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There has been a lot of talk recently about yanking Samarco to teach him a lesson about playing as a team. We also talked about the lack of true roles for players. It seems like a big cluster with no real identity. I think that where this teams identity will come from will be from Nate Miller. Miller is relentless in games (probably in practice too) and does well at everything on the floor. When your best player is your hardest worker it is impossible for the others to make excuses. All the kid does is put up numbers and recruit. Comparisons to Anthony Stacey I think are premature in terms of ability but comparable in terms of the impact he will have on this team. I do realize that is premature as well, but thats what my crystal ball sees. (Maybe it is just my optimism)

I think Nate is going to be a very good player here, but to say he does everything well on the floor .....have you looked at his FT %?

Flipper wrote:I think Nate is going to be a very good player here, but to say he does everything well on the floor .....have you looked at his FT %?

Correct. I missed that one. It should be easily remedied.

Yeah...just ask Shaq abou that one...

Flipper wrote:Yeah...just ask Shaq abou that one...

There are two steps to being a good ft shooter, and most people who have played basketball know them well. Repetitiion and focus. He needs to do the same exact thing everytime before he shoots(some sort of dribbling amount or spinning motion (with the ball), he needs to get his legs into each shot and he needs to make sure he is focused on the rim for a period of time before he shoots.

My limited experience in watching Miller play was mostly positive, except for the FT shooting as mentinoed, but that is a skill that can easily be improved. I really like his hustle, intensity and effort. If you could bottle that and give it to a few of our other players, we would be very competitive nightly. I am anxious to see how he handles Kent tonight. I am anxious to see how Samarco responds to Coach's "message" from the Miami game.

Flipper wrote:Yeah...just ask Shaq abou that one...

Ahem. Big Flipper, understand that Shaq is 7-1, 350, and insanely strong. Beyond that, his hands are so big he could palm a beach ball.

With Nate, I'm hoping that it's a simple lack of focus and practice. Free throw shooting is an excruciatingly psychological endeavor. You can be a find outside shooter and a bad free throw shooter (Cory Ryan), or you can be a below average outside shooter and a terrific free throw shooter (Ron Lewis). Lamon Pippen was a 50% free throw shooter. I once saw him sink 25 free throws in a row in practice. Hopefully, Nate does not have a mental block related to hitting free throws in games.

BleedOrange wrote:

Flipper wrote:Yeah...just ask Shaq abou that one...

Ahem. Big Flipper, understand that Shaq is 7-1, 350, and insanely strong. Beyond that, his hands are so big he could palm a beach ball.

With Nate, I'm hoping that it's a simple lack of focus and practice. Free throw shooting is an excruciatingly psychological endeavor. You can be a find outside shooter and a bad free throw shooter (Cory Ryan), or you can be a below average outside shooter and a terrific free throw shooter (Ron Lewis). Lamon Pippen was a 50% free throw shooter. I once saw him sink 25 free throws in a row in practice. Hopefully, Nate does not have a mental block related to hitting free throws in games.

Repition can be a cure for this. Your bodies instincts take over and you dont have to worry about your mind.

Even though we lost Nate had a double double against Kent State. Too bad we coukd pull off the victory too

Nate played great today. He was a force on the boards, and that's where this team needs him the most. Tell him to teach some of his teammates how to board eh?

falconmama2007 wrote:Even though we lost Nate had a double double against Kent State. Too bad we coukd pull off the victory too

Falconmama, your son was an absolute BEAST tonight! This was the first opportunity that I have had to see the BG men in person this year, and it has been a long, long time - if ever - that I have seen a BG player display the kind of hustle that Nate did. And him hitting that three near the end of the game was priceless!

And speaking more generally, this was the absolute best that I have seen a Dakich team run the motion offense, especially in the first half. The team was cutting to the hoop, finding passing lanes, and finishing at the hoop in such a fluid way, it really felt like I was watching a different team at times. We came up a bit short, but we looked a hell of a lot more sharp and balanced than we have sounded in quite a while.

GO FALCONS!

Due to having our car serviced we ran behind schedule and was unable to attend the game last night. This was the first game I have missed since he has been eligible to play. We did however listen online to the game and it was awesome.

It has truley been an experience for Nate as he has never lost two games in a row or by a large deficit. This simply motivates him to work even harder.

As for his free throws as a youngster he won free throw shooting contest and was always good at the line. Since high school he has been incosistant with his free throw shooting. I don't know what thats about? I don't even discuss it with him because his dad says enough about it.

None the less I am a proud Falcon Mama!!!!!

falconmama2007 wrote:None the less I am a proud Falcon Mama!!!!!

As well you should be. I think Eric Marschall is still adjusting to his injury and having Nate on board. When they learn to work together, I think we are going to be tough inside.

Despite losing 11 of our last 12 conference games, I remain hopeful.

I was taught to look for a little nail hole on the stripe. That's where they tied the string to measure off the FT line correctly and center it with the basket. If you can find that spot you'll be dead center on the basket and looking for it takes your mind off of everything else so you just shoot the ball without having so much to think about.

Flipper wrote:I was taught to look for a little nail hole on the stripe. That's where they tied the string to measure off the FT line correctly and center it with the basket. If you can find that spot you'll be dead center on the basket and looking for it takes your mind off of everything else so you just shoot the ball without having so much to think about.

Just don't try to count the bolts in the floor. It'll throw your game all off. Ask Kevin McHale...