@ Buffalo (1/5)

[hammb]

They were much more aggressive and we have multiple players who can’t guard.

I was working on a puzzle with my kiddo while the first half was on. Then missed the first 12 mins of the second half putting him to bed. So obviously I didn't watch super closely u til the final 8mins.

But I didn't see a single foul that was even questionable. We just don't guard anybody AT ALL. That's a good way to make sure you rack up the fouls.

Hell did we get even 5 defensive stops in the final 8 mins? Felt like they scored on every possession.

[BGSU33]

Curtis balled out for BG tonight. I really like what I'm seeing out of him when he's locked in like this. He reminds me more and more of the kind of player Justin Turner was for us when he plays like this. He's not the consistant scorer JT was for BG, but he is when he plays like this tonight. He also has better handles than Turner did when we tried running him at point, and he is quicker and more explosive than Turner was. He can also play a little about the rim, whereas Turner did not. I'm not saying he's better than Turner, but when he plays like this, he certainly fills the void left by him. Outside of that, a few bright spots at times and yet another disappointing loss.

[hammb]

Curtis balled out for BG tonight. I really like what I'm seeing out of him when he's locked in like this. He reminds me more and more of the kind of player Justin Turner was for us when he plays like this. He's not the consistant scorer JT was for BG, but he is when he plays like this tonight. He also has better handles than Turner did when we tried running him at point, and he is quicker and more explosive than Turner was. He can also play a little about the rim, whereas Turner did not. I'm not saying he's better than Turner, but when he plays like this, he certainly fills the void left by him. Outside of that, a few bright spots at times and yet another disappointing loss.

I really like Curtis. We have something in him. He creates off the dribble and can create for teammates as well. And he actually finishes at the rim.

[Hammer]

Singling out Matheny doesn't make sense to me. Diggs couldn't guard a street cone, Curtis doesn't guard anybody either. On the interior plowden is ok on help defense, but we can't guard anybody in the post and our other bigs don't rotate at all. Our team defense is simply awful and I see no reason to single anybody out.

Meanwhile Matheny and Curtis are still the only guards that ever actually create anything. Everybody kept saying we had 6 guards going into year but I still don't know that we have 2. Matheny has to play because Mills and Gordon are mostly awful and nobody knows what you'll get from Fulcher on any given night.

This team just sucks. We had a nice win over Oakland but other than that it's been beating some crap teams and losing against anything better than mediocre.

We are just poorly coached and our lineups/rotations make no sense. The reason I single out Metheny is he requires a lot of help on defense and brings nothing to the floor on offense. He kept getting lost and calling for switches on screens that never came. Either the rest of our team was playing the wrong defense on screens or he can’t defend them. Play after play they just went right after him. Diggs isn’t much better on defense but he at least has length and can score in bunches.

Really shouldn’t blame any of these kids. They are set up for failure at every turn.

Btw, did Reece foul out? I thought he only had four fouls.

[Hammer]

What do you think of a starting lineup of

Curtis
Fulcher
Diggs
Plowden
Reece

I feel like this would give us our best mix of defense, offense, length and athletic ability.

[guest44]

Reece did not foul out we just once again chose to not play him down the stretch. Why did Mills play so much? Curtis sat with 3 fouls during the part where Buffalo ran away. Not sure I understand why Gordon was in during crunch time vs Ball St, now Mills tonight. Huger has no idea who he wants on the court when. It’s January 5th. I guess that intramural scrimmage vs. Carlow didn’t get him prepared for MAC play.

[Globetrotter]

I struggle to even watch games anymore. Watched most of this one and then just gave up with about 5 minutes to go and assumed we lost. It's not a talent issue.

People were complaining about Metheny when he had 7 of our 12 points? It's not a Metheny issue at all.

[hammb]

I struggle to even watch games anymore. Watched most of this one and then just gave up with about 5 minutes to go and assumed we lost. It's not a talent issue.

People were complaining about Metheny when he had 7 of our 12 points? It's not a Metheny issue at all.

That was my thing too, globe. Matheny created his own shots and was scoring early. He's also the only player on the team consistently willing/able to create for teammates (I believe Curtis can do this as well).

Yeah all of our guys efficiency sucks. Every single player we've had in the Huger era has shitty efficiency. It's what he teaches/preaches. I'm beyond questioning any players ability in this system.

Our defense is hot garbage. Matheny deserves his share of blame for that, but other than maybe Fulcher I haven't seen a guard on this roster that can actually defend on the ball. And our defensive rotations are slow and/or nonexistent. Huger realizes we cannot play man defense so he's tried rolling out some zone this season but that is one place Matheny really can't play...he's too small for zone.

The bottom line to me is that we saw the ceiling on a Huger team. Get a guy who is a legit first team all MAC/POY candidate at guard and he'll get you near the top of the MAC. Of course his efficiency will be bad and his stats will never look as good as he actually is but you'll win some games. Without that player this team is kinda awful.

[BleedOrange]

I have no idea why anyone thinks Diggs should start. He does one thing well: shoot. He's mediocre at best at everything else and is prone to turnovers and bad passes. I would start CTurner, ONeal, Mattis, Mills, or Gordon instead.

Curtis is nothing like JTurner. Curtis is a pass-first guard who doesn't pound on the floor. Curtis finishes consistently, unlike JTurner. While JTurner was a scorer, he wasn't a consistent scorer. He would disappear for long stretches in many games on not be a factor, or he would score in bunches but deliver low percentages.

[hammb]

Diggs is what he is. He's a spot up shooter that doesn't handle the ball well, cannot create, and is pretty bad on defense. In a decent system where he could find open spots beyond the arc and catch & shoot he'd be tremendously valuable. On this team when he's hot shooting he's a net zero (canceling out his negative on defense/turnovers). When he goes cold shooting he's really tough to justify on the court.

Curtis has the makings of a legit creator. A guy that can both facilitate the offense AND get his own points. If he can gain consistency with the sort of game he's shown flashes of he should be our primary ball handler.

[Diemilkweed]

What do you think of a starting lineup of

Curtis
Fulcher
Diggs
Plowden
Reece

I feel like this would give us our best mix of defense, offense, length and athletic ability.

God yes. Please! Bring Gordon off the bench and keep the rest of the guards glued to it.

Reece should be getting 30 min a night. He can share the court with Kula. No idea if he can with Oneal, but I doubt it. Turner gets the rest of the front court minutes. In a pinch Plowden or Diggs or Turner can play off guard with Curtis running point.

[Globetrotter]

I wish we got more than 2 years of Curtis. It will be interesting to see him next to Fields next year.
I wish we ran a better offense.
It's pretty crazy that our Srs next year and the focus of the team will be Reece-Curtis when last year they weren't even on the team.
I wonder if Kulackovskis comes back next year.
Where was Chandler Turner for this one?

[guest44]

Chandler Turner & Cam Young were on the bench, not dressed. No idea why