Western Carolina

[nickm0110]

Rough loss. Hopefully the team learns to play together and not turn the ball over so much (especially during crucial moments)

[guest44]

It’s been my argument from the beginning. It’s not like any of it has been hard to see. Jans showed you in a year what a championship coach looked like from a X’s and O’s standpoint. Huger showed you by year 2 he was going to have to have the most talented team to win. That’s been obvious since 2017. Once Ohio hired Jeff Boals, BGSU had maybe 3% at best chance of winning the MAC and most of that 3% would be in Boals first year. How did Ohio get to Boals, they didn’t give a mediocre coach a second contract. They said see ya, we have standards. Bob Moosbrugger just wants to be liked and have people tweet nice things. So .500 in conference and a first round exit in Cleveland is the BGSU standard. Bill Frack money goes to inflated coaches salaries, more gear and shoes, and flights to road games against other mediocre teams. No standard.

The craziest part of all of this...this question was actually asked on March 11th, 2021. Insane.

https://twitter.com/JordanStrack/status ... 16899?s=20

[Flipper]

hammb...I haven't watched too much BG basketball over the past couple of years... but I have never been a fan of Matheny. You've seen him a lot more than me...so I could be wrong.

This team needs to get sorted out...history does not suggest that Huger is a guy who can effectively integrate talent. We needed Turner to go off to win the last couple of years. I hate being in a position where you have to depend solely on individual talent to win because you never will consistently

[jpfalcon09]

hammb...I haven't watched too much BG basketball over the past couple of years... but I have never been a fan of Matheny. You've seen him a lot more than me...so I could be wrong.

This team needs to get sorted out...history does not suggest that Huger is a guy who can effectively integrate talent. We needed Turner to go off to win the last couple of years. I hate being in a position where you have to depend solely on individual talent to win because you never will consistently

Hockey team had a similar feeling out period to open the season. I think it's normal when you lose important player(s). If he same issues are happening a month from now, definitely time to sound the alarm.

[hammb]

hammb...I haven't watched too much BG basketball over the past couple of years... but I have never been a fan of Matheny. You've seen him a lot more than me...so I could be wrong.

This team needs to get sorted out...history does not suggest that Huger is a guy who can effectively integrate talent. We needed Turner to go off to win the last couple of years. I hate being in a position where you have to depend solely on individual talent to win because you never will consistently

My thing with Matheny is he has a pretty jumper that can extend well beyond the arc.
He also has handles that can beat his man with relative frequency on the perimeter.
FInally, I have seen him show some actual passing ability to get others good looks off of those handles.

He's been inconsistent. His shooting numbers are atrocious (IMO largely because we only ask him to get his own shot). He doesn't finish well at the rim when he does get there (this is my biggest knock on him).

As a true freshmen though he averaged over 10ppg on a team that featured long time contributors like Juice, Diggs, and Plowden. For the bulk of the season he was our primary ball handler and I thought he acquitted himself quite well. We need to see growth and consistency from him, but I like the talent.

Defensively he was pretty poor last year, but in the 2 games this year I've seen him look a lot more engaged off the ball and he's really been getting his hand on a lot of balls in passing lanes.

Like I said though, last night he had a really bad game, didn't really do much of anything well. The Fairmont game he was pretty darn good. We need to work this out, he needs to be more consistent. All of our guys do.

I'm with you though, we need to settle on a consistent group and rotation. If we're going to continue being the typical Huger team that needs to have a go to guy that you can count on to get his shot and make it in order to win every night I think Matheny is the one guy that might have that ability. It's a stupid way to build a basketball team, IMO, but it's what we've typically tried to do. I don't see Plowden or Diggs ever being that guy, and I haven't seen enough of the new guards to know if any of them can be that either. Hopefully last night proves to be the outlier for Matheny, because the only way this team enters the top group in the MAC is if one of the guards becomes a legit star.

[BleedOrange]

Last night, Metheny was a defensive liability against WCU's longer guards. Further, he wasn't confident at all in attacking their defense.

[fredthefalcon]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

[BPardonMyTake]

Is it just me or does it actually look like we have a hard time knowing when to jump in order to get a rebound? Legit looks like everybody but Plowden just jumps for the sake of jumping.

