandwiches,’ ” he said.

Recruiting was difficult, as was keeping some of the players when the transition began. Nine players transferred to Division II schools, and because of those transfers, Kennesaw State failed to meet the NCAA-mandated academic progress rate.

As a result, Ingle’s team will lose two scholarships next year.


The reclassification period also cost him chances at a handful of top recruits, some of whom he sees playing on television from time to time.

“I’ve never said this before, but what makes it so tough is we’re living in a world where everybody wants convenience,” said Ingle, in his 10th year at Kennesaw State. “People want instant gratification, but we knew it wasn’t going to be that way going through reclassification.”

Kennesaw State won the 2004 NCAA Division II national championship with a 35-4 record after an 0-2 start, giving the school national titles in basketball, baseball, women’s soccer and softball. It was time to take the next step.

When the Owls began playing as a provisional Division I member, they took the A-Sun by storm, winning nine of their first 10 conference games.

Ingle says it was all smoke and mirrors.

“We were fragile,” he said. “It was just the grace of God that got us off to that start.”

A 110-74 loss at ETSU sent Kennesaw State on a downward spiral that season, and it finished 10-10 in the league. The game also began somewhat of a rivalry with the Bucs, one that has resulted in physical games with numerous altercations.

Now, four years and 42 wins later, the Owls are no longer spoilers. They’re in Division I for real. No more provisional this or transitional that. If they qualify for the A-Sun tournament — and eight of the nine eligible schools will — they’ll be playing in Macon, Ga., the first week of March.

“It’s something we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” Ingle said. “We’re hoping we have a chance to get into the tournament. It’s a big part of our university, the whole athletic department, the school. It’s an exciting time.”

I will be attending the game. Lets hope we put it together!