(12-08-2021 10:39 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  

(12-08-2021 10:10 PM)Miggy Wrote:  Also not pleased that after making 2 baskets, in the second half with 11 minutes remaining, MScott took but two shots. Coaches got to insure Scott gets the ball and shoots.spottsville and McBride will never figure that out on their own.

Monty had the ball at the top of the key with two minutes left in the game and inexplicably passed it to covered Nate Scott with the shot clock waning instead of taking it to the basket. The latter had to force up a 3. Heath was clearly annoyed because he took Monty out and I don’t think he came back in. Those are times where we need someone to score, and (arguably) our best scorer gave up the rock. He needs to be way less passive. Still weird of you to blame his teammates again, especially the one who saved our ass at the free throw line at the end of the game.

Well said, Sam. It is not just that he shot perfect 8-8 from the line, it is that he has a great ability to get to the line too. McBride had a great game tonight.

(12-08-2021 10:56 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(12-08-2021 10:10 PM)Miggy Wrote:  Painful to watch Golson shoot the ball virtually every time he touched the ball. Overall, he shot well but his forcing the ball inside when nothing there is not fun to watch.Same for McBride on play near the end of the game.

On Golson, while it is hard to critique a player that shot 5-9 from the field, I kind of know what you are talking about. There are times when Golson makes some nice moves around the basket, but then gets crowded real quick and he ends up in a very awkward position- but he is still determined to take the shot anyway. I feel like on some of those plays if he is a little quicker with the release/shot might be beneficial. Or maybe he can look for who is now open given the crowd of defenders.

On McBride, I disagree. We wanted the ball in his hands that play. It’s unfortunate it resulted in a turnover- but it happens from time to time.

Golson doesn’t seem to know when he’s in trouble inside and never looks for open man to pass it to.

You may want ball in McBride’s hand, but from The beginning of the play, McBride should have seen there was no opening going inside and he would have been better off shooting a jumper.

But he was hell-bent on driving to the hoop.,McBride had no chance to go inside as thre defenders were were waiting for him and he was oblivious to that, and he was completely out of control and had Noah wide open at three point line. He never looked for him nor does he ever look for anyone as he always commits to going all the way to the hoop.

You may argue that Noah was having a bad game, but he should have passed the ball to Noah who could have shot from
outside or stepped in for a two.

On a good a good number of McBride’s drives he’s out of control and defenders should not be fouling him. He’s a good driver when there are no defenders waiting for him.

Great posts by everyone and here are my comments and observations:

First of all glad we won but very disappointed in we had to rely on hope as in hope he misses a wide open shot so we win the game. Clearly hope is not a strategy. Hope is how Rob Murphy coached the team and I do expect better from coach Heath. The strategy was to not give up an open look at a three but we did. I’m sure COach Heath will work on more game situations vs practicing the execution during an actual game. Hopefully during the film session the proper rotation will be discussed and corrected.

Another disappointment was how we let Niagara dictate the tempo in the second half. When Niagara came out in a full court zone press, EMU only looked to break the press but not attack the rim for a 3 on 2 scoring opportunity. This played right into their hand because Niagara could gamble on steals and EMU turnovers and if they didn’t get one, it was ok because we weren’t aggressive attacking the rim. We merely beat the press and then set up our offense with less shot clock. The good news is that Coach mentioned during his post game interview that EMU has to score after breaking their press to make them pay when we have 3 on 2 scoring opportunities. The only thing we did is break the press and then wait for our guards to get us into the offense which enabled Niagara to set up their defense. Great teams would have had a dunk fest on Niagara for zone pressing them, but we do not have the personnel just yet. Playing the hand we got, I would break the press by having Nate take the ball out and McBride and Spotts ready for ball entry. Then I would have Noah break to the middle and Monty at half court. Once Noah got the ball in the middle he would attack the rim with Monty on the wing ready to receive and finish. The good news is that Coach will practice scoring on the press. If we don’t, you’ll see MAC schools scheming to press us.

I had mixed feelings on Mo. His first two fouls were unnecessary and away from the basket. Head scratcher!!! I did like that he scored a few buckets. If we’re going to have any chance to be a top 4 team, we will need him to develop more quickly because we have to have a low post threat to free up outside shooting.

