A Sea Of Red

7 things to know

http://www.aseaofred.com/7-things-to-kn ... am-mary-2/

Measuring stick game. I really think this is a game we need to win. It is important for our young team to not only stay close but actually close out solid mid-majors like this. Where we go this year depends a lot on our confidence level and where our heads are at. A win here gets everyone believing in the process.

It's only game #6 but a road win against a Top 100 Ken Pom team would be Huge. Not sure we are there yet but can't wait to see.

We have to play bigger IMO to match up with their size so need to see more of Myo, Gardner and Talbert bros to defend. Can't give their efficient offense extra possessions.

The other key is 3 point shooting. We shot horribly in our only road game so far. Started 1-17 from 3 in Assembly Hall. Has to be much better today.

Cabill is still out with a concussion Pacheco-Ortiz will start along with Dawson, Homesley, Baxter-Bell and Kemrite

What are we doing with these lineups? Very little Caleb, almost no Gardner? Big guys are doing almost all their scoring. AC out there a ton with no production. Hard to understand why we keep our most talented guys on the bench so much.

21-13 W&M rebounding at half. This is becoming a broken record.

FlameFan11 wrote:What are we doing with these lineups? Very little Caleb, almost no Gardner? Big guys are doing almost all their scoring. AC out there a ton with no production. Hard to understand why we keep our most talented guys on the bench so much.

Ritchie has a hard and fast rule 2 fouls in the first half and you sit Homesley got 2 early and thus only played 7 minutes

olldflame wrote:

FlameFan11 wrote:What are we doing with these lineups? Very little Caleb, almost no Gardner? Big guys are doing almost all their scoring. AC out there a ton with no production. Hard to understand why we keep our most talented guys on the bench so much.

Ritchie has a hard and fast rule 2 fouls in the first half and you sit Homesley got 2 early and thus only played 7 minutes

If true, that's a dumb rule. It is smart in a lot of situations, but there needs to be flexibility. To sit a key player for 13 minutes because he got 2 early fouls is typically not the right move.

No rebounding and bad lineups arent helping

We need to quit wasting scholarships on guys over 6'5". Coach loves the small lineups.

I hate how the game is being called now. Stupid fouls which some shouldn't be called.

Tied at 66 late in the game, but the Tribe pulled out the win, 79-70. Boxscore:

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=148161

ALAFlamesFan wrote:We need to quit wasting scholarships on guys over 6'5". Coach loves the small lineups.

We recruit big men in hopes they will contribute, but It would be stupid to play someone just because of how tall they are if you know we are a better team with someone else out there McKay knows his team better than we do If and when guys like Gardner and J Talbert are ready, they will get more minutes

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It really looked like we were going to pull it out when we tied it at 66 Hopefully a lesson was learned Momentum is the next possession We got a little sloppy and they put us away

Seems like today we watched the same team that ended last season when Maxwell stopped playing. Can't win basketball games getting outrebounded by 15-20. Frustrated that we have the personnel to address it but not using it. Give Gardner/Josiah the minutes Reid got today and I guarantee both produce more.

We are a year away from being a legitimate threat outside the Big South. Still soo young. Those bigs on the bench need to live in the weight room from now until next September.
My earlier comment came with a wink. I agree that our best players are not the bigs right now.

adam42381 wrote:

olldflame wrote:

FlameFan11 wrote:What are we doing with these lineups? Very little Caleb, almost no Gardner? Big guys are doing almost all their scoring. AC out there a ton with no production. Hard to understand why we keep our most talented guys on the bench so much.

Ritchie has a hard and fast rule 2 fouls in the first half and you sit Homesley got 2 early and thus only played 7 minutes

If true, that's a dumb rule. It is smart in a lot of situations, but there needs to be flexibility. To sit a key player for 13 minutes because he got 2 early fouls is typically not the right move.

Getting a 3rd foul affects how you play in the 2nd half. Its absolutely the right move. See Sheldon Williams vs okafor in the 04 final 4 game. One was left in with 2 and one sat.

There are many examples of both philosophies. Most college basketball coaches will allow their best players to play with fouls bUtah I understand the strategy. My point was if we take out Caleb, our leading rebounder, we need to replace him with a guy who can rebound. We went with Chen and Reid.

