The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-14-2024 01:44 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  A couple thoughts/comments.

1. There's no MAC team that could stand losing 4 rotation players.

2. I'm not sure why Freeman isn't playing more. Deep in the dog house or does he have some sort of injury going on too? 3 minutes when we're down as deep as we are today seems odd.

3. I understand pulling Hunter's redshirt if he's jumping ahead if Entenmann in the rotation and becoming a 15+ mpg guy, but it doesn't really make sense with his usage today. I assume this was just kinda getting his feet wet and we'll see his role expand. Quickly trending towards a lost season might as well develop a young big.

4. I don't really understand why people seem so defensive of Sendy on here. I mean I agree it would be dumb to suggest firing him... But... Like... Who is suggesting that? I haven't seen anyone blaming him or suggesting it's time to fire him. It feels like you're arguing with ghosts.

I was defending Sendy as a fan wrote on a Facebook KSU Men’s BB article (after yesterday’s loss at CMU) that “replacing the coach should be considered.” It really set me off. Took out my frustration on the wrong forum. You’re right…most of the fans on this site have more sense than to suggest firing Sendy.

(01-13-2024 07:51 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  

(01-13-2024 07:13 PM)Old Man Flash Wrote:  

(01-13-2024 06:28 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote:  I haven't mentioned it, but I've been thinking it this year. We lost a couple heavy hitters last year.
Rebuilding season.
Whatever that means now days.

Of course we lost 2 great players from last year. Hardly anyone expected us to win the league this year. With that said, this years team was good enough to challenge (maybe finish 2nd or 3rd). This season has been hijacked by injuries…We started a freakin’ walk on today for Pete’s sake. With what’s happened to our roster, these losses are to be expected. Plain and simple.

And for anyone out there that wants to spew the “fire the coach” garbage…get a grip on reality. Our Coach won the MAC Championship last year!

We have been very fortunate most years not to have a lot of injuries. This year we got ‘em. Nothing anyone can do about it…

Yeah, many years we were fortunate. I'm trying to think - did the 2002/02 team have any key players lose any games to injuries? I can't think of any.

I don’t think that ‘02 team had a single significant injury. The next season Antonio Gate hurt his knee or ankle late in the season and that may have cost us the MAC Championship.

(01-14-2024 10:45 AM)Old Man Flash Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 01:44 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  A couple thoughts/comments.

1. There's no MAC team that could stand losing 4 rotation players.

2. I'm not sure why Freeman isn't playing more. Deep in the dog house or does he have some sort of injury going on too? 3 minutes when we're down as deep as we are today seems odd.

3. I understand pulling Hunter's redshirt if he's jumping ahead if Entenmann in the rotation and becoming a 15+ mpg guy, but it doesn't really make sense with his usage today. I assume this was just kinda getting his feet wet and we'll see his role expand. Quickly trending towards a lost season might as well develop a young big.

4. I don't really understand why people seem so defensive of Sendy on here. I mean I agree it would be dumb to suggest firing him... But... Like... Who is suggesting that? I haven't seen anyone blaming him or suggesting it's time to fire him. It feels like you're arguing with ghosts.

I was defending Sendy as a fan wrote on a Facebook KSU Men’s BB article (after yesterday’s loss at CMU) that “replacing the coach should be considered.” It really set me off. Took out my frustration on the wrong forum. You’re right…most of the fans on this site have more sense than to suggest firing Sendy.

Ah gotcha. That guy isn't bright.

(01-14-2024 09:55 AM)Older and Older Wrote:  

(01-13-2024 04:22 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It continues to amaze me how common injuries are now in sports. Sure, there have always been injuries, but it seems to me that they are triple, at least, the number of injuries that there were long ago. In all my years playing basketball in the late 1950s and early 1960s I can't recall a single teammate missing a game due to injuries. A few missed a game her and there for the flu.

