[grm]

Look like a great win to get things going. Just got in & got the results (almost results).

Congrats to coach & team!

[olldflame]

Final score

LU 69
CSU 53

We tie our best start ever in BSC play.

[TDDance234]

Great start to conference play. Congrats men!

[Sly Fox]

Nice Win ...

[SumItUp]

Congrats to Coach Layer on his first Big South win. Great start to conference play.

[LUconn]

In his 1st season he ties LU's best conference start ever!

[soccer7]

In his 1st season he ties LU's best conference start ever!

That is Great Lets see if he can set the new record. I still think that things are going to be better then we all think they are. I really like the direction things are going and I hope that every one gives the coach and all the players a chance to grow through this year. GO FLAMES!!!!

[bigsmooth]

just got home from the game and this is a much improved team. evan gordon had a very nice game and it seems like the guys are starting to gel. carter shows flashes of being a really good player and i wish kyle would shoot more sometimes. congrats to coach layer and the guys on the first big south win of the year.

[LUnpretty11]

Now we just need 3,000 more people to show up... Hopefully the team will continue this winning pattern to draw a larger crowd. Great win tonight! Looking forward to Saturday!

[SuperJon]

We played really well tonight. It was obvious that in those first couple of games, we were simply out-athleted. That definitely wasn't the case tonight. We outhustled them. We outplayed them. And we were simply better than them. Now for the player breakdown:

Kyle - Had his best game of the year that I've seen. Played really well on defense. Took care of the ball really well. Shot a high percentage from the field and was perfect from the line. You can't ask for much more than that. His assist to turnover ration was 2:1 which is the complete opposite of a week or two ago when he was turning it over twice as much as he was dishing it out. That's a complete turnaround and for as critical as I've been at times, I have to give credit where it is due in this situation. When he drove to the basket tonight, he went straight to the hoop. He didn't go looking for contact and then to the goal. Once again, that's a complete turnaround from a week or two ago. If he plays like he did tonight, he will be a very, very good player in this league. The only thing I wish he would do more of is take the open three. There were multiple times when he had a good look and he chose to drive and kick the ball out. I love the unselfishness and think that he needs to do the dribble drive on occasion, but I would like to see him pop the three a little more. He's such a good shooter that we know he can make it.

Evan - What can you say? The kid was good tonight. You can't complain about 21 and 8, especially out of a freshman. He looks like he's starting to really get his feel for the speed of the game and that it's slowing down for him. It's going to be fun to watch him progress over the rest of the year and the three after this. We know it's in his genes.

Minaya - Played great tonight. Came off the bench and was looking for his shot, and making it. He played well on defense. He hustled. Just like Kyle, it's a complete turnaround from the start of the year. It's looking like he's starting to shake the rust of not playing for a year off and starting to feel comfortable. It'll be fun to watch him keep improving.

Carter - He played well at times. He played like a freshman big man at others. Once he realizes how good he is and how tall he is, he can become a really good player in this league. He's fun to watch. His passing ability and his vision is absolutely fantastic. His hands aren't the best and I hope to see that improve. Once he starts being able to get the tip-ins to go and is more sure of himself when catching the ball, I think we'll see him make the leap.

Jeremy - He looked like he was getting more comfortable tonight. Granted, he missed some shots, but his shot selection was good and he didn't miss them by much. I've got no doubt that he'll start making those as the season goes on.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Well said SJ. Let me just say that I Really like Evan.

[olldflame]

I think I would take the Gordon brothers over the Curry brothers in a 2 on 2 matchup. Throw in the dads and it would be a pickem.

[ToTheLeft]

So... Chuck shot 26.6% from the floor last night. Was that a result of good defense, terrible offense, them being on the road, or something else?

I feel like we do a pretty good job on defense. We do a good job getting hands in faces, closing out on open shooters, and bothering and contesting people in the paint. they had two guys shoot under 25% from the floor on 10+ shots, and I think that's a sign of great D.

Any thoughts?

[LUconn]

I agree that we play fairly well on defense. I'm not sure if so much energy goes into D that we can't properly rebound, but either way we suck at rebounding. It's very frustrating for them to get 2 or more chances to score every trip down. That could also be the result of a lack of athleticism. We seem pretty stiff.