You lose a close game going -18 on the boards. We lose a close game to VCU -9. Indiana -30 total, 32-7 in the 1st half until we played Josiah more. We were outrebounded by Miss Valley State, the smallest team we will see all year. Am I the only one worried about rebounding, points in the paint and lack of 2nd chance points?

FlameFan11 wrote:There are many examples of both philosophies. Most college basketball coaches will allow their best players to play with fouls bUtah I understand the strategy. My point was if we take out Caleb, our leading rebounder, we need to replace him with a guy who can rebound. We went with Chen and Reid.

You lose a close game going -18 on the boards. We lose a close game to VCU -9. Indiana -30 total, 32-7 in the 1st half until we played Josiah more. We were outrebounded by Miss Valley State, the smallest team we will see all year. Am I the only one worried about rebounding, points in the paint and lack of 2nd chance points?

No, but you do seem to be the only one who questions whether Ritchie knows which players give him the best chance to win Going bigger MIGHT help our rebounding, but could also cost us in other areas At this point I believe the single biggest factor in determining PT remains how well the player is grasping and executing the defense, and I suspect that is why Josiah and Brock are not playing more

During RM's first tenure the big complaint on him was the small lineups he played. I would probably be more critical if we haven't showed as much improvement in other areas but rebounding is important and something we must keep an eye on.

Ritchie has shown he will play big guys when they aren't liabilities. Alex McLean had a great season under him. Once he developed as a freshman, Austin Smith saw significant minutes. Maxwell played a ton last year before he became a turnover machine.

If Ritchie thought he had big guys who were ready, he'd play them.

Jonathan Carone wrote:Ritchie has shown he will play big guys when they aren't liabilities. Alex McLean had a great season under him. Once he developed as a freshman, Austin Smith saw significant minutes. Maxwell played a ton last year before he became a turnover machine.

If Ritchie thought he had big guys who were ready, he'd play them.

FlameFan11 wrote:There are many examples of both philosophies. Most college basketball coaches will allow their best players to play with fouls bUtah I understand the strategy. My point was if we take out Caleb, our leading rebounder, we need to replace him with a guy who can rebound. We went with Chen and Reid.

You lose a close game going -18 on the boards. We lose a close game to VCU -9. Indiana -30 total, 32-7 in the 1st half until we played Josiah more. We were outrebounded by Miss Valley State, the smallest team we will see all year. Am I the only one worried about rebounding, points in the paint and lack of 2nd chance points?

Whether to let a key player stay in the game with foul trouble is not just a matter of how talented they are It has as much or more to do with experience and stability Homesley is one of our most talented, but he is only a Soph, and has shown a tendency to get out of control at times

Yesterdays takeaways from Jon.

"The game was decided with William & Mary’s size differential and ability to win the game around the paint. The Tribe dominated the glass, 2nd chance points, free throws, and points in the paint. William & Mary out-rebounded Liberty 43-25, attempted 17 more free throws, out-scored the Flames in 2nd chance points 12-0, and had 28 points in the paint to Liberty’s 18."

This was against a team that really isn't that much bigger than us. When you have 6-4 Kemrite guarding 6-9 Whitman in the post, it is not going to work in our favor. 0 second chance points. 20 fouls in the 2nd half.

I played college basketball for four years and coached for 20+. It's obvious RMK is playing the guys he feels gives him the best chance to win. Every coach does. Yesterday, Gardner got a deflection in his first defensive possession but then doubled the post giving up any open 3. He comes out. Josiah gives some resistance in the paint but gets 2 quick fouls and doesn't get another chance.

We all know that RMK plays guys based on defense. If defense is the primary factor, why is AC playing 20 min a game? He is our slowest on ball defender who gets beat off the dribble regularly, is late in rotations and rarely rebounds. That is what is confusing to me. I've watched back the film on two games this year, one advantage to retirement, and Brock and Josiah's defense has been pretty good in their limited minutes. The pack line can only be effective if we finish the possession with a rebound.

One thing I do know is that we will keep losing close games if we continue to get killed in the paint. No one is questioning the effort of the guys out there but it's just not good enough. They are limited by size and athleticism. However we have added guys that can address the biggest weakness of our team. Why not put them out there in the non-conference to see if they can possibly improve our team?