Muskrat. Totally agree with your comments from
Yesteryear about injuries. Just a thought…. Kids today don’t seem
to eat as healthy as when we were adolescents.
Lots of fast food and junk. When was the last time you saw a teenager
Drink a large glass of milk for example. I think
the fast food and junk contribute during the formative years to injuries at college level. As I said… just thinking out loud.

A glass of milk!! I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and I won’t touch the stuff.
My mother actually let me drink coffee at something like 6 years old so I would get an ounce of cream. Probably explains some things now. I’m not so sure what causes it in college other than some bad luck. I think that’s all that has happened to Kent this year. Did you notice how many Browns played hurt yesterday because it was a playoff game. Amari Cooper could hardly run, Denzel Ward was nonexistent and Bitonio was playing with back and ankle injuries. In the past players would play hurt all the time. With all the money at stake they just won’t do it anymore for the routine regular season game. The teams and agents don’t want them to do it either. Heck in the fifties and sixties they made ends meet by being mailmen in the off season. A different world.

My cheap seats answer to increased injuries: bigger, faster, stronger. Same thing in the NFL and NBA. High speed falls and collisions.

(01-14-2024 04:32 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 01:44 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  A couple thoughts/comments.

1. There's no MAC team that could stand losing 4 rotation players.

2. I'm not sure why Freeman isn't playing more. Deep in the dog house or does he have some sort of injury going on too? 3 minutes when we're down as deep as we are today seems odd.

3. I understand pulling Hunter's redshirt if he's jumping ahead if Entenmann in the rotation and becoming a 15+ mpg guy, but it doesn't really make sense with his usage today. I assume this was just kinda getting his feet wet and we'll see his role expand. Quickly trending towards a lost season might as well develop a young big.

4. I don't really understand why people seem so defensive of Sendy on here. I mean I agree it would be dumb to suggest firing him... But... Like... Who is suggesting that? I haven't seen anyone blaming him or suggesting it's time to fire him. It feels like you're arguing with ghosts.

It seems some folks want to nit-pick Sendy when they can ... he is truly not the problem. Moss is probably an ACL. Rollins has multiple injuries, but might get back. Freeman (check his track record at FAU) is just a tease, a rec-league all-star.

Entenmann and Hunter should get minutes, just to see if they fit for the future. ... Not sure Hunter is ready for any of this???

Hunter sure didn't look ready last night. As for Freeman I know he's not going to be making any All-Conference teams but he's a guy that stuck in the UCF rotation the last two years. So it feels like something has to be up with his minutes last night when we only have 9 scholarship players available.

(01-14-2024 06:54 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 04:32 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 01:44 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  A couple thoughts/comments.

1. There's no MAC team that could stand losing 4 rotation players.

2. I'm not sure why Freeman isn't playing more. Deep in the dog house or does he have some sort of injury going on too? 3 minutes when we're down as deep as we are today seems odd.

3. I understand pulling Hunter's redshirt if he's jumping ahead if Entenmann in the rotation and becoming a 15+ mpg guy, but it doesn't really make sense with his usage today. I assume this was just kinda getting his feet wet and we'll see his role expand. Quickly trending towards a lost season might as well develop a young big.

4. I don't really understand why people seem so defensive of Sendy on here. I mean I agree it would be dumb to suggest firing him... But... Like... Who is suggesting that? I haven't seen anyone blaming him or suggesting it's time to fire him. It feels like you're arguing with ghosts.

It seems some folks want to nit-pick Sendy when they can ... he is truly not the problem. Moss is probably an ACL. Rollins has multiple injuries, but might get back. Freeman (check his track record at FAU) is just a tease, a rec-league all-star.

Entenmann and Hunter should get minutes, just to see if they fit for the future. ... Not sure Hunter is ready for any of this???

Hunter sure didn't look ready last night. As for Freeman I know he's not going to be making any All-Conference teams but he's a guy that stuck in the UCF rotation the last two years. So it feels like something has to be up with his minutes last night when we only have 9 scholarship players available.

