(03-12-2022 08:45 AM)truEMU07 Wrote:  I was surprised to see Toledo lose to Ball State on the women's side, to be completely truthful, but the Cardinals were ready and brought it from the tip.

I, like others in here, was not surprised to see the Toledo men falter.

We are going to enjoy the last Buffalo ride with Felisha Legette-Jack at the helm: if she doesn't get hired by Syracuse this year I would be completely shocked. They were my pick at the outset of the tournament and I believe they take care of business against the feisty Cardinals.

I'm not going to the men's final tonight. We have prior commitments and the deal has always been if it was EMU I could go, if it wasn't then I had to drive the family tonight. Hoping the game is on a TV I can catch somewhere while we're out. I'm really sad about it, as an Akron-Kent State final is sure to have an electric crowd (remember the incident at Akron just a few weeks ago). Kudos to OU for their fans this week. They helped provide the best atmosphere of the tournament thus far. I like the balance that both teams have, but think KSU's overall depth wins out (at least that's what us gamblers that put money on Kent are hoping!!).

Thanks for the OU fan recognition. Would have loved to seen my Bobcats regain their early season mojo but it just didn't happen. I'm hoping to see EMU get things back on track. I remember rooting hard for EMU during their nice runs in the NCAA tournament in the 90's. There were some great MAC basketball teams in the 90's. Eastern Michigan was always in the mix!

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:26 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-12-2022 09:57 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  Akron is MAC champs with a 75-55 win over Kent St. I am wondering how much of that was Akron motivation in response to the posted video? They did an impressive job on Sincere Carry holding him to 6 points on 2of11 shooting and 9 turnovers.

John Groce was 3-2 in the NCAA tourney while at Ohio- so hopefully he can duplicate. Congrats Akron!!

Sadly when I picked Kent St to win I could not foresee a half suspension for 4 players. Wonder if Kent St goes NIT.

Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

(03-12-2022 09:55 PM)EMUGLORYDAYSthe90s Wrote:  

(03-12-2022 07:21 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-11-2022 07:41 PM)EMUGLORYDAYSthe90s Wrote:  

(03-11-2022 07:14 PM)holybovine Wrote:  And down goes Toledo, as I predicted.

What’s worse: to have our program and never be competitive, or to have Toledo’s program and never win when it matters?

Akron was so smart to pounce on Groce when Dambrot left! Akron literally lost their entire team 3 seasons ago! Groce is a phenomenal recruiter, and coach! I would choose Toledo's problem, they've had in the past ten seasons, almost every year winning 22-25 games! We've not been close to that success! Can Heath do what Groce, and Boals have done?

Akron indeed has made some excellent basketball hires. Dambrot was a no-brainer, his dismissal at CMU was specious at best and he obviously was a great MAC coach.

Groce was another issue. His four year career at Ohio was unremarkable. He did not inherit anything remotely considered a "dumpster fire" of a program, yet only achieved a 34-30 MAC record but he did get to the Sweet Sixteen in his fourth year and Illinois gobbled him up. His five year term in Champaign could only characterized as an abject failure. Yet Akron hired him and while many players left, the Akron program had a string of TWELVE CONSECUTIVE WIN seasons prior to his arrival, so his success in the last three is hardly stunning to Akron basketball. I'm not dissing what Groce has done at Akron, but his first two seasons below .500 in the MAC, something Akron had not seen in over a decade.

Again, I was not a Heath guy, BUT Stan did inherit a "dumpster fire". He assumed a player roster built to play the outdated Boeheim Syracuse zone that has not produced an over .500 conference record in seven years in the ACC. The coach had players tuned to playing the wishbone while the rest of the world was passing the football as it is today. We need to give him a chance.

That said, we have little other option as we are NOT buying him out.

Jerry, agree on all your points, except Groce has done something at 2 different MAC schools, that we've not done going on 25 years! Win the MAC, and go dancing! If Groce for example was available this past season, would EMU have hired him? The answer is NO! I'm hoping Heath can have us here in two seasons!

