Akron thoughts

[BleedOrange]

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.

[h2oville rocket]

You don't think Calhoun is a legitimate D1 frontcourt player? Wow! I do. As is thomas. Or do you mean backcourt and are talking about Brown in which case I would agree except that I am informed that Crawford is the best point guard in the land even WITH Brown joining him in the backcourt (nods to globetrotter).

[BleedOrange]

You don't think Calhoun is a legitimate D1 frontcourt player? Wow! I do. As is thomas. Or do you mean backcourt and are talking about Brown in which case I would agree except that I am informed that Crawford is the best point guard in the land even WITH Brown joining him in the backcourt (nods to globetrotter).

Ok, a running mate in the BACKcourt. I misspoke. You know what I meant, dammit!

[Globetrotter]

You don't think Calhoun is a legitimate D1 frontcourt player? Wow! I do. As is thomas. Or do you mean backcourt and are talking about Brown in which case I would agree except that I am informed that Crawford is the best point guard in the land even WITH Brown joining him in the backcourt (nods to globetrotter).

Jordon Crawford the King of the world...
spells his name wrong and has a sweet beard........
dribbles fast and has sweet moves....
May be short but he should be feared

[Globetrotter]

Why was Crawford out at the end of the game? I like this guy.

[h2oville rocket]

Jordon Crawford, King of the World
Spun and leaped and twisted and whirled
But he couldn't shoot and he couldn't pass
And BG fans thought he was an




Average point guard at best.

[h2oville rocket]

I will say our PG struggled tonight, missing two free throws and one shot from the field while getting 0 assists. Still, I'll take him over Crawford.

[Globetrotter]

I will say our PG struggled tonight, missing two free throws and one shot from the field while getting 0 assists. Still, I'll take him over Crawford.

You also chose to attend UT. Some people like second best. Comfortable in mediocrity.

[Falconfreak90]

Good crowd at the JAR tonight...we just could not get over the hump. Akron has a very deep bench and outrebounded us by 10. We didn't box out well enough. God I am tired of losing to them....

[h2oville rocket]

I will say our PG struggled tonight, missing two free throws and one shot from the field while getting 0 assists. Still, I'll take him over Crawford.

You also chose to attend UT. Some people like second best. Comfortable in mediocrity.

Good point. I shouldn't begrudge your decision to be comfortable. 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?

Actually, it looks like Crawford had a decent night against Akron. His TOs are down over the last couple games. He and Juice both suffer a little from the lack of depth behind them.

[hammb]

The team played better when Crawford was on the bench and Clarke in.

Not sure it was anything more than coincidence because Clarke made some plays but also made some mistakes. But still, I'd be curious to see the plus/minus on the game, because it sure seemed like when we were closing the gap on them it was with Clarke in the lineup, and not Crawford. I know that was the case when we cut it from 12 to 3 at the end.

[Flipper]

I like Juice Brown....I like him better than Crawford.

[Globetrotter]

The team played better when Crawford was on the bench and Clarke in.

Not sure it was anything more than coincidence because Clarke made some plays but also made some mistakes. But still, I'd be curious to see the plus/minus on the game, because it sure seemed like when we were closing the gap on them it was with Clarke in the lineup, and not Crawford. I know that was the case when we cut it from 12 to 3 at the end.

Didnt see the first half but at the end I thought Clarke was playing very sloppy and overly emotional.

[Flipper]

Overly emotional?...did you see him cry or something?

[gmartin]

Crawford has cut down his turnovers and is doing a better job getting others involved. But I still have two major issues. 1. We seem to do much better when we move the ball quickly and look for our shots. I dont mean playing helter skelter, but when Crawford dribbles around for 15 seconds before we start the offense, we plain, flat out stink. Once the D has time to get settled our offense struggles. 2. Even though Crawford has decreased his turnovers and played better on the offensive end his defense is struggling. Last week against OU, Cooper scored or assisted on 22 straight points. Crawford made dumb fouls, lost his man or didn't switch fast enough on a screen. Last night he did better but he still lost his man a few times, didn't come out to guard fast enough, or had the ball shot over him. He has played better last two games but still has areas where he is hurting more than helping.