1. Leading the conference and losing two straight at home REALLY SUCKS ! ! ! !
Printable View
1. Leading the conference and losing two straight at home REALLY SUCKS ! ! ! !
Please try and remember YOUR saying in weeks past...
"FRESHNESS IS THE KEY"
At the timeout with 8:30something left, Paul had his hands on his hips and looked like he was DRAINED... what happened to giving him some damn rest??
Player : Minutes
---------------
Millsap: 40
Haskins: 33
Richardson: 29 (Who was HUGE tonight)
McKenzie: 28
Dean: 27
Elliot: 14
Wilds: 12
McDowell: 9
Washington: 8
Rogers: 0
Alexander: 0
Ibrahim: 0
Disy: 0
Parker: 0
Marshall: 0
Glad to know that you were just blowing smoke up our skirts... appreciate that.
Well, if we don't win the tournament now we aint going dancing.
KR used a different substitution pattern today. Elliot and McDowell were both off, and in my opinion KR did the right thing by cutting their minutes. But I don't understand why Big Mike's PT got cut so much today. He is our best three point shooter at 40% on the season, and he shot 50% from downtown today compared to the rest of the team's 0% for the day and under 10% for the weekend. I also thought he played tough defense today. I realize that Jerome and Chad were playing well, and Corey was off offensively (2-14) but pulled down 9 boards, dished 5 assists with no turnovers. I believe that Big Mike is worth at least a minute from those guys, and a few from Paul to get 20 minutes of PT. I guess KR knows something I don't.
PLEASE MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS! We are hitting that familiar slide that we have every single year. Some years it happens early, some years in the middle, and some at the end.
Gotta hit your shots, Corey!Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMarvin362
He did a good job early of penetrating to the hoop and it seemed like he stopped trying to do that later in the game. That is the best way to free Paul from the double teams.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool Hand Clyde
message to kr:
quit bashing your players in the media and..............
coach.
adjust.
something!!!!!!!!!
I think you've touched on something...could one reason we always tank be because there's always a rift between the players and Richard?Quote:
Originally Posted by JAY
I've always thought one of Richard's weak points is the player-coach relationship.
DocMarvin362, is freshness really the key? Look at these facts:Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMarvin362
Evaluation of play-by-play from latechsports.com:
Total 2nd half Millsap stats - 18 points, 7 rebounds. Tech took first and only 2nd half lead on a Millsap dunk with 6:21 to play. Getting Paul the ball had apparently been mandated to the players. (This strategy is, IMO, a part of the reason we were able to overcome a 13 point halftime deficit.) With his dunk at 6:21, Paul had 16 points and 5 rebounds in the 2nd half. However, for the last 6:20, Paul had 2 rebounds and 2 points - these 2 points came with 8 seconds to play.
From memory
It seems that TECH did not apply full court defensive pressure except on the first few USU possessions of the game and then on the last two USU possessions of the game. Paul played 40 minutes but he did not guard the inbounds pass and then sprint back on defense but just a few times. In prior games, he did this frequently.
In the last 6:20 Tech had 8 or 9 offensive possessions and Paul only got the ball one time while in scoring position - and he scored - with 8 seconds to go. One pass into Paul at about the one minute mark was knocked away and almost resulted in a turnover but a USU player knocked the ball out of bounds while going for the steal.
My perspective
Utah State changed defensive schemes and collapsed their zone defense on Paul after we took the lead at 6:21. There were two, sometimes three, USU defenders on him at all times. This made it hard to get Paul the ball. Getting it to Paul seems to be an effective strategy in the normal flow of the game but a good defensive scheme can render this strategy nearly ineffective when they know it is TECH's primary option.
Did you know these facts?IMO, Doc, freshness IS the key - but not only for Paul Millsap. I am glad I'm not a coach because everyone second guesses your coaching decisions. Well, I guess that's just part of the job - a very tough job.
- USU's offense created TECH defensive rotations and mismatches. On several USU possessions, Paul was guarding the point guard Pak/Huber or the shooting guard Carroll on the perimeter while the big men Harris and Matheus were guarded by smaller men.
- USU was playing their 4th game in 8 days - the last two on the road.
- TECH seldom used full court defensive pressure.