You are correct, I doubt EMU would have hired Groce and I would have been onboard with them not doing so as well. Coaches who did not succeed at the Power 5 or 6 level usually don't do well upon descending or returning to the MAC in BB or FB, Unicorn Frank Solich notably accepted. Thus, I was not a Heath guy although Groce has been very good for Akron and one could argue that Stan had a far better career performance than Groce. He also checked the "alumni" box at EMU as well.

There are a whole lot of things that I did not like about how the team was coached this year. While this board provides a venue for venting about such, I have refrained from doing much in that direction. Why? Stan is OUR coach for the next four years, like it or not and he hardly inherited an ideal situation. He did also win the Michigan MAC trophy, something Creighton has not done in his career.

While I may be dubious about the potential success of Heath in Ypsilanti, Stan deserves the same two crappy years Groce had when he got to Akron before we get too critical. GD at the end of the day, you are probably going to be right, but I'm pumping the brakes right now, it is the only choice I have.

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:26 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-12-2022 09:57 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  Akron is MAC champs with a 75-55 win over Kent St. I am wondering how much of that was Akron motivation in response to the posted video? They did an impressive job on Sincere Carry holding him to 6 points on 2of11 shooting and 9 turnovers.

John Groce was 3-2 in the NCAA tourney while at Ohio- so hopefully he can duplicate. Congrats Akron!!

Sadly when I picked Kent St to win I could not foresee a half suspension for 4 players. Wonder if Kent St goes NIT.

Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

And who would that be?

(03-13-2022 06:37 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:26 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-12-2022 09:57 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  Akron is MAC champs with a 75-55 win over Kent St. I am wondering how much of that was Akron motivation in response to the posted video? They did an impressive job on Sincere Carry holding him to 6 points on 2of11 shooting and 9 turnovers.

John Groce was 3-2 in the NCAA tourney while at Ohio- so hopefully he can duplicate. Congrats Akron!!

Sadly when I picked Kent St to win I could not foresee a half suspension for 4 players. Wonder if Kent St goes NIT.

Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

And who would that be?

Yeah, that thought went through my mind. It is one thing to identify a problem or need and another thing to solve it.

I'm not a member of the blue sky crew. A problem is a problem until presumably solved at which time it presumably no longer is a problem.

(03-13-2022 06:44 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 06:37 PM)emu79 Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:26 AM)emu79 Wrote:  Sadly when I picked Kent St to win I could not foresee a half suspension for 4 players. Wonder if Kent St goes NIT.

Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

And who would that be?

Yeah, that thought went through my mind. It is one thing to identify a problem or need and another thing to solve it.

I'm not a member of the blue sky crew. A problem is a problem until presumably solved at which time it presumably no longer is a problem.

At least Stan knows what he needs, the game has become 3-ball oriented. His offense got us a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, we just did not have the guys who could make them. Noah dishing out to Spottsville, Golson, Njie or Okongo? Give me a break.

EMU finished dead last in three point shooting in the MAC at .308 per attempt. Our alleged specialist, Binelli, INCREDIBLY finished worse at .293! We sucked at shooting the ball, we know the problem, now can Stan fix it?

13 seed Akron (127 NET ranking) vs 4 seed UCLA (10 NET ranking) in the west bracket of the NCAA Tourney Thursday @ 9:50 pm.

Toledo (75 NET ranking) plays at Dayton (58 NET ranking) Wednesday @ 7:00 pm.

Best of luck to both Akron and Toledo!!

(03-13-2022 07:12 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

At least Stan knows what he needs, the game has become 3-ball oriented. His offense got us a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, we just did not have the guys who could make them. Noah dishing out to Spottsville, Golson, Njie or Okongo? Give me a break.

EMU finished dead last in three point shooting in the MAC at .308 per attempt. Our alleged specialist, Binelli, INCREDIBLY finished worse at .293! We sucked at shooting the ball, we know the problem, now can Stan fix it?

I will note that Carry’s primary backcourt mate Jacob’s only shot 28.6% from 3. But Luckey’s/Jerry’s points still stands- Noah needs a side kick. (Lucky, what are the 3 levels?)

