(10-27-2015 03:30 PM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  

(10-27-2015 01:30 PM)WM Beancounter Wrote:  While I agree with tribeintheBurg that the Hofstra semi-final win probably took something out of our boys for the final, that is no excuse. Northeastern whooped our boys butts up and down the floor for 40 minutes. The game was never in doubt.

I'd argue the 40 minutes point. We came out of the half strong, and we made a run at the end. In between, they got the lead up to 22. This is a discussion for another thread, but I still think we'd have had a shot to win if we went to our bench earlier in the game when it was clear our starters were running on fumes. Our depth was an advantage all season with random great performances. We beat Northeastern home and away, and the difference in the final was that we played 50+ minutes the day before and they didn't.

We didn't beat NE on the road last season. In addition, they play a style that gives us trouble. They squeeze every last second from the shot clock in each possession. It will be interesting to see if the reduction to 30 seconds speeds them up at all. To beat Northeastern, the first 5-10 minutes are critical, because if they get the lead, they are very hard to catch up to. We trailed by 10 in that game almost immediately. I have never been in a building(including the Hall) that was so pro-Tribe. The start absolutely killed any advantage the Tribe might have had and we never recovered. Essentially, the game was never in doubt.

As for this season, who knows what will happen? Without a doubt though, Coach has established a program that can compete year after year. We have never had that before. Hard to believe we won't fall back without Marcus, but UT won a national title the year after Peyton Manning and UVA went to the final four the year after Ralph Sampson, so it can happen. The team is easy to root for. I love Tarpey, but if he is our leading scorer, we will be in trouble. He might lead us in some games, but scoring is not what makes Tarpey special. Dixon and Prewitt need to put up points every night.

NE should be favored. I'm hoping everyone goes to sleep on us as 4th. I don't think Hofstra and JMU will get it done against us, short of W&M injuries. We don't need to go to sleep on Delaware.

(10-27-2015 06:25 PM)LeadBolt Wrote:  NE should be favored. I'm hoping everyone goes to sleep on us as 4th. I don't think Hofstra and JMU will get it done against us, short of W&M injuries. We don't need to go to sleep on Delaware.

Omar singlehandedly spanked JMU last year. We'll sweep the Dukes again...bank on it.

If Either Dixon or Omar take the night off, an unknown at this point maybe OT, will have to fill it up, or it's a loss.

Cohn, Malinowski, and a dark horse looking better and better this fall, Rowley, will be point contributors. Rowley can shoot, folks.

I'm a huge fan of Tot's game and potential. I expect him to see a lot of minutes.

It looks like it may be tough getting minutes for some potentially deserving players. The first eight looks like Tarpey, Prewitt, Dixon, Sheldon, Cohn, Malinowski, Tot, Whitman. Tony seems to prefer an eight man rotation, but Rowley may be hard to keep on the bench. Is Rowley getting Schalk minutes? Then there are Burchfield and Schlotman, both of whom saw some time last year but may be odd men out unless injuries intervene. I like the quote from somewhere up the board that Seacat is in the "break glass in case of emergency" category. This sure feels different than a few years ago when it wasn't that easy to go nine deep very effectively.

I like having too many options like this; obviously injury is one worry, but if someone is having an off night it won't be as detrimental.

(10-28-2015 01:39 PM)3xTribe Wrote:  It looks like it may be tough getting minutes for some potentially deserving players. The first eight looks like Tarpey, Prewitt, Dixon, Sheldon, Cohn, Malinowski, Tot, Whitman. Tony seems to prefer an eight man rotation, but Rowley may be hard to keep on the bench. Is Rowley getting Schalk minutes? Then there are Burchfield and Schlotman, both of whom saw some time last year but may be odd men out unless injuries intervene. I like the quote from somewhere up the board that Seacat is in the "break glass in case of emergency" category. This sure feels different than a few years ago when it wasn't that easy to go nine deep very effectively.

Small sample size, but after watching the open practice/scrimmage I think Rowley will definitely see some minutes off the bench. He's not a post player though. I agree that Burchfield and possibly Schlotman will be the odd men out. Burchfield's specialty is three point shooting, but we have plenty of three-point threats that bring more on to the table as rebounders/defenders. Didn't get to see Schlotman, but I think Tot was well ahead of him at the end of last season.