- TECH's substitution rotation used in prior games was not used in the 2nd half. 5 TECH players played 18 minutes or more in the 2nd half - Millsap 20; McKenzie, Haskins, Richardson, and Dean all played 18 minutes.
Never bash your players in the media . . . even if it's obvious.Quote:
Originally Posted by JAY
Message to KR. Stop recruiting JUCOS. That is the root of most of our problems. We always, ALWAYS have teams that have to hold the opponent to atleat 60 in order to win. Thats because we have athletic Jucos that can play D but lack in the team play department because they are always new to the system. OR they are quiters and stop playing whenever the odds are against them. I wouldn't be suprised if this team quit after a loss like this, highly disappointed, but not suprised.
Thanks Howard. I know that alot of my post was directed because of Paul, but wasn't limited to only Paul. Did we ever think that maybe Paul didn't get the ball alot because he was exhausted?? I know that he is TECH's superman... but even superman has a weakness!! I said to the guys at that 8:30ish timeout that Paul needed a 1 or 2 minute break. You could see it in his face... you see it in his body language. At that point we have gotten the lead back down to 4. It was also pointed out to me by JFord that Wilds after hitting his big 3 pointer didn't play another minute!!! Can someone confirm this??Quote:
Originally Posted by HoDo-Tech70
Also, I don't remember the time, but #3 (Matheus) had 4 fouls at around the 7 minute mark. Shouldn't the offense have gone straight at him to try and make him foul out?? Especially since he was on of the big guys that was gaurding Paul. ARGH... oh well... time to take out our frusration against Boise.
That almost happened against Nevada. Wilds hits a 3 pt and KR immediately puts him on the bench not to be seen again for way too many minutes.Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMarvin362
Geez... is he selecting bad shots and just hitting them?? Why would he do that??Quote:
Originally Posted by TYLERTECHSAS
we've gone over this before, and i'm not defending richard here because i don't agree with him. wilds' pt is diminishing because mckenzie is emerging. he's a much better defender and really adds a lot while he's on the floor. however, since they both play the 4, if mckenzie is on the floor, then wilds isn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMarvin362
perhaps this will change. richard did change up his substitution pattern some against utah state. corey and jerome were on the floor together. trey and elliott were on the floor together. even daevon and drew were on the floor together. this isn't like richard, who likes to substitute his players by position (i.e. daevon/drew, marcus/trey, corey/jerome, mckenzie/wilds and millsap/disy -- subbing only for one another).
i personally wish we could use a lineup in which mckenzie was at the 3, wilds at the 4, and millsap at the 5. we lose a little bit of defensive quickness with jerome/corey on the bench, but i think we add some toughness and size. mckenzie handles the ball better than jerome and corey, as well.
in my opinion, wilds' ability to shoot the 3 means he should get at least 20 minutes per game. he's our best shooter, period. however, mckenzie has earned more and more playing time and should be getting 25-28 minutes per game. outside of millsap and haskins, i believe mckenzie is our most crucial and versatile player. he does everything well.
i don't think it's out of the question to ask wilds to get 20 minutes at the 4 and split the other 20 minutes with mckenzie at the 4. then you could steal 8 minutes from corey/jerome and play mckenzie at the 3. heck, if you need to, you could sub mckenzie for millsap and play him and wilds. yes, it's a small lineup, but disy isn't that much bigger.
just some observations. my ideal rotation would be ...
starters
haskins -- 30 minutes
elliott -- 20 minutes
dean -- 22 minutes
wilds -- 20 minutes
millsap -- 36 minutes
bench
drew -- 10 minutes
trey -- 20 minutes
richardson -- 15 minutes
mckenzie -- 27 minutes
theprofessor
Wilds picked up TWO quick fouls -Quote:
Originally Posted by TYLERTECHSAS
Folks UNLESS you play all out defense for KR - you are not going to see much of the floor -
Wilds doesn't play great defense and he gets in foul trouble very easy...
Gotcha.... thanks Dwayne and Howard.
I'm still learning.
