TSU88

I agree on Thompson. He showed a nice touch close to the rim tonight I thought. Also agree on Timberlake. Between the games he played last season (before being redshirted) and those he’s played this season, he’s pretty much played the equivalent of 1 full season. Other than the Tulane game, he’s been underwhelming.

Got to love 57% shooting for the game. Fobbs was on fire-11-16 overall, & 4-9 from 3. Betrand with a career high 23 points, and is now averaging 18ppg in conference play. Would be nice to have a consistent 3rd scoring option. I think the closest we have is Sanders. He only scored 7 points tonight, but did grab 7 boards and had 5 assists. I thought Dottin played well too-8 points, 6 boards and 3 assists. Starting to think that we’re better off with him at point. The more I see of Gibson, the less enamored of him I am. In fairness, he’s just a freshman, so hopefully he’s got better days ahead. Chance to get to .500 in conference play vs Delaware Saturday afternoon. Would be nice to have a big crowd. Don’t know if the Ravens game Saturday night will impact attendance, though our game will end 4 hours before the football game starts.

Maybe this is an audition game. We have to beat Regent by more than 58 points to get in. Like others have said, this game seems pointless. Not sure what benefit there is, other than to the walk-ons.

It appears we will actually be the 4th D1 team they play this season, having already lost to Morgan State by 36, Hampton by 43 & Howard by 58

The analytics argument, in support of launching 3’s, is something like if team A shoots 5-10 (50%) on 2’s, it scores 10 points. OTOH, if team B shoots 40% (4-10) on 3’s, it outscores team A, despite a worse shooting percentage. I would love to have a couple of kids on our team who could drain 3’s, even if they can’t jump out of the gym and crash the boards. While I’m dreaming, I’ll take a team that runs a functional half court offense which includes some pick and rolls and backdoor passes.

Betrand appears to have made the freshman-to-sophomore year leap we all hear about. He averaged 4.9ppg last year, and I believe is at about 13ppg this year. He’s shooting 40% from 3, which makes him our best 3-point shooter, but, to your point, he’s driving inside the lane as well. I’m not a fan of that floater he likes; I’d prefer he just go strong to the rim (though that increases the chance of charging fouls). In any event, he’s been consistently productive in conference play thus far. Interesting point about the disparity between our 3 point shooting % vs our 2 point %. Fobbs is the best illustration of that, shooting 25% (see, I got it right this time 😆) from 3, but 50% from inside the 3-point line. I guess you can’t tell him not to shoot 3’s (or can you?) but, after 16 games, I don’t think we can say, “he’ll shoot his way out of his 3-point slump.” He’s hurting the team (as is Gibson) by jacking up 3’s that are missing 75% of the time. College basketball in my mind is about guard play & 3’s. Look at our 3 conference L’s-Tyson Walker (NE), Buie (Hofstra) & Riller (C of C) have killed us. One of my main criticisms, oops, I mean “concerns,” about Skerry is we NEVER have good 3-point shooting teams. And, I’ll run with this theme and say we NEVER have that guard who can take over the game. Who are the best players in the Skerry era (not in order)? Benimon, Davis, Morsell, Moto, Fobbs, Zane Martin (feel free to suggest others). Other than Zane, none of them were PG’s or SG’s (Morsell was a small forward in my opinion, just like Fobbs). Until we get quality 3-point shooters/quality guards, I believe our ceiling will continue to be middle of the pack in the conference. Assuming I’m right (and perhaps I’m not) the problem is I don’t believe Skerry values those types of players, or, if he does, he’s unable to successfully recruit them

Obviously I wasn’t a math major

I don’t understand what some here expect from other posters. For example, in my post right after the game, I complimented Betrand on his clutch foul shooting, pointed out that we won the game on the boards, and later posted that it will be interesting to see where we are after our next 4 games (Drexel, JMU & Delaware at home, Elon on the road). I also wrote that it was an aesthetically ugly game. And guess what...it was. We shot 43% from the field, 63% from the line & committed 17 turnovers. Two things (a W and an ugly game) can exist at the same time. Seems like if you raise legit criticisms, some are quick to label you negative.

