Preview: LA Tech vs. WKU

[dawg80]

Man…wonder what this team looks like if Crawford was healthy.

Better!

Hunter is stepping up and gaining confidence and getting better. He needs more minutes. I would like to see spells with both Hunter and Lofton on the floor at the same time. Which is why we need Thomas to get more minutes too. Thomas has to become a dependable backup for minutes in both halves. But, that all takes planning and, ahem, COACHING! So, forget I even mentioned it...

We do have very, very, very good guards! They just need to become more consistent too. Yo Cobe! the first 5 mins of games is as important as the last 5 mins of games. They all count the same in the final totals.

I really like our trio of Williams, Archibald, and Willis.

[boxerdog]

Alot of focus has been on the match-up between Lofton and Sharp (7'5 center) and rightfully so, because it was interesting to watch Lofton figure him out. But the true dual was between the point guards, Williams and McKnight. They were both throwing hay-makers. It reminded me of some of the duals Bracey used to have with Hamlett (from North Texas). Cobe came out of the gate looking to score but he didn't find his shot until late in the game. Thing about Cobe is that he plays all out on both ends of the court. Most point guards don't have the drive and stamina to do that.

[arkansasbob]

Look at the boxscore...how the hell did we win this one? We held one advantage, at the FT line. We were 15/20 for 75% and they were 8/12 for 67%. Outscored them by 7 points on the line and won by 1. Oh, just answered my own question, that's how/why we won.

Konkol is klueless.

i don't know what box score you are looking at, but if you look at the team stats, we led in rebounds, assists, turnovers, steels, points in the paint, second chance points, and personal fouls. and we got to the line and made our free throws.

wku had the advantage in blocks and field goal percentage and that's about it. how do you beat a team that is shooting better than you? you turn the ball over and rebound.

[arkansasbob]

I will just say now that it is the next morning that I was giving up, but kept watching and THANK GOD I DID! WOW! I won't weigh in on Konkol too much, except that he didn't let his guys give up. That was a miracle comeback and made for GREAT TV! What a game!!!!! I was in disbelief at the end. And, that one foul that everyone thought was a bad foul too early in the clock ended up being a perfect timed foul. If they made the free throws, we had last possession. If they missed, we had last possession. it was perfect, even though at the time the announcers didn't think so... GREAT GAME!!!!!!!

maybe it made for great tv if you didn't have to listen to it. i can't think of a time the announcers added anything to the game except to state who got called for a foul (when they were able to get that right).

[LEEDAWG]

Kudos to the Dunking Dogs for getting the win. First half shooting was so horrendously bad but the Tech stayed in it with enough defense to only be down by 10 at halftime. WKU kept punching back in the second half. Their lead ballooned to 17. Still, Tech would get to within 4 points several times and WKU would shoot would quickly shoot their lead back to about 10 points. Really awesome the Dogs never gave up and made clutch shots and free throws.

[techman05]

maybe it made for great tv if you didn't have to listen to it. i can't think of a time the announcers added anything to the game except to state who got called for a foul (when they were able to get that right).

Those announcers were less than good for sure.

[champion110]

maybe it made for great tv if you didn't have to listen to it. i can't think of a time the announcers added anything to the game except to state who got called for a foul (when they were able to get that right).

I thought the TV announcers were decent. They had all kinds of compliments for Tech and for Jr. Of course, WKU led the whole game until the end, so lots of comments about them. They kept saying that Tech was going to come back and WKU better be ready, though.

[champion110]

Alot of focus has been on the match-up between Lofton and Sharp (7'5 center) and rightfully so, because it was interesting to watch Lofton figure him out. But the true dual was between the point guards, Williams and McKnight. They were both throwing hay-makers. It reminded me of some of the duals Bracey used to have with Hamlett (from North Texas). Cobe came out of the gate looking to score but he didn't find his shot until late in the game. Thing about Cobe is that he plays all out on both ends of the court. Most point guards don't have the drive and stamina to do that.

Totally agree about Coby! I will add that he plays best when we are under some pressure and there is an urgency for us to get something going.

[dawg80]

Totally agree about Coby! I will add that he plays best when we are under some pressure and there is an urgency for us to get something going.

I think Cobe Williams is terrific. I don't think he knows how good he is! As I have posted he needs to get more consistent scoring, and especially needs to elevate his FT shooting to the level Archibald shoots. But, he has so many tools in the toolbox, he is quick, smart, and just a sophomore too! Bright future...

[techman05]

Cobe has not looked as out of control as he did against lsu and a couple of other times. Very happy with his performance in our past 3 games.

[Dwayne From Minden]

It’s just two games into a long conference season but I like the cut of this team

With the crazy Covid rules there is no telling what may happen or what kinks are thrown their way

Just enjoy this team and Lofton in particular

I don’t think he will be here 3 years like Paul was

[boxerdog]

It’s just two games into a long conference season but I like the cut of this team

With the crazy Covid rules there is no telling what may happen or what kinks are thrown their way

Just enjoy this team and Lofton in particular

I don’t think he will be here 3 years like Paul was

Agree regarding Lofton. That said, I don't think he'll jump unless he gets a first round grade. He's still a youngster and could potentially polish up his game for more money overall if he waits another year. Maybe a good NIL deal could keep him, not that he really needs money because he comes from a stable home. We'll see. As for the team, it's hard for me to not think about what could have been with Crawford. It's not just his scoring but also his rebounding and passing we miss. Anyway, probably a one bid league again this season unfortunately.

Last thing about Sharp, his length makes it very difficult to get around his ball screens. It was like trying squeeze through a barbed wire fence.

[techman05]

Not sure that Lofton is going to get taller. He will have to develop an outside game to have success at the next level. And trim down quite a bit. Still a lot of development needed before he should leave.

[dawg80]

Not sure that Lofton is going to get taller. He will have to develop an outside game to have success at the next level. And trim down quite a bit. Still a lot of development needed before he should leave.

Wes Unseld, Paul Silas, "Milkdud Head" Charles Barkley...all short and stout, but all NBA Hall of Famers.

[boxerdog]

Wes Unseld, Paul Silas, "Milkdud Head" Charles Barkley...all short and stout, but all NBA Hall of Famers.

Exactly. It seems like the junk in the trunk is part of makes him a matchup nightmare. He uses the weight to move people where he wants them to go. I think he's got a decent midrange jumper but he doesn't use it as much because we don't have any chance for an offensive rebound if he misses. Like Millsap, he's excellent at rebounding his own misses around the goal.