[Elicoolbreeze]

A very good win over a top 150 RPI team in Niagara. Blown dunks by TJ and Ace almost cost us the game. What may be the most interesting and gutsy play of the game was the 3 pointer made (being down by only 1) by Anthony Smith after a timeout with 31 seconds left to play. I am still wondering if that was exactly what Ritchie Mckay drew up on the clipboard. Looking at the play it certainly seems that way. The downside about watching this game is that Liberty is really struggling rebounding. It seemed like Niagara was getting a second shot everytime down the floor cause they were grabbing offensive rebounds at will. The upside was that Liberty found the resolve to fight back and never gave up even when they lost big leads and were down. When they needed to they got the defensive stops and rebounds to win the game. Hopefully this is just the beginning of big wins for the Flames!!!

[SuperJon]

TJ annoyed the crap out of us. If he converts half his dunks or makes normal passes instead of highlight passes we're not in the situation we're in. The thing with him though is every time we complain, he does something to shut us up. It's frustrating.

No one played dirty tonight, but the refs were terrible. The foul where JE said it was on Alex, but they called it on Smitty, was because Smitty was nowhere near the play and they called the foul on him. There were God only knows how many phantom calls, both ways, one both ends of the court. It was just a very poorly officiated game.

Our team last year wouldn't have won this type of game. They just didn't have the discipline and fire in them that this year's team has.


As for the fans, they sucked until the last two minutes. Yea, I said they sucked. They did. With six minutes to go we're down by 3 and they're sitting on their hands twiddling their thumbs. It was like pulling teeth to get anyone to stand up and do anything.

[whmatthews]

29-26 with about 5:20 left.
According to Jerry, sounds like Niagara is playing dirty.

dirty??? how? i'm watching the game and haven't seen anything dirty by any of the players for both sides...

No one played dirty tonight, but the refs were terrible. The foul where JE said it was on Alex, but they called it on Smitty, was because Smitty was nowhere near the play and they called the foul on him. There were God only knows how many phantom calls, both ways, one both ends of the court. It was just a very poorly officiated game.

He just said they were playing dirty... he said because they have "Metro refs" (I know he meant the conference, but he never said that... just kept saying "Metro refs", I was just wondering if it was that one ref with the man boobs, tight pants and the glossy bald head.) they can come in here and kick and shove everyone....

I figured they were just playing with energy... crazy Jerry.

[01LUGrad]

they're sitting on their hands twiddling their thumbs.

That doesn't sound comfortable!

[Cider Jim]

that one ref with the man boobs, tight pants and the glossy bald head.

Somebody is spending way too much time looking at the refs.

[whmatthews]

What can I say... they all look alike.

[SuperJon]

they're sitting on their hands twiddling their thumbs.

That doesn't sound comfortable!

I couldn't think of anything better than twiddling their thumbs and didn't think of how that would be impossible.


It describes how quiet they were most of the game though.

[jmdickens]

who else on our team would you want to dribble the ball???

He gets to the basket as easy as Brian Woodson, who also had a lot of turnovers.....

I thought you said you knew basketball???

[SuperJon]

Who are you talking to?


I wasn't complaining about the turnovers but rather the missed layups and dunks. A lot of times he got fouled and couldn't convert what looked to be at least semi-easy 3-point plays.


He's the player where for two minutes I'm saying, "Why the heck is he out there, he's playing terrible" and then he rolls off two or three minutes of phenomenal basketball. That's why I said frustrating. You can see the potential, and see the talent, and then there are some things that just seem like dumb mistakes.

[jmdickens]

Who are you talking to?


I wasn't complaining about the turnovers but rather the missed layups and dunks. A lot of times he got fouled and couldn't convert what looked to be at least semi-easy 3-point plays.


He's the player where for two minutes I'm saying, "Why the heck is he out there, he's playing terrible" and then he rolls off two or three minutes of phenomenal basketball. That's why I said frustrating. You can see the potential, and see the talent, and then there are some things that just seem like dumb mistakes.

I was talking to postman....I guess we sent the message at about the same time.

[thepostman]

who else on our team would you want to dribble the ball???

He gets to the basket as easy as Brian Woodson, who also had a lot of turnovers.....

I thought you said you knew basketball???

he over dribbles...so did brian woodson at times.

Like jon said, whenever he did something where you wanted to kill him he would come right back and do something good. Its frustrating to watch though.

