Did anyone notice the change in tone from Oliver in the pregame interview and the post game. He is really thanking the fans of the program and acknowledging their importance, and trying to take some responsibility for things. I think someone has been in his ear.

(01-21-2023 05:20 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  Did anyone notice the change in tone from Oliver in the pregame interview and the post game.

Was like a different person......

Mocs took TWELVE more shots; Bucs *made* 7 more. That's a pretty amazing stat. Must be somethin' about shooting percentage.

It warms the cockles of my heart when a sub or little-used player has a good game like Hairston did today. I don't know if he'll have another cockle-warming game this year, but he had one today. Games like this really help me love this game.

I listened to the game today. Sounded like the shot selection was not particularly good the first half and much better the second. They really leaned on Haynes the 2nd half and he really came through. King had a really good game, which is good as we got limited offensive contributions from the remaining starters.
Sounds like the defensive intensity really stepped up the second half. UTC couldn't make diddly.
I don't remember a game this season where there was as big a positive turnaround in the 2nd half as there was today. We've tended to fade in the 2nd; today, we were much stronger.

It's great to get this win, but we've got to be honest -- Chatt was missing their big stud in the middle, and they played *horribly* in the second half. Most of their missed shots weren't contested. Haynes most certainly was a man on a mission in the second half. Oliver correctly directed King, Strothers, and whoever, to feed him deep, and without the shotblocker in there, they couldn't deal with him. But of course we're missing pieces, too. As we all know, that's just part of it.

All that said............to my eyes, in terms of the players on the floor..........I believe this is the weakest team I've seen Chatt have since Lamont Parish's first year. Gotta feel sorry for them.......
Uh........Not.

(01-21-2023 06:41 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  It's great to get this win, but we've got to be honest -- Chatt was missing their big stud in the middle, and they played *horribly* in the second half. Most of their missed shots weren't contested. Haynes most certainly was a man on a mission in the second half. Oliver correctly directed King, Strothers, and whoever, to feed him deep, and without the shotblocker in there, they couldn't deal with him. But of course we're missing pieces, too. As we all know, that's just part of it.

All that said............to my eyes, in terms of the players on the floor..........I believe this is the weakest team I've seen Chatt have since Lamont Parish's first year. Gotta feel sorry for them.......
Uh........Not.

In the post-game interview, Oliver said he switched defenses in the middle of the 2nd half. He went to a 5-4-3-2-1 defense (?) and said that caused them to basically put more pressure on whoever was the best shooter on the floor at the time. That forced UTC to pass it to their 2nd or 3rd best shooter, and even though uncontested, they couldn't hit the shot, which led to their horrid percentages toward the end of the game. Great coaching if you asked me. Not sure if this is something better suited for Chatt, something he decided to gamble with, or whatever, but it clearly worked. They hit much fewer in the 2nd half than they did in the first.

And not having Stephens made a big difference, no doubt. We'll find out if he's back in Freedom Hall next Saturday. But it's clear Oliver has not lost this locker room. Not even close. In fact, he may be finally getting some folks to buy in. Here's to hoping that Mercer loss was the bottom.

Awesome to get a win over the Mocs as always! Whatever happens next year, I really hope we can keep Haynes. We haven't had someone like him down low in a while. We finally have a BJ Mack type post player

(01-21-2023 08:40 PM)Buced_Up Wrote:  Awesome to get a win over the Mocs as always! Whatever happens next year, I really hope we can keep Haynes. We haven't had someone like him down low in a while. We finally have a BJ Mack type post player

It's my understanding if he uses the portal again, he would have to sit out a year, correct?

(01-21-2023 09:50 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  

(01-21-2023 08:40 PM)Buced_Up Wrote:  Awesome to get a win over the Mocs as always! Whatever happens next year, I really hope we can keep Haynes. We haven't had someone like him down low in a while. We finally have a BJ Mack type post player

It's my understanding if he uses the portal again, he would have to sit out a year, correct?

I think that’s true but can’t swear that’s the case. He’s a good fit for us, and hopefully he sees that too.

I love to be wrong. I’m a scientist and I’m wrong sometimes, and usually when I’m wrong something really good happens. In sports, it works the same way. I was wrong, and glad to be wrong. I didn’t think we would win another game.

So what that Jake wasn’t there - we won by 16, not a last second shot. I get it, he may have defended Haynes better, but I also think Jake Stephens is crazily overrated. Hes good; he ain’t that good.

Good win. Let’s make it a winning streak.

The Bucs have the next month to make or break the season. That was a terrific win even though their big was out. But we had Taylor out. I hope that is a harbinger of things to come and not a one game streak. Here's to hoping!

(01-21-2023 07:30 PM)Efan Wrote:  In the post-game interview, Oliver said he switched defenses in the middle of the 2nd half. He went to a 5-4-3-2-1 defense (?) and said that caused them to basically put more pressure on whoever was the best shooter on the floor at the time. That forced UTC to pass it to their 2nd or 3rd best shooter, and even though uncontested, they couldn't hit the shot, which led to their horrid percentages toward the end of the game.

And not having Stephens made a big difference, no doubt. We'll find out if he's back in Freedom Hall next Saturday.

Rumor has it in Chatt that Stephens may be out for the year. Strictly a rumor but from a decently-placed source. Don't know the official diagnosis.

Didn't hear anything about a "5-4-3-2-1" defense, nor have I ever heard of such a thing. But my feed dropped out there for about a minute in the post-game interview, so he may have said that. Could he have said "1-3-1" zone? They did go to that a time or three. A bad side effect of that is that one of their lower-% 3-pt. shooters (21% on the year before this game) made 2 out there at critical points to temporarily keep them in it. It appeared he was more or less left open. Don't remember if that was during a zone or not. I kinda think not.

As a follow-up, this team has not yet learned the proper way to play the 1-3-1, and so whenever we go into that, it's only briefly just to confuse them a bit. We've been burned fairly quickly, so Oliver switches back out of it right away. That's one thing I'll have to give bartow credit for - he could sure run that, but of course he had the personnel to do it, especially early on with Jerald, Zakee, and Timmy, et al.

(01-22-2023 04:54 AM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Rumor has it in Chatt that Stephens may be out for the year. Strictly a rumor but from a decently-placed source. Don't know the official diagnosis.

Sure enough, at least not gonna be playing soon:

"I don't expect him to be back next game or this week or anything like that," Earl said. "We're still getting him looked at by the doctors and reviewing everything, but my heart hurts for him because he's such a good kid. He gave up a lot of other opportunities to come here with us because he wanted to accomplish big things. For him to be out for what looks like a while, it's just hard for all of us and certainly for Jake.

"We're thinking about him, and we'll see where this goes."

Times Free Press story on the game and Stephens

(01-22-2023 01:43 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  

(01-22-2023 04:54 AM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Rumor has it in Chatt that Stephens may be out for the year. Strictly a rumor but from a decently-placed source. Don't know the official diagnosis.

Sure enough, at least not gonna be playing soon:

"I don't expect him to be back next game or this week or anything like that," Earl said. "We're still getting him looked at by the doctors and reviewing everything, but my heart hurts for him because he's such a good kid. He gave up a lot of other opportunities to come here with us because he wanted to accomplish big things. For him to be out for what looks like a while, it's just hard for all of us and certainly for Jake.

"We're thinking about him, and we'll see where this goes."

Times Free Press story on the game and Stephens

Thanks for the link.