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After leading 43-19 at halftime, BG wins going away 86-50. Wiggins, Frye, Turner, Lillard, and Uju were the starters.

I still have no idea how this team is picked to be last in the MAC. I just don't see it.

Uju starting? I don’t think he fits well next to Wiggins.

You can watch it here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SfoxJjHg4 ... e=youtu.be" target="_blank

Honestly, I felt that way at first too, but he makes us a much better defensive team. He communicates well out there on that end, and it really helped us out.

And offensively, he can handle the ball better than most bigs. He's got some talent, and he can actually step out and shoot it from time to time.

mbenecke wrote:Honestly, I felt that way at first too, but he makes us a much better defensive team. He communicates well out there on that end, and it really helped us out.

And offensively, he can handle the ball better than most bigs. He's got some talent, and he can actually step out and shoot it from time to time.

He won't be able to guard athletes at the 4.

mbenecke wrote:After leading 43-19 at halftime, BG wins going away 86-50. Wiggins, Frye, Turner, Lillard, and Uju were the starters.

I still have no idea how this team is picked to be last in the MAC. I just don't see it.

You must've watched a different game than I did. Admittedly, it's tough to predict a season off a game against Bluffton but I didn't see anything to get excited about at all.

We won by having superior athletes force the issue and destroy Bluffton on the boards with way more size than them.

Still no semblance of ball movement to get good looks.
Still nobody that looks like a PG to create for others.
Wiggins still looked soft when challenged

Most disappointing was not really seeing snything exciting from any of the newcomers. Matiss got bullied bad when he tried to defend the post; against a guy probably 3" shorter. And he struggled to get space to get a shot off until late. Mattos showed some nice hustle running the floor but man several times he went up to dunk and could just barely get the ball above the rim.

I just cannot get excited seeing guys exercise their athletic advantage against Bluffton. Or our bigs putting up a dominant stat line against dudes 4" smaller than them. Unless Bluffton is joining the MAC I see exactly how we were picked last in the league. Other teams will easily match our athleticism (which isn't above average in the MAC) and force us to actually play basketball. We couldn't do it last year and I saw no signs we have improved this year.

Watched the u tube replay. What I did NOT see was improved 3 pt shooting. Not sure what final stats showed, but I don’t recall seeing many 3s go in for BG.

Wiggins is still the same player. Passive, not a super athlete just on the fringe of being a great.

Laster and Sierra first off the bench.

We are going to love Laster. He gives us a solid aggressive third hire with great handles. He’s an upgrade over Caldwell even if you just factor in size and aggressiveness. There is going to be talk of him starts over Frye. Looks like a sloppy shot.

Fields in third off the bench

Plowden and Mattos in 4th and 5th

Fields is a solid ball handler.

Biggest surprise so far is Mattis not playing yet. Uju starting.

Mattos ran floor well. He’s not a special athlete but I think he has a Wiggins level ceiling, that’s a compliment.

Plowden is playing well at the three mostly. Our roster construction dictates that in a game like this.

Uju looks solid in this game. I think his poor athleticism means limited minutes despite a solid b-ball iq and possible roll as a glue/utility player. I wonder where he fits in the regular season having to guard better athletes at the four and taller guys at the five.

Cowan mentioned he liked Sierras toughness.

Frye-Laster
Turner-Fields
Lillard-Plowden
Uju-Sierra-Mattis
Wiggins-Mattos

Gadsden has not played as of the half.

This roster is so messed up.

We have 4 guards for two spots. Pillars might be able to play the two so that’s five.

Plowden should be starting at the 4 if Mattis can’t. But he has to back up the three because we are so thin from the 1-3.

We have SIX less than superb athletes at the 4 and 5. That’s half the team. This team feels like it’s built for 1988 not 2018.

Wiggins gets bullied by players from Blufton

Defense looks bad as ever.

Big fan of Laster.

A rotation of Laster-Frye-Turner-Lillard-Plowden-Wiggins is ok and will compete a bunch. Those are our top six players.

I don’t think that the coaching staff will really do this and will not play Plowden at Pf. Will need one of Mattis-Sierra or Uju to step up even if we do that way.

We have zero tenacity on defense.

Gadson finally in. Looks the same. Something just not clicking. Wouldn’t be surprised if he flames out and transfers at the end of the year or has a ceiling higher than Wiggins.

Fields and Laster are upgrades over Caldwell and Cummings. If just for length and aggressiveness.

Sierra Is growing on me seems tough and The most athletic of the 6 bigs.

He new guys

Laster: Stud. Solid backup of atleast. Among our top 6 best players.

Mattos: Will provide solid backup minutes at the 5 this year and then I think have no trouble taking over next year. He looks like a super smart savvy frosh who may never be a star but will be a solid 3 year starter

Fields: I hope they use him as the 4th guard this year but think he can contribute and could be a star down the road.

Sierra: looks like a uju like solid contributor with a low ceiling. Will be tough and gritty but I don’t see star potential

Mattis: He has a great stroke. Has some handles too. I’m not sure he’s super comfortable with his knee yet. If he is as limited athletically as he seems at times I don’t know where he fits in the rotation. If he improves he’s got something that looks like he could be a star.

I think the success of this year will come down to the 4. If one of Mattis or Plowden can be a decent player there I think we could surprise.

While I think the talent overall will be improved I do have to agree with hamm that the offense looked bad again. I either don’t know what they are trying to do or don’t understand what they are trying to do and I’m not sure it matters. They don’t create space and weren’t finding shots easily against a bad team. Keep in mind two of the starters have been in Hugers system for four years now and three for three years. How you aren’t making Princeton style brilliant cuts just by knowing where each other will be at this point is beyond me.

