(01-17-2024 09:32 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Otherwise.....................

Good to see Strothers playing closer to his potential. His best game in nearly a year.

Overall................both this game and the last one - Furple - I have seen some improvement. Hard to nail down what that is, but less bad shots, less hero ball, better spacing, more often correct blocking out, some second-line guys making an impact.......
We've played demonstrably better since the WCU game - even if wins haven't followed.

This has been a rough stretch of the schedule. 3 away games - mostly against decent teams - with WCU at home sandwiched in there. But some of those need to be won.
A really big, hard question to ask is *why* does Parker commit that foul? Why do we make the multiple mental errors in multiple games leading to losses? I would posit that these losses have been against teams who, overall, played "smarter". And yeah, Furple and Wofford have generally higher SAT scores -- but can it be pinned on that? That may give them a head start, but there are *plenty* of teams that don't have that advantage who don't do those foolish things. Or don't do them as often. I don't have the answer, but that may be a bigger challenge to Savage than the Xs and Os.

Don't expect Karon Boyd back for Sat. I have no special knowledge; just a guess.

Good questions. Not easy answers.

(01-17-2024 09:50 PM)JWBUC Wrote:  

(01-17-2024 09:32 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Otherwise.....................

Good to see Strothers playing closer to his potential. His best game in nearly a year.

Overall................both this game and the last one - Furple - I have seen some improvement. Hard to nail down what that is, but less bad shots, less hero ball, better spacing, more often correct blocking out, some second-line guys making an impact.......
We've played demonstrably better since the WCU game - even if wins haven't followed.

This has been a rough stretch of the schedule. 3 away games - mostly against decent teams - with WCU at home sandwiched in there. But some of those need to be won.
A really big, hard question to ask is *why* does Parker commit that foul? Why do we make the multiple mental errors in multiple games leading to losses? I would posit that these losses have been against teams who, overall, played "smarter". And yeah, Furple and Wofford have generally higher SAT scores -- but can it be pinned on that? That may give them a head start, but there are *plenty* of teams that don't have that advantage who don't do those foolish things. Or don't do them as often. I don't have the answer, but that may be a bigger challenge to Savage than the Xs and Os.

Don't expect Karon Boyd back for Sat. I have no special knowledge; just a guess.

Good questions. Not easy answers.

I don’t think SAT scores have a thing to do with it. lol. Please don’t give me the BS those two are better academically than us. Take a look at research grant funding. They aren’t on the radar screen. I think in the long term, we are better without them in our league.

That being said, this team continues to fight and I’ll give them credit for that. But - it’s about wins and losses. Our men’s program just simply isn’t in very good shape. I think Brooks is a good coach, but it’s going to take a couple to three years to fix this. It certainly isn’t happening this year.

(01-17-2024 10:23 PM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  I don’t think SAT scores have a thing to do with it. lol. Please don’t give me the BS those two are better academically than us. Take a look at research grant funding. They aren’t on the radar screen. I think in the long term, we are better without them in our league.

That being said, this team continues to fight and I’ll give them credit for that. But - it’s about wins and losses. Our men’s program just simply isn’t in very good shape. I think Brooks is a good coach, but it’s going to take a couple to three years to fix this. It certainly isn’t happening this year.

No way to know, definitively, how SAT scores, globally, affects how a basketball team plays. Agreed. But to say ETSU's *undergraduate* SAT scores match up with Furple's and Wofford's just doesn't make sense. And has *nothing* to do with research grant funding - or next to nothing. Wofford doesn't even have ANY graduate programs. So no - not on the radar screen because that's not what they do. Duh. Not that that *necessarily* inhibits research funding...........but we all know it sure does - dramatically. I just went and looked up the public data on academic scores, and can post it if you wish. Which is *not* to say that any individual player did thing A, or made mistake B because of his or her SAT score. Obviously I'm generalizing - but it's not BS. We've had this discussion before; no need to drag it out again.

I do agree with your last paragraph.

(01-17-2024 10:23 PM)GoBucsGo Wrote:  

(01-17-2024 09:50 PM)JWBUC Wrote:  

(01-17-2024 09:32 PM)posterformerlyknownasthedoctor Wrote:  Otherwise.....................

Good to see Strothers playing closer to his potential. His best game in nearly a year.

Overall................both this game and the last one - Furple - I have seen some improvement. Hard to nail down what that is, but less bad shots, less hero ball, better spacing, more often correct blocking out, some second-line guys making an impact.......
We've played demonstrably better since the WCU game - even if wins haven't followed.

This has been a rough stretch of the schedule. 3 away games - mostly against decent teams - with WCU at home sandwiched in there. But some of those need to be won.
A really big, hard question to ask is *why* does Parker commit that foul? Why do we make the multiple mental errors in multiple games leading to losses? I would posit that these losses have been against teams who, overall, played "smarter". And yeah, Furple and Wofford have generally higher SAT scores -- but can it be pinned on that? That may give them a head start, but there are *plenty* of teams that don't have that advantage who don't do those foolish things. Or don't do them as often. I don't have the answer, but that may be a bigger challenge to Savage than the Xs and Os.

Don't expect Karon Boyd back for Sat. I have no special knowledge; just a guess.

Good questions. Not easy answers.

I don’t think SAT scores have a thing to do with it. lol. Please don’t give me the BS those two are better academically than us. Take a look at research grant funding. They aren’t on the radar screen. I think in the long term, we are better without them in our league.

That being said, this team continues to fight and I’ll give them credit for that. But - it’s about wins and losses. Our men’s program just simply isn’t in very good shape. I think Brooks is a good coach, but it’s going to take a couple to three years to fix this. It certainly isn’t happening this year.

I agree that Brooks is the man. I think the first year of Forbes comparison is fair and the team may start playing better in the last of the conference slate. I guess I was expecting more of a portal miracle this year and would be very competitive immediately. Parker is a talented player but he is like a 190 pound boxer fighting at the 240 pound level. Coaches need to make the best of what we currently have and go as far as we can go this year. It will not hurt getting Karon back. I think the coaches know they have to bring in more shooters and more bigs that can hold their own down low. With a true point guard like Peterson already here we have the makings of a really good program.