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Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
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Bucs06 Offline
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Post: #41
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-19-2019 10:24 PM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  The Bucs had their chances. How many 3 pointers did we miss that were wide open? How many times did I see Forbes throw his arms up when that happened? We had our chances to win this. We hit some of those, but missed too many.

That being said, anyone who watched this game would see it's clear we are better than UNCG. We played them tighter than UNCG, and we made it a game. KU was worried with 5 mins left - at least to some level. We MUST improve our shooting prowess at the line and beyond the arc. We are so close. But then again, we haven't even hit Thanksgiving. We should become a really nice team, especially when Hugley returns.

Defensively, we couldn't get on Azubuike, but there's no one in the SoCon even close to that level of talent. Furman lost to Alabama tonight. How would Alabama do at Kansas??

Now, let's get better and upset LSU. We can do that.

Hugley was dressed tonight...
11-19-2019 10:51 PM
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Buc'ed_Up Offline
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RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
Yeah, on the post game Forbes said he probably could have played Hugley, but didn't want to risk it. We'll see him against Delaware St. i'm sure
11-19-2019 10:55 PM
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posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Offline
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RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-19-2019 08:26 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  They're too good. We aren't there yet.

As most of you know, I've been watching ETSU basketball for a large number of decades. I don't know if I've ever seen quicker defensive hands, coupled with a seemingly instinctive, prescient ability to know which passing lane was going to be attempted. And if you couldn't guess, I'm referring to KU. Furman had a fantastic team in regards to disrupting passing lanes at one point back in the '90s, but not coupled with these most extraordinary hands. One might make the comparison with our game against 'nova a few years ago, but I don't think that teams' measured up in hand quickness with these Jayhawks. There've been too many games to remember this kind of detail for every one, but by any measure, this KU team was quite remarkable - in those ways. And yet their guards all seem to have other weaknesses - either with decision-making, shooting, or timidity at times.

Without their two bigs, as we all could see, it would likely have gone the other way. But of course those two bigs *were* there. Armus might have helped in spots, but no way he could have completely stopped that paint-fest. We don't know if Hugely would have helped or not. Pretty tight rotation with only 8 guys, but they didn't seem to be fatigued.

And also like we all know, that 18-2 (or 20-2) run in the first half really was the game, and I think we all knew that at the time. That disease infects us so very often. At least this time playing a quality opponent was a respectable reason.

There's all kinds of ways to dissect this game, pros and cons, but I thought we gave a good account of ourselves -- and yet had KU played at their best the margin could easily have been double.

Patterson didn't seem as effective or confident in this game. Nor did Williamson or Tisdale. I would liked to have seen N'Guessan challenge their bigs on some of those flushes - pick up some fouls, but let them know their dunkage wasn't guaranteed. A couple of times N'Guessan just sort of passively let Azubuike have his way without a fight of any kind. Easy for me to say, I know.

Stats-wise.........we got stuffed *8* times - and it sure looked like every bit of that. Of course that, to some degree was to be expected. And of course our old bugaboo FT shooting hurt us yet again. KU was 14/18 while the Bucs were 8/15 - some of those being front ends, of course. But if you shoot 1/14 from deep (KU), and yet still win by 12.........you're a better team, for sure.

But yeah, this Buc team has fight and heart overall, and even the poise is better than it's been in some recent years - altho it's too early to know how that'll play out all season long.

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(This post was last modified: 11-19-2019 11:17 PM by posterformerlyknownasthedoctor.)
11-19-2019 11:16 PM
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posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Offline
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Post: #44
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
Additional news flashes............

KU's Devon Dotson if a better overall player than WCU's Carlos Dotson.
ETSU is a better team than Monmouth.

Retrospective non-news flash.........

Altho I don't put a tremendous amount of stock into Kenpom, very especially this time of year..........their predicted score was KU, 77-65. swvabucsfan may have posted that item prospectively; kinda think he did.
11-19-2019 11:29 PM
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etsuandpurdue3 Offline
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Post: #45
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-19-2019 11:16 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  
(11-19-2019 08:26 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  They're too good. We aren't there yet.