Likely Starters - Sheldon, Cohn, Prewitt, Dixon, Tarpey
Key Reserves - Malinowski, Rowley, Tot, Whitman

I think we go 9 deep and nobody consistently plays more than 32 minutes/game. Tot spells Cohn, Malinowski and Rowley spell Prewitt, Dixon and Tarpey, and Whitman spells Sheldon.

(10-28-2015 02:27 PM)WMTribe90 Wrote:  

(10-28-2015 01:39 PM)3xTribe Wrote:  It looks like it may be tough getting minutes for some potentially deserving players. The first eight looks like Tarpey, Prewitt, Dixon, Sheldon, Cohn, Malinowski, Tot, Whitman. Tony seems to prefer an eight man rotation, but Rowley may be hard to keep on the bench. Is Rowley getting Schalk minutes? Then there are Burchfield and Schlotman, both of whom saw some time last year but may be odd men out unless injuries intervene. I like the quote from somewhere up the board that Seacat is in the "break glass in case of emergency" category. This sure feels different than a few years ago when it wasn't that easy to go nine deep very effectively.

Small sample size, but after watching the open practice/scrimmage I think Rowley will definitely see some minutes off the bench. He's not a post player though. I agree that Burchfield and possibly Schlotman will be the odd men out. Burchfield's specialty is three point shooting, but we have plenty of three-point threats that bring more on to the table as rebounders/defenders. Didn't get to see Schlotman, but I think Tot was well ahead of him at the end of last season.

Likely Starters - Sheldon, Cohn, Prewitt, Dixon, Tarpey
Key Reserves - Malinowski, Rowley, Tot, Whitman

I think we go 9 deep and nobody consistently plays more than 32 minutes/game. Tot spells Cohn, Malinowski and Rowley spell Prewitt, Dixon and Tarpey, and Whitman spells Sheldon.

I would think that there will be times when we see Tot and Cohn on the floor at the same time. Cohn was a pretty big time scorer in high school and I would think that he could be a shooting guard alternative when Dixon needs a break. And with Tot's height and athleticism, it would be a shame to limit him to splitting time with Cohn and Schlotman at the point.

Schlotman, Tot, Malinowski, Rowley, and Whitman. This is our SECOND team folks. I know that short term memory gets stressed a little bit when one gets older but I have no problem remembering when these fives guys would have made up our first team.

One other passing comment. I think that someone here said that Cohn provides us with the "pure point guard" that we have been waiting for. I also believe that Schlotman was/is supposed to provide the same abilities. The one thing that has troubled me a bit about Schlotman has been his reluctance to take the open jumper when it presents itself. When you are a perimeter oriented team like we are that relies on the three and looks for almost no offense from our post players, I do not think that we can afford a second player on the floor who does not contribute to the scoring on a consistent basis. I do not think that Cohn will be timid with his shot.

I know he is perimeter oriented, but I'm hoping Rowley can post up in certain match ups and take bigs off of the dribble. I get that he is a phenomenal shooter with deep range, but it would be nice to get more than the second coming of John Mark Ludwick.

(10-28-2015 03:03 PM)WMTRIBE75 Wrote:  Schlotman, Tot, Malinowski, Rowley, and Whitman. This is our SECOND team folks. I know that short term memory gets stressed a little bit when one gets older but I have no problem remembering when these fives guys would have made up our first team.

Maybe Tony will revert back to his hockey style line changes that he ran at Hampden-Sydney.

(10-28-2015 03:03 PM)WMTRIBE75 Wrote:  Schlotman, Tot, Malinowski, Rowley, and Whitman. This is our SECOND team folks. I know that short term memory gets stressed a little bit when one gets older but I have no problem remembering when these fives guys would have made up our first team.

One other passing comment. I think that someone here said that Cohn provides us with the "pure point guard" that we have been waiting for. I also believe that Schlotman was/is supposed to provide the same abilities. The one thing that has troubled me a bit about Schlotman has been his reluctance to take the open jumper when it presents itself. When you are a perimeter oriented team like we are that relies on the three and looks for almost no offense from our post players, I do not think that we can afford a second player on the floor who does not contribute to the scoring on a consistent basis. I do not think that Cohn will be timid with his shot.

Complete agreement on the talent level of the second team.

I made the "pure point guard" comment a little tongue in cheek. But Cohn has the smoothness, handle, and quickness that we haven't seen since I don't know when. I think the fans looking for that are going to be very impressed. Also agreed that Cohn's effectiveness will be greater than Schlotman's was due to the former's willingness to shoot.