Globetrotter wrote:While I think the talent overall will be improved I do have to agree with hamm that the offense looked bad again. I either don’t know what they are trying to do or don’t understand what they are trying to do and I’m not sure it matters. They don’t create space and weren’t finding shots easily against a bad team. Keep in mind four of the starters have been in Hugers system for four years now and three for three years. How you aren’t making Princeton style brilliant cuts just by knowing where each other will be at this point is beyond me.

That was the reason for my post. I thought the offense looked HORRENDOUS. Just look at the highlight video they played on bgsufalcons.com. All of our buckets came from either A) putbacks by bigger players, B) transition attacking the rim by bigger/more athletic players, or C) a bigger/more athletic player pushing the issue and driving in the half court.

No movement, no ball movement, we look as though we try to run pick 'n' roll every set like an NBA team and I never see it result in an open look for either player. I can count on one hand the number of uncontested looks we got last night. Against BLUFFTON. Yeah, our group has enough athletes to hit contested looks against Bluffton, but I would be shocked if they can do it against the MAC. Looks like another year of a good OOC schedule then when they get into MAC play look as though they have no idea how to shoot.

As for the players, I agree with Globe, we don't have a decent 4 on this roster. Uju will get destroyed athletically by MAC PFs. Mattis might make a decent stretch 4, but from what I saw tonight he will also get destroyed by MAC PFs. I'd almost disagree with Globe saying we have 4 guards for 2 spots. IT almost feels like we have 4 guards for 1 spot, and I don't see a single real PG on the roster. Hopefully Laster can show that, but he certainly seemed more to be using his handles to get his own shot far more than his teammates. If the MAC comes down to who can roll out the most centers to give you 5 fouls, that will help us.

I've bitched about the roster construction all offseason. Seeing it live really hammered home how bad it was. A former high quality PG has been here for 4 years and still cannot find us a PG. We still don't have a PF (maybe Sierra can be a PF?). If it's me I'm playing Frye/Turner/Lillard/Plowden/Wiggins as my starters. Laster, Fields, Sierra, and Mattos can come off the bench and show me if they actually deserve minutes. And yeah, barring some major development by that starting 5 looks like a poor MAC team to me. Mattis could be the wild card...he's likely destined for a Matt Fox future as a 3 pt specialist who gives up as much on D as he scores.

I'm being somewhat generous...talked with my Uncle (who has had season tickets since a kid in the 70s) after the game. He agrees we'll be .500 due to poor schedule, but really isn't sure we have more than 4-5 legit players on the roster. Ouch.

mbenecke wrote:After leading 43-19 at halftime, BG wins going away 86-50. Wiggins, Frye, Turner, Lillard, and Uju were the starters.

I still have no idea how this team is picked to be last in the MAC. I just don't see it.

Not sure what you were watching. You probably had the same glasses that you wore for the beginning of the football season. We have no 3 point shooting. Wiggins plays like a cupcake. Basically we have to 4/5 on the team. Wiggins is afraid to play physical like his entire career. Offensive set plays were terrible. We are going to get called for alot of illegal screens if Uju is on the floor the same time as Wiggins. We are slow on defense. Just an average team will run by us. Didn't see anything impressive out of our new guys. If there 8 teams in the MAC East we would be picked 9th. That's my .02 worth.

I am surprised you didn't like Laster. I think it's tough to know if he can be a facilitator or not because we are only running Lebron style pick and roles. Maybe they are trying to hide their dynamic offense until the regular season with fear that other teams will scout us vigorously and see our holes.

Why would this years roster be more talented than last? 3 players transferred out and BG added fill in players to replace. Did any of those guys have offers from schools that made you think otherwise? I expect much of the same as the past three season. Some early success due to lack of familiarity. Decent start to conference schedule, and the usual decline toward the end when conference teams adjust to how BG plays. Oh, and the usual Tuesday in January where BG loses by 20 at home to some mediocre MAC team.

Globetrotter wrote:I am surprised you didn't like Laster. I think it's tough to know if he can be a facilitator or not because we are only running Lebron style pick and roles. Maybe they are trying to hide their dynamic offense until the regular season with fear that other teams will scout us vigorously and see our holes.

I didn't DISLIKE Laster. I just didn't see anything that popped to me.

He seems like a decent athlete. Perhaps our best ball handler for the PG spot. But I saw a lot of Caldwell type stuff from him. Not saying he won't be better than Caldwell (he probably will be, based on size alone). But I saw a lot of either dribbling to force the issue to the rim, or dribbling into step back jumpers.

I don't remember any drive and kick, I don't remember ever getting easy buckets off those pick n roll plays, etc. Certainly could just be the coaching not using the talent we have correctly, but I figure it's a little of both.

guest44 wrote:Why would this years roster be more talented than last? 3 players transferred out and BG added fill in players to replace. Did any of those guys have offers from schools that made you think otherwise? I expect much of the same as the past three season. Some early success due to lack of familiarity. Decent start to conference schedule, and the usual decline toward the end when conference teams adjust to how BG plays. Oh, and the usual Tuesday in January where BG loses by 20 at home to some mediocre MAC team.

Everyone has another year of experience playing together.

The guards who left were being phased out by the end of the year and replaced.

Koch was a complete liability on defense and didn't do much elsewhere.

We graduated 1 senior.