I saw that, too. But it still looks funny from the other side of the court when he seems to be the only one hitting 3s and he is on the bench. Honest mistake, Doc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
With the way we've been shooting lately, I can't see how it would hurt to give Wilds a few more minutes--and a few more looks--and maybe even giving Ibrahim a minute or two. In either game, one or two additional 3s would have made a HUGE difference, IMO. But I agree, neither one should be seeing the big minutes since they are so weak on D. But then again, since you know nobody has any tape on Ibrahim, he'd probably get a couple of easy looks before they figured out he was a weak spot on D.:icon_wink
You are right again. KR wants his players to play all out defense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
Here's a recent example: Anybody remember Marco Cole? I thought he provided "instant offense" but he was lacking on the defensive end. I favored playing him more than he played because of his offensive production.
Simply put, the winner is the team that scores the most points. Even if we give up 95 points we could still win if we score 96 points or more. Sometimes, in order to win games, you have to be willing to sacrifice some points on defense by playing someone who can get more on offense. Michael Wilds may be this kind of player this season. We have seen him get hot and bury 3 after 3, yet he plays soft on defense at times.
I don't care if TECH wins 32-31 or 132-131. I'll be there no matter what. What matters is the W. I enjoy a good defensive game but I am thrilled when TECH wins no matter how "ugly" the defense. More fans will come if we WIN no matter the shape of the defense.
This years team seems to have a better chance at winning with a faster paced offense combined with the best possible defense they can give. Your best team on defense may not be the team that can best get the W.
Remember, what matters is the W.
I agree Ho-Do -
But while facing a team that shots 50%+ from the floor for the season -
Defense is a premium and if your shot isn't falling, it makes it even more of a premium -
While Wilds defense may be part of the reason he has seen more pine time, his cold hand probably has some effect on that also -
We'll never be able to go back and get the W in the USU game. Our first half offense and defense put us in a hole that we did not overcome. What we need to remember for the future is that what matters is the W.
Great defenses can not win a game unless we manage enough offense to score one more point than the opponent.
Great offenses can not win a game without somehow holding the opponent to one less point.
Great coaches seem to be able to find an effective balance. Each game could have a different balance of offensive firepower vs defensive prowess because "WHAT MATTERS IS THE W."
So what if Wilds gets 2 early fouls? The way I see it, Wilds should have 5 fouls to use in about 20 minutes of action. We should have the depth to not have to worry about anybody getting into foul trouble except for Paul and Daevon. I don't think Wilds getting a couple of early fouls should take away his PT especially when the team is struggling shooting the 3ball.
If you have 2 early fouls - unless you are Millsap or Haskins - you are going to the bench until the second half -Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUE
If you played for Tommy Joe Eagles - if you had two FOULS in the first half - no matter who you were you rode the bench until the 2nd half and then if you got the 3rd early in the 2nd half, you rode the bench until the 10 minute mark -
If Wilds had a hot hand right now, his PT might be different - but playing a team like USU, you have to have defense on the wing...
Got to give USU credit, they shot as well as ANYONE has every shot in that first half - I can see how they hit 20 out fo 33 the game before in Los Cruces -
Nevada is getting healthy with Sessions and USU shoots good nite in and nite out - those are two pretty good teams and I think we handle USU next go arouns with ANY luck going our way and Nevada can be beat if we get some production out of our guards -
The season is FAR from over -
Thank you for reminding everyone. We have our work cut out for us but I am positive we can do some damage in the WAC tournament.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
You also have to keep a team of shooters like USU out of the bonus (and off the FT line) as long as possible. Like HoDo says, it's about balance.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUE
From the interview with Gary Blair in the article about the Techsters and A&M being ranked now (I thought it was relevant to our discussion, and more than a little ironic):
"This isn't a Cinderella team," Blair said. "This is a team that's playing up to its expectations and you do it with defense first, rebounding second and offense third. It seems kind of funny that we're tied with La Tech for that last spot. That's where I learned all those things."
