I'll go back but I thought this season would be a transitional one and an overall .500 record even with LWH. Others had loftier expectations but this team has overall played to what I thought they would do. Most posters here had a 8-10, 9-9 and 8-10 record. This was a transitional year for the MAC and I think many of the conference teams overall were better than expected pre-season due to the unforeseen emergence of a some great young players.

(02-28-2016 12:20 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-27-2016 06:27 PM)EAGLE KING Wrote:  

(02-27-2016 06:25 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Nobody does bandwagons quite like you do, Bob

Always try's to distance himself from the teams when they do poorly. Telling of his character.

What character?

Good one! Did you get help with that snappy retort?

(02-28-2016 12:20 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-27-2016 06:27 PM)EAGLE KING Wrote:  

(02-27-2016 06:25 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Nobody does bandwagons quite like you do, Bob

Always try's to distance himself from the teams when they do poorly. Telling of his character.

What character?

Bingo!

(02-28-2016 12:31 PM)Bob Wickersham Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 12:20 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-27-2016 06:27 PM)EAGLE KING Wrote:  

(02-27-2016 06:25 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Nobody does bandwagons quite like you do, Bob

Always try's to distance himself from the teams when they do poorly. Telling of his character.

What character?

Good one! Did you get help with that snappy retort?

No Bob with you snappy retorts just come naturally.

(02-28-2016 12:24 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 10:50 AM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 09:22 AM)holybovine Wrote:  I'm telling you, I expect Thompson to "transfer up" to a P5 school, and I don't expect Lee to be back. This could be the best roster we have for a long time.

I could see the possibility of both of these happening. But probably both will be back.

I tend to see this more likely to happen the return of the players. The cupboard for next year isn't exactly bare. If both decided to transfer and its to P5 conferences it wouldn't be the top of the food chain P5 schools. Doesn't matter where they transfer for either one until they control their personal behaviors on the court.

I would hate to see Eastern lose either of these guys early. I think it is obvious how good James Thompson is (and while I'm a big fan of his play) but as of the last few games, he has shown that he still is a serious attitude issue. I know he gets frustrated (I would too) but you have to learn to control your temper. 2 ejections in 4 games. Unacceptable regardless of officiating. P5 schools may not be willing to take on that attitude. Lee, on the other hand, I think we should worry more about, especially if he can academically graduate this year. These two leaving puts EMU in a big hole next season. I think they will be back. But let's all cross our fingers.

(02-29-2016 09:15 AM)Time2Fly Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 12:24 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 10:50 AM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 09:22 AM)holybovine Wrote:  I'm telling you, I expect Thompson to "transfer up" to a P5 school, and I don't expect Lee to be back. This could be the best roster we have for a long time.

I could see the possibility of both of these happening. But probably both will be back.

I tend to see this more likely to happen the return of the players. The cupboard for next year isn't exactly bare. If both decided to transfer and its to P5 conferences it wouldn't be the top of the food chain P5 schools. Doesn't matter where they transfer for either one until they control their personal behaviors on the court.

I would hate to see Eastern lose either of these guys early. I think it is obvious how good James Thompson is (and while I'm a big fan of his play) but as of the last few games, he has shown that he still is a serious attitude issue. I know he gets frustrated (I would too) but you have to learn to control your temper. 2 ejections in 4 games. Unacceptable regardless of officiating. P5 schools may not be willing to take on that attitude. Lee, on the other hand, I think we should worry more about, especially if he can academically graduate this year. These two leaving puts EMU in a big hole next season. I think they will be back. But let's all cross our fingers.

not many quality teams will want a player who got a 6 game suspension

(02-29-2016 02:33 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-29-2016 09:15 AM)Time2Fly Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 12:24 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 10:50 AM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(02-28-2016 09:22 AM)holybovine Wrote:  I'm telling you, I expect Thompson to "transfer up" to a P5 school, and I don't expect Lee to be back. This could be the best roster we have for a long time.

I could see the possibility of both of these happening. But probably both will be back.

