mat1992

Good to see Matt Sovero back on the field.

Our off ball defense is getting exposed when we can't win every face-off and possess the ball on offense. Clearing also continues to be a problem

Bad goal through Canto's legs.

Wow, we're getting smoked. Still no timeout?

Another turnover, another goal for Petterson, 6-5. Timeout maybe?

Lost the video, back to the audio. This is fun. Petterson another easy goal at the crease. 5-5.

Woodall wins and just slips. I watched it. Rough one.

A turnover by Woodall leads to a Cornell goal. Not sure what the D is doing right now.

End of quarter, up 5-3. A bit sloppy with the turnovers. At least 4. Not sure how field is but weather apparently is better than Friday.

Cornell scores to make it 5-3. Again, sounds like D is struggling to slide over to Pederson.

Maloof just missing easy shot for second straight on man-up. Still up 5-2 late in first quarter.

Struggling defensively some but Canto has five saves in first quarter. Sounds like we just killed off a one-minute slash from Bodden and now we are a man up. BTW, Hofstra only up five against JMu with 10 minutes left in the early game.

https://towsontigers.com/news/2019/3/9/mens-basketball-three-tigers-hit-double-digits-in-setback-to-jmu.aspx Matt Lewis hit a three-pointer at the top of the key with 2.7 seconds left to lead No. 8 James Madison over No. 9 Towson, 74-73 in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The Tigers had a 65-54 lead with 7:36 left in the game and couldn't hold on to the lead. Brian Fobbs led the Tigers with 18 points. Towson couldn't slow down Lewis, who had 26 points and Dwight Wilson, who had 26 points and seven boards. Some Skerry postgame comments on 1300am/TowsonTigers.com "Couldn't keep Lewis off the foul line. Couldn't hold on to leads. Story of the season. Wilson killed us inside. Should have won the game. Scorers table was embarrassing. League should be ashamed of itself. Lewis made a big shot. Have to make some changes. Couldn't get enough stops today. Passing, ballhandling not good. Skill improvement is an issue." Look, I know people are going to spend the entire offseason killing the coach and the staff. Most of it is deserved. But at least the coach can look in the mirror and say, we aren't skilled enough. We don't get to the line enough because our point guards don't drive and our power forwards can't. Gray will change some of that but sure, we need a freakin' point guard for the 25th straight season. Broken record, I know. But I will be back, with a lot more hope for my 30th season of covering the team next season. Maybe I should just give it up and become just a fan but hopefully we find some recruits that can play right away. If not, I don't see much more than a few more wins with Gray and Timberlake.

They only have highlights and that's why I try and listen the postgame so I can transcribe most of his comments. It's on the CAA to have postgame quotes. I don't care if it's on video or in print. That's a joke in a tournament setting not to have postgame quotes.

CAA has a JMU press conference and no Towson. You would think they would at least have quotes but maybe with no press down there from Baltimore they just gave up.

I know 6-5 guard Jamon Battle dropped us from his list. http://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/towson https://towson.247sports.com/Article/Antonio-Brown-trade-to-Buffalo-Bills-falls-through-129837834

I don't know what that means, but PS said he was close on a player or two in his last presser. I'd have to get the exact quotes. Maybe I didn't post it for some reason.

I guess I'll reserve judgement on Gray because I did have hopes on Sanders based on numbers and he didn't a lot different here than he did at Duquesne. I just think that they are different types of players. Gray's open court and stretch 4 abilities is something we've desperately needed for a long time. Our power forwards have been Tunstall, Gorham, Eddie Keith, Moto, T.J. and sure Benimon. None of them were really perimeter threats or great in the open floor.

I forgot Starr because he was better than Ivory, and Starr wasn't very good. Yes, if PS is reading this, please stay away from juco point guards. Not even one that played briefly in D1 like Howard and Ivory.

I have to see more of Gray but you have to look at the conference. That's part of the reason Pusica was so good with NE. Sad to say but the WCC is much better than the CAA. He had to play against BYU, Gonzaga and St. Mary's 2-3 times a year. He's not going to be a role player here. He's going to be the second option. It's not a question, it's a fact. Who else do they have that's better? He averaged 7.2ppg and 5.6rpg as a freshman. Shot 41% from 3-point range and he's 6-8, 215. I know, freshman season but if he's the 2nd option, he'll get more looks. No reason why he can't average 10-12ppg, 6rpg, 1+ steal at the worst at 45% FG, 38% 3pt. Again, not saying he's Benimon. Of course, he isn't. He's different than our normal power forward that just rebounds and defends. There's a reason PS practically begged to get him eligible this season.

I think if you add a grad transfer, which we have done just twice to mixed results (Garvilovic from Dayton, Dixon from Providence), they need to start. I think that's something you have to get lucky with. Right now, we are in on at least a handful of point guards if not more as high school seniors. I'm sure we're looking at jucos. But juco point guards have not worked out (Ivory, Starr, Howard). Well, freshman point guards haven't really worked out either. Maybe we need Euro point guards. I don't know, just find somebody from Mars if they can play point guard. To me, it's difficult to get a grad transfer to move down say from a P6 school that maybe is getting little playing time than a guy like Riller moving on up to a P6, assuming he graduates in four years. Finding one that may be from Baltimore and wants to get playing time. You have to find the right situation and it's not easy.

https://towsontigers.com/news/2019/3/9/mens-lacrosse-woodall-goodrich-and-sunday-selected-in-mll-draft.aspx

So you think he doesn't emphasize passing the ball? Finding players that can do more than shoot and have better skills would help. What does Howard do well? Shoot the three I guess. McNeill? Defend. Fobbs? Shoot it and drive some. Dottin? Drive and shoot righty. Betrand, not sure what his strength is on offense. In other words, it's time to find guys that are more skilled. When your best passer today is Sanders, you are in trouble. There is no good passer on this team but assists can also be overrated when you lack good shooters. Of course, your assists are down when you shoot 33% from the three and 42% of whatever it is from the field. I assume last year, our assists were up because we shot it better, even though Martin was a chucker and he did get to the line a ton. I think some of these guys come into games and panic when they see pressure. Or see something different defensively. I know Skerry talked about how they would change defenses in pre-game, yet it appeared we were unprepared for the 1-3-1. Is that talent and lack of skill? Are they not being coached right? Next year, changes need to be made, not just in terms of getting more skilled players, but also they need to do more than just play man-to-man defense. If you have long athletes like Gray and Tunstall, along with Solly, Betrand and Timberlake, why would you not apply some kind of pressure next season? Force some turnovers. There's no freakin' reason to be ranked near the bottom of the country in pace of play. It's just boring basketball and if you are playing that style, you are giving to the fact that you don't have enough skilled players on offense. You are saying that you don't trust your point guards because an up-tempo game would mean a lot more turnovers (as in the Bahamas). So here we go again. So who will return? Fobbs. Solomon. Timberlake. Howard? Sanders? Betrand? Dottin? Drayton? Tunstall? Are we just replacing the two players who are graduating? Will there be one more to exit? Personally, I would like Howard to come back as a sixth-man type but more as a combo guard off the bench. They have to figure out if Juwan Gray starts right away at the 4? Or at the 3 if they move Fobbs to the 2. Does Tunstall move to the 5, assuming he returns and becomes a grad student? Can he add another 5-10 pounds? Or does Sanders start at the 5 and continue to have issue with fouls. Does Dottin improve his game enough to start at the 1 and hold off a freshman/juco point guard? Does Betrand move the the 3 with Timberlake starting at the 2 or backup 2? A lot of questions and I think more options than last season but the next 2-3 scholarships are gigantic.