As most of you know, I've been watching ETSU basketball for a large number of decades. I don't know if I've ever seen quicker defensive hands, coupled with a seemingly instinctive, prescient ability to know which passing lane was going to be attempted. And if you couldn't guess, I'm referring to KU. Furman had a fantastic team in regards to disrupting passing lanes at one point back in the '90s, but not coupled with these most extraordinary hands. One might make the comparison with our game against 'nova a few years ago, but I don't think that teams' measured up in hand quickness with these Jayhawks. There've been too many games to remember this kind of detail for every one, but by any measure, this KU team was quite remarkable - in those ways. And yet their guards all seem to have other weaknesses - either with decision-making, shooting, or timidity at times.

Without their two bigs, as we all could see, it would likely have gone the other way. But of course those two bigs *were* there. Armus might have helped in spots, but no way he could have completely stopped that paint-fest. We don't know if Hugely would have helped or not. Pretty tight rotation with only 8 guys, but they didn't seem to be fatigued.

And also like we all know, that 18-2 (or 20-2) run in the first half really was the game, and I think we all knew that at the time. That disease infects us so very often. At least this time playing a quality opponent was a respectable reason.

There's all kinds of ways to dissect this game, pros and cons, but I thought we gave a good account of ourselves -- and yet had KU played at their best the margin could easily have been double.

Patterson didn't seem as effective or confident in this game. Nor did Williamson or Tisdale. I would liked to have seen N'Guessan challenge their bigs on some of those flushes - pick up some fouls, but let them know their dunkage wasn't guaranteed. A couple of times N'Guessan just sort of passively let Azubuike have his way without a fight of any kind. Easy for me to say, I know.

Stats-wise.........we got stuffed *8* times - and it sure looked like every bit of that. Of course that, to some degree was to be expected. And of course our old bugaboo FT shooting hurt us yet again. KU was 14/18 while the Bucs were 8/15 - some of those being front ends, of course. But if you shoot 1/14 from deep (KU), and yet still win by 12.........you're a better team, for sure.

But yeah, this Buc team has fight and heart overall, and even the poise is better than it's been in some recent years - altho it's too early to know how that'll play out all season long.

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We were much prepared than we face Villanova a couple years back or the time we played Kentucky.
11-20-2019 12:22 AM
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GoBucsGo Offline
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Post: #46
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
"And also like we all know, that 18-2 (or 20-2) run in the first half really was the game, and I think we all knew that at the time."



I don't agree with that. I've watched basketball for decades as well, and know that the game is rarely "decided" in the first half. We cut it to 5 and KU had to take a timeout with less than 6. Ask Bill Self at that point "so the game's over, right coach?"
11-20-2019 07:16 AM
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swvabucsfan Offline
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RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
What Poster said.

That was the most physically talented team I can remember seeing the Bucs play. Maybe the Kentucky team in the NCAA's that hit us with 5 first round NBA draft picks. Arizona had Damon Stoudamire, Chris Mills and Sean Rooks. NC State had Gugliotta, Corchiani and Rodney Moore. [And there was the Michigan Fab Five, but I didn't see even a video of that one.] But these guys had a fleet of 6-5 215 physical guys with length and great quickness.

They took us out of our offense early and forced everything out to the perimeter, where we were still challenged. I think it was Rick Carlisle who said of one of John Thompson's great Georgetown teams, "too much 6-5 lightning". Consensus All-American Devon Dotson went to work early to build a lead, which left the Bucs trying to climb out of a hole all night. Oh, and I think they had some pretty good guys in the middle. Azabuike! Every bit of 7-0 280 with attitude. I was hollering at the TV screen, "put a body on him!" Until I stopped to think what I was saying. It's like telling an NBA player to "put a body" on Shaq. How well did that work? Mladen could have helped some, but with less offense and more turnovers - in the end, he would just have been a bigger morsel for 'Doke to swallow.

