[Hold My Own]

You sound like TBGBG when he told me about a player who's head he got in...then he put on his ghetto voice and said "that's what I do, thats just what I do man"


LOL

[kingaling42]

If I may (since I'm not going to run off & hide).. Seems to me that although it is a loss- there are some positives to consider.. Especially considering the lack of game experience that this younger team has..
1. LU battled another tough opponent on the road & almost came back to win- regardless they played hard when they could have packed it in...
2. Your team learned what it's like when teams start to key in on Seth- they have to step up when he's not on, in foul trouble or when he can't get open & produce as normal- it's gonna happen as teams always concentrate on the others leading scorer(s)- Stephene & Smith did that tonight
3. Still have to play when shots aren't going down (especially the 3s)- LU attacked the basket towards the end of the game- do that earlier & you prob win..

Things to work on..
1. Playing consistent defense.. It always works- even if you're not shooting the ball well..
2. Understanding when to switch off in zone coverage- LU got caught leaving guys open during many of the zone rotations- especially on the perimeter when they passed into the free throw line (which is how you disrupt a 2-3 zone the best on offense)- the baseline defenders really have to talk & rotate to account for the high-low action or baseline cutting guards.. if those guys don't learn to switch off/communicate- you're gonna see open jump shots all year in the short corners or the 3's from either wing..
3. Not taking plays off- close losses really hammer home the- "if I had only done" x.. y.. or z thoughts.. hopefully your players will take personal accountability for that one play they know they coulda/woulda/shoulda done something different to get 3 points back, etc... if they don't take accountability then I'd say.. Be worried!!
4. Gotta learn that 3's aren't gonna always fall, especially on the road- someone needs to recognize that (whether it's the coaches or your on-court leaders) & really look to drive/create more inside & higher percentage looks- sometimes making layups is the way to get the confidence going for those 21' shots- young players tend to think the 3 balls will start their own shooting streaks & momentum- I personally disagree..

Just my thoughts..

Not the end of the world though- tough but close loss on the road- chalk it up to a learning experience & move on the next one vs N. Colorado in Vegas..

[jcmanson]

If the three isn't falling, he can knock that down all day long.

He shot 2 3's all game. We don't know if it was falling or not.

[WWJFD]

no...but smitty and floyd 2 for 14 for 3 pointers will not get it done any night...

[Hold My Own]

He shot 2 3's all game. We don't know if it was falling or not.

That's what I'm saying, I dont care if he's ice cold he wouldnt have gone 2 for 14

[paradox]

I can't think of any LU team of the past that played a challenging OOC schedule and didn't get blown out by a high-major on the road.

In fact, Winthrop, for years, was known as the team that could almost win. Wins against UVA and Mason, along with three losses at the buzzer to high-majors on the road, would have ranked as one of their better OOC years.


Coach McKay was right. Suddenly, the expectation is to win every game.

[kel varson]

We have got to get Ant going...this is the preseason POY

What? He's played fine. We just have more weapons. Wasn't he the leading scorer last night?

[paradox]

What's with all those early foul calls on LU, especially on Seth

[Hold My Own]

You honestly think he's playing as well as he ever has? I havent even looked at the stats but I can promise you they back up the fact that he isnt...I dont judge someone based on points per game but how's the shooting %? Yes he had a 20 point game, but how many has he had this year? He is playing at times with zero confidence and unwilling to take the game over. We've had Batman and Robin before but this year all we have are Robin's...one more person has to step up and say when Curry give's me the ball b/c of a double team, I'm going to finish.



This is his Sr year...this is the year he is supposed to be head a shoulders above all the rest. As far as POY, he'd finish 3rd or 4th on our team alone.

[paradox]

His 3pt% is down, but his rebounding is up.


As far as stepping up goes, it was nice to see Johnny step up, and he nearly drained the game tying three at the end.


Also, in perspective, Saint Louis is an outstanding defense-oriented team. They really challenged us out on the perimeter.


Lastly, Saint Louis has been holding their competiton to ridiculously low scores in the 30's, 40's, 50's, ect. Only Nebraska, Kent, and Liberty scored in the 70's.

[El Scorcho]

Curry only gets 8pts and zero 3's humm

Curry's foul trouble seriously hampered his performance. He was more or less absent in the first half. Fairly quickly into the second half he was on the bench with his third foul and zero points. Even when he was in, he was backing off trying to stay out of foul trouble.

Now I get that he's normally a big contributor and we wouldn't want him to foul out, but when you're 25 minutes into a game and he still has zero points, I think the need for some points (or just some momentum) outweighs risk of him fouling out. I'd have rather seen him trying to score and foul out than sitting on the bench at that point.

[paradox]

We needed Seth in there because he was occupying their top defender and drawing major attention and double teams.

Tommie Liddell is a big-time defensive specialist and did a great job against Seth. And, if Seth got open on a screen, another defender was immediately in his face.