Well, let’s put it this way, somewhere James Naismith is turning over in his grave. From an aesthetic perspective, tonight’s game set the game of basketball back to the time when peach baskets served as the hoops.

Ok, let me be a provocateur and stir the pot a bit. By any objective measure, we didn’t play well tonight, even though we came out with the W. I’m not sure tonight’s effort beats any other team in the conference, except maybe Elon. There are 14 conference games remaining. How many conference W’s do we wind up with? I’ll set the line at 6 1/2. Who’s taking the over? The under?

Yep, you pretty much summed it up. When you shoot 43% overall, 35% from 3, 63% from the line, commit 17 TO’s & win, well, you take it & move on. Couple thoughts-you’re correct, we won the game on the boards, with 6 players with 4 or more rebounds. Betrand was clutch at the end on the line. Fobbs is now 20-80 on the season from 3, which is 20%. When he shoots from inside the 3-point line, he’s a 50% shooter. Our PG’s combined for 1 assist. There PG, Phillips, who we offered, scored 10 points in the 2nd half. Overall, UNCW is pretty lousy, but at this point, a W is a W is a W. We’ve got Drexel, Delaware, JMU (all at home) & Elon (on the road) as our next 4 games. Will be interested to see our record after those 4 games

TUTigers2012, you’re absolutely spot on about your “who would want to coach here” thoughts. I’d be happy to be a lily pad for a coach to move onto a bigger program, after making us a success. If that means we were used, than in the immortal lyrics of Bill Withers “I want to spread the news that if it feels this good getting used, you just keep on using me until you use me up.”

If we can get a W tomorrow, then win 3 of next 4 (Drexel, Delaware, JMU at home, followed by Elon on the road) we’d be .500 in conference play after 8 games. One game at a time though, so let’s see what happens tomorrow

Personally, I’d love to be optimistic and upbeat, but when the basketball team has a winning percentage just a little above 33% for over two years now, it’s virtually impossible to be so. Doesn’t make me feel one bit smarter or better about myself when we lose. All it makes me feel is frustrated. I’d be happy to be wrong and the programs successful.

Ok, so I’m one of those ones who has brought up the last 2 1/2 years and, yes, I suppose you can predict my responses as the losses mount. Which leads me to ask, what’s wrong with referring to cold hard facts to support a point? What’s wrong with being thoroughly dissatisfied with the state of the program? What’s wrong with expressing an opinion, supported by data? I would love to be a ra-ra Pollyanna, but that’s not where this program is. Tell me what to be optimistic about, and I’m onboard. And btw, I’ve never insulted another poster & my criticisms of players and/or coaches is never personal, but is rather data driven. I go out of my way to back up my arguments with statistics. And truth be told, as a football & basketball season ticket holder, and a donor to the TAF, I believe I’ve paid for the right to be critical, in view of the performance of the basketball team over the last 2+ years. So, forgive me for being disappointed in mediocrity and wanting better

I Suppose it’s a which came 1st argument, the chicken or the egg, In other words, is the reason Gibson dribbles too much & jacks up too many bad shots because he has a bad supporting cast around him, or because maybe he’s just another in a long line of mediocre Skerry PG’s. Half a season isn’t enough to make a final conclusion, but I have a feeling the elusive search for a quality PG under Skerry goes on, and no one in next years recruiting class will bring the search to an end

It might be fortunate we didn’t play Coppin & Loyola this year. Which begs the question why we can’t get a guy like Kostelac at Loyola. All he does is score 20ppg, even though he doesn’t pass the eye test and doesn’t crash the boards. And I don’t want to hear he plays in the Patriot League. By my way of thinking, we’d be better off with some Patriot League type players. You know, guys with high basketball IQ’s who can shoot. God forbid we get such players

I stand corrected

I beg to differ. 68 games is not a small sample size, and it’s relevant to compare where we are now to where we were when we were at the abyss. Its incredible to me that anyone would say who cares where they were 2 years ago. It’s relevant to assess what direction the program is going. Otherwise, why keep records?