The Jayhawks are not a perfect team - too many turnovers, the smaller Bucs edged them in rebounds 33-32, free throw shooting is not good, perimeter shooting is not good. The Bucs had something to do with all that. But for defensive intensity all over the roster, combined with an exceptional giant inside and a fine lead guard, that's a tough bunch.

The intimidation factor hurt some early. It's a different level for even a good mid-major team to step up to. But the Bucs kept fighting and clawed back within 5 and 6. Like Forbes said afterward, if the Bucs had made a few more free throws and hit a couple more wide open threes, they could have put some real pressure on Kansas. It would have been fun to see how things might have gone then.

Bo Hodges scored more points on Kansas than anybody yet this season with 22 on 8-14 and 1-3 from 3. Quite a stat line, with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. But those quick Jayhawk hands got 5 turnovers from him. He tried to force some things, but it's hard to blame him on a night when the defense took so much away from the Bucs, and so little else was working. Lucas got 11 points on 4-8 and 1-1 from 3, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block. Jeromy 10 rebounds, best on the floor, 2 steals but only 4 points against all those big guys. A night of hard work against all that post size and muscle. 10 points on 2-4 from 3 and 4 assists for Daivien, but also 3 turnovers. Tray got 9 points on 3-10 from 3, and 3 assists, but 2 turnovers. Patrick fought and hustled with 3 steals and 3 rebounds against 2 turnovers, but only 6 points on 2-10 from 3. If only another 3 or two had fallen for Tray and Patrick, who had some late openings! And 8-15 from the free throw line just won't do it.

ETSU got 11 steals off Kansas, to their 14, forced 15 turnovers but made 16, outrebounded them 33-32. And battled a top 4 team in one of the great arenas in the country. It's 4 games into a 30 game season. The Bucs are only beginning to become what they can be.
(This post was last modified: 11-20-2019 10:54 AM by swvabucsfan.)
11-20-2019 07:28 AM
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Buc66 Offline
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Post: #48
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-20-2019 07:28 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  What Poster said.

That was the most physically talented team I can remember seeing the Bucs play. Maybe the Kentucky team in the NCAA's that hit us with 5 first round NBA draft picks. Arizona had Damon Stoudamire, Chris Mills and Sean Rooks. NC State had Gugliotta, Corchiani and Rodney Moore. But these guys had a fleet of 6-5 215 physical guys with length and great quickness.

They took us out of our offense early and forced everything out to the perimeter, where we were still challenged. I think it was Rick Carlisle who said of one of John Thompson's great Georgetown teams, "too much 6-5 lightning". Consensus All-American Devon Dotson went to work early to build a lead, which left the Bucs trying to climb out of a hole all night. Oh, and I think they had some pretty good guys in the middle. Azabuike! Every bit of 7-0 280 with attitude. I was hollering at the TV screen, "put a body on him!" Until I stopped to think what I was saying. It's like telling an NBA player to "put a body" on Shaq. How well did that work? Mladen could have helped some, but with less offense and more turnovers - in the end, he would just have been a bigger morsel for 'Doke to swallow.

The Jayhawks are not a perfect team - too many turnovers, the smaller Bucs edged them in rebounds 33-32, free throw shooting is not good, perimeter shooting is not good. The Bucs had something to do with all that. But for defensive intensity all over the roster, combined with an exceptional giant inside and a fine lead guard, that's a tough bunch.

The intimidation factor hurt some early. It's a different level for even a good mid-major team to step up to. But the Bucs kept fighting and clawed back within 5 and 6. Like Forbes said afterward, if the Bucs had made a few more free throws and hit a couple more wide open threes, they could have put some real pressure on Kansas. It would have been fun to see how things might have gone then.