(03-13-2022 09:20 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 07:12 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

At least Stan knows what he needs, the game has become 3-ball oriented. His offense got us a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, we just did not have the guys who could make them. Noah dishing out to Spottsville, Golson, Njie or Okongo? Give me a break.

EMU finished dead last in three point shooting in the MAC at .308 per attempt. Our alleged specialist, Binelli, INCREDIBLY finished worse at .293! We sucked at shooting the ball, we know the problem, now can Stan fix it?

I will note that Carry’s primary backcourt mate Jacob’s only shot 28.6% from 3. But Luckey’s/Jerry’s points still stands- Noah needs a side kick. (Lucky, what are the 3 levels?)

1) Shoot the three ball
2) Shoot the midrange
3) Score at the Rim

EMU also finished last in the conference in assists.

(03-14-2022 07:08 AM)emu79 Wrote:  EMU also finished last in the conference in assists.

Yes, hard to give someone an assist if the receiver too often misses the shot.

I bet we finished in the bottom tier for number of TOS, and giving up offensive rebounds which all make up a “Bad” team.

(03-14-2022 10:42 AM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-14-2022 07:08 AM)emu79 Wrote:  EMU also finished last in the conference in assists.

Yes, hard to give someone an assist if the receiver too often misses the shot.

I bet we finished in the bottom tier for number of TOS, and giving up offensive rebounds which all make up a “Bad” team.

Great point about the assists Lucky! A great kick out pass to our shooters for an open three is not likely to get you much.

Stan's approach to the game is diametrically opposed as to how we played basketball previously. While I admire Spotts's effort, the ONLY player of our six returnees that could be considered to fit the Heath system was McBride.

Coach knows how he wants to play, in season two it is responsibility to get the athletes to play his game. In some respects, coaching in the G-League is much easier as the players are selected by the GM. Stan, however, took the EMU job and recruiting is crucial to success.

Interesting point about recruiting, Jerry. I remember an interview where Coach Heath said something similar about G-League vs college. Ultimately he said that you got to love college basketball to put in all that extra work into recruiting- I assuming/hope he does love college?

As ‘79 is pointing out elsewhere, EMU has no recruits for next year?!?!?! I think our hopes for improvement right now are that Mo quickens his step and reaction time, Luka strengthens, Golson stops shooting threes, and McBride breaks his three point slump. Which all could happen, but… Would love to see a seasoned and skilled small forward come in here from the JUCO ranks to give Noah some immediate help.

(03-14-2022 08:40 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  Interesting point about recruiting, Jerry. I remember an interview where Coach Heath said something similar about G-League vs college. Ultimately he said that you got to love college basketball to put in all that extra work into recruiting- I assuming/hope he does love college?

As ‘79 is pointing out elsewhere, EMU has no recruits for next year?!?!?! I think our hopes for improvement right now are that Mo quickens his step and reaction time, Luka strengthens, Golson stops shooting threes, and McBride breaks his three point slump. Which all could happen, but… Would love to see a seasoned and skilled small forward come in here from the JUCO ranks to give Noah some immediate help.

At season end a pro coach heads out for a vacation. Even the national champion NCAA coach, however, is recruiting the day after his last game. The NCAA "dead periods" of recruiting were established to give the guys a break.

Pro coaches hire assistants for their ability to coach techniques, scheme and handle players. An NCAA head coach, by contrast, needs such complimentary talent but also often hires on recruiting ability as well. It is a different game.

I also think we are in uncharted territory regarding recruiting. Who can forget Emoni Bates' celebrated early commitment to MSU? NIL and immediate transfer rules have produced a seismic change as well.

Stan is a good X and O basketball coach, that is why the Majic hired him and why Mo, Rice and Luka made such dramatic improvements this season. That said, he clearly needs better horses than he had last year. The big question: Does Stan have the energy and talent to get them here? Doing so is a job requirement and Stan knew that when he inked the contract.

Crazy year. To think that without Noah playing, EMU lost to Akron 46-44 on Akron’s home court.