Yes, Freeman was a rotation guy at UCF for the previous two years. And his numbers never showed any signs of progression. (Check out his yr-to-yr game log here). https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...em-freeman

He looks the part, and has had some 'teaser' games along the way. But not after two years at UCF and not yet at Kent has he even had back-to-back games of solid production. Moss showed more signs of being a player than he has, and Moss is a freshman.

Not trying to 'hate' on the guy. Just writing what I see. Coaches get fooled recruiting players like this all the time. They look the part, but just can't/don't deliver. This is the down side of the portal.

The lights are just too bright for him.

(01-14-2024 09:55 AM)Older and Older Wrote:  

(01-13-2024 04:22 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It continues to amaze me how common injuries are now in sports. Sure, there have always been injuries, but it seems to me that they are triple, at least, the number of injuries that there were long ago. In all my years playing basketball in the late 1950s and early 1960s I can't recall a single teammate missing a game due to injuries. A few missed a game her and there for the flu.

Muskrat. Totally agree with your comments from
Yesteryear about injuries. Just a thought…. Kids today don’t seem
to eat as healthy as when we were adolescents.
Lots of fast food and junk. When was the last time you saw a teenager
Drink a large glass of milk for example. I think
the fast food and junk contribute during the formative years to injuries at college level. As I said… just thinking out loud.

(01-14-2024 02:09 PM)burden Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 09:55 AM)Older and Older Wrote:  

(01-13-2024 04:22 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  It continues to amaze me how common injuries are now in sports. Sure, there have always been injuries, but it seems to me that they are triple, at least, the number of injuries that there were long ago. In all my years playing basketball in the late 1950s and early 1960s I can't recall a single teammate missing a game due to injuries. A few missed a game her and there for the flu.

Muskrat. Totally agree with your comments from
Yesteryear about injuries. Just a thought…. Kids today don’t seem
to eat as healthy as when we were adolescents.
Lots of fast food and junk. When was the last time you saw a teenager
Drink a large glass of milk for example. I think
the fast food and junk contribute during the formative years to injuries at college level. As I said… just thinking out loud.

A glass of milk!! I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and I won’t touch the stuff.
My mother actually let me drink coffee at something like 6 years old so I would get an ounce of cream. Probably explains some things now. I’m not so sure what causes it in college other than some bad luck. I think that’s all that has happened to Kent this year. Did you notice how many Browns played hurt yesterday because it was a playoff game. Amari Cooper could hardly run, Denzel Ward was nonexistent and Bitonio was playing with back and ankle injuries. In the past players would play hurt all the time. With all the money at stake they just won’t do it anymore for the routine regular season game. The teams and agents don’t want them to do it either. Heck in the fifties and sixties they made ends meet by being mailmen in the off season. A different world.

Good point about eating habits. ..... I recall reading a book several years ago about "The Greatest Game Ever Played', i.e. the 1958 NFL championship game between the Giants and the Colts. I knew that players had jobs in the offseason, but I was amazed that at least one player had another job in the evenings!

(01-14-2024 08:16 PM)cleveland Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 06:54 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 04:32 AM)cleveland Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 01:44 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  A couple thoughts/comments.

1. There's no MAC team that could stand losing 4 rotation players.

2. I'm not sure why Freeman isn't playing more. Deep in the dog house or does he have some sort of injury going on too? 3 minutes when we're down as deep as we are today seems odd.

3. I understand pulling Hunter's redshirt if he's jumping ahead if Entenmann in the rotation and becoming a 15+ mpg guy, but it doesn't really make sense with his usage today. I assume this was just kinda getting his feet wet and we'll see his role expand. Quickly trending towards a lost season might as well develop a young big.

4. I don't really understand why people seem so defensive of Sendy on here. I mean I agree it would be dumb to suggest firing him... But... Like... Who is suggesting that? I haven't seen anyone blaming him or suggesting it's time to fire him. It feels like you're arguing with ghosts.

It seems some folks want to nit-pick Sendy when they can ... he is truly not the problem. Moss is probably an ACL. Rollins has multiple injuries, but might get back. Freeman (check his track record at FAU) is just a tease, a rec-league all-star.