Bo Hodges scored more points on Kansas than anybody yet this season with 22 on 8-14 and 1-3 from 3. Quite a stat line, with 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. But those quick Jayhawk hands got 5 turnovers from him. He tried to force some things, but it's hard to blame him on a night when the defense took so much away from the Bucs, and so little else was working. Lucas got 11 points on 4-8 and 1-1 from 3, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block. Jeromy 10 rebounds, best on the floor, 2 steals but only 4 points against all those big guys. A night of hard work against all that post size and muscle. 10 points on 2-4 from 3 and 4 assists for Daivien, but also 3 turnovers. Tray got 9 points on 3-10 from 3, and 3 assists, but 2 turnovers. Patrick fought and hustled with 3 steals and 3 rebounds against 2 turnovers, but only 6 points on 2-10 from 3. If only another 3 or two had fallen for Tray and Patrick, who had some late openings! And 8-15 from the free throw line just won't do it.

ETSU got 11 steals off Kansas, to their 14, forced 15 turnovers but made 16, outrebounded them 33-32. And battled a top 4 team in one of the great arenas in the country. It's 4 games into a 30 game season. The Bucs are only beginning to become what they can be.


ALL RIGHT! GO BUCS!!
11-20-2019 08:56 AM
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posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Offline
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Post: #49
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-20-2019 07:16 AM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  "And also like we all know, that 18-2 (or 20-2) run in the first half really was the game, and I think we all knew that at the time."


I don't agree with that. I've watched basketball for decades as well, and know that the game is rarely "decided" in the first half. We cut it to 5 and KU had to take a timeout with less than 6. Ask Bill Self at that point "so the game's over, right coach?"

Well, that's ok..........I think we really just have a different take on "really was the game". Certainly you are correct that technically the game *could* still have swung the Bucs' way when it got down to 5 and 6. We've seen crazier things for sure. But Kansas ALWAYS seemed to have another bullet in the chamber just waiting to be used as needed. What I meant was, when one looks back at the pros and cons of any game, one can point to various factors that determined the outcome - often it's rebounding, or FT shooting, or turnovers, or shooting percentage, or scoring drought, as some examples. So what I meant was, retrospectively, the game swung on that run. If that run didn't happen, or was significantly smaller, then it could have gone either way. But of course we can't just eliminate that stretch and pretend it didn't happen. The part about "...and I think we all knew that at the time" I'll still say is accurate, even tho, again, technically the rest of the game had to be played. They were in Allen Fieldhouse, where it's nearly impossible to win under the best of circumstances. When you suffer a 2-18 (or 2-20) run, to go down what, 18(?), that's almost certainly a fatal blow. We've seen this movie too many times -- even when not against KU in Allen Fieldhouse.

To summarize all that............we lost because of our turnovers; we lost because of our inability to contain Azubuike; we lost because of KU's incredible ability to disrupt the passing lanes; we lost because we couldn't hit FTs; etc., etc. But.......imo............all those things take a second seat behind the scoring drought. And truly enough, those other things I just listed were part of said scoring drought. So I just picked out what I thought was the 'turning point' (or 'decisive point') of the game. And while yes, the game *could* still have been won, that wound turned out to be the fatal one. IMO.

The good news about that is the Bucs didn't fold, didn't get down on themselves, etc. and came back to "make a game of it".
11-20-2019 11:38 AM
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posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Offline
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RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-20-2019 07:28 AM)swvabucsfan Wrote:  What Poster said.

That was the most physically talented team I can remember seeing the Bucs play. Maybe the Kentucky team in the NCAA's that hit us with 5 first round NBA draft picks. Arizona had Damon Stoudamire, Chris Mills and Sean Rooks. NC State had Gugliotta, Corchiani and Rodney Moore. [And there was the Michigan Fab Five, but I didn't see even a video of that one.] But these guys had a fleet of 6-5 215 physical guys with length and great quickness.

Before posting what I did, I thought about the Corchiani/Monroe/Gugliotta team, I thought about the Arizona team (imo those guys in no way had the hand speed and perceptive passing disruption ability as this KU team; but of course that Buc team also was just extraordinary at ball movement and screwed that up rarely), I thought about the Iowa team, the Wake team, the 'cuse team we got steamrolled by (but that was a zone team, of course, so inappropriate comparison), and others. I can't say definitively that this KU team is superior in hand quickness and passing lane denial to ALL teams ETSU has ever played - only that I can't recall one being so tremendous - again, *in this aspect* only.
11-20-2019 11:53 AM
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RodShaw2 Offline
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Post: #51
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-20-2019 07:16 AM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  "And also like we all know, that 18-2 (or 20-2) run in the first half really was the game, and I think we all knew that at the time."