Also disappointed in our last possession where McBride turned the ball over. I felt McBride played a very solid game but the reality is he’s a situational player. We have a lot of situational players! But McBride is not good enough to dictate the game. The ball should have been in Noah’s hands and let him decide to attack the paint and shoot or dish off to Monty or if covered look for 3rd option. Again McBride had a very good game and I was very pleased on his FT makes but knowing his full body of work, he simply is not able to shoot over top of a defender consistently.

I loved Nate Scott’s dunk in the first half - have mercy!!

At any rate, we have a lot of work to do and growth required to reach our potential this season. The MAC doesn’t have quality coaches and I feel Heat is better than Toledo’s coach. We can get to a top 5 spot because our best basketball is in front of us! Go Eagles!!

Folks didn't think highly of Niagara coming into the game. But yes future teams should look at Northern Kentucky's match up zone and Niagara's full court press to defend against EMU. Perhaps run a combination of the two.

In basketball as in life sometimes its better to be lucky than good.

[quote='Luckeyone' pid='17933141' dateline='1639027902']
Great posts by everyone and here are my comments and observations:

Another disappointment was how we let Niagara dictate the tempo in the second half. When Niagara came out in a full court zone press, EMU only looked to break the press but not attack the rim for a 3 on 2 scoring opportunity. This played right into their hand because Niagara could gamble on steals and EMU turnovers and if they didn’t get one, it was ok because we weren’t aggressive attacking the rim. We merely beat the press and then set up our offense with less shot clock. The good news is that Coach mentioned during his post game interview that EMU has to score after breaking their press to make them pay when we have 3 on 2 scoring opportunities. The only thing we did is break the press and then wait for our guards to get us into the offense which enabled Niagara to set up their defense. Great teams would have had a dunk fest on Niagara for zone pressing them, but we do not have the personnel just yet. Playing the hand we got, I would break the press by having Nate take the ball out and McBride and Spotts ready for ball entry. Then I would have Noah break to the middle and Monty at half court. Once Noah got the ball in the middle he would attack the rim with Monty on the wing ready to receive and finish. The good news is that Coach will practice scoring on the press. If we don’t, you’ll see MAC schools scheming to press us.

I had mixed feelings on Mo. His first two fouls were unnecessary and away from the basket. Head scratcher!!! I did like that he scored a few buckets. If we’re going to have any chance to be a top 4 team, we will need him to develop more quickly because we have to have a low post threat to free up outside shooting.

Also disappointed in our last possession where McBride turned the ball over. I felt McBride played a very solid game but the reality is he’s a situational player. We have a lot of situational players! But McBride is not good enough to dictate the game. The ball should have been in Noah’s hands and let him decide to attack the paint and shoot or dish off to Monty or if covered look for 3rd option. Again McBride had a very good game and I was very pleased on his FT makes but knowing his full body of work, he simply is not able to shoot over top of a defender consistently.



Great post Luckyone!

You’re so right saying that when an opponent presses full-court, you have to make them pay by beating the press and on the other end of the court taking it to the hoop. Even though EMH didn’t to that, glad to hear that HC Heath recognized that EMU has to that if EMU pressed full-court in future games.

I also would like to see EMU getting into transition and fast breaking off defensive rebounds in order to create easy hoops on the other end. EMU has quick players who are effective in transition. Doing so requires longer outlet passes. Doesn’t seem EMU has practiced that but they need to especially with conference play starting soon.

In EMU’s prior two game, HC Heath abandoned low post play, and instead ran plays where Nije came from on top to the hoop, received a pass and shot the ball. I liked that because on other plays with Njie in the high post or top of the key, EMU’s guards and wings could get to the hoop and score.

I would like to see timing plays run where bigs go back-door from anywhere, receive a pass and dunk. A side benefit would allow for more offensive rebounds as the opponents defense is not in the position to block out.

I don’t see Njie being effective as a low-post player. I also don’t like to see Njie straying from the hoop on defense as when passes go inside, and his having to run and inside that often results in him fouling the shooter. Rather see him stay inside and hopefully not commit as many fouls. EMU is likely to get going to get very few points from Njie, Ballard, and only once in a while from N.Scott. Limiting our number of fga’s EMU can work as long as they covert their field goals at a decent percentage.

