MBB downs Arcadia 97-46

[mat1992 2,237]

https://towsontigers.com/news/2023/12/30/mens-basketball-coach-skerry-records-200th-win-at-towson-towson-takes-care-on-arcadia-97-46-on-saturday.aspx

Nothing really to say other than they took care of business and it was nice seeing Brandon Hield get two baskets. I have the comments but I'll try and find the YouTube version first.

[mat1992 2,237]

PS also mentioned how they were shooting free throws before the game. Around 100.

 

[Blounge 521]

Congrats on 200 wins for coach skerry!

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

5 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

https://towsontigers.com/news/2023/12/30/mens-basketball-coach-skerry-records-200th-win-at-towson-towson-takes-care-on-arcadia-97-46-on-saturday.aspx

Nothing really to say other than they took care of business and it was nice seeing Brandon Hield get two baskets. I have the comments but I'll try and find the YouTube version first.

Our opponent in todays scrimmage had some nice plays and is apparently good at their level of play.  
Need some type of live game like situations with a long break. Last year and in years past we have sucked early in conference play. Hopefully some of our guys getting a few minutes against someone other than black and gold practice uniforms helps. 

Love to see the walkons get the last 8 minutes. These guys practice hard, run scout and do little things so playing time is great to see for them. All 5 on the court to finish this scrimmage were much closer to the level of play.

6-6 OOC. Was hoping for 7-5 or 8-4 if things fell into place. Truly we were 1-3, in teams similar to us and where we want to be. W Umass. L Bryant, UNT and South Dakota State. Wake and Colorado were much better than I thought they’d be.  Robert Morris and the local teams much worse.  
 

lots of questions for conference play.  Biggest in concerning order:

-can we improve from a mediocre/average defensive team to a decent one?

-making shots within 5 feet?!

-can we win a road game?

-will the front court mess continue?/how will the young players react to conf play? Our best 4 players are 3 freshmen and a sophomore  

-will we score enough/shoot well enough to compete? 

-are we really that bad at the free throw line?

-how will the recent transfer fit in?

 

Schedule is tough, but think we can be between 6 and 9 wins in league play. That will then put the coach around 3 to 6 wins away from 200 next year!
 

[mat1992 2,237]

Positives: Attendance of 2,624 .So it was filled with about 1/3 of elementary school kids. Whatever it takes.

*C. May was 3 of 4 today from 3. He's now shooting a decent 37% from the three-point line. (53% from the line).

*D.Will was 7 for 7 from the field including 2 for 2 from the 3-point line. Played just 16 minutes and had 3 assists with no TOs. Towson had 20 assists and 10 turnovers. 

*16 of 23 from the line is close to 70%. Not great and not the pressure I get when you are in conference play. Also, Coleman/Paar were 5-for-9. They aren't going to the line a combined nine times in a normal game.

*Reserves. Was nice to see Jaiden Cole get 21 minutes and put up 9 points. The shot is smooth, but the handle is iffy. You can say that about all the guards other than Williamson and maybe Tarke. But he should get more minutes especially against zone defenses. More than just a shooter. Probably 15-20 pounds away. Cole Paar makes a tough righty hook and then struggles to make two chippies. A little more athletic than Chase, but Chase is more skilled and has a bit more size.

Negatives:

*Tarke was 1 for 7 and 1 of 5 from the 3-point line. Small sample size in three games, but he's 6 of 24 from the field and 4 of 16 from the three-point line. Like to see less 3-point attempts and more drives. He's an underrated passer and has six assists with one turnover thus far. Even though he's not a great shooter for his career (42% FG, 32% 3pt before this season in 3 years), I expect him to improve from those numbers. He did have five assists and SIX steals today in 20 minutes

*Jones seemed to be hampered by a leg injury and had his entire left leg wrapped Not sure I'd play him today. Seems a mess in the post right now on offense. Can't seem to explode and his righty hook is rough. Lefty is not much better. Had six rebounds, but is only averaging 4.5. He should come off the bench right now for Sulaiman.

Bottom line

Free throw shooting has to continue to get better from guys like May and Lowery (looked better today). Tarke is just not a good FT shooter. He is what he is. Charles and Tomiwa, esp. Charles. need to finish strong in the paint. Tough to judge Charles today. He was just bigger than everyone. But dunking down low is allowed. Three-point shooting? Williamson (28%) has to shoot around 35% and May is fine if he's at around 38% like last season. Tejada (29%) has been struggling and I don't expect much from Sulaiman or Jones. That's why I think Cole may be a factor at some point in conference play. 

Turnovers are a worry against teams that press, which means they will see some of that against UNCW on Saturday and maybe even Monmouth. When Tarke and Williamson come out of the game, I worry with Lowery becoming the primary ballhandler and then CT or Tejada help out. Please keep Williamson and/or Tarke on the floor at all times. Dylan is going to need to give them 30 minutes a game in conference play. He's the absolute key because he can make shots but has become a solid passer. Not sure who the x-factor is right now. If Charles is not Charles of the last three seasons, we're in big trouble. 

 

 

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

19 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

Positives: Attendance of 2,624 .So it was filled with about 1/3 of elementary school kids. Whatever it takes.

