Untitled Document
Brown Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Penn Princeton Yale



Username Post: Brown beats Hartford 77-65        (Topic#165)
Bruno 
PhD Student
Posts: 1414

Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
12-07-04 01:19 AM - Post#750    

Nice all-around game for Brown. I'm impressed - Hartford is a team Brown should beat, especially at home, and while Hartford hung tough, Brown won going away by 12. And while it was the upperclassmen who led it, there were terrific contributions by some freshmen.

Story of the game was FT's. Hartford was very sloppy and aggressive defensively. Brown shot 40 free throws making only 25 vs Hartford's 5 (yep, FIVE) making 2 (yep, TWO). If Brown shot even decently, they should have won this by 20.

Forte and Ruscoe, for the third game in a row, led the team, hitting big shots when the team needed. They also worked well together, with Forte feeding Ruscoe for a few looks. Forte had 24, 5 and 5, while Ruscoe had 19, 8 rebs and 5 assists.

Nice contributions from MacDonald, McAndrew and the returning Huffman. Damon wasn't sharp from the field, but he was in the mix, and he's just a kid you want out of the court as much as possible. Becker and PJ also had solid games.

Three wins in a row - can't remember the last time we had three consecutive non-conference wins. We'll try for four vs. New Hampshire Wednesday.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)


 
Old Bear 
Postdoc
Posts: 3988

Reg: 11-23-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 01:38 AM - Post#751    
    In response to Bruno

Turned up the D in the second half and cut down on the turnovers! Didn't shoot threes as well as the last few games and foul shooting was fair only, Forte was 12 for 18 and he's better than that. Bruno's right (as usual), Miller's sure getting a lot out of the frosh.

 
brownbruin 
Freshman
Posts: 50

Loc: Connecticut
Reg: 11-22-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 02:33 AM - Post#752    
    In response to Bruno

I caught part of the game on a Hartford radio station. K.C Jones (yes, the Celtics' K.C. Jones) was doing the color commentary and went out of his way a number of times to decry the imbalance in the fouls called on UHart. Were the refs "homers" or was UHart just sloppy or overly aggressive on D? Also, 25 of 40 is ugly. We're not that good that we can give that many points away.

 
Bruno 
PhD Student
Posts: 1414

Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 01:06 PM - Post#753    
    In response to brownbruin

Yes, we should be better than that from the line, especially Forte (12-18). But while last year's team was great from the line, we did lose two excellent FT shooters in Powers and Martin and one good one in Kilburn. Regardless, we need to do better than that.

Don't know what the foul story was -- this kind of thing has happened before, and rather than think that refs in the Northeast simply favor Brown, I'd be much more likely to think that Miller's offense just forces lots of fouls against certain aggressive defenses. When the offense is moving and clicking, Brown gets fouls.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)


 
Bruno 
PhD Student
Posts: 1414

Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
Miller injured!
12-07-04 01:09 PM - Post#754    
    In response to Bruno

While these moments have been fewer and further between...

From the Projo:

"Hartford still led, 43-42, early in the second half when a Brown turnover sailed into Miller's hands. The coach fired the ball into the floor and when it bounced back up, it jammed a finger in his right hand. "I think I broke my finger. It curled up like it was deformed or something," he said.

While the team's trainer taped his finger, Miller's Bears tightened up on defense."
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)


 
Old Bear 
Postdoc
Posts: 3988

Reg: 11-23-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 03:04 PM - Post#755    
    In response to brownbruin

The refs called the game "close", more hand check calls and bumps on picks away from the ball on both teams, many more non-shooting fouls. That said, Brown seemed to adjust better than Hartford. A lot of Brown's trips to the line were because Hartford reached 10 fouls early in both halves and H had 2 techs called (4 shots). Can't really say they were homers.

 
BrownAlum 
Freshman
Posts: 73

Reg: 11-22-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 03:10 PM - Post#756    
    In response to Bruno

I didn't get to the game until there were 5 minutes left in the first half and I kind of wish I hadn't seen any of it. While it was great to see the Bears win it was a pretty ugly game. Forte and Ruscoe definitely came through and I am really starting to like MacDonald. I like the way he moves out there, I like his range and I thought he did a good job on D in the second half.

A few thoughts on the fouls:

-It was not the refs, Hartford plays that way. Before last night they had played three games, their opponents shot 102 FTs and they had shot 50.

-As we have seen against other teams, they just could not stop Forte's penetration without fouling him.

-Hartford didn't do itself any favors with regards to the number of FTs Brown shot by fouling until the last possible second, even when they were down 10.

My favroite moment of the night came when a foul had been called on a Hartford player which caused their coach to start jawing with the refs. As he was trying to get his point acorss the ref was looking at him with a "you better shut up look". The coach then said "I was just telling you how awful that call was." He was promptly slapped with a T.