To go to Njie in the low-post is likely going to result in too many turnovers. Given that he committed 5 fouls in only 15 minutes, if not corrected, I would like to see Yusef Jihad given a chance to defend the rim. He does have some offense.

Unfortunately, EMU will have to rely on MScott, Noah, McBride, Golson, and Spottsville for the bulk of their scoring. They will also need to rely on their defense to win games.

MScott was not on the court the last 1:25 minutes of the game as Heath fearing he would be deliberately fouled kept him off the floor because he didn’t want to see him at the foul-line. I think his view is short-sighted as Monty makes shots, assists, and steals,l. One reason Niagara came-back from a big deficit is because Monty was not shooting the ball or was sitting on the bench.

Can’t see EMU winning in crunch time in future games without Monty being in the line-up. Agree he needs to straighten-out his foul-shooting so Heath will play him.

It didn’t bother me that McBride had the ball in his hands at the end of the game. Just wished he took a jump shot and did not drive into traffic. In most games when faced with a zone defense as Niagara played, McBride was ineffective as he could not get to the hoop. But in this game with him making three-steals he was able to score in the paint or be fouled. He also hit a three-ball.

In EMU’s game against Niagara, EMU won the all-important turnover margin differential. As EMU turned the ball over 13 times, Niagara had 14 turnovers. EMU’s turnovers were not of such a nature that their turnovers could easily be turned into scores as Niagara’s were, and when combined with EMU’s higher shooting percentage then Niagara, EMU was able to score 10 more points than Niagara did off turnovers.

Such played a large role in EMU winning the game.

Winning the offensive rebounding margin is usually not as important. This proved true as Niagara had 9 offensive rebounds, EMU only 3. Nevertheless, Niagara only scored 6 more points than EMU did off of Niagara garnering more offensive rebounds.

Also adding to EMU ‘s victory was EMU scoring 10 more points in the paint than Niagara did as EMU defended the paint better than Niagara did, and EMU also shot a better percentage on two pointers than Niagara did.

EMU scored 7-more points than Niagara did on fast breaks.

EMU and Niagara each had 6 steals. Would like to see EMU average 10 steals by pressuring the ball and trapping more. EMU has quick players who can do so.

(12-09-2021 09:45 AM)Miggy Wrote:  In EMU’s game against Niagara they won the all important turnover margin turnover margin differential. As EMU turned the ball over 13 times, Niagara had 14 turnovers. But because EMU’s turnovers were not of such a nature that their turnovers could easily be turned into scores and Niagara’s were, when combined with EMU shooting a higher percentage then Niagara did, EMU able to score 10 more points than Niagara did off turnovers.

Such played a large role in EMU winning the game.

Winning the offensive rebounding margin is usually not as important. This proved true in the Niagara game. As Niagara had 9 offensive rebounds, EMU only 3. Nevertheless, Niagara only scored 6 more points than EMU did off of Niagara garnering more offensive rebounds.

Also adding to EMU ‘s victory was EMU scoring 10 more points in the paint than Niagara did. This is because EMU defended the paint better than Niagara did as EMU shot a better percentage on two point fga’s than Niagara did.

Although I would like to see EMU fast-break more, EMU still scored 7-more points than Noliagara did on fast breaks.

EMU and Niagara each had 6 steals. Would like to see EMU average 10 steals by pressure the ball more and trapping. It has the players who can do so.

Great posts and insights Miggy!

(12-09-2021 12:31 AM)Luckeyone Wrote:  Great posts by everyone and here are my comments and observations:

First of all glad we won but very disappointed in we had to rely on hope as in hope he misses a wide open shot so we win the game. Clearly hope is not a strategy. Hope is how Rob Murphy coached the team and I do expect better from coach Heath. The strategy was to not give up an open look at a three but we did. I’m sure COach Heath will work on more game situations vs practicing the execution during an actual game. Hopefully during the film session the proper rotation will be discussed and corrected.