I tend to see this more likely to happen the return of the players. The cupboard for next year isn't exactly bare. If both decided to transfer and its to P5 conferences it wouldn't be the top of the food chain P5 schools. Doesn't matter where they transfer for either one until they control their personal behaviors on the court.

I would hate to see Eastern lose either of these guys early. I think it is obvious how good James Thompson is (and while I'm a big fan of his play) but as of the last few games, he has shown that he still is a serious attitude issue. I know he gets frustrated (I would too) but you have to learn to control your temper. 2 ejections in 4 games. Unacceptable regardless of officiating. P5 schools may not be willing to take on that attitude. Lee, on the other hand, I think we should worry more about, especially if he can academically graduate this year. These two leaving puts EMU in a big hole next season. I think they will be back. But let's all cross our fingers.

not many quality teams will want a player who got a 6 game suspension

I do not see Lee going anywhere. The only way he could is to graduate this summer and be a graduate eligible transfer. He has already used his redshirt year. I don't know but I doubt he would graduate this spring/summer. Hint: most athletes are NOT on course to graduate by spring of their 4th year.

2 headcases, not a huge market these days.

Bingo!

This would never happen with a man to man defense http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball...core-recap

(03-01-2016 04:12 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  This would never happen with a man to man defense http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball...core-recap

Quick question. You went to the most recent Oakland-Detroit game right? You talked about how great the environment was there, etc.. How much man-to-man defense versus zone defense did you see in that game that had Oakland score 108 vs Detroit scoring 97? If both teams played entirely zone in that game then so be it, but my personal hunch is that they didn't.

You can have poor defense with a man to man defense just as easily as you can have with a zone defense. It's a matter of intensity and paying attention to the details on the defensive end that determine how successful you are. Again, in this particular game we fell behind then tried to catch up by out scoring Ball State instead of buckling down defensively, trying to get stops and getting the game back under control. We've had this issue in a few games and it is a huge reason why this team is 7-9. It's not the zone. It's the intensity of the players PLAYING the zone. This team just can't afford to go into a game and just play blah defense and expect to win.

(03-01-2016 04:35 PM)TheCrumbIsHere Wrote:  

(03-01-2016 04:12 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  This would never happen with a man to man defense http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball...core-recap

Quick question. You went to the most recent Oakland-Detroit game right? You talked about how great the environment was there, etc.. How much man-to-man defense versus zone defense did you see in that game that had Oakland score 108 vs Detroit scoring 97? If both teams played entirely zone in that game then so be it, but my personal hunch is that they didn't.

You can have poor defense with a man to man defense just as easily as you can have with a zone defense. It's a matter of intensity and paying attention to the details on the defensive end that determine how successful you are. Again, in this particular game we fell behind then tried to catch up by out scoring Ball State instead of buckling down defensively, trying to get stops and getting the game back under control. We've had this issue in a few games and it is a huge reason why this team is 7-9. It's not the zone. It's the intensity of the players PLAYING the zone. This team just can't afford to go into a game and just play blah defense and expect to win.

Good points.

It is hard to say when the zone plays a factor and when the team throwing them in from the parking lot.

I've been saying all season whenever a MAC team makes 10+ (not let lone 18) treys and shoots them say 45% or higher, they win.

Few MAC teams could have beaten BSU Saturday.

They came out bombing and never took the foot off the peddle.

It is one of the 'golden rules' of college basketball (and also the Steph Curry rule) that the 3-point shot can permit an inferior team to beat a superior team on infrequent or rare occasions. In March Madness, didn't Ohio beat UofM, Georgetown, etc. with the 3-ball a few years ago?

(03-01-2016 04:35 PM)TheCrumbIsHere Wrote:  

(03-01-2016 04:12 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  This would never happen with a man to man defense http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball...core-recap

Quick question. You went to the most recent Oakland-Detroit game right? You talked about how great the environment was there, etc.. How much man-to-man defense versus zone defense did you see in that game that had Oakland score 108 vs Detroit scoring 97? If both teams played entirely zone in that game then so be it, but my personal hunch is that they didn't.

