Darrell said before the game that CJ White was back from injury and was ready to play. However, he did not step on the court (at least, during the game). Seems strange because even Terrell Curtis played 3 minutes. Did CJ get hurt in warm-ups? Did he get into it with a coach before the game? Of course, we will likely never know the reason he did not play. We played 10 guys so depth should not have been a problem stamina-wise. However, we really missed DeAntonio Gordon, especially with Nikola and Admir in foul trouble.

I said before the season that we would be "competitive" in the Sun Belt and would finish considerably higher than predicted. I am much less confident in that prediction at this time. Jacksonville State ran us out of the gym, but has losses against the other 2 Sun Belt teams they have played, Troy and South Alabama. USA looks pretty solid this year, while Troy is middle of the Sun Belt pack, at best. Not arguing that Jacksonville State is not better than we are, but the reason for the blow-out may well have been a once in a lifetime game (32 points, 9-11 from the 3-point line) from a guy who averages 8 points a game. Still it is hard to be particularly optimistic at this time.

When you have 6 or 7 players injured and a couple of players get sick how can you practice?

The Bosnian junior still managed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in just 20 minutes, fouling out with a little more than 10 minutes to play.

All that came after a week in which the Trojans really weren't able to practice because they didn't have enough healthy bodies, preventing Maric from getting into game shape following a four-week absence.

"I was kind of nervous at the beginning because I know I didn't really get ready for this game," Maric said. "I've got to get in shape. ... Sometimes in a game, people get tired and there's fatigue and they forget what they're supposed to do. That's when we give up easy points and that's how we lose."

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021...ts-college

I'm sure it is hard to practice when you are short-handed. I don't pretend to be a coach. I do think it is a coach's job to figure out how to practice short-handed or, at least, figure out ways to keep his guys in game shape.

(12-22-2021 02:52 PM)mjs Wrote:  I'm sure it is hard to practice when you are short-handed. I don't pretend to be a coach. I do think it is a coach's job to figure out how to practice short-handed or, at least, figure out ways to keep his guys in game shape.

I am sure he could sprinkle some magic dust on them.

(12-22-2021 05:25 PM)ez272 Wrote:  

(12-22-2021 02:52 PM)mjs Wrote:  I'm sure it is hard to practice when you are short-handed. I don't pretend to be a coach. I do think it is a coach's job to figure out how to practice short-handed or, at least, figure out ways to keep his guys in game shape.

I am sure he could sprinkle some magic dust on them.

Having them play 3 on 3 full court or run sprints would probably work better.

(12-22-2021 07:49 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(12-22-2021 05:25 PM)ez272 Wrote:  

(12-22-2021 02:52 PM)mjs Wrote:  I'm sure it is hard to practice when you are short-handed. I don't pretend to be a coach. I do think it is a coach's job to figure out how to practice short-handed or, at least, figure out ways to keep his guys in game shape.

I am sure he could sprinkle some magic dust on them.

Having them play 3 on 3 full court or run sprints would probably work better.

I am sure you could find a doctor who would recommend running sprnts to someone with a hamstring injury or someone in a "boot."

Reminds me of what my son-in-law faced at Magazine the first two or three years he was there. It was a while before he even had enough bodies on the roster to scrimmage.

According to a very reliable source our injury problems are not exactly surprising. We tend to sign guys with a past history of injuries. We take this "risk" to try and get players above our level. I do not have a particular problem with this strategy, but let's stop blaming our injuries on "bad luck". Besides I am rather relieved to know that there is not some type of "black cloud" hanging over our program. It also helps explain why many of our new players were unavailable before the season even started.

(12-23-2021 08:51 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Reminds me of what my son-in-law faced at Magazine the first two or three years he was there. It was a while before he even had enough bodies on the roster to scrimmage.

Maybe Darrell should give him a call. He also could have talked with Jim Platt, while we were in Tulsa, who did an amazing job with the "Magnificent Seven", 30 years ago or so.