Another disappointment was how we let Niagara dictate the tempo in the second half. When Niagara came out in a full court zone press, EMU only looked to break the press but not attack the rim for a 3 on 2 scoring opportunity. This played right into their hand because Niagara could gamble on steals and EMU turnovers and if they didn’t get one, it was ok because we weren’t aggressive attacking the rim. We merely beat the press and then set up our offense with less shot clock. The good news is that Coach mentioned during his post game interview that EMU has to score after breaking their press to make them pay when we have 3 on 2 scoring opportunities. The only thing we did is break the press and then wait for our guards to get us into the offense which enabled Niagara to set up their defense. Great teams would have had a dunk fest on Niagara for zone pressing them, but we do not have the personnel just yet. Playing the hand we got, I would break the press by having Nate take the ball out and McBride and Spotts ready for ball entry. Then I would have Noah break to the middle and Monty at half court. Once Noah got the ball in the middle he would attack the rim with Monty on the wing ready to receive and finish. The good news is that Coach will practice scoring on the press. If we don’t, you’ll see MAC schools scheming to press us.

I had mixed feelings on Mo. His first two fouls were unnecessary and away from the basket. Head scratcher!!! I did like that he scored a few buckets. If we’re going to have any chance to be a top 4 team, we will need him to develop more quickly because we have to have a low post threat to free up outside shooting.

Also disappointed in our last possession where McBride turned the ball over. I felt McBride played a very solid game but the reality is he’s a situational player. We have a lot of situational players! But McBride is not good enough to dictate the game. The ball should have been in Noah’s hands and let him decide to attack the paint and shoot or dish off to Monty or if covered look for 3rd option. Again McBride had a very good game and I was very pleased on his FT makes but knowing his full body of work, he simply is not able to shoot over top of a defender consistently.

I loved Nate Scott’s dunk in the first half - have mercy!!

At any rate, we have a lot of work to do and growth required to reach our potential this season. The MAC doesn’t have quality coaches and I feel Heat is better than Toledo’s coach. We can get to a top 5 spot because our best basketball is in front of us! Go Eagles!!

My thoughts on the press exactly! We did not attack it in the least and until we do we may see more of it. Not only can that cause turnovers but it gives your offense less time to set up once you cross the time line.

At times, I would like to see EMU employ John Wooden’s UCLA’s full-court press as well.

I thought Scott's dunk was
worthy of a SportCenter top 10.

(12-09-2021 11:37 AM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(12-09-2021 09:45 AM)Miggy Wrote:  EMU won the all important turnover margin differential. As EMU turned the ball over 13 times, Niagara had 14 turnovers. EMU’s turnovers were not of such a nature that their turnovers could easily be turned into scores as Niagara’s were, and when combined with EMU shooting a higher percentage then Niagara did, EMU was able to score 10 more points off turnovers than Niagara did.

Such played a large role in EMU winning the game.

Winning the offensive rebounding margin is usually not as important. This proved true in the Niagara game. As Niagara had 9 offensive rebounds, EMU only 3. Nevertheless, Niagara only scored 6 more points than EMU did off garnering more offensive rebounds.

Also adding to EMU ‘s victory was EMU scoring 10 more points in the paint than Niagara did as EMU defended the paint better than Niagara, and EMU also shot a higher percentage on two’s than Niagara did.

EMU scored 7-more points than Noliagara did on fast breaks.

EMU and Niagara each had 6 steals. Would like to see EMU average 10 steals by pressuring the ball and trapping more. EMU has quick players who can do so.

Great posts and insights Miggy!

Thanks Luckyone.

(12-09-2021 03:18 PM)Miggy Wrote:  At times, I would like to see EMU employ John Wooden’s UCLA’s full-court press as well.

I don't think we are deep enough, fast enough or long enough to do it well. Wooden's guys could slow down their offensive pace and rest while pounding the ball inside to Alcindor and Walton without a shot clock. I also don't think we are athletic enough and let's face it, the 1-3-1 Wooden press depended on that last "one" being Alcindor and Walton, two great rim protectors. Moe Njie has just seven blocked shots for the entire season, one less than Spottsville for heaven's sake.

What I could never understand is why Murphy's seldom used full court press was so passive. Rob used it to slow the other team's offense down, it was NOT an aggressive press like Nolan Richardson's Arkansas "40 minutes of hell". Coach Murphy for all of his faults, taught denying pass lanes extremely well, had some long wingspan true athletes like Bond and Gross and some towering 5's like Riley, Thompson and Toure. Perhaps because Boeheim was not doing it....

