A Sea Of Red

Impressive game from Taelon Peter, really missing Ihnen in these 2 CUSA losses though. A little bit better from the line this game but we got lucky and they fouled better shooters.

Peter was great. -21 on the boards and uncontested layups all night. Not going to win many like that.

Peter might be the best player on the team. It seems obvious that he should have been getting more minutes before tonight.

Also wondering what's up with Kaden. He took a shot in the last game and has a shiner under his left eye, maybe that's affecting his shot? He's usually a deadeye from 3 and almost all of his looks hit nothing.

Kricket wrote: ↑January 11th, 2025, 11:19 pm Peter might be the best player on the team. It seems obvious that he should have been getting more minutes before tonight.

Was just saying to my sons I can’t believe Ritchie has had him marinating on the bench all year…

I realize he has been getting more minutes lately.

Why did Porter sit for the last several minutes of the game?

Id guess he came back in and decided he wasn't as good to go as he thought after coming back from the locker room.

Need more depth. Basically a 6 man rotation . We gave up 52 points in 2nd half

CP didn't look right after he teaked his ankle (?}. To have ZC, CP & KM all play minal factors and still almso pull off the road victory is surprising.

Both teams looked excellent. Whoever comes out of CUSA will be ready for March.

ballcoach15 wrote: ↑January 12th, 2025, 4:24 am Need more depth. Basically a 6 man rotation . We gave up 52 points in 2nd half

Somebody can read a box score. Even when they dont watch.

Difficult to win any game when one team gets twice as many rebounds. At the same time, we were up seven at the half but struggled to pull away. Very similar to the WKU game. Good teams don't seem to be bothered too much when they are down against us.

Good teams aren’t bothered being down to anyone… that’s why they’re good.

Our offense struggled (outside of Taelon) when CP0 went out. It seemed like we didn’t have any inspiration for shot making and the guys looked tired. They fought hard though against a deeper team. LaTech is good, but they’re even better when the refs don’t let you breathe the wrong way on Batcho.

That being said, depth will continue to be this teams limiting factor, particularly in the front court. Yates has come in now for a few games and has looked lost at times. He missed three wide-open 3s in a row too. Up to this point in the season that was one area he was doing well in. Spell must be injured. They need to keep giving Yu a few minutes every game, if not just for the learning experience.

I’m felt that was some poor coaching with McKay. At one point I think LU was up by 9 points and LaT came from behind to take the lead and McKay never called a timeout. Second, it was obvious again that there mismatches with the small guards. To a point that McKay had to send the 6’8 Aquino to defend the LaT guards behind the arc to prevent 3-point shots. Furthermore, Peters should be in the starting lineup and sit out one of the smaller guards. I definitely saw poor coaching decisions in this game.

ECC29 wrote: ↑January 16th, 2025, 9:45 pm I’m felt that was some poor coaching with McKay. At one point I think LU was up by 9 points and LaT came from behind to take the lead and McKay never called a timeout. Second, it was obvious again that there mismatches with the small guards. To a point that McKay had to send the 6’8 Aquino to defend the LaT guards behind the arc to prevent 3-point shots. Furthermore, Peters should be in the starting lineup and sit out one of the smaller guards. I definitely saw poor coaching decisions in this game.

Whether Peter starts or not is irrelevant. He has played 30+ minutes the last couple of games, and his game is better suited to come off the bench than anyone else we have. Bottom line is, we need at least one more player to step up and give us productive minutes. That big 3 Decker made could make him the most likely candidate. If we get a stop on that last possession and the game goes to OT, he is a hero.

I didn't have access to video for last night's game. Can anyone tell me how the last possession went down and who was contesting the shot for us?

LU 57 wrote: ↑January 11th, 2025, 11:25 pm

Kricket wrote: ↑January 11th, 2025, 11:19 pm Peter might be the best player on the team. It seems obvious that he should have been getting more minutes before tonight.

Was just saying to my sons I can’t believe Ritchie has had him marinating on the bench all year…

I realize he has been getting more minutes lately.

Prior to Ihnen's injury, he and Peter were playing roughly the same amount. Peter might have played more more minutes early if he had not missed all of summer workouts with an injury, putting him behind the curve picking up the system. I also believe that although he was cleared to practice, he may not have been 100% at the beginning of pre-season.

olldflame wrote: ↑January 17th, 2025, 8:31 am I didn't have access to video for last night's game. Can anyone tell me how the last possession went down and who was contesting the shot for us?

Cleveland was lost on the final possession. Again, he continues to be a disaster in crucial moments. After Deckers 3 tied it with 11 seconds left, Cleveland must have thought we were still down. He tried to foul off the inbound, no whistle but he freezes. Ball gets pushed up court and his delay led to him being out position to contest the jumper that buried us.
FT’s again were the difference in this one. Has cost 3+ games this season to this point.