You can have poor defense with a man to man defense just as easily as you can have with a zone defense. It's a matter of intensity and paying attention to the details on the defensive end that determine how successful you are. Again, in this particular game we fell behind then tried to catch up by out scoring Ball State instead of buckling down defensively, trying to get stops and getting the game back under control. We've had this issue in a few games and it is a huge reason why this team is 7-9. It's not the zone. It's the intensity of the players PLAYING the zone. This team just can't afford to go into a game and just play blah defense and expect to win.

In the zone defense you can ether hide or provide cover for a weakness, in a man to man your weakness stands out like a sore thumb.

(03-01-2016 04:35 PM)TheCrumbIsHere Wrote:  

(03-01-2016 04:12 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  This would never happen with a man to man defense http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball...core-recap

Quick question. You went to the most recent Oakland-Detroit game right? You talked about how great the environment was there, etc.. How much man-to-man defense versus zone defense did you see in that game that had Oakland score 108 vs Detroit scoring 97? If both teams played entirely zone in that game then so be it, but my personal hunch is that they didn't.

You can have poor defense with a man to man defense just as easily as you can have with a zone defense. It's a matter of intensity and paying attention to the details on the defensive end that determine how successful you are. Again, in this particular game we fell behind then tried to catch up by out scoring Ball State instead of buckling down defensively, trying to get stops and getting the game back under control. We've had this issue in a few games and it is a huge reason why this team is 7-9. It's not the zone. It's the intensity of the players PLAYING the zone. This team just can't afford to go into a game and just play blah defense and expect to win.

Exactly. Effort is the name of the game. I think our size (or lack thereof) has something to do with it, but it was clear our guys were frustrated in the 2nd half. Hard to blame them after watching 3 after 3 after 3 go in, but you should always play your ass off on D. We have some players that don't always do that.

We had our issues with DaShonte Riley's lack of offense and awkward (seemingly disinterested) body language, but man would he be perfect on this team. It would allow Thompson to play some on the wing, and teams would have a very tough time attacking the middle of the zone. These last two seasons have shown just how special of a defensive player he was for us. Someone that altered games by himself.

(03-01-2016 06:56 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  

(03-01-2016 04:35 PM)TheCrumbIsHere Wrote:  

(03-01-2016 04:12 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  This would never happen with a man to man defense http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball...core-recap

Quick question. You went to the most recent Oakland-Detroit game right? You talked about how great the environment was there, etc.. How much man-to-man defense versus zone defense did you see in that game that had Oakland score 108 vs Detroit scoring 97? If both teams played entirely zone in that game then so be it, but my personal hunch is that they didn't.

You can have poor defense with a man to man defense just as easily as you can have with a zone defense. It's a matter of intensity and paying attention to the details on the defensive end that determine how successful you are. Again, in this particular game we fell behind then tried to catch up by out scoring Ball State instead of buckling down defensively, trying to get stops and getting the game back under control. We've had this issue in a few games and it is a huge reason why this team is 7-9. It's not the zone. It's the intensity of the players PLAYING the zone. This team just can't afford to go into a game and just play blah defense and expect to win.

Exactly. Effort is the name of the game. I think our size (or lack thereof) has something to do with it, but it was clear our guys were frustrated in the 2nd half. Hard to blame them after watching 3 after 3 after 3 go in, but you should always play your ass off on D. We have some players that don't always do that.

We had our issues with DaShonte Riley's lack of offense and awkward (seemingly disinterested) body language, but man would he be perfect on this team. It would allow Thompson to play some on the wing, and teams would have a very tough time attacking the middle of the zone. These last two seasons have shown just how special of a defensive player he was for us. Someone that altered games by himself.

I wonder if the MAC refs prefer Riley to JT4?

"Soft, quiet, etc." just what our refs like...

More excellent defense.