I think Hart is spot on. This is the most athletically gifted team JMU has had in 20 years. They have speed, quickness and length. They need to take the ball to the rack more often. One thing missed in these posts was that JMU shot poorly from the line tonight. Several missed front end of one and ones. The final margin should have been worse.

Shooting 50% of their shots from three point range is going to lead to losses that would not be otherwise. We have good shooters but that type of offense has never worked historically. It leads to big wins on good shooting nights and big losses on bad shooting nights. Teams that play good defense, take high percentage shots and rebound well win more games than teams that lead the country in three point shots taken.

Tonight seemed more like lots of good, open threes than usual and less chucking threes early in the shot clock that you could have any time. Seemed like they especially kept leaving Christmas wide open for some reason, but he went cold after hitting a couple early.

Another note. Parker had a pretty good offensive night for a guard last night and racked up 5 assists with 2 turnovers. His production needs to continue on an upward trajectory for the team to be successful.

Also, we're lucky csu couldn't shoot. They had plenty of wide open shots which could have eaten into our lead many times. The defense didn't do great at rotating on picks at the top of the key. We covered down well on the roll but there was always an open man on the outside. Im unsure if this was deliberate because they torched Missouri from the outside showing they could shoot as a team.

Excited for the win and the margin and hoping we keep building. I'd rather have this team start slow and come together at the end of the year than degenerate because of bad coaching. Rooting for Lou and company.

2 observations...

1. How the heck did this team win by 8 at Mizzou?

2. Wilson & Jacobs combined for the following stat line out of the post...

...39 minutes, 16 boards, 20 points, 10 of 14 from the field, 1 foul, 2 blocks, 1 turnover.

We had a tremendous advantage in the post so no huge surprise these 2 guys should combine for nice numbers. One thing jacking up so many 3's should and will do is open up nice spacing for entry passes into the post. CSU started doubling in the post after Wilson hit some early baskets, but it didn't really matter. Jacobs had zero offensive moves on the blocks his first 2 years, but he has obviously worked on it in the offseason as he has shown this season a much improved ability to maneuver around the deep post area via either fake moves or using the dribble effectively.

Glad to see Richey get some playing time. He deserves more (IMO).

I agree that the passing for 3s between the guards/wings is better so a lot of the 3s are off a pass and more in the flow of the offense which I'm ok with. JMU has a few guys who are capable of hitting them so I think we keep taking them. It's just when they are one on one step backs after nothing in terms of movement on offense that they are problematic. It's a fine line and balance but there aren't many passes out of the post for open 3s the passing for 3s is between the guards and wings. I'd like to see more passing into the post and then out of the post for open shots or cutters but that's likely a function on how the opponent is defending us.

One other thing that I would like to see more of- deeper rotation. I know it probably had something to do with the score and opponent but this team is deep- play them, let them learn and develop, throw multiple bigs at teams, keep the guys fresh. I think we should be playing 10 guys each game- some for 5-6 minute spurts but use our depth. A lot of teams don't have the depth and versatility that this group does.

This last one goes hand and hand with #2- play aggressive. Go for more steals, sure you will get fouls but again use your depth to manage the fouls. I'm not saying that we should play dumb on defense- stay disciplined but take more chances play harder and more physical because this team can afford to.

(12-17-2019 07:47 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  2 observations...

1. How the heck did this team win by 8 at Mizzou?

2. Wilson & Jacobs combined for the following stat line out of the post...

...39 minutes, 16 boards, 20 points, 10 of 14 from the field, 1 foul, 2 blocks, 1 turnover.

We had a tremendous advantage in the post so no huge surprise these 2 guys should combine for nice numbers. One thing jacking up so many 3's should and will do is open up nice spacing for entry passes into the post. CSU started doubling in the post after Wilson hit some early baskets, but it didn't really matter. Jacobs had zero offensive moves on the blocks his first 2 years, but he has obviously worked on it in the offseason as he has shown this season a much improved ability to maneuver around the deep post area via either fake moves or using the dribble effectively.

Glad to see Richey get some playing time. He deserves more (IMO).

Richey has a nice looking free throw motion (was 4-5) Wish some of the others could emulate.

Pretty sad when a game thread is 2 pages.
I think this is a bad sign that apathy is really happening. Rowe was supposed to energize this fan base and instead is killing it.
I know I am becoming guilty of being a bit apathetic. Losing doesn't make me upset or angry anymore.
Apathy is the worst thing that can happen to a sports program. Being angry or upset about things means fans at least still care. When fans no longer care that is an uphill struggle that is really hard to fix.

