All I wanted was a win in this particular situation. The boys came through (made us very nervous for a while). On to the next game.

FT’s are completely mental. If you can make one you can make them all. It is about repetition of routine and believing you will make shot.

I have no doubt we practice them but it still takes a mental fortitude to make them in the game.

Radford had 4 turnovers at the half and finished with 18. That was the difference. Lots of steals in the second half converted to easy points.
I loved that Ihenacho took Morse’s minutes in the second half. He is the straw that stirs the drink.

It felt like this game would tell us more about this team than the UVA game. The fellas have great mental toughness and they showed it again tonight. Another great win where they battled back from adversity.

How many games can we realistically lose to make the tourny?

1-2 more?

Byington has said he's still figuring out lineups and playing time. I think he found his defensive intensity guys tonight which of why those same guys played so many minutes in the second half.

missed 16 free throws

We are not going to get a NIT invite missing 16 free throws

really impressive comeback. love the full court press. 10 days off to shoot free throws.

(12-11-2021 09:36 PM)14SemesterDuke Wrote:  How many games can we realistically lose to make the tourny?

1-2 more?

At most imo. Even if we do only lose one or two more, which would be an absolutely insane run post-Naples, we still might really need some SOS help.

(12-11-2021 09:28 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  Radford had 4 turnovers at the half and finished with 18. That was the difference. Lots of steals in the second half converted to easy points.
I loved that Ihenacho took Morse’s minutes in the second half. He is the straw that stirs the drink.

It’s refreshing to have a coach who is willing to make in game adjustments and go with what’s working.

Ihenacho is a throwback. Great player who understands he doesn't need to score to make a huge impact.

My guess is that he was at least +20 when on the floor tonight.

(12-11-2021 11:35 PM)jmu98 Wrote:  Ihenacho is a throwback. Great player who understands he doesn't need to score to make a huge impact.

My guess is that he was at least +20 when on the floor tonight.

Good guess
+17

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonit...4NjI2MjNm~

(12-12-2021 12:00 AM)Bawlmer Duke Wrote:  

(12-11-2021 11:35 PM)jmu98 Wrote:  Ihenacho is a throwback. Great player who understands he doesn't need to score to make a huge impact.

My guess is that he was at least +20 when on the floor tonight.

Good guess
+17

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonit...4NjI2MjNm~

He made a huge impact tonight, and teamed with Strickland they were hell on wheels when it came to defense. Now if they could only make 70% of their free throws.

Edward now appears to be the man left out. He didn’t get any minutes tonight.

(12-12-2021 12:00 AM)Bawlmer Duke Wrote:  [quote='jmu98' pid='17940955' dateline='1639283724']
Ihenacho is a throwback. Great player who understands he doesn't need to score to make a huge impact.

My guess is that he was at least +20 when on the floor tonight.

Good guess
+17

I like his stat line.
19 minutes
7 points
5 assists
3 steals
1 block
0 turnovers

Edwards plays with great energy which allows him to get junk baskets near the basket. Though bigger than last year, he is still on the skinny side and is a poor shooter. He also plays too fast sometimes and that causes him to turn the ball over.

I'm finally starting to get my arms around this team, and I think Mark is as well.

This team is not the JMU of the early 80's, or the current UVA that want to slow the game down. They actually want to run up tempo but have struggled to score at times. Thankfully we are and is actually a pretty solid defensive team. For that reason I think you will see some high scoring games for this team.

Once again, JMU has never had a better coached rebounding team. I think people are taking it for granted. We're smaller than a lot of teams but overall you just don't notice it during the game. Awesome boxouts.

3 Redshirt Freshman - Amadi, Stickland, Nacho - foundation for the next four years (including this year).

(12-12-2021 08:01 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  Edwards plays with great energy which allows him to get junk baskets near the basket. Though bigger than last year, he is still on the skinny side and is a poor shooter. He also plays too fast sometimes and that causes him to turn the ball over.

I like Edwards, needs to work in his shot. He goes to the basket and dishes and has been a big part of past wins

(12-11-2021 08:56 PM)JacksonHall Wrote:  Strickland and Nacho are defensive MVPs

This was the key last night and Mark saw that. They caused so many problems with Radford trying to get the ball inbounds. Strickland was coaching/scheming with Nacho prior to each inbounds. I think Strickland has the best basketball IQ on the court that is likely due to having NBA all star father. His father Rod was an all star more due to his understanding of the game, versus talent, although certainly talented.

Nacho remind me of a Ben Simmons type of player with the major exception he has good head on his shoulders.

Mark kept these two in for about 12 straight minutes which was not his normal substitution pattern. Make no mistake, last night without those two JMU would of lost that game by double digits. Without scoring a lot of points, those two took the game over midway through the second half.

(12-12-2021 08:01 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  Edwards plays with great energy which allows him to get junk baskets near the basket. Though bigger than last year, he is still on the skinny side and is a poor shooter. He also plays too fast sometimes and that causes him to turn the ball over.

Big Edwards fan ...but I mostly agree. He was a little unfortunate early this season with dishes that should have been assists were turnovers because teammates didnt handle. This was back when our team was playing more one-on-one and we desperately needed his skillset.

Much better passing from all as this season has progressed and coaches mentioned our lack of cutting to the hoop in the first half as opposed to the second half where we saw more attacking and assists. Ty and Molson both goof at giving teammates some easy baskets.

Back to Edwards though. I know the outside shot is subpar. But his driving, dishing, and defensive awareness combined are a worth giving him some floor time so his speed gets in sync with his game. Hard to do that on the bench. He almost carried us as a Freshman after Lewis went down. I think he will be huge for us before his career is done here.

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(12-12-2021 10:43 AM)Halz87 Wrote:  

(12-12-2021 08:01 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  Edwards plays with great energy which allows him to get junk baskets near the basket. Though bigger than last year, he is still on the skinny side and is a poor shooter. He also plays too fast sometimes and that causes him to turn the ball over.

Big Edwards fan ...but I mostly agree. He was a little unfortunate early this season with dishes that should have been assists were turnovers because teammates didnt handle. This was back when our team was playing more one-on-one and we desperately needed his skillset.

Much better passing from all as this season has progressed and coaches mentioned our lack of cutting to the hoop in the first half as opposed to the second half where we saw more attacking and assists. Ty and Molson both goof at giving teammates some easy baskets.

Back to Edwards though. I know the outside shot is subpar. But his driving, dishing, and defensive awareness combined are a worth giving him some floor time so his speed gets in sync with his game. Hard to do that on the bench. He almost carried us as a Freshman after Lewis went down. I think he will be huge for us before his career is done here.

Sent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk

Totally agree on all this. I mostly see turnovers from Edwards when he makes a crazy pass that his teammate wasn't ready for. He has the occasional turnover other than that just like everyone has the occasional turnover, but with his teammates making those catches/baskets I think he'd be standing out for his assists instead of his turnovers.

Redshirt freshman, he'll keep getting better and maybe more importantly his teammates will keep getting more used to playing with him. He's a long dude with great defense and passing ability, if he can improve his shooting and/or put on some weight to throw around then even better.