We were a 1 point underdog and we win by 2 after blowing a 12 point lead. You people sound like we beat Duke on the road. Good win very much so but not a strong win. As far as the dunks go we saw why they aren't that great. Look at 25 and how he fell if he had done a lay that wouldn't of happened. We almost lost a player over a 2 point show off stunt.

(12-09-2021 07:28 PM)emussuperfan Wrote:  We were a 1 point underdog and we win by 2 after blowing a 12 point lead. You people sound like we beat Duke on the road. Good win very much so but not a strong win. As far as the dunks go we saw why they aren't that great. Look at 25 and how he fell if he had done a lay that wouldn't of happened. We almost lost a player over a 2 point show off stunt.

Agree. We also need to try more set shots.

(12-09-2021 07:28 PM)emussuperfan Wrote:  We were a 1 point underdog and we win by 2 after blowing a 12 point lead. You people sound like we beat Duke on the road. Good win very much so but not a strong win. As far as the dunks go we saw why they aren't that great. Look at 25 and how he fell if he had done a lay that wouldn't of happened. We almost lost a player over a 2 point show off stunt.

Super, you make a good point on making the sure basket which at times is a layup; however, as Nate Scott was driving to the basket, a defender converged upon him and met him at the rim. I think a layup in this instance would have been risking a sure basket and I feel Nate made the right decision by dunking the ball on the opponents head….

(12-09-2021 11:07 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(12-09-2021 07:28 PM)emussuperfan Wrote:  We were a 1 point underdog and we win by 2 after blowing a 12 point lead. You people sound like we beat Duke on the road. Good win very much so but not a strong win. As far as the dunks go we saw why they aren't that great. Look at 25 and how he fell if he had done a lay that wouldn't of happened. We almost lost a player over a 2 point show off stunt.

Super, you make a good point on making the sure basket which at times is a layup; however, as Nate Scott was driving to the basket, a defender converged upon him and met him at the rim. I think a layup in this instance would have been risking a sure basket and I feel Nate made the right decision by dunking the ball on the opponents head….

Layups are easier, safer, and uses uses energy. Dunks are all for show nothing else. Layups are also-have a much higher percentage chance make. and there is no chance of a long rebound.

(12-08-2021 07:19 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-08-2021 07:07 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  I love Colin Golson, and think he’s gonna be very good, but he’s gotta stop shooting so many threes. It’s about 5-7 feet out of his range.

Three 3 ball attempts. One from Golson and two from Spottsville, UGH...

In 22 minutes of playing time, Golson shot 5-9 from the floor. That’s very good. But even with his good shooting, he committed two charging fouls that resulted in two turnovers. As a result he had a negative 4.6 box score for the game. He needs to look where he’s and cut down on charging into defenders.

I agree he should shoot fewer three’s.

With NJie, Ballard, and Golson, playing a combined 52-minute, they managed to commit a total of 12-fouls. That’s one foul every 4-minutes. Thankfully, those 12-fouls led to Niagara scoring but seven points. These players need to learn how to cut-down on their fouling.

Nate Scott committed no fouls playing 26 minutes.

(12-10-2021 07:40 AM)emussuperfan Wrote:  

(12-09-2021 11:07 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(12-09-2021 07:28 PM)emussuperfan Wrote:  We were a 1 point underdog and we win by 2 after blowing a 12 point lead. You people sound like we beat Duke on the road. Good win very much so but not a strong win. As far as the dunks go we saw why they aren't that great. Look at 25 and how he fell if he had done a lay that wouldn't of happened. We almost lost a player over a 2 point show off stunt.

Super, you make a good point on making the sure basket which at times is a layup; however, as Nate Scott was driving to the basket, a defender converged upon him and met him at the rim. I think a layup in this instance would have been risking a sure basket and I feel Nate made the right decision by dunking the ball on the opponents head….

Layups are easier, safer, and uses uses energy. Dunks are all for show nothing else. Layups are also-have a much higher percentage chance make. and there is no chance of a long rebound.

Gotta stay away from those low percentage dunks. You don't want to send it in Jerome...off the back iron.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOgN2HyvXE