[Cider Jim]

Lang's article in the fishwrap:

As the 2009-10 basketball season approached for Liberty, there was no assumption that the 18-year-old Gordon would come in and light the college basketball world on fire. Internally, the expectations were high. Reports leaked out of preseason practices at how well Gordon defended, and how quickly he was picking up the Flames’ offense.

And Thursday night, in Liberty’s Big South opener against Charleston Southern, Gordon justified the internal hype. He scored, defended, rebounded and ran the point with composure, leading the Flames to a 69-53 victory, their first in a conference opener since the 2005-06 season.

“Evan was doing it all preseason, so it’s not really a surprise to me,” said teammate David Minaya, who scored a career-high 14 points. “He can really score the ball, and he’s really poised as a freshman. Seeing what he’s doing, it’s exactly what we expected.”

...Said [CSU coach] Radebaugh: “They played a very difficult schedule, and it’s hard to evaluate a team when they’re playing Clemson. We’re just not Clemson. The Tennessee State tape helped us a little bit. But Liberty is probably the most improved team in our league from the start of the season until now.”

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/ ... mes/22005/

Hard copy headline: "Living it up: Hype on Gordon proving to be valid"
Electronic headline: "Gordon shows he no flash in the pan for the Flames"

[dompennix]

I think I would take the Gordon brothers over the Curry brothers in a 2 on 2 matchup. Throw in the dads and it would be a pickem.

Really? They are good but I would take the Curry's over them easily.

[olldflame]

I think I would take the Gordon brothers over the Curry brothers in a 2 on 2 matchup. Throw in the dads and it would be a pickem.

Really? They are good but I would take the Curry's over them easily.

Was that predictable, or what?

[LUconn]

Actually, on the surface you'd say that's crazy. But Eric is a heck of a lot better than Stephen. You'd also have to say Seth is better than Evan, but is it by the same amount? Tough to say. As good as Seth was last year, the team was designed around him so it makes for a difficult comparison. But yeah, it's hard to see that when Curry's jock keeps getting in the way.

[PAmedic]

But yeah, it's hard to see that when Curry's jock keeps getting in the way.

nice

[olldflame]

Actually, on the surface you'd say that's crazy. But Eric is a heck of a lot better than Stephen. You'd also have to say Seth is better than Evan, but is it by the same amount? Tough to say. As good as Seth was last year, the team was designed around him so it makes for a difficult comparison. But yeah, it's hard to see that when Curry's jock keeps getting in the way.

That was pretty much my thinking. Neither of the Curry boys can match Eric Jr. physically. He's a 6'4" 225 hoss with explosive athleticism. I also think Evan is a better on ball defender than Seth, which could negate any advantage Seth may have as a scorer. I'm not even sure there is that much difference on the offensive end. In 20-20 hindsight, it looks like Seth's gaudy numbers last year may be at least in part a product of RMK's "star system".

The dads look like a mismatch in Dell's favor on paper, but it doesn't always work out that way on the court when you are pushing 50. Depends on who is in shape and playing more ball.

[dompennix]

Yeah no one could guard Eric, but I know Evan couldn't guard either one. Its close but I would take the Currys just for all the 3s that would come with it. If there was no 3 point line I would take the Gordons, even though they are really good shooters

[Cider Jim]

Has anyone else noticed the color of the polo shirts that the LU ambassadors (ushers) are wearing in the Vines Center? HUNTER GREEN (I thought I was back in Huntington when I first saw them).
Any idea who chose that color!

[SuperJon]

Has anyone else noticed the color of the polo shirts that the LU ambassadors (ushers) are wearing in the Vines Center? HUNTER GREEN (I thought I was back in Huntington when I first saw them).
Any idea who chose that color!

Those aren't Liberty ambassadors. The ambassadors are the ones in red blazers. The guys in green shirts are the external company that we bring in to use as ushers and to help make sure people are going where they're supposed to go. They're the same company that we used during football games and they're wearing the same green shirts they wore then.

[Cider Jim]

Thanks for the clarification, Super. I just noticed a guy from my church, Jeff Taylor, wearing one of those green shirts and directing traffic inside the Vines. I had no idea that we contracted an outside company for part of that.

[SuperJon]

Jeff's one of their head guys.