I don't know if that philosophy should have that much effect on this team with our depth. Why should a role player with 2 early fouls have to sit out if he only plays half of the game? And that is no explanation to why he didn't get any playing time in the second half. Anyways, Wilds had ZERO FOULS against USU. And for all we know, Wilds could have had a hot hand on Saturday, but I guess we'll never know. He was 1-2 from downtown, 50% (rest of team: 0-12, 0%). He can't be that bad on defense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
First - it is a COACH thing - every coach I've watched basically lives by the 2 foul first half to the bench crede -
2nd - it was the Nevada game where Wilds picked up to quick fouls - he didn't play defense hard enough in the USU game to pick up a foul -
Which probably answers the question on why he was shown to the bench so quick -
One other thing - FT shooting was bad in this game - even though we had very few trips -
1 pt to force OT, 2 pts to get the win -
Conference play is that TITE - most of the time - EVERY POSSESSION counts - every foul, every TO, every missed FT - especially when you are playing the upper echelon teams -
AMEN! We haven't talked about it yet, but there were WAY too many big defensive stops that didn't convert into offensive points.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
Utah St's last made FG was at the 2:25 mark -
That's outstanding defense on the Dawgs end....
That was one of the most entertaining 2nd halfs I have witnessed in a while - even with the pain of the loss -
It was a very good basketball game played by two schools who fought very hard till the end -
The only thing that was lacking was a W....
I hope we get to play USU in the finals of the WAC tournament rather than the semi-finals. The games we have had with them are a fan's delight. I believe the 3rd time will be the charm for TECH. I hope USU qualifies for an at-large bid to the "dance" after we get the "automatic" bid.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
The major problem in Reno could be the altitude. IMO, we must establish a 10 man rotation giving rest to everyone (including Paul) by tournament time. 3 games in 3 days at that altitude will be tough. USU and Nevada are accustomed to higher altitudes so we must be prepared to go deep into the roster.
Got to use the media breaks in the game to turn a 1:40 rest into a 5 minute stint on the bench for Paul -Quote:
Originally Posted by HoDo-Tech70
Can be done - just have to be proactive in doing it -
So many Monday morning coaches. How smart they are. I just wonder how many times they have really been in the pits.
BullPup, I'll come right out and admit it - I am a Monday morning quarterback. It is a habit I must have obtained from my father. Maybe a psychologist could tell us if it is inherited or if it's a learned behavior. I'm not sure which it is. I just know that I have become what my father was.Quote:
Originally Posted by BullPupN'46
I remember going to church when I was a child and listening to my father and his friends participate in vigorous discussions of plays, players, and coaching decisions during Paul Dietzel's and later Charlie Mac's tenure at the school in Baton Rouge. I guess you could have called them "Sunday Morning Quarterbacks". At the time, I thought it was silly because nothing was ever changed and these guys had never played college football. Also, only a few had ever attended a live game and they only heard the games on the radio. However, they sure seemed to have fun doing the second guessing. As I got older I began doing the same thing about MLB and Tech sports but from a completely different perspective - I got to see the games.
An online dictionary defines it this way:
Monday morning quarterback
n. Informal.
One who criticizes or passes judgment from a position of hindsight.
Second guessing sports events is innocent fun. It's natural for a sports FANatic to second guess the players and the coach. It's a part of all games and sports.
If you are really uptight about it, BullPup, lighten up a little and remember that Monday morning quarterbacking is a huge part of the sports FANatic's experience. I suspect you may have done the same thing at some point - maybe about Coach Budke and the Lady Techsters, maybe about Joe Raymond Peace and/or Jack Bicknell and football, or maybe about a political situation or issue. Whatever you choose to second guess, I hope you continue to have fun doing it. That's what it all about, just having fun being a FANatic.
IMO, to be a FANatic, Monday morning quarterbacking is required. It still changes nothing about the game outcome but "You gotta love it!"
Go DAWGS!!! Win the WAC.
That was some of the best basketball I've ever seen at the TAC. There were times in that second half when Haskins' defense and Millsap's offense and rebounding was completely stunning. Again, Utah State is the best team in the conference. We went toe to toe with them. Our team deserves some credit for their effort. We're still in first and we ain't got nothing to hang our heads about.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
I agree with you. IMO, USU is the best team in the conference at this time. With their remaining schedule they will be favored by most to win the regular season. I hope the DAWGS can hold on and tie them for 1st place but USU would win the tiebreaker and get the #1 seed in the tournament.Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
GO DAWGS!! Win the WAC.
Great post! Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoDo-Tech70
I'm going to disagree with you and Boxer - with a condition -Quote:
Originally Posted by HoDo-Tech70
When HEALTHY - I still think Nevada is the best team in the league because of their matchup problems and because they hold "home court" in the tourney (not that it helped last year) -
But we are talking symantics here - 1 & 1A....
