I think that was the issue. If we make our shots the game would have been a run away. It would have forced Wofford to shoot more threes instead of being able to go for twos.

Our team is getting better. Aside from the free throws Sheldon played well yesterday.

(11-30-2014 09:58 AM)billymac Wrote:  

(11-30-2014 12:46 AM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  The reason Wofford came back was Dixon's foul trouble. That limited our rotation and made it difficult to have 2 of our best 3 defenders on the floor constantly in the last 10 minutes.

...and a run of really bad foul shooting.

(11-30-2014 12:46 AM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  As far as the freshmen go, only Malinowski played particularly poorly tonight. He had some issues with Wofford's intensity when he had the ball, and didn't play a lot down the stretch. The reason Wofford came back was Dixon's foul trouble. That limited our rotation and made it difficult to have 2 of our best 3 defenders on the floor constantly in the last 10 minutes. When he was in, our defense was better and Wofford had problems. Wofford had 3 quality scorers and plays a very physical style of offense and defense. We attacked their defense and got their bigs into foul trouble; 2 of their top 3 (31, 24, 34) fouled out, and their 2nd reserve (33) ended up with 4. At the end of the game we were much better at rebounding because of that.

The refs did a pretty good job tonight. I'll nitpick that I think Omar should have gotten a couple and-ones or foul shots, but mostly it was just a tightly called game. In general that favors our team, I think.

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I thought Tony was more upset with the officiating than usual. Before the Wofford game Dixon was averaging one personal foul called against him per game - against Wofford, playing fewer minutes, Dixon is called for five fouls and fouls out of the game?????? I felt that fouls were called much "tighter" against Dixon than against some of the others - and I think this was very frustrating to Daniel and to Coach Shaver - and to 62Indian!

Tremendous defensive play last night against a very good team. Wofford was quick and physical - a lot of leading with the shoulder on their moves to the hoop - but only got a handful of really open looks.

Agree with TITB about Dixon.

Thornton really looked like a CAA POY - nice decision making, and when Wofford gave his perimeter defender help, he split them and was gone to the hoop.

Love seeing Prewitt getting to the basket. Somehow, on the perimeter his looks 6-6, but when he gets in close he plays more like 6-8 - must be those arms. Great pass from Prewitt in to Sheldon at about 7 minute mark 2nd half for 3 points the old way.

Sheldon/Whitman exceeding my expectations at this point - hope they stay healthy - and Tarpey is just leaving it all on the court every outing. What a warrior.

Tough stretch ahead leading to league play.

Team, and I believe many would agree, is exceeding every expectation of where they would be at this point.

To date:

*Team defense has been outstanding...almost everyone. Tight, aggressive, athletic and, at times, physical.

*Thornton appears to be just warming up...had his best game of season last night. Perhaps the biggest eyeopener with Marcus has been his very good defense; tenacious, aggressive
and always there. He is leading the team as co-captain with his demeanor and effort on the court.

*Tarpey has grown into hell on wheels on the court. He fills the stats columns every game and leaves it 100% on the court. He is, in my opinion, an All-CAA first teamer. He leaves his mark on almost every play.

*As somebody else mentioned, we are getting far better play from our big centers than anyone expected at this early point of the season. Sheldon is a force without a doubt: tough, physical and a battler...plus he powers to the basket for goals and shows some unexpected speed. And who expected anything from Whitman..not I. Yet here he is giving valuable minutes. He shows athleticism and some very good moves around the basket...and is tough
defensively and an occasional shot blocker.

*Omar just getting warmed up. He is my "assassin" on the court. His length causes opponents all kinds of trouble and his slashing moves, aggressive rebounding and deadly shot make him a potential all-CAA eventually. Just needs to ramp up his defense at times.

*Dixon another "silent" cog. He has impressed again with his clawing defense on top opponent players. His improving shot and slashing play are fun to observe.

*Malinowski and Schlotman give us some developing strong depth. Schlotman a very good ballhandler, floor general, and passer...also tough and gritty defensively. I look for him to score more as he gains confidence...he was cool in the final minutes last night. Malinowski
makes many freshman mistakes but this kid can shoot, defend, and run the floor, and has
is quietly very athletic.

Tough road stretch to survive and we're going to lose more than we win in the tough four road games coming up against very good (UR and ODU), good (High Point) and great (UNC) teams.

But by January this team will be a tough nut to crack in CAA competition and lots of great basketball awaits us Tribe fans!

I was one who was very worried after the Howard game - that our expectations may have been overstated.

The last three games however, just looking at our pace of scoring, the rapid leads and the shooting percentages, have been a bit amazing.

Now I'm not sure what to expect. We won't be favored in any of our Dec games (outside the D3 game). I would like to see us win one of the three against UR, ODU and UNC. Two wins would be absolutely huge.

(11-30-2014 11:03 AM)62Indian Wrote:  I thought Tony was more upset with the officiating than usual. Before the Wofford game Dixon was averaging one personal foul called against him per game - against Wofford, playing fewer minutes, Dixon is called for five fouls and fouls out of the game?????? I felt that fouls were called much "tighter" against Dixon than against some of the others - and I think this was very frustrating to Daniel and to Coach Shaver - and to 62Indian!

I think the refs were just making tighter calls than usual overall. Dixon fouled out and Schlotman had 4, but they had at least 2 fouled out and one with 4, and a bunch with 3. I'm sure Coach Shaver wasn't upset when the calls went against Wofford. :) I didn't see two of the fouls on Dixon, but it seemed like at least two of his five were bad luck calls; the ball or player came to a place where he could try to make a play, but it was a surprise so he wasn't prepared to make the right play. If he was in a slightly different place or the play goes as expected, he doesn't commit those fouls.

One other note, and this was brought up in the post-game, we posted up our guard/forward types against their smaller defenders. I'm glad to see that as part of our offense. Our height can be a real advantage against most teams we play this year.

Marcus named the CAA Player of the Week. Keep the accolades rolling. Let's hope for some Rookie of the Week nods at some point...need a youngster to step up.