Akron thoughts
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:12 pm
BG played a smart, focused game and were very opportunistic against a much more talented Akron team. We deserve credit for playing smart and tough for 40 minutes. Crawford played a good game and made very few or no mistakes with the basketball. We clearly over achieved and deserve a lot of credit tightening Akron's lead to three points with three minutes left. Our shooting throughout most of the game was good, but tailed off late when we had to force situations. The game was closer than the score indicates. Two late mishaps were particularly costly. The first was Clarke getting cleaned out by Diggs on the perimeter. The second was senior Dee Brown dribbling into traffic and having chuck the ball back out to the perimeter causing a turnover. Both turnovers were avoidable and resulted in Akron baskets.
Understand this: Akron has a TON of talent, and everybody returns next except year except Cevitnick. Nobody in the MAC can bring guys like Treadwell, Diggs, and Harney off the bench. All three of those guys would start for us. I can see Akron getting national attention next year.
On the flip side, Dee Brown played 33 minutes, shot 28%, got to the line once, had ZERO rebounds, disappeared in crunch time, and was embarrassingly out-hustled on a loose ball that almost gave Akron an open dunk. The disparity in this game was, in a word, talent. Much of this disparity shows up when comparing Dee Brown to guys like Gilliam, Diggs, and Walsh.
Yet, this was a normal Dee Brown game. Much criticism has been directed at Crawford, but I wonder how much better Crawford would look if he had a running mate in the front court that was a legitimate D1 talent. Dee Brown doesn't move without the ball, spread the defense, or drive to the basket and finish. Brown is ineffective against pressure and lacks physicality against strong defenders. After three years, I continue to be completely mystified by why Brown EVER sees the floor.
What's worse is that while Akron brings talent off the bench, our young, legitimate talent still look like freshman in late February (INCLUDING Sealey). Clarke played solidly down the stretch, but isn't where he should be this late in the year given hist talent. Sealey still hesitates in the open court and seems to be in a low grade panic in the half court. Henderson, a guard, remains completely passive and invisible on offense. Akron had 9 players with 10 or more minutes with nobody playing more than 29 minutes. We had 7, with 3 guys playing 33 minutes or more. And for all of this undeveloped young talent, we have a .500 record to show for it.
Understand this: Akron has a TON of talent, and everybody returns next except year except Cevitnick. Nobody in the MAC can bring guys like Treadwell, Diggs, and Harney off the bench. All three of those guys would start for us. I can see Akron getting national attention next year.
On the flip side, Dee Brown played 33 minutes, shot 28%, got to the line once, had ZERO rebounds, disappeared in crunch time, and was embarrassingly out-hustled on a loose ball that almost gave Akron an open dunk. The disparity in this game was, in a word, talent. Much of this disparity shows up when comparing Dee Brown to guys like Gilliam, Diggs, and Walsh.
Yet, this was a normal Dee Brown game. Much criticism has been directed at Crawford, but I wonder how much better Crawford would look if he had a running mate in the front court that was a legitimate D1 talent. Dee Brown doesn't move without the ball, spread the defense, or drive to the basket and finish. Brown is ineffective against pressure and lacks physicality against strong defenders. After three years, I continue to be completely mystified by why Brown EVER sees the floor.
What's worse is that while Akron brings talent off the bench, our young, legitimate talent still look like freshman in late February (INCLUDING Sealey). Clarke played solidly down the stretch, but isn't where he should be this late in the year given hist talent. Sealey still hesitates in the open court and seems to be in a low grade panic in the half court. Henderson, a guard, remains completely passive and invisible on offense. Akron had 9 players with 10 or more minutes with nobody playing more than 29 minutes. We had 7, with 3 guys playing 33 minutes or more. And for all of this undeveloped young talent, we have a .500 record to show for it.
ME, I like best, though. Just a matter of preference. 29 points from the freshman who is the reigning MAC West POW (and future MAC Freshman of the Year for 2011-2012) doesn't feel like mediocrity. Did I mention that the shot he missed was one of eleven that he took and the two free throws were out of ten?