What's up with this like lethargic full court press where we just pick up full court? No trapping, no gambling on steals, we just start guarding the other team when they inbound the ball. I love the idea of pressing all the time with this many players getting minutes but what's the point of just picking up full court and nothing else? Looked like a 1-2-2 press at times as well but rotations looked slow just going through the motions. Idk, just thought the press was a great idea with horrendous execution.

Not that it matters with how many bodies we'll throw out there every night, but Diggs should not start for this team. Guy is an electric shooter and has that 20+ point upside on any given night, but he flat out can't dribble. Bring him off the bench, let him heat check for a few minutes to see if shots are falling, sit him back down if they aren't, try again after a couple tv timeouts. He is a turnover waiting to happen if he tries to create his own shot and offers little to nothing defensively. I'd like to see Fulcher or Curtis take his spot to alleviate some of the ball handling pressure off Matheny and let him play off the ball every so often. Yes, we would be small, but Huger needs to figure out what rotations work and figure it out real quick. I just think Fulcher needs to play more in general. He's the most controlled/well rounded guard we have in my opinion. This team needs someone who can help command an offense or at the very least help mitigate some of these slapdick 25 footers we're heaving up every other possession.


I still believe in this team and am banking on depth of talent eventually taking over. Curtis, Gordon, and Reece all had stretches where you could see how important they'll be for the overall success this season. Hell, even Gabe O'Neal showed some decent touch around the rim and that is one big fella. I understand the pessimism and last night was definitely not a good night for the pro huger crowd, but there are a lot of moving pieces on this team. Would hate to be any opponent when/if we start clicking.

[BPardonMyTake]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

Saw this right after I posted. Diggs can't be on the floor if he's not hitting shots, simple as that.

[Flipper]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

Yes...that and I would have preferred a hard foul on the drive to the basket instead of just stepping back to give them the layup. Make him earn the tie at the stripe instead of just walking in there

[BPardonMyTake]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

Yes...that and I would have preferred a hard foul on the drive to the basket instead of just stepping back to give them the layup. Make him earn the tie at the stripe instead of just walking in there

Bingo. I understand all the negative Huger buzz, but five division 1 basketball players standing around watching the opposing team walk to the rim to tie the game with seconds left is just unfathomable.

[Hammer]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

Saw this right after I posted. Diggs can't be on the floor if he's not hitting shots, simple as that.

Same goes for Metheny.

[BPardonMyTake]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

Saw this right after I posted. Diggs can't be on the floor if he's not hitting shots, simple as that.

Same goes for Metheny.

As the “point guard” I would lean slightly towards a little bit of a longer leash as long as he’s not turning it over but yes ultimately I would agree with you there.

[hammb]

You can complain all you want about Huger but the reason this game was actually lost is the play of Matheny and Diggs who are likely our best outside shooters. While no one was particularly hot from the floor, this duo shot 2 for 14 combined, with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers. If they would have just shot 30%, this game would have been won in regulation. Combined with the 1:7 assist/turnover ratio you should see that is where the true blame resides for this particular game. I will say that substituting Matheny in for Fulcher with 10 seconds left when BG was on defense is puzzling as well.

Yes...that and I would have preferred a hard foul on the drive to the basket instead of just stepping back to give them the layup. Make him earn the tie at the stripe instead of just walking in there

I have not rewatched the final play (nor will I), but the total lack of help defense was just unfathomable there. Matheny gets beaten clean and there wasn't another body within 5' of the rim. Time was dwindling, it seems to me the theory there should be 100% HELP. If you leave your man clean, so be it, you force the dribbler to make an extra pass, take an extra tick of time, and make somebody hit a jump shot. For the entire team to just stand there and watch the layup was just baffling.

Bingo. I understand all the negative Huger buzz, but five division 1 basketball players standing around watching the opposing team walk to the rim to tie the game with seconds left is just unfathomable.

[guest44]

It's not just the final play. Re-watch the disgusting BG possession with 39 seconds left. Huger has 3 timeouts, insists on running down the clock and I believe it was Gordon, just jacks a 3 pointer. Huger had subs at the table the final two minutes, never used a timeout to get who he wanted on the floor for both offense or defense. He has no actual strategy at the end of the game. It was always just Justin Turner, go be Justin Turner.

As for the comparison to hockey, that's just stupid. Only a few coaches would be capable of the blunders necessary to lose that.