I don't agree with that. I've watched basketball for decades as well, and know that the game is rarely "decided" in the first half. We cut it to 5 and KU had to take a timeout with less than 6. Ask Bill Self at that point "so the game's over, right coach?"

I don't agree with this either, a game can be decided if the one team gives up or the talent gap is such they don't have a chance of closing it. ETSU had chances.

Heck I remember a trip to Kansas where they opened the game with a 22-0 run on us and it got worse. Trazel had a dunk with about a minute to go and put ETSU up.
ended up losing 86-83 (and Kansas bought out the 2 for 1 trip to the Dome)
That was the ETSU team that lost to Chattanooga in the finals and broke the NCAA run, no Jennings no Dennis, no Talford. Kansas went to the Final Four that year.
(This post was last modified: 11-21-2019 07:24 AM by RodShaw2.)
11-21-2019 07:23 AM
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Post: #52
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
(11-21-2019 07:23 AM)RodShaw2 Wrote:  
(11-20-2019 07:16 AM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  "And also like we all know, that 18-2 (or 20-2) run in the first half really was the game, and I think we all knew that at the time."



I don't agree with that. I've watched basketball for decades as well, and know that the game is rarely "decided" in the first half. We cut it to 5 and KU had to take a timeout with less than 6. Ask Bill Self at that point "so the game's over, right coach?"

I don't agree with this either, a game can be decided if the one team gives up or the talent gap is such they don't have a chance of closing it. ETSU had chances.

Heck I remember a trip to Kansas where they opened the game with a 22-0 run on us and it got worse. Trazel had a dunk with about a minute to go and put ETSU up.
ended up losing 86-83 (and Kansas bought out the 2 for 1 trip to the Dome)
That was the ETSU team that lost to Chattanooga in the finals and broke the NCAA run, no Jennings no Dennis, no Talford. Kansas went to the Final Four that year.

That team after Talford gets forgotten but they had a good year.
11-21-2019 09:01 AM
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RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
A really good recap of the Kansas game by The Athletic. Love reading this level of sports journalism about our team. Article by CJ Moore.

LAWRENCE, Kan. — East Tennessee State coach Steve Forbes would like to confirm the number of times Bill Self has lost in Allen Fieldhouse in the 17 years he’s been at Kansas. It’s 13. “Those are really good odds,” Forbes says under his breath before addressing his players in the locker room on Tuesday night before their game against the Jayhawks. The Buccaneers are 14-point underdogs, and the program hasn’t beat a ranked opponent since 1992. But screw the odds; there’s a karmic belief among the Bucs on this trip.

The last time Forbes faced the Jayhawks was in 2015 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He was an assistant coach at Wichita State, in charge of the scouting report that day, which also happened to be his 50th birthday. The Shockers won. Forbes has a ticket stub from that game on his desk back in Johnson City.

Assistant coach Jason Shay is in charge of the scout for this game, just as he was when he and Forbes were assistants at Tennessee on Jan. 10, 2010, when the undefeated and top-ranked Jayhawks visited Knoxville. The Vols, without four scholarship players who had been arrested on New Year’s Day, played three walk-ons. Kansas had five future lottery picks. The Vols prevailed, 76-68. Shay has a copy of the scouting report with him on this trip.

Starting center Lucas N’Guessan is the only Buccaneer to have played at Allen Fieldhouse. He started his career at Oklahoma State, and in his final season at OSU in 2018, the Cowboys swept the Jayhawks, including a win at Allen. “There was something special in the air,” N’Guessan says.