I'm waiting for Ritchie to acknowledge that FTs are a problem. He is being really stubborn about it, citing that we apparently shoot them well in practice. FTs made in games are worth one point. FTs made in practice are worth zero. I don't know if we are doing anything to simulate game situations when practicing FTs, but if we are not, we need to give it a shot. Play loud music and crowd noise, whatever might simulate the distractions you have in games that you don't in practice.

The problem stems almost exclusively from 3 players. Cleveland, Aquino and Maughmer are all well under 60%. Muaghmer is a real puzzlement, as he shot 86% last year at Cedarville. Everyone else is over 75%, with Decker being the only one who has really been automatic, hitting 15 of 16. (Another reason to have him on the court more.)

olldflame wrote: ↑January 17th, 2025, 8:01 am

ECC29 wrote: ↑January 16th, 2025, 9:45 pm I’m felt that was some poor coaching with McKay. At one point I think LU was up by 9 points and LaT came from behind to take the lead and McKay never called a timeout. Second, it was obvious again that there mismatches with the small guards. To a point that McKay had to send the 6’8 Aquino to defend the LaT guards behind the arc to prevent 3-point shots. Furthermore, Peters should be in the starting lineup and sit out one of the smaller guards. I definitely saw poor coaching decisions in this game.

Whether Peter starts or not is irrelevant. He has played 30+ minutes the last couple of games, and his game is better suited to come off the bench than anyone else we have. Bottom line is, we need at least one more player to step up and give us productive minutes. That big 3 Decker made could make him the most likely candidate. If we get a stop on that last possession and the game goes to OT, he is a hero.

So what can be done with the continuous mismatches because McKay continues to put Methany and Porter on the floor at the same time for a lot of minutes. We can’t have Aquino defending guards to prevent the 3-point shot because the shorter guards can’t defend the bigger guards. What about it?

ECC29 wrote: ↑January 17th, 2025, 2:06 pm

olldflame wrote: ↑January 17th, 2025, 8:01 am

ECC29 wrote: ↑January 16th, 2025, 9:45 pm I’m felt that was some poor coaching with McKay. At one point I think LU was up by 9 points and LaT came from behind to take the lead and McKay never called a timeout. Second, it was obvious again that there mismatches with the small guards. To a point that McKay had to send the 6’8 Aquino to defend the LaT guards behind the arc to prevent 3-point shots. Furthermore, Peters should be in the starting lineup and sit out one of the smaller guards. I definitely saw poor coaching decisions in this game.

Whether Peter starts or not is irrelevant. He has played 30+ minutes the last couple of games, and his game is better suited to come off the bench than anyone else we have. Bottom line is, we need at least one more player to step up and give us productive minutes. That big 3 Decker made could make him the most likely candidate. If we get a stop on that last possession and the game goes to OT, he is a hero.

So what can be done with the continuous mismatches because McKay continues to put Methany and Porter on the floor at the same time for a lot of minutes. We can’t have Aquino defending guards to prevent the 3-point shot because the shorter guards can’t defend the bigger guards. What about it?

Replacing one of your best and most experienced players with an untested youngster simply because they are taller and theoretically a better matchup on defense is simplistic at best. We actually had pretty much solved the matchup problem with the rim protection we were able to provide when we had Cleveland, Aquino and Ihnen all in the rotation. With Ihnen out, the only other player on the roster who could potentially fill that role is Kai Yu, who simply is not ready.

But when you have Aquino defending guards outside the 3-point arc, it is ridiculous. That means the small guards had to defend bigger opponents somewhere else. This is not going to work the remainder of the season. McKay will need to adjust better. Players like Peters and Meghmeir are hardly inexperience. McKay is going to have to trust some of his players who are athletics and have the size. Having the two small guards all the time will be detrimental in a lot of games.

To be honest, we are no better than we were 5-7 years ago. To be a good team we need some long, athletic players. We get a good one every now and then, but no depth.
McKay is a great coach and perfect for LU. We just need to put a breakthrough class together, that will set the standard for the future. Hopefully, that will come sooner than later.

I disagree. This year LU is more athletic with more lengths than ever before. Athleticism is the biggest difference than the teams of yesteryear.

We play 6 guys and 2 are 6 foot or under. Ihnen already had 2 major knee injuries before coming here. I fully understand taking a chance on him. Dont like relying on him the way our season clearly did. Lets be honest. The length was ihnen acquino maughmer and Peter and 1 is down for the season.

Not sure i would call that a lot of length.