Merry Christmas, MileHigh.

Back at you!

Broncos now 8 - 4 and NC St. awaits.

This was the first (and only) game I will actually get to attend this season. Glad to see a win.

Positives:

Shayne Whittington. He's been our best player in every game I've had the chance to watch this season, and he was again today. Excellent passing into the post to set him up and he converted all of his chances.

This team is so incredibly unselfish. I haven't seen a Bronco team that's as willing to make the extra pass like these guys. They're almost unselfish to a fault and tend to get too cute with some passes... but I'd rather have that than a team that can't pass. A lot to like there.

Good minutes from the bench today. Tava is a wrecking ball. Was very impressed with Perry as well, he just needs to convert those easy shots he was getting more. Klein had some very bright moments, but needs to cut down on the turnovers. Loney did typical Loney things, hustled, made the right plays and stayed within himself.

Entry passes for easy layups. Excellent ball-movement once the team got into the half court offense. Lots of easy looks and they attacked the paint, which was exactly what we needed to do against a smaller team.

Negatives:

The stats will say we did a great job beating the trap, but it was less than impressive to see in person. After seeing the stats, I was very surprised to see Richie only had two turnovers. We made some very questionable decisions with passing and where they chose to attack the trap. As a team we need to make stronger passes on the perimeter when trapped. Quicker and more athletic teams will exploit that weakness more than MSM did.

Richie doesn't seem to have the quickness to get around the guy guarding him. Eight assists to two turnovers is a solid performance, but I think he's going to get eaten up by the better PG's in the MAC. I hope I'm wrong about that.

Overall, a solid and business-like win. Probably will head into conference play at 8-5. Nothing wrong with that. Hoping for a good showing against NC State.

(12-22-2012 02:39 PM)bostonbronco Wrote:  Another backdoor pass.

Whittington really hustles at both ends of the court.

He has certainly emerged as a player.

Here is hoping that Kellen too will benefit from a more mature body and the resulting amp up in effectiveness when he is a 4th year junior.

MSM had way too many Mary's not enough Joseph's

(12-22-2012 05:41 PM)conaire Wrote:  MSM had way too many Mary's not enough Joseph's

WOW looked like 1976 all over again. Many, many quick interior passes which resulted in easy shots. Keep up the good work and move Klein to starting point and the sky is the limit. Merry Christmas to Bronco's everywhere.

1976?

I was able to attend the game and sat near a familiar face who left at HALFTIME - not gonna name names.

Maybe they had no cash and forgot to feed their son before the game.

At least they stayed through that sexy halftime show.

(12-22-2012 10:56 PM)Hiller4Hyz09 Wrote:  At least they stayed through that sexy halftime show.

I hope your son found it sexy and not you.

(12-22-2012 09:20 PM)ESSSS Wrote:  1976?

I believe the Big Zipper is referring to the passing similar to what Paul Griffin and Tom Cutter employed.

No other comparison is remotely valid.

(12-22-2012 11:01 PM)Nacho Wrote:  

(12-22-2012 10:56 PM)Hiller4Hyz09 Wrote:  At least they stayed through that sexy halftime show.

I hope your son found it sexy and not you.

He was mesmerized.

(12-22-2012 11:04 PM)gobaseline Wrote:  

(12-22-2012 09:20 PM)ESSSS Wrote:  1976?

I believe the Big Zipper is referring to the passing similar to what Paul Griffin and Tom Cutter employed.

No other comparison is remotely valid.

:bow:Right you are. When we were 19-0 as I remember it Read was rocking. While I fail to get the Big Zipper dig it doesn't negate my knowledge of Bronco basketball which I have been watching since before the majority of posters on this site were even born.

It's definitely not a dig coming from gbl Mr Buttons.

I believe it's a play of words since a zipper is similar to a button and your name is in all caps.

And it rhymes

(12-22-2012 04:48 PM)dunkface Wrote:  This was the first (and only) game I will actually get to attend this season. Glad to see a win.

Positives:

Shayne Whittington. He's been our best player in every game I've had the chance to watch this season, and he was again today. Excellent passing into the post to set him up and he converted all of his chances.

This team is so incredibly unselfish. I haven't seen a Bronco team that's as willing to make the extra pass like these guys. They're almost unselfish to a fault and tend to get too cute with some passes... but I'd rather have that than a team that can't pass. A lot to like there.

Good minutes from the bench today. Tava is a wrecking ball. Was very impressed with Perry as well, he just needs to convert those easy shots he was getting more. Klein had some very bright moments, but needs to cut down on the turnovers. Loney did typical Loney things, hustled, made the right plays and stayed within himself.

Entry passes for easy layups. Excellent ball-movement once the team got into the half court offense. Lots of easy looks and they attacked the paint, which was exactly what we needed to do against a smaller team.

Negatives:

The stats will say we did a great job beating the trap, but it was less than impressive to see in person. After seeing the stats, I was very surprised to see Richie only had two turnovers. We made some very questionable decisions with passing and where they chose to attack the trap. As a team we need to make stronger passes on the perimeter when trapped. Quicker and more athletic teams will exploit that weakness more than MSM did.

Richie doesn't seem to have the quickness to get around the guy guarding him. Eight assists to two turnovers is a solid performance, but I think he's going to get eaten up by the better PG's in the MAC. I hope I'm wrong about that.

Overall, a solid and business-like win. Probably will head into conference play at 8-5. Nothing wrong with that. Hoping for a good showing against NC State.

^all of this

and if I might add...

*I'm wondering when/if we will ever see Tava running in a point/forward role. It was mentioned on this board multiple times in the last year, but I've yet to see it.

*A friend of mine, who is a casual WMU fan and has seen them in person twice this year, kept telling me that Hawk should be playing Klein at the PG spot and giving him the majority of the minutes. Typically I would support this notion. However, after looking at some of the stats, I can't deny that Klein has a higher turnover rate than Richie. I love the way Klein plays with energy, and I do think he will only get better as he gains experience...but until his turnovers are cut down, he will likely be the backup going forward. Richie is averaging 2 turnovers per game in about 26 minutes played. Klein is averaging 1.8 turnovers per game in about 16 minutes played. I'm not convinced that is a huge glaring difference...but until Klein has a game or two where he really takes care of the ball, distributes and drives the lane, I'm not sure he will wrestle the starting job from Richie (barring Richie having multiple games where he is horrible, which I suppose is possible with NC St, Akron, and Ohio as our next 3 games)

*Our next 3 games are very important. All 3 of these were penciled in as losses at the beginning of the season. Akron and Ohio aren't dominating like I thought they would. I'm hopeful we can steal a game or two and avoid a 3 game slide.

*I'm starting to think that mlive should ban comments on WMU articles going forward. The comments and discussions are counterproductive and frustrating IMO. It's just wishful thinking on my part though.

*Our passing at the top of the key is somewhat frustrating. I began to notice when we played Michigan. We were making lazy passes and their wings were stealing the ball. The same thing happened in the first 8 or so minutes of the MSM game. I'm guessing the coaching staff had a conversation with the team about protecting the ball and making crisp passes. They really need to tighten that up going forward. Better teams that MSM will make us pay.

Quote:*I'm wondering when/if we will ever see Tava running in a point/forward role. It was mentioned on this board multiple times in the last year, but I've yet to see it.

I've been kind of wondering that too. I've only been able to see five games, but I haven't seen him show the ball handling abilities necessary for that role. It's not something I necessarily have been watching for though. I've been impressed with his passing ability though and would like to see more sets running through him in the high post to take advantage of his passing ability. Even more post-ups in the low-post rn through Tava with a lot of cutters and screens off the ball would be nice to see.