Really looking forward to tonight. I especially want to see Cohn running the offense and Rowley shooting the lights out. They could end up being difference makers in the post-Marcus era.

(10-29-2015 11:35 AM)3xTribe Wrote:  Really looking forward to tonight. I especially want to see Cohn running the offense and Rowley shooting the lights out. They could end up being difference makers in the post-Marcus era.

Any word on practice? I heard Jack got cut may have needed stitches

Large, entusiastic crowd of season ticket holders showed up for Tony's practice and reception
last night.

Yes, Whitman received a cut and had stitches, but nothing very serious according to Tony at the reception.

The scrimmage was high voltage; we have ten talented players vying for five starting slots,
but it appears obvious Tony and staff will be substituting liberally this season.

A couple of observations:

*Tarpey right now looks in mid-season form at a high level of performance. He was all over the court last night, deflecting and intercepting passes, soaring for rebounds, and hustling the ball downcourt.

*Sheldon is in terrific shape, has lost a few pounds that appears to have gioven him greater speed up and down the court. He looked very confident and appears to have the starting nod.

*My mind has changed on Seacat. He has lots of ability, very good hands with the ball.
is built like an ox (told me he is 235 pounds right now) and will, I believe, play this year.
Tony said after practice he does not intend to redshirt Seacat. This young man will
be a force in future years at center for the Tribe.

*Cohn, even coming off missing four days of practice with the flu, looks to have sewed up the starting slot. His speed/quickness, confidence, ball-handling and fire on the court are obvious. Tony just needs to keep Cohn calm...he is a firebrand.

*Dixon is a gazelle on the court, better than ever. He has lost a few pounds and is faster than ever. Last night he drove well to the basket and is very quick.

*First team right now: Sheldon, Tarpey, Prewitt, Dixon, and Cohn. Second unit of Rowley, Malinowski, Whitman, Tott, Schlotman. As someone pointed out earlier in this thread. all
of these guys would have started for earlier Tribe teams! No Darnells among them for certain.

Tony emphasized several points in his post-practice comments:

*Thirty second rule will be significant. He expects to see lots more pressing defenses to force opponents to use valuable seconds getting the ball up court. Indeed, Tribe spent
time in practice practicing just that.

*Tony noted that the emphasis on pressing will pay off with new rule change that no longer gives teams bring ball up court a new ten seconds if ball goes out of bounds in their back court. So if ball goes out of bounds with three second left on 10-second clock the team bringing ball up court has just three second to get ball over midcourt line.

*Coaches can no longer call time out from sidelines. With one less time out also in new rules will put pressure on players not to waste timeouts if in trouble on the court...only players can call time out now.

*He expects our team to continue to play very uptempo game. We have, Tony said, lots of guys who can make shots.

*He emphasized difficulty of opening eleven out-of-conference games. Eight of eleven
played in post-season last season and four are conference champions. Tony also noted that he sees six teams, including us, vying for the CAA championship and CAA, with some many teams returning four or even five (JMU) starters is at a very high level.

All in all, a very upbeat evening. Look forward to many exciting evenings and afternoons at Kaplan this season.

So every prediction I've read here has Connor Burchfield at the end of the bench. This guy saw increased minutes as last year progressed, and was often one of the first guys off the bench in critical games. He was a good defender and a dead-eye 3-point shooter. So what happened? Is he injured? Off the team?

(10-30-2015 07:18 AM)WM Beancounter Wrote:  So every prediction I've read here has Connor Burchfield at the end of the bench. This guy saw increased minutes as last year progressed, and was often one of the first guys off the bench in critical games. He was a good defender and a dead-eye 3-point shooter. So what happened? Is he injured? Off the team?

Great point. It just looks like a numbers game right now. If Rowley is going to get time, it has to come from somewhere, and Burchfield might be the victim. This is really a problem of having an embarrassment of riches where outside shooting is concerned. On the other hand, the nearly inevitable injuries (here's hoping they are minor) will make that depth crucial.

Burchfield will be able to contribute when teams play a zone against us. Coach mentioned that he thought teams might play more zone this year also with the 30 second shot clock.

If somebody throws a zone at us, we have an embarrassment of shooters who can break it down - Dixon, Prewitt, Burchfield, Rowley, Malinkowski (esp. in the corner), and Cohn is a pretty good shooter as well.

Games are won on the defensive end.