The problem with USU is that they NEVER seem to be OFF and even when they are off they still shot 42% from the field -
Sheesh....
Un heard of from a guard based team -
you and i see eye to eye so many times it's uncanny. however, for once, i have to disagree with you here. i know we're talking semantics, but i think tech's best rotation is a nine-man rotation (unless we get in foul trouble). at this point, i just cannot justify giving disy any minutes. i'm not saying paul should be playing 40 minutes, i just think his 4-6 minutes a game on the bench are better served going to mckenzie.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoDo-Tech70
i know we're sacrificing rebounding and defense by playing wilds and mckenzie together, but if you make sure corey dean or jerome are on the floor too, i think we'll be fine on the boards. i think wilds and mckenzie both give us too much offense (and disy far too little) for them to just split 40 minutes a game.
again, as i've mentioned earlier in this thread, i think keith needs to get a bit more creative in how he gets these 2 guys minutes. if you steal only 5 minutes a game from millsap and 5 minutes a game from dean/richardson, that gives you 25 minutes apiece for wilds and mckenzie (or any variation of 50 minutes between the 2 of them). i think we would be a far better team if this happened every game.
again, i think we have 9 players who have earned solid playing time. i'd stick with that rotation.
theprofessor
Professor, You make a solid point. I almost stated 9 instead of 10 but I have not yet given up on Harry Disy. Some playing time could be good for him. Example, Michael Wilds last year vs. Michael Wilds this year - Wilds looks to be a completely different player due to playing time. HoDo
I would like to see Dean go back to our 6th man and primary first guy off bench, but take no more than 7-8 shots per game with at least half of them inside 10 feet. Plays good defense most of the time, not all the time.
Explain to me how Jerome Richardson has earned playing time?Quote:
Originally Posted by theprofessor
I think he can be a solid player if he dosent shoot from the outside. He looks like he has the ability to slash and get to the rim. Him and Corey should be attacking more, maybe they will get the other big men in foul trouble which in turn will help paul. If we have to rely on his 3 point shooting it is going to be a sad ending to potentially a great season.Quote:
Originally Posted by soccer_dawg9
I agree that a "healthy" Nevada is probably the best team in the WAC. However, they do have at least one big man on the bench with an injury. At the present, USU>Nevada, IMO. TECH is very close to these top two, IMO.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden
One of my favorite all time TECH memories was the year of the tornado in Little Rock (March 1997) when our DAWGS got hot at the right time and nearly won the SBC tournament. I can still see that shot by Courtney Hargraves (spelling?) being right on line but coming up just a little short. We lost that championship game to South Alabama by 1.
Dwayne, your memory for details is better than mine. Weren’t we a 5th seed in that tournament? Was that the same year the guy from Jacksonville - Knox - put up 40 something points - mostly 3's? I expect you will have a vivid memory of this tournament because of your "near death" experience.
Well, anyway, back to the future. Here’s my hope for March 8th, 2006 – March 12, 2006 in Reno, Nevada – a “fresh” and hot shooting LOUISIANA TECH > all the rest of the WAC.
At Reno, I hope there is no tornado and I want that last second shot to go in for a great championship win. I’m ready for the "thrill of victory" and not the "agony of defeat".
GO DAWGS!! Win the WAC!
That was the year of the infamous "LAMAR Defense game" - where we lost to them twice in the regular season - the second time at home in double OT in a game that convinced me that Woolridge was not a very good coach -Quote:
Originally Posted by HoDo-Tech70
We finished 10-8 that year in the SBC in a 10 team league - for some reason I think we were lower than a 5 seed -
First nite - Knox did go off for 40+ in one of the opening round games -
We beat Lamar in the quarters by 2 - I want to say this was in the early games because we got in trouble when we left Barton and got trapped on the south loop when the tornados came through -
We beat a ranked UNO in the semis by 6? on Sunday
Ouch!! That LAMAR double OT loss at home would get my vote for the most frustrating loss I've ever seen. Even greater than the loss to Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 and significantly more frustrating than the recent loss to Utah State. GO DAWGS!! Win the WAC!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwayne From Minden