[jmdickens]

he may be rusty....i don't know...but he dribbles way, way, way too much

Like I said before....Who else would you want to dribble the ball??

[Schfourteenteen]

Thoughts

All starters played 35+ and it resulted in a win at home. Not sure how i feel yet but it shouldnt be like that more often
Crowd was good, opposing coach adjusted his crotch 10-15 times second half.
TeaJai is a frustrating player to watch, Smitty and Rell played very well
I really wanna see Ritchie actually come over and say hey, kinda like Coach Rocco.
Hams was fun, and yes I enjoyed my "Cookie Monster Smoothie" - Which I ordered with a straight face

[flamesfilmguy]

along with my shirly temple... aka a kenney rogers

[paradox]

Tee Jay Bannister = phenomenal



He very well may be LU's best pure point gaurd since Bob Cousy.



..

[Cider Jim]

Something tells me Super is going to frappin' love this second paragraph:

Liberty's basketball team runs situational drills during practice. Down 10, three minutes to go. Down 20, five minutes to go. The penalty if the first team doesn't fight its way back? Running. Lots of running. "You don't want to have to do that," Flames point guard TeeJay Bannister said.

So when the Flames found themselves down six against Niagara with 4:47 left Saturday night at the Vines Center, there was little panic on the Liberty bench. Coach Ritchie McKay didn't stomp his feet, break a clipboard over his knee or shout a string of expletives. Just run the offense, he said, just like in practice. McKay calls it "over-preparation for games."

Thanks, Lang--'loved the article.

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... th=!sports

[olldflame]

postman wants us to run the weave outside without the ball touching the floor til someone is open for a 2 hand set shot.

dickens nailed it. TeeJay is our point guard. He is the one we want dribbling the ball, and it's not like he is putting on a Curly Neal show out there; he is constantly attacking the defense with the dribble, making penetration to set up the pass, his own shot, or draw a foul. I think a lot of us are so used to seeing teams play without a PG that we don't know how to react to a player who has those skills.

TeeJays stats:

16 points on 4 of 9 from the floor
7 assists
4 turnovers
8 for 8 from the foul line.

Here is how close that was to a GREAT line for a PG. If he just lays the ball in on that break when he tried to dunk it and if Ace is paying attention on a really sick dime it looks like this:

18 points on 5 of 9 from the floor
8 assists
3 turnovers
8 for 8 from the foul line.

How many coaches would not be happy with that from their PG?

[kel varson]

anybody annoyed with TJ besides me?? He just dribbles and dribbles and dribbles and just doesn't seem to be completely focused out there.....it annoyed the living crap out of me

He did have 7 assts.

that would be nice...but win you miss several layups and turn the ball over constantly it cancels that out...

honest question...did you watch the game or are you just looking at the box score?

No you probably right, I just looked at the box. 7 asst. is usually pretty good though for college bball. But I see your point.

The second chance points, 18 for them, is really bad though. Gotta change that.

[thepostman]

postman wants us to run the weave outside without the ball touching the floor til someone is open for a 2 hand set shot.

dickens nailed it. TeeJay is our point guard. He is the one we want dribbling the ball, and it's not like he is putting on a Curly Neal show out there; he is constantly attacking the defense with the dribble, making penetration to set up the pass, his own shot, or draw a foul. I think a lot of us are so used to seeing teams play without a PG that we don't know how to react to a player who has those skills.

TeeJays stats:

16 points on 4 of 9 from the floor
7 assists
4 turnovers
8 for 8 from the foul line.

Here is how close that was to a GREAT line for a PG. If he just lays the ball in on that break when he tried to dunk it and if Ace is paying attention on a really sick dime it looks like this:

18 points on 5 of 9 from the floor
8 assists
3 turnovers
8 for 8 from the foul line.

How many coaches would not be happy with that from their PG?

that is not what i want...what i want is to not over dribble so much where you dribble yourself into trouble over and over again....

I am not saying TJ did terrible the whole game...he did some very good things...but he also did some boneheaded things that a "great" point guard should not do.....

but go ahead, think i'm crazy...continue to look at the box scores and draw your conclusions from that...its fine...

I apologize for thinking TJ needs to improve and isn't God....

[jmdickens]

postman wants us to run the weave outside without the ball touching the floor til someone is open for a 2 hand set shot.

dickens nailed it. TeeJay is our point guard. He is the one we want dribbling the ball, and it's not like he is putting on a Curly Neal show out there; he is constantly attacking the defense with the dribble, making penetration to set up the pass, his own shot, or draw a foul. I think a lot of us are so used to seeing teams play without a PG that we don't know how to react to a player who has those skills.