Defensive effort aside, and it was outstanding, if Seth doesn't get in early foul trouble, he still scores more in this game. And his reduced minutes put more pressure on his teammates because Seth drew so much attention when he was in there.

[olldflame]

For the record, Seth had 3 fouls at the half, and he did not come out when he got his fourth. The only times he left the game in the second half were in the last 2 minutes when Spencer came in for him to take a couple of fouls, and Seth immediatly checked back in. He played 27 minutes, so 8 points is still a low number, since he was averaging 21 in about 35 minutes. St. Louis defended him well. As a team we need to learn to make opponents pay when they focus on him that much.

[olldflame]

Here are the numbers HMO.

http://www.libertyflames.com/wwwadmin/g ... m#TEAM.IND

As far as I can see, the only area Smitty is defecient is in his 3 point shooting %. He's leading us in rebounding, second in scoring, and is shooting almost 50% overall, despite his poor numbers from 3. If you are comparing with last year, then don't forget that he didn't exactly light the world on fire in the first half of the season, but finished strong. 2 games against VMI tend to do wonders for your stats.

[SuperJon]

Defensive effort aside, and it was outstanding,

Did you watch the same game I did? We can't be calling that game an outstanding defensive effort. They had too many easy shots and we gave them too many second and third chances.

[paradox]

I was talking about Saint Louis and their defensive effort, which was outstanding.

[paradox]

Also, Majerus is a big-time coach: three sweet sixteens, an elite eight, a final four, and a title game loss back in '98.

Having said that, I think that we win this game and the DePaul game, if we play them at home. The fact that we came this close on the road against two high-major programs, is a testament to how far this team has come in a very short period of time. It's a good sign seeing this team fight their way back into both games against two very physical teams with homecourt advantage.

[El Scorcho]

For the record, Seth had 3 fouls at the half, and he did not come out when he got his fourth. The only times he left the game in the second half were in the last 2 minutes when Spencer came in for him to take a couple of fouls, and Seth immediatly checked back in. He played 27 minutes, so 8 points is still a low number, since he was averaging 21 in about 35 minutes. St. Louis defended him well. As a team we need to learn to make opponents pay when they focus on him that much.

The record has been updated.

[Chris Lang]

Some non-conference scores from Liberty's last NCAA tournament year:

Miami of Ohio 71, Liberty 55
William & Mary 91, Liberty 64
Duke 76, Liberty 47
Seton Hall 65, Liberty 47
Iowa State 76, Liberty 58
Old Dominion 87, Liberty 66
Arizona 107, Liberty 91
Valparaiso 72, Liberty 54

So, yes, being competitive against non-conference teams means something. Definitely a step forward for the program.

[paradox]

And, we haven't lost a home game yet

[flamesfilmguy]

Some non-conference scores from Liberty's last NCAA tournament year:

Miami of Ohio 71, Liberty 55
William & Mary 91, Liberty 64
Duke 76, Liberty 47
Seton Hall 65, Liberty 47
Iowa State 76, Liberty 58
Old Dominion 87, Liberty 66
Arizona 107, Liberty 91
Valparaiso 72, Liberty 54

So, yes, being competitive against non-conference teams means something. Definitely a step forward for the program.

Thank you Chris. you guys know its hard to play on the road anywhere. especilly with little to no fan support. there are a ton of things that are going on for these guys the holidays are close they get to go home soon. granted those are no excuses for playing poorly but again its tough to play on the road and just because we hit a bump in the road doesn't mean we aren't as good as we thought we were after the mason game.

[LUconn]

Some non-conference scores from Liberty's last NCAA tournament year:

Miami of Ohio 71, Liberty 55
William & Mary 91, Liberty 64
Duke 76, Liberty 47
Seton Hall 65, Liberty 47
Iowa State 76, Liberty 58
Old Dominion 87, Liberty 66
Arizona 107, Liberty 91
Valparaiso 72, Liberty 54

So, yes, being competitive against non-conference teams means something. Definitely a step forward for the program.

Are you sure this is the right year? I swear I thought Miami beat us at home on a buzzer beater. Maybe that was the year before. Or after.

[LUconn]

Actually now that I think about it we did play duke in alaska that year

[Chris Lang]

Only meetings between LU and Miami were MU wins -- 71-55 and 88-44.

[ATrain]

Some non-conference scores from Liberty's last NCAA tournament year:

Miami of Ohio 71, Liberty 55
William & Mary 91, Liberty 64
Duke 76, Liberty 47
Seton Hall 65, Liberty 47
Iowa State 76, Liberty 58
Old Dominion 87, Liberty 66
Arizona 107, Liberty 91
Valparaiso 72, Liberty 54

So, yes, being competitive against non-conference teams means something. Definitely a step forward for the program.

Are you sure this is the right year? I swear I thought Miami beat us at home on a buzzer beater. Maybe that was the year before. Or after.

That was Arkansas State you're thinking of.