I thought the guys came out intimidated to start and Hofstra definitley came out wanting to demonstrate that THEY were the top dog in the conference and were going to show that UNCW was a punk team. The blitz from Hofstra at the beginning completely took out the crowd and that made it even worse. I was upstairs behind the students and was yelling at them to make some noise. I was yelling down to Okauru to man up. I was yelling at the cheerleaders to lead some cheers. And it was so quiet I have no doubt they could hear every word. And after a few minutes of making a fool of myself by myself, they started to make some noise and the team responded. And when the team responded, the crowd got louder and they responded more. Trask is an amazing place when the crowd is in the game and it's a huge home team advantage. The fans and the cheerleaders have to remember that they can push these players to go at it even when things aren't looking good.
Now to the game.
I have no idea what's been going on with Okauru but we NEED him to attack the basket for this team to succeed, not just stand outside and shoot three's. In the first half "bad Mike" was still afraid to attack and he wanted to pass even when he had a chance to drive. And with Phllips on the bench, he and Sims were the only guys who could attack and get to the rim, but neither of them were doing it. ONCE AGAIN, when they finally started driving we came back, and then they quit driving and we gave up the lead, then we attacked at the end to finish it off. My gut feeling is that the emergence of Phillips and Sims as our "go to" guys has affected him. I'm hoping last night gives us back "good Mike" as we round the second half of conference play.
And how about Fornes? He's got to be making a case for sixth man of the year in the CAA. This was the Fornes I saw in practice before the season started who was unstoppable on offense. He has a picture perfect stroke outside but couldn't hit anything in OOC play. IMO Tolefree moving on was the best thing that happened for Fornes. Sharing PT as the three point threat really kept him on the bench a lot. But now he's finishing at the basket, hitting threes and hitting the boards. We could easily have lost every one of these games during our streak without him. Cannot overstate what he's done.
The surprise of the night for me was our ability to turn over Hofstra. Haven't looked, but i'm wiliing to bet they haven't turned it over that much all year and it was literally the only thing that kept us in the game. The pressure we put on teams isn't the intense trap we used to see with Keatts, but it's a relentless, non-stop pressure from the second the opposition gets the ball. And what we are not doing is allowing teams to break the press and get to the basket unopposed.
I watched some of the game #1 Auburn played yesterday and saw that they were 16-1 with their only loss coming from Hofstra. We beat a really good team. Last night game reminded me of the knock down drag outs we had with College of Charleston under Keatts where the players were woofing and the fans got in on it. I loved the fact our guys didn't back down to Hofstra trying to physically intimidate us in the second half. And once the scuffle happened, the crowd was at full roar the rest of the game and our guys fed off that emotion. Sometimes teams can overreact with that type of intensity, but our guys feed off of it.
I left the game hoarse from yelling for the first time since Keatts left and it was glorious.
(This post was last modified: 01-30-2022 09:18 AM by 82hawk.)
(01-29-2022 08:22 PM)82hawk Wrote: Our winning formula so simple. Drive and make the defend or foul. THEN when they have to collapse to help, kick it out for a three. It is the sole reason we've gone on this run.
Totally agree and have said that same exact thing since the Campbell game! Great game to weather that early storm last night and come out with a hard fought victory.Driving to the rack is vital, and we are fortunate enough to have 3 or sometimes 4 guys that can take their guys off the dribble to the lane and often times all the way to the rack.
(This post was last modified: 01-30-2022 09:14 AM by GrayHawk.)
(01-30-2022 09:10 AM)solohawks Wrote: After 82s first paragraph this image came to my mind
But seriously spot on about the atmosphere
The students gotta be consistent to create that environment
I am confident that picture was what everyone around me saw, and i'm proud of it. We had students around me that were yelling at Hofstra players while WE were at the FT line in the middle of our shots, and I yelled at them to shut up too. These youngin's have to be trained up right as Seahawk fans.
(This post was last modified: 01-30-2022 09:24 AM by 82hawk.)
Just watched the game on Flo. The three from Fornes in the corner as the shot clock expired with 2 minutes left in the game was the game winner for the Hawks'. Went from down one to up two and it ignited the fans and our defense. Fornes then got on the break after a Baker block, drew a foul and hit both FT's as we went up 72-68 and closed out the game at the FT line.
(01-30-2022 01:29 PM)82hawk Wrote: Just watched the game on Flo. The three from Fornes in the corner as the shot clock expired with 2 minutes left in the game was the game winner for the Hawks'. Went from down one to up two and it ignited the fans and our defense. Fornes then got on the break after a Baker block, drew a foul and hit both FT's as we went up 72-68 and closed out the game at the FT line.
(01-30-2022 01:29 PM)82hawk Wrote: Just watched the game on Flo. The three from Fornes in the corner as the shot clock expired with 2 minutes left in the game was the game winner for the Hawks'. Went from down one to up two and it ignited the fans and our defense. Fornes then got on the break after a Baker block, drew a foul and hit both FT's as we went up 72-68 and closed out the game at the FT line.
That’s two games in a row he had the dagger. The three vs NU out of the timeout sealed the deal as well. He’s baffling sometimes, he’s got a good shot especially when he’s set or can step into it, no disputing that . But he does take some shots sometimes that make you go ,hmmmmm. Like the three from the other corner with two guys in his face that hit the side of the back board.
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(This post was last modified: 01-30-2022 01:44 PM by Seahawkhoops.)