(03-13-2022 09:20 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 07:12 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

At least Stan knows what he needs, the game has become 3-ball oriented. His offense got us a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, we just did not have the guys who could make them. Noah dishing out to Spottsville, Golson, Njie or Okongo? Give me a break.

EMU finished dead last in three point shooting in the MAC at .308 per attempt. Our alleged specialist, Binelli, INCREDIBLY finished worse at .293! We sucked at shooting the ball, we know the problem, now can Stan fix it?

I will note that Carry’s primary backcourt mate Jacob’s only shot 28.6% from 3. But Luckey’s/Jerry’s points still stands- Noah needs a side kick. (Lucky, what are the 3 levels?)

Thru EMU’s first 11 games. Noah and Monty were a good shooting tandem as Monty shot 59 percent on two’s and 36.1 percent on three’s. Both were in the top 10 of MAC scorers.

(04-06-2022 10:12 AM)Miggy Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 09:20 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 07:12 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:38 AM)emu steve Wrote:  Without Jacobs, Carry was a turnover machine. Akron played some incredible defense and Carry couldn't deal with it.

Yep but the bettors who chose Akron got 12 : 1

Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

At least Stan knows what he needs, the game has become 3-ball oriented. His offense got us a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, we just did not have the guys who could make them. Noah dishing out to Spottsville, Golson, Njie or Okongo? Give me a break.

EMU finished dead last in three point shooting in the MAC at .308 per attempt. Our alleged specialist, Binelli, INCREDIBLY finished worse at .293! We sucked at shooting the ball, we know the problem, now can Stan fix it?

I will note that Carry’s primary backcourt mate Jacob’s only shot 28.6% from 3. But Luckey’s/Jerry’s points still stands- Noah needs a side kick. (Lucky, what are the 3 levels?)

Thru EMU’s first 11 games. Noah and Monty were a good shooting tandem as Monty shot 59 percent on two’s and 36.1 percent on three’s. Both were in the top 10 of MAC scorers.

Again, with the analytics aside, we had two Monty's this season. The pre-covid Monty attacked the basket far better than any guard we had, including Noah. He also was a genuine threat from outside. The post-covid Monty, however, was probably not as effective as Rice, if I were Stan he would have not seen the floor.

(04-06-2022 06:52 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(04-06-2022 10:12 AM)Miggy Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 09:20 PM)RamyEMU Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 07:12 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(03-13-2022 05:41 PM)Luckeyone Wrote:  Same problem Noah Farrakhan had in that he was not really playing with a decent shooting guard to take the pressure off of him. We will see the real Noah Farrakhan next season with a better than average D1 SG who scores on three levels.

At least Stan knows what he needs, the game has become 3-ball oriented. His offense got us a ton of good looks from beyond the arc, we just did not have the guys who could make them. Noah dishing out to Spottsville, Golson, Njie or Okongo? Give me a break.

EMU finished dead last in three point shooting in the MAC at .308 per attempt. Our alleged specialist, Binelli, INCREDIBLY finished worse at .293! We sucked at shooting the ball, we know the problem, now can Stan fix it?

I will note that Carry’s primary backcourt mate Jacob’s only shot 28.6% from 3. But Luckey’s/Jerry’s points still stands- Noah needs a side kick. (Lucky, what are the 3 levels?)

Thru EMU’s first 11 games. Noah and Monty were a good shooting tandem as Monty shot 59 percent on two’s and 36.1 percent on three’s. Both were in the top 10 of MAC scorers.

Again, with the analytics aside, we had two Monty's this season. The pre-covid Monty attacked the basket far better than any guard we had, including Noah. He also was a genuine threat from outside. The post-covid Monty, however, was probably not as effective as Rice, if I were Stan he would have not seen the floor.

Rice should have played some of McBride and Spottsville minutes as well. Rise shot far better than McBride did. As McBride shot just 20 percent on three’s in conference play.

Spottsville averaged 27.8 mpg and just 7.2 points ppg in conference play. . Spottsville simply did not provide EMU with the number of points needed from him given the minutes he played.

Rice would have provided EMU with far more scoring and that would have more than offset the slight advantage Spottsville provided on defense.