*C. May was 3 of 4 today from 3. He's now shooting a decent 37% from the three-point line. (53% from the line).

*D.Will was 7 for 7 from the field including 2 for 2 from the 3-point line. Played just 16 minutes and had 3 assists with no TOs. Towson had 20 assists and 10 turnovers. 

*16 of 23 from the line is close to 70%. Not great and not the pressure I get when you are in conference play. Also, Coleman/Paar were 5-for-9. They aren't going to the line a combined nine times in a normal game.

*Reserves. Was nice to see Jaiden Cole get 21 minutes and put up 9 points. The shot is smooth, but the handle is iffy. You can say that about all the guards other than Williamson and maybe Tarke. But he should get more minutes especially against zone defenses. More than just a shooter. Probably 15-20 pounds away. Cole Paar makes a tough righty hook and then struggles to make two chippies. A little more athletic than Chase, but Chase is more skilled and has a bit more size.

Negatives:

*Tarke was 1 for 7 and 1 of 5 from the 3-point line. Small sample size in three games, but he's 6 of 24 from the field and 4 of 16 from the three-point line. Like to see less 3-point attempts and more drives. He's an underrated passer and has six assists with one turnover thus far. Even though he's not a great shooter for his career (42% FG, 32% 3pt before this season in 3 years), I expect him to improve from those numbers. He did have five assists and SIX steals today in 20 minutes

*Jones seemed to be hampered by a leg injury and had his entire left leg wrapped Not sure I'd play him today. Seems a mess in the post right now on offense. Can't seem to explode and his righty hook is rough. Lefty is not much better. Had six rebounds, but is only averaging 4.5. He should come off the bench right now for Sulaiman.

Bottom line

Free throw shooting has to continue to get better from guys like May and Lowery (looked better today). Tarke is just not a good FT shooter. He is what he is. Charles and Tomiwa, esp. Charles. need to finish strong in the paint. Tough to judge Charles today. He was just bigger than everyone. But dunking down low is allowed. Three-point shooting? Williamson (28%) has to shoot around 35% and May is fine if he's at around 38% like last season. Tejada (29%) has been struggling and I don't expect much from Sulaiman or Jones. That's why I think Cole may be a factor at some point in conference play. 

Turnovers are a worry against teams that press, which means they will see some of that against UNCW on Saturday and maybe even Monmouth. When Tarke and Williamson come out of the game, I worry with Lowery becoming the primary ballhandler and then CT or Tejada help out. Please keep Williamson and/or Tarke on the floor at all times. Dylan is going to need to give them 30 minutes a game in conference play. He's the absolute key because he can make shots but has become a solid passer. Not sure who the x-factor is right now. If Charles is not Charles of the last three seasons, we're in big trouble. 

 

 

Agree with a lot of this. Tarke being a set shot flat footed 3 point shooter isn’t going to help us.  
 

Jones and Sulaiman are meh. Combined if they give us 10 and 7 boards a night that’s ok. Lowery and Suliman got lost on defense a lot today with their cuts. 
 

Shooting is a concern. Teams should go mainly zone. Turnovers are bad but most are from our very uninspiring front court. 
 

did Cole come in as a shooter?  Seems like he is playing like may on offense last year. 

[Chris Datres 423]

Not gonna get much out of this game other than the practice players getting their time in the spotlight and in the boxscore.  But...for a guy like Cole, this could be what unlocks him.  I get that he's been brought along very slowly since getting cleared to play but 21 minutes today is a real nice step and he showed a little of what he's capable of.  Get him a little confidence today and then maybe he gets more into the rotation this week.

[mat1992 2,237]

3 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Agree with a lot of this. Tarke being a set shot flat footed 3 point shooter isn’t going to help us.  
 

Jones and Sulaiman are meh. Combined if they give us 10 and 7 boards a night that’s ok. Lowery and Suliman got lost on defense a lot today with their cuts. 
 

Shooting is a concern. Teams should go mainly zone. Turnovers are bad but most are from our very uninspiring front court. 
 

did Cole come in as a shooter?  Seems like he is playing like may on offense last year. 

Cole was supposed to be a pretty big-time recruit before he got hurt. He can flat out shoot it. He can score some off the dribble, but he's basically playing within the offense. I'd take a lesser Conway and freshman May for 5-10mpg if he can help against zones and when we need a scorer off the bench. Maybe play him with Tarke who can get him the ball in the corner.

Lowery does tend to lose his man on occasion. I really think that if he was just a wing instead of a backup point guard, he'd be more effective on both ends. He didn't come in as a backup PG but I think he's doing a better job than most thought.

[mat1992 2,237]

16 minutes ago, Chris Datres said:

Not gonna get much out of this game other than the practice players getting their time in the spotlight and in the boxscore.  But...for a guy like Cole, this could be what unlocks him.  I get that he's been brought along very slowly since getting cleared to play but 21 minutes today is a real nice step and he showed a little of what he's capable of.  Get him a little confidence today and then maybe he gets more into the rotation this week.

I hope this will get him a little more time, but I think you have take some guys minutes away. Probably Tejada and Lowery. I'd use him as an igniter. If the team is slumping and we need scoring, it's time to call on No. 2.