How the mighty have fallen. KC Jones does Hartford games on the radio? Is that his regular gig or was this some sort of special occasion?

 
brownbruin 
Freshman
Posts: 50

Loc: Connecticut
Reg: 11-22-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 08:30 PM - Post#757    
    In response to BrownAlum

K.C. Jones used to coach the Hartford-based women's professional team a number of years ago, and he still lives in the Hartford suburbs. So, yes, I think he's the regular color commentator for UHart. On another note, it would be interesting for those of us who haven't yet made it to the Pizz to see Brown play this year if someone could give a quick critique of the key freshmen. And, also, Manhanga seems to have fallen in the team's depth chart. Is he just not panning out?

 
BrownAlum 
Freshman
Posts: 73

Reg: 11-22-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-07-04 09:36 PM - Post#758    
    In response to brownbruin

I have seen two games so I'm no expert but here are some quick observations:

MacDonald- Seems like Miller likes him and he will be getting more and more minutes at the 5 spot. I think he moves very well for a big guy and has a decent shooting touch. He takes the 3 when he's open so I assume that means Miller has told him that's ok. His post game isn't quite there yet but when I watch him in the offense he reminds me of Alai. He still has some work to do and Ruscoe played some 5 last night so Miller isn't ready to go with him all the time but I think he is, or soon will be, ahead of PJ.

Huffman- Haven't seen a ton of him but he seems very solid, smart and can shoot. For those who have been following Brown hoops for awhile someone close to the program told me he reminds him of Rick Lloyd '92. That is definitely a big compliment.

McAndrew- Similar to Huffman. Solid with the ball, hits the open jumper. Doesn't add a ton of size to the backcourt but is definitely a steadying influence.

Jeppesen- I don't have much evidence to back this up but I think he will end up being the stud of this class. I love his body and the way he gets up and down the court. He's got good size for a freshman and I can see him getting better and better. I don't really know much about his shooting ability but I like how he goes to the basket.

Coulibaly, Daniels- Haven't really seen much of them but they seems athletic and active, they need more bulk.

Nordrum- Definitely needs to bulk up in order to bang down low.

Overall I think the thing that has impressed me most about this crew is their mautrity. I know it helps to have Jason out there but they have all played solidly in the games I have seen, especially in crunch time. Often freshmen look like they have no idea what is going on but these kids seem to have adjusted very well to his level of play. Definitely a credit to Miller and his staff.

Manhanga was hurt for last Friday's game and I didn't see him last night. Based on his lack of progress and the quality of the freshmen, especially MacDonald, I wouldn't be surprised if he is never anything more than a role player.

 
Bruno 
PhD Student
Posts: 1414

Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-08-04 02:03 AM - Post#759    
    In response to BrownAlum

Nice observations. I've only seen this team play once on TV and listened to a few games on the radio, but I think you've got the freshman class pegged. I mean, it's still early to tell, but the Frosh seem comfortable out there and are truly contributing.

McAndrew has really come on -- it's not easy being the same position and in the same class as Huffman, who everyone agrees is the real deal. But next year, I could see Huffman as the 1 and McAndrew at the 2. He's not huge at 6'3, but that's big enough to play the 2 at this level. Nice shooter, very strong physically and good presence.

I'm very intrigued by Daniels, by the way. There seems to be a logjam at the small guard, but I loved what I saw from him on TV vs Missouri - he plays very aggressively on both sides of the court, and I'll be disappointed not to see more of him.

There is so much talent in this class, it's almost a shame they aren't spaced out a little more in different classes, as there's only so many minutes to go around.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)


 
light blue heavy 
maximus
Posts: 164
light blue heavy
Reg: 11-22-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-08-04 01:15 PM - Post#760    
    In response to Bruno

I have to say, I cant wait to see these guys, and I look forward to their games against the current Columbia Freshmen for the next four years. I think Nwachukwu-MacDonald and Huffman/McAndrew-Sweet/Loscalzo will be fantastic matchups.

 
Bruno 
PhD Student
Posts: 1414

Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
Re: Brown beats Hartford 77-65
12-08-04 02:11 PM - Post#761    
    In response to light blue heavy

Oh, agreed. I'm very intrigued by CU's Frosh. In fact, I'll post something on the CU board re: this.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)


 
Icon Legend Permissions Topic Options
Report Post

Quote Post

Quick Reply

Print Topic

Email Topic

1675 Views




Copyright © 2004-2012 Basketball U. Terms of Use for our Site and Privacy Policy are applicable to you. All rights reserved.
Basketball U. and its subsidiaries are not affiliated in any way with any NCAA athletic conference or member institution.
FusionBB™ Version 2.1 | ©2003-2007 InteractivePHP, Inc.
Execution time: 0.751 seconds.   Total Queries: 16   Zlib Compression is on.
All times are (GMT -0500) Eastern. Current time is 04:19 AM
Top