(12-17-2019 10:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Pretty sad when a game thread is 2 pages.
I think this is a bad sign that apathy is really happening. Rowe was supposed to energize this fan base and instead is killing it.
I know I am becoming guilty of being a bit apathetic. Losing doesn't make me upset or angry anymore.
Apathy is the worst thing that can happen to a sports program. Being angry or upset about things means fans at least still care. When fans no longer care that is an uphill struggle that is really hard to fix.

to be fair, have you seen some of the massively empty arenas across the land?

there is apathy for sure, but it's also because no one really gets into or focuses strongly on college hoops until January. Especially at a school that is still playing football.

(12-17-2019 10:35 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Pretty sad when a game thread is 2 pages.
I think this is a bad sign that apathy is really happening. Rowe was supposed to energize this fan base and instead is killing it.
I know I am becoming guilty of being a bit apathetic. Losing doesn't make me upset or angry anymore.
Apathy is the worst thing that can happen to a sports program. Being angry or upset about things means fans at least still care. When fans no longer care that is an uphill struggle that is really hard to fix.

Heck it was 1 page! I thought the same reaction when I read this morning. I didn't bother to look up the score last night, although I had other plans as it was

To be fair, I think most fans are very occupied with football right now.

Football holidaYs Long lay-off and yes team performance plays into it.

I knew it was played yesterday. The indifference from the Coppin & Radford games has not worn off yet. My relationship with JMU basketball the last two decades is perfectly summed up with this cartoon:

(12-17-2019 11:49 AM)olddawg Wrote:  I knew it was played yesterday. The indifference from the Coppin & Radford games has not worn off yet. My relationship with JMU basketball the last two decades is perfectly summed up with this cartoon:

Truth

(12-17-2019 12:16 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I think Hart is spot on. This is the most athletically gifted team JMU has had in 20 years. They have speed, quickness and length. They need to take the ball to the rack more often. One thing missed in these posts was that JMU shot poorly from the line tonight. Several missed front end of one and ones. The final margin should have been worse.

Shooting 50% of their shots from three point range is going to lead to losses that would not be otherwise. We have good shooters but that type of offense has never worked historically. It leads to big wins on good shooting nights and big losses on bad shooting nights. Teams that play good defense, take high percentage shots and rebound well win more games than teams that lead the country in three point shots taken.

With little inside game, unless we adjust, any athletic team that defends the perimeter is going to be successful against us. CSU was giving away free shots, maybe they heard about the free chicken nugget deal.

Keeping the ball hot, taking extra passes was a huge improvement.
Some nice motion from the wings and a few of the guards.
When ahead and not frustrated, the team is having fun playing good defense.
Coach Rowe needs to bench the players that want to take off plays, stand and wait for hero shots, regardless of your jersey number.
Possession management is better but we still don't value them as we should. Taking too many long shots with 20 seconds left on the clock isn't good value. Maybe some restrictions on the green light mentality.
When we had some of those "runs" the pace was a little quicker. Need to use the bench to keep up that pace.
WOW! Michael freaking Christmas, and he's a freshman. Smartest and most universal player on the court. This guy is going to be a ton of fun to watch develop the next couple of years.

This wasn't a good opponent so it's hard to say for sue but....getting better is what it looks like we are doing. Hopefully that progression continues.

there doesnt seem to be much apathy when we lose.

only when we win......... hmmm

(12-17-2019 08:05 PM)PGJMU2 Wrote:  there doesnt seem to be much apathy when we lose.

only when we win......... hmmm

Unfortunately there is little or no interest either way. I have lost interest in Basketball in general. I used to be a big fan of the game. I haven't watched the NBA for years and rarely watch College other than March Madness. The 3 point shot and the emphasis on it at the AAU level has ruined the game IMO.

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(12-17-2019 09:00 PM)JMU85 Wrote:  

(12-17-2019 08:05 PM)PGJMU2 Wrote:  there doesnt seem to be much apathy when we lose.

only when we win......... hmmm

Unfortunately there is little or no interest either way. I have lost interest in Basketball in general. I used to be a big fan of the game. I haven't watched the NBA for years and rarely watch College other than March Madness. The 3 point shot and the emphasis on it at the AAU level has ruined the game IMO.

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I literally can’t watch a minute of the NBA...until the playoffs. Then that league becomes the absolute best like flipping a switch. The players just don’t try that hard during the regular season because it’s a long 82 games, but man the NBA playoffs are INCREDIBLE.

I can't even get in to the NBA in the playoffs, and I can never really put my finger on why exactly. I've always loved basketball, and college basketball is absolutely tops for me among all sports... But the NBA is so boring to me for some reason. The last time I can remember watching a full NBA game and actually enjoying it was Kobe's last game.

On the flip side, JMU basketball has of course been extremely disappointing for most of my life and I've pretty much lost all faith in the Gators as long as Mike White is coach but I still really enjoy watching both. Not sure what the big difference is for me.