Forbes, however, knows the history of the building and the legend of the Phog. He first witnessed it as the coach of Barton County Community College, when he accompanied his center, Aleksandar Radojevic, on a recruiting trip to Lawrence for Raef LaFrentz’s senior day in 1998. It was the first time Forbes heard the Rock Chalk chant echo throughout the building. Forbes, from Lone Tree, Iowa, knew he wanted to get into coaching once he started attending Lute Olson’s practices up the road in Iowa City. He still loved the Hawkeyes, so he took the opportunity that day to let LaFrentz, a fellow Iowa native, know of his state’s displeasure that he’d left the state. When LaFrentz stood to deliver his postgame senior speech, Forbes yelled, “You’re a traitor!”

“Jerod Haase was sitting next to me,” Forbes says. “He looked at me, like, are you crazy?”

On this night, Forbes, a good friend of Self’s, is here to play disruptor again.

“He’s lost 13 times in 17 years in this building,” Forbes tells his players in the locker room before they take the floor. “What a better way to build your legacy, what a better way to leave your mark at ETSU than to come into this building and win. This will be the greatest road win in the history of the program, and here’s why: Nobody at ETSU has ever won in a building like this against a team like this and against a Hall of Fame coach. Got it?

“So if you want to get something done tonight, forget about the rest of the world, let’s do it for us. We put the time in. OK? Let’s go put our mark on history.”


The Buccaneers took in the sights at historic Allen Fieldhouse. (C.J. Moore/The Athletic)
Forbes wants his players to appreciate the experience of playing at Allen Fieldhouse. He sets up a tour to see the original rules of basketball on Tuesday, and he gives his players the option to shoot around at Allen after they get to town late on Monday. The players walk onto Naismith Court with their phones out, eyes wide and hair on the back of their neck raised. It really is like walking into a museum. The history just oozes from the place.

It turns intimidating, Forbes knows, right before KU introduces its starting lineup when the video plays that highlights the championships, the legends such as Wilt Chamberlain and the iconic moments. Do not look at the screen, Forbes warns his players. Then he comes to a realization: “They probably don’t know who Wilt Chamberlain is.”

His players feel as if they know what they are in for. They played at Kentucky two years ago. They played at Creighton last season. Those places were packed too. The arenas were even bigger. “We’ve been in these type of games,” star guard Bo Hodges says on Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve been here. It’s nothing new.”

“Today it’s a bigger name school,” senior Tray Boyd adds, “but they put on their pants just like we put on our pants.”

Shay starts Tuesday afternoon’s film session with postgame press conference clips from Steve Fisher, then the coach at San Diego State, and Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley after their teams won at KU. Both coaches talked about being able to take a punch from the Jayhawks.

That punch is going to come, Shay tells the players. Until you feel it, of course, you don’t really know the force. It comes on Tuesday night, all right, and Forbes would later call it a thunderbolt. The Buccaneers are overwhelmed early by KU’s length and strength, an endless loop of turnovers resulting in easy transition baskets for the Jayhawks. ”You can tell them, but you can’t really emulate that in practice with the speed and the size,” Forbes says afterward. The run starts with ETSU trailing 9-8. In just over a five-minute span, the Jayhawks outscore the Bucs, 18-2, ETSU’s lone points coming on a pair of free throws. Shay and Forbes had warned the Buccaneers about the danger of turnovers. During the run, ETSU would turn it over seven times. “They punched us,” Shay says as he jogs to the locker room at halftime. The Buccaneers had been staggered but stay on their feet, and they trail by 12.

Graduate assistant coach Zach Bush, who played on the Wichita State team that upset KU in 2015, sits in the middle of the locker room with a laptop playing clips from the first half. “They too comfortable, bro,” Boyd says, looking over Bush’s shoulder.

The locker room is full of chatter. The players seem a little stunned by just how big and strong the Jayhawks are. The game is moving fast. “Some of them I’m not even seeing them throw it in there, bro,” Boyd says of KU’s post entries as he watches on the screen. KU 7-foot center Udoka Azubuike has 10 points and is 5-of-5 from the field with three dunks. The game plan was to not let him get angles in the post and double-team him when the ball arrived, even though they hadn’t doubled the post much this season. “We haven’t monstered much, but we’re going to have to with this ******* behemoth,” Forbes had said during the film session.