Entenmann and Hunter should get minutes, just to see if they fit for the future. ... Not sure Hunter is ready for any of this???

Hunter sure didn't look ready last night. As for Freeman I know he's not going to be making any All-Conference teams but he's a guy that stuck in the UCF rotation the last two years. So it feels like something has to be up with his minutes last night when we only have 9 scholarship players available.

Yes, Freeman was a rotation guy at UCF for the previous two years. And his numbers never showed any signs of progression. (Check out his yr-to-yr game log here). https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...em-freeman

He looks the part, and has had some 'teaser' games along the way. But not after two years at UCF and not yet at Kent has he even had back-to-back games of solid production. Moss showed more signs of being a player than he has, and Moss is a freshman.

Not trying to 'hate' on the guy. Just writing what I see. Coaches get fooled recruiting players like this all the time. They look the part, but just can't/don't deliver. This is the down side of the portal.

The lights are just too bright for him.

I feel like you're not reading what I'm saying. I'm not trying to debate how good he is or what he could develop into. I'm simply saying in our injury depleted state a guy that held a rotation spot at a higher level the last two years doesn't really make sense to be nailed to the bench. Which is why I speculating he's either dealing with something or is deep in the dog house for some reason. Would I rather see minutes going to Moss? Yep. Would I rather see minutes going to Rollins, you bet. Would I rather see minutes going to Bekelja? No, not really.

(01-14-2024 05:47 PM)axeme Wrote:  My cheap seats answer to increased injuries: bigger, faster, stronger. Same thing in the NFL and NBA. High speed falls and collisions.

That plus the much longer regular and playoff seasons are probably two of the bigger reasons. Concussion protocol has added a lot of missed games. No catcher missed time in the 50’s and 60’s. Now 7 days off for a foul tip is pretty common. Lot of pitching oblique injuries today. Maybe 100 mph fastballs aren’t all good.

All I know is when a season gets ruined by injuries like Kent’s it’s frustrating. The Browns going through 4 QBs (won’t count no. 5 in the the last game), the Indians down to 1 starter in 2016 World Series (ok 2 if Bauer doesn’t play with his drone),the Cavs playing something like 2 games with all their starters and the Blue Jackets using half the Monsters roster most of the last 3 seasons. Team doctors will be making more than coaches.

(01-14-2024 09:00 PM)burden Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 05:47 PM)axeme Wrote:  My cheap seats answer to increased injuries: bigger, faster, stronger. Same thing in the NFL and NBA. High speed falls and collisions.

That plus the much longer regular and playoff seasons are probably two of the bigger reasons. Concussion protocol has added a lot of missed games. No catcher missed time in the 50’s and 60’s. Now 7 days off for a foul tip is pretty common. Lot of pitching oblique injuries today. Maybe 100 mph fastballs aren’t all good.

All I know is when a season gets ruined by injuries like Kent’s it’s frustrating. The Browns going through 4 QBs (won’t count no. 5 in the the last game), the Indians down to 1 starter in 2016 World Series (ok 2 if Bauer doesn’t play with his drone),the Cavs playing something like 2 games with all their starters and the Blue Jackets using half the Monsters roster most of the last 3 seasons. Team doctors will be making more than coaches.

Don't forget the 2015 NBA finals where we took the Warriors to 6 games without Love and Kyrie. Of course the Love injury had less to do with "kids these days" and more to do with "a guy ripped his arm out of socket on an inexplicably dirty play".

(01-14-2024 09:12 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 09:00 PM)burden Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 05:47 PM)axeme Wrote:  My cheap seats answer to increased injuries: bigger, faster, stronger. Same thing in the NFL and NBA. High speed falls and collisions.

That plus the much longer regular and playoff seasons are probably two of the bigger reasons. Concussion protocol has added a lot of missed games. No catcher missed time in the 50’s and 60’s. Now 7 days off for a foul tip is pretty common. Lot of pitching oblique injuries today. Maybe 100 mph fastballs aren’t all good.

