Bruno
PhD Student
Posts: 1422
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-14-22 04:48 PM - Post#346536
Clearly a team still figuring out roles and how to get in synch after losing big pieces. 0-3 isn't a surprise given the teams they've played. Loyola would be a solid Ivy which on the road is a tough win.
Ball movement has looked better every game. For a smaller team they are doing a pretty fair job on the defensive boards. They found ways to come back in both of the last two games down the stretch. And including their last game, they're shooting it pretty well.
Their defense overall has been inconsistent and at times porous. They've had spurts of making it very hard to score, but they don't have all the switching down yet. And interior defense is a soft spot thus far, along with offensive rebounding. Turnovers have been bad in two of the three games and FT shooting has been atrocious overall. Both of the latter two lost them the Loyola game, which when shooting 59 pct from the field you expect to win. But they gave that one away.
It's nice to see Lilly, Wojcik, Friday and Nana all featured. They are the top four and the right guys. Friday is playing his game nicely. Lilly hasn't really gotten off yet, and many of his shots (many of which he still makes) are tough looks. And yet he's still not quite taking his fair share of the shots yet, in part because teams are keying on him. Wojcik has rebounded and distributed well, and is hitting threes - all you can ask. And Nana has been active and pretty effective, but I'm puzzled by his having the ball top of the key so much and not down low more. (And going back to last season, he struggles when driving the lane – he either gets his shot blocked, stolen, misses the runner or gets a charge. It looks like it could be part of his game, but he doesn’t have it down yet.)
I've liked the contributions of Kloman, Kimo and Anya. Starting Anya seems to be helping. He’s raw but active and a bigger body than Cooley. Cooley seems like a man without a spot right now and has not yet shown what we all think is there. Cowan looks a step slow to me – does not look like he’s in midseason form yet. And Ndur has given some good minutes, and looks like he is still adjusting to the speed of the game.
Obviously the Loyola game was the killer. I won't quote some of the stats. But TOs and especially FTs were as bad as they come. That had to be a long ride back home.
So as of today they’re a bottom-half Ivy. I think they’ll come together more. But they first need to show they can win a few games.
| LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh) |
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JBears
Senior
Posts: 334
Reg: 06-06-12
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11-16-22 12:17 PM - Post#346677
In response to Bruno
Good synopsis of first three games, Bruno. I’ll be at the Pitz Thursday to see if the Bears can dramatically reduce the TOS and improve their FT shooting. Ideally, Martin would have had everyone taking 100 or 200 FTs per day after that hideous effort. If we had shot FTs just slightly better, it may have delivered a win despite the 23 TOS.
Martin has certainly not scheduled any early season cupcakes as most programs do. I see Stoney Brook gave URI a run for their money in Kingston last night, losing by just 10 points. They start a 7’ center and a 6-10 PF, with a 7-3 kid coming off the bench. Hopefully Nana and Anya can stay out of foul trouble and help lead many fast breaks. Perimeter shooting needs a strong effort, too.
GO BEARS!!!
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