The Jayhawks are talented, no doubt. But the lead is just 12. Hope hasn’t left the room. “We good,” one player says. “Just keep fighting.”

The coaches storm in and they’re hot about mainly one thing: Turnovers. “You’ve got to drive in there, and they’re going to strip and they’re stripping hard, so you have to go in there strong, play through the contact,” Shay says. “Grab the ball with two hands and kick it.”

The Buccaneers have 10 turnovers. Kansas has made a staggering 18 of its 21 attempts from 2-point range, and a lot of those easy baskets have come off of ETSU’s mistakes.

“Don’t. Turn. It. Over!” Forbes yells. “Do what you can. Play to your strengths.”

“This is not an And One mixtape,” Shay adds. “This is not the rec center. You’re playing the No. 4 or 5 team in the country.”

He looks at Hodges, the one player who didn’t look overwhelmed in the first half while scoring 13 points. “He knows how to play,” Shay says, “so his stat line reads like a player.”


The stage didn’t appear to be too big for Hodges, who finished with 22 points. (Denny Medley/USA Today Sports)
The one area where the Buccaneers have performed well is on the offensive glass, getting back seven of their misses, but they’ve failed to capitalize, scoring only four second-chance points. Forbes wants his guys to kick it out on offensive rebounds and then hunt for 3s.

The problem is that the Jayhawks are disrupting ETSU’s offense by bumping the Buccaneers off of their path on cuts. The fight Forbes expects isn’t there. “Gotta come meet the mother, then want it and move it,” he says. “Play off the post. Cut hard. We didn’t get one cut and we’ve got someone frightened to come get the ball. Come get the ball. Move it. Play inside out.”

There are four media timeouts in the second half. If the Buccaneers chip away a few points in each four-minute segment, they’ll be right there. “Ain’t going to get it all in one ******* possession, OK?” Forbes says. “But you can’t let them go on a run. Got to lock in defensively. Let’s go.”

Last week, Monmouth guard George Papas became a viral star when he dunked down 55 in the final seconds against Kansas and announced to the world twice that he didn’t give much care. If there’s a player on ETSU’s roster who has that kind of attitude, it’s Boyd. About 3½ hours before tipoff on Tuesday, he finishes his pregame meal and announces to the room that he is going to take a nap. N’Guessan informs him that it’s not smart to sleep right before a game. “I’m still going to do it,” Boyd replies. “I nap before every game.”

Boyd started his career at Union University, a Division II school in Jackson, Tenn. After his freshman season, he transferred to Northwest Florida State College, a move intended to eventually get to the Division I level. He made 45 percent of his 3-pointers that season, and Forbes noticed, giving him his D-1 shot. And he’s been shooting his shot ever since. He is the classic gunner without a conscience. He led the team in scoring last season coming off the bench. He comes off the bench again this year, and last week, after posting three points and two turnovers in the first half against Winthrop, he hit a game-winning 3 in the final minute with a defender right in his face.

Bush recently showed Boyd some tape of former Wichita State star Fred VanVleet back in his college days doing the Sam Cassell big-balls celebration after made 3s. Boyd decides if he gets the opportunity after a big shot against Kansas, he’s going to do it.

The Buccaneers hang around for the first eight minutes of the second half, and coming out of the under-12 minute timeout, they trail by 10 and have their first opportunity of the half to cut the deficit to single digits. Isaiah Tisdale misses a 3-pointer, but Jeromy Rodriguez grabs the offensive rebound, follows the coach’s orders and kicks it out to Daivien Williamson for a 3-pointer.

The lead is nine when Boyd gets his chance to really put some pressure on the Jayhawks. He’d made only one of his first seven 3-point attempts, but when he catches it about four feet behind the line and with six seconds left on the shot clock, he shoots his shot, buries it and drops his hands below his mid-section.

A minute later, with KU’s lead back at nine, Boyd catches the ball on the toes of the big Jayhawk at halfcourt, takes one dribble in and fires from a good six feet behind the line. Splash. Big balls dance.