Bay Area Tiger, if I were piling on, I’d point out that since 12/20/27, a span of 68 games, we are 24 W’s vs 44 L’s. I would further point out that in his last 68 games, PK, (when the CAA still had ODU, JMU, GMU & Georgia State as members) was 17-51. Thus, Skerry’s record the last 2+ seasons is marginally better than the dumpster fire coach who he took over from. I would also point out we’ve lost 8 conference games in a row.

I suppose the easy way to analyze this L is to say that Riller was the difference. While that’s true to an extent, I think it goes deeper than that. Absent two 3-pointers in garbage time, we had 6 players (Gibson, Dottin, Tunstall, Timberlake, Gray & Thompson) who combined for 12 points the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the lowest scoring C of C starter had 10 points by himself. I don’t see how you can win when 6 of the 9 guys in the rotation simply aren’t good scorers, outside of an aberrational game here and there. Mat, you described 3 guys (Fobbs, Gibson & Gray) who “are usually good shooters” who struggled from long range. The numbers however suggest they are all anything but good shooters. Fobbs is barely 40% on the season, & is a miserable 19-75 from 3 (26%). Gray might have been a good shooter at some point, but he needs to go back to San Diego to retrieve his touch-he’s a 40% shooter on the year & 12-35 (33%) from 3. Meanwhile, Gibson is a putrid 33% on the year, and even worse from 3 (16-59, for 27%). He’s jacking up way too many shots, & getting very few assists. Absent his games vs GW & Kent State, it’s fair to say our PG problems still persist. Maybe he’ll make a leap between his freshman & sophomore seasons, but right now we’re going into every game at a major disadvantage at PG.

2 advantages W&M has, despite the mass exodus from their program after last year: (1) Nathan Knight, the best player in the CAA IMHO, returned for his senior year; and (2) they had a transfer, Van Vleet, who’s playing well. That being said, they look light years ahead of us, with almost an entire turnover in their roster, having lost Pierce, Milon, Audige, Owens and Cameron Brown, their top incoming recruit.

The issue isn’t Pat Kennedy. To somehow rationalize the state of the program the last two years by trotting out the hoary “it was worse under Kennedy” is to ignore the real issue. 2010 just called & said Kennedy has been gone for a decade now. And just where are we a decade later? A regular season conference title? Conference tournament final game? Conference tournament semifinal game? NIT? The dance? And comparisons of where we are now, versus a decade ago must, as other posters have pointed out, factor in that GMU, ODU & VCU are not in the CAA anymore. If they were, the records of some of Skerry’s teams might only be marginally better than that of his predecessor

On December 20, 2017, we rolled into a road game vs Oakland with a 10-1 record. With the loss in that game, we are now 24-43 since that evening, including 14-26 in conference play. With today’s L we have lost 7 conference games in a row, going back to last year

We’re up by 12 early in the 2nd half, only to be out scored 47-27 the remainder of the 2nd half. This team can’t play with a lead. Unfortunately, this team can’t play from behind either. Gray & Timberlake with 22 points combined in the 1st half, and, wait for it ... ZERO combined points in the 2nd half. How is that conceivable? Our “best” player has 15 points total in our 1st 2 conference games. Tunstall with several wide open jumpers at the elbow, which he missed. Thompson & Dottin combined for zero points. It was a treat to see Nate Archibald in his prime though (KC-Omaha Kings-old school, the year he lead the league in scoring & assists). Oh wait, that was Buie from Hofstra, with 35 points today. Anyone think our PG problems are solved, please raise your hand. Dude just drained another 3 from the team bus But hey, we did out rebound them!! I would like to hear from anyone on this board who, notwithstanding the small sample size of 2 games, thinks our ceiling is higher than 6 conference wins.