TeeJays stats:

16 points on 4 of 9 from the floor
7 assists
4 turnovers
8 for 8 from the foul line.

Here is how close that was to a GREAT line for a PG. If he just lays the ball in on that break when he tried to dunk it and if Ace is paying attention on a really sick dime it looks like this:

18 points on 5 of 9 from the floor
8 assists
3 turnovers
8 for 8 from the foul line.

How many coaches would not be happy with that from their PG?

that is not what i want...what i want is to not over dribble so much where you dribble yourself into trouble over and over again....

I am not saying TJ did terrible the whole game...he did some very good things...but he also did some boneheaded things that a "great" point guard should not do.....

but go ahead, think i'm crazy...continue to look at the box scores and draw your conclusions from that...its fine...

I apologize for thinking TJ needs to improve and isn't God....

since I was at the game I will once again disagree....

overdribble into trouble??? When??? He went around his man every time....also, they gave Bannister a turnover when it went right through Anthony Smith's hands on a play in the first half.....

You are crazy!!! Excuse me, you just don't know what you're talking about

[olldflame]

FYI postman; while I could not be in the Vines last night, I was watching the game on TV, so I was not just looking at stats.

IMHO, (and apparently RMc's as well) TeeJay is utilizing his skill with the dribble in a manner appropriate with his role as our PG. His error rate is a bit high, but I believe this is attributable to his very limited game experience over the past 2 years. I am more concerned with his ongoing foul trouble than anything since we really need him on the court. Last night was an improvement. He ended up with 4 fouls, but 2 of them came late and he played 35 minutes.

[thepostman]

again, I think TJ is a very talented player and I am very happy we have him. I don't want people to mistake my frustration with me thinking he is garbage. He is very talented, but he needs to get better. There were times where he looked as if his head was elsewhere. I still believe he is over dribbling, when he was out for a few minutes the offense seemed much more fluid.

We won the game against a very solid team, but the areas I saw that needed improvement were, taking care of the ball, and boxing out and preventing offensive putbacks and probably at this point making sure the perimeter players crash the boards as well.

we played solid team basketball though, and overall I am very pleased with how this team is coming together. They got themselves down and worked hard to get back into the game. The crowd finally got into the thing with 2 minutes left....I have been coming to liberty games for 4 years now and I have never witnessed students so hesitant to get loud at a men's basketball game...I just don't get it....

[BJWilliams]

One thing I liked about RD (and here's hoping this doesn't turn into one of those divisive threads after this) is that he turned and he would absolutely do what he could to fire up the students. Particularly in the 04 championship season, the students gladly obliged and pretty much blew the roof off the Vines Center. I think that is something Id like to see happen with Coach McKay.

[ALAFlamesFan]

One thing I liked about RD (and here's hoping this doesn't turn into one of those divisive threads after this) is that he turned and he would absolutely do what he could to fire up the students. Particularly in the 04 championship season, the students gladly obliged and pretty much blew the roof off the Vines Center. I think that is something Id like to see happen with Coach McKay.

If Coach McKay keeps winning ball games THAT will fire up students. How many students did last year's team fire up? (Not trying to start a fight although I am not a RD fan, I am just saying winning games breeds fan interest.) I do think Coach should help you guys out in other ways though as I have stated on the other thread. It is fine with me if he is focused on the team and what is happenning on the floor during games though...

Solid win for this team last night. I like the direction we are moving. This program will be back at the top of the Big South in another year or so. Coach is doing a good job from what I can tell.

[Schfourteenteen]

Bannister played a good 30 minutes of basketball. Didnt get in trouble alot, and had no problem burning his guard on a continual basis. He is a great player, and know when to get rid of the ball.

Heres where he can improve(stuff he did wrong last nite): Easy layup opprotunities. He mised either 3 or 4 of them. Letting his head get away from him. There were 8 to 10 minutes in which he looked like a complete mental case and you just wanted him to not have the ball. Being too fancy sometimes. Im really just thinking of the one fast break where he thrwe it in the stands but that was also during the 8 minute collapse.

Keep this in mind. In the last minute of the game, he was on the bench.

I think he played a good game, even phenominal at times, but hes gotta be more consistent, because a without some of his fundamental mistakes in the 2nd we win that game easy.