“I hope someone got a picture of it,” he would say later. “I’m going to frame that. That felt great.”

On the next possession, with KU’s best defender Marcus Garrett glued to Boyd, he drives toward the baseline and jumps into the air. Forbes had told his guys that if they got in that spot, KU was going to cover the hammer pass to the corner, but the slot would be open. With that knowledge, Boyd delivers a beautiful cross-court bounce pass to Williamson on the wing, who then passes into the corner to Patrick Good for a 3-pointer. “That’s understanding basketball,” Forbes would say later.


After Azubuike answers with another dunk, Good hits another 3 to cut the lead to five, prompting Self to call timeout with 5:46 left.

“What I’ll remember about this game, every time they got rowdy, we answered with something to shut them up,” Boyd says afterward. “That’s a feeling I’m going to keep with me for the rest of my life. I was a part of that.”

The Jayhawks pull away to win, 75-63. The Buccaneers had their chances to put even more pressure on them, but the shots just wouldn’t fall. A loss is a loss, but the energy in the locker room hardly feels like it. “You created the opportunities by playing your ass off, by scrapping and not giving in when the punch was thrown,” Forbes tells his team. “I’ve seen so many teams get their ass blown out in that situation.”

He tells his players about that game he attended in 1998, when Paul Pierce scored 15 straight points to bury the Sooners, who had no response, and he heard that Rock Chalk chant for the first time. “I’m disappointed we lost, because we didn’t come here for that. We didn’t,” Forbes says. “But we battled in a tough-ass place to play. This is the first time I’ve been in this place that I didn’t have to listen to that Rock Chalk ****. I didn’t have to wave no wheat, because they didn’t get a chance.”

The games will be different going forward. The Buccaneers will be the more talented team on most nights. They’ve been one of the best in the Southern Conference since Forbes arrived in 2015, averaging 25 wins per season, making the NCAA Tournament once and playing in the conference tourney final three times. They’re picked to win the league this year.

The players are on the edges of their seats as Forbes talks. It’s obvious they cannot wait to get back on the court. It’s obvious they still believe in one other. “One of the best things about us is our chemistry,” Forbes tells them. “You guys all care about each other, and it ain’t phony. I can see that. And that’s got to continue.”

Before the game, Shay had told the team it would be like an NCAA Tournament contest. The Jayhawks could be on their way to a No. 1 seed. The good news for the Buccaneers is this one will help their NET score, and they shouldn’t have to play a team such as KU to open the tournament, because they should end up a higher seed in March if they’re good enough to get there. Wofford, the Southern champ last year, was a No. 7 seed and made it to the second round before losing narrowly to Kentucky.

In Forbes and his crew’s one trip to the tourney, in 2017, the Buccaneers took the lead in the second half against Florida, and then a stream of turnovers led to Gators dunks and it was over. Forbes told his players about that game and the turnovers right before they took the floor on Tuesday. It’s one thing to hear about it, but now they’ve lived it.

“We had some great looks, man, did we not?” Forbes says, thinking about the shots that just missed. “And I told you in a game like this, what do you got to do?”

In unison, the players respond: “You gotta make them.”

Odds be damned, that’s how you put your mark on history.
11-21-2019 04:00 PM
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EastTennesseeState Offline
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Post: #54
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
The December 19, 1992 come back by the Bucs at Kansas was one of the greatest I have ever witnessed. Down 22 to start the game they came back to take the lead finally losing by 3, 86-83. During the comeback I believe it was Jason Niblett that sank a trey, then stole the in-bounds pass, ran to the 3 point line and sank another.

Niblett led the scoring with 22, followed by Trazel Silvers 17, Eric Palmer 16 and Jerry Pelphrey 11. Roy Williams (now at UNC) was coaching Kansas on that night.
11-21-2019 07:14 PM
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posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Offline
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Post: #55
RE: Official Game Thread: #4 Kansas (L 63-75)
I thought this had been posted, but I don't see it. Maybe in another thread? Anyway.....apologies if this is a repeat:

SB Nation article about the game
12-02-2019 01:43 PM
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