All I know is when a season gets ruined by injuries like Kent’s it’s frustrating. The Browns going through 4 QBs (won’t count no. 5 in the the last game), the Indians down to 1 starter in 2016 World Series (ok 2 if Bauer doesn’t play with his drone),the Cavs playing something like 2 games with all their starters and the Blue Jackets using half the Monsters roster most of the last 3 seasons. Team doctors will be making more than coaches.

Don't forget the 2015 NBA finals where we took the Warriors to 6 games without Love and Kyrie. Of course the Love injury had less to do with "kids these days" and more to do with "a guy ripped his arm out of socket on an inexplicably dirty play".

I think I'd like to see the NCAA return to 15-scholarships for men, even if they stay at only 13 eligible per game. This injury stuff is getting more and more extreme.

(01-14-2024 01:44 AM)anti-zip Wrote:  A couple thoughts/comments.

1. There's no MAC team that could stand losing 4 rotation players.

2. I'm not sure why Freeman isn't playing more. Deep in the dog house or does he have some sort of injury going on too? 3 minutes when we're down as deep as we are today seems odd.

3. I understand pulling Hunter's redshirt if he's jumping ahead if Entenmann in the rotation and becoming a 15+ mpg guy, but it doesn't really make sense with his usage today. I assume this was just kinda getting his feet wet and we'll see his role expand. Quickly trending towards a lost season might as well develop a young big.

4. I don't really understand why people seem so defensive of Sendy on here. I mean I agree it would be dumb to suggest firing him... But... Like... Who is suggesting that? I haven't seen anyone blaming him or suggesting it's time to fire him. It feels like you're arguing with ghosts.

3 minutes for Freeman is a big mystery to me too. Who knows why…maybe in Sendy’s dog house for some reason. From what I’ve seen he’s an athletic player who can shoot it. Hope he’s back in the rotation soon. Certainly going to give us more than 3-4 of the guys who got significant minutes on Saturday.

Drives me nuts that we get so little info on the team. Elton used to tick me off at times but at least he had some info for us via his coverage of KSU and the MAC. Allan at the RC was a great source for us as well.

I equate more injuries in athletics to:

*Year round specialization in one sport and all that come$ with that.

*Wide open spread offenses in football where collisions that used to take place in a phone booth are taking place in the open field.

*An idiotic shift to wearing less protective equipment.

*The idea that if you take a month, week or even a few measly days off you are doing something wrong.

(01-15-2024 03:56 PM)fallsdog Wrote:  I equate more injuries in athletics to:

*Year round specialization in one sport and all that come$ with that.

*Wide open spread offenses in football where collisions that used to take place in a phone booth are taking place in the open field.

*An idiotic shift to wearing less protective equipment.

*The idea that if you take a month, week or even a few measly days off you are doing something wrong.

Good points.

The death of the mid range game and the post game could be a factor in basketball too. Mid range jump shots are pretty low injury risk plays. Post plays also are generally slower motion. More threes means more long rebounds where multiple guys are converging on the rebound and more perimeter oriented offenses mean more dribble drives from the arc where the ball handler reaches top speed before jumping. Also players are bigger, faster, and jump higher. Like Zion's foot and the side of that Nike proved, the laws of physics do apply.

(01-15-2024 03:56 PM)fallsdog Wrote:  I equate more injuries in athletics to:

*Year round specialization in one sport and all that come$ with that.

*Wide open spread offenses in football where collisions that used to take place in a phone booth are taking place in the open field.

*An idiotic shift to wearing less protective equipment.

*The idea that if you take a month, week or even a few measly days off you are doing something wrong.

Fallsdog, your first point is one I see most often mentioned. Remember Jimmal Ball who played basketball at Akron and was really good (by the way he is employed by Kent State now)? At Akron he suffered some back injury, tiny fractures I think it was. The doctors said that certain back muscles had gotten too strong from playing basketball all the time all year round. If I understood things I have been raeding, cross training or playing different sports is best for the body, as all muscle groups get involved. Playing only one sport all year causes certain muscles to get overdeveloped vis-a-vis other ones.