[lusparky]

Can someone explain to me why Burrus is only getting 7.3 minutes a game? He played 24 mins against UCF with 3 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Why in the world is that man sitting the bench? We're at a point in the season where we need to get that youth off the bench and get them some playing time. This year isn't going to be the best year in history at LU, but next year we have a good chance with our big recruit coming in and getting these guys some more experience. Also, we're getting Vander Pol, along with McMasters, we'll have twin towers. Burrus needs to get some playing time, he's going to be huge for us in the next 3 years along with Konan.

[olldflame]

If you paid a bit more attention to the games and looked at the box scores, you would see that Burrus has steadily been getting more and more PT. At the beginning of the year, he was just a little behind the curve in learning our system, and he hardly played at all, which is why his average minutes for the season is still pretty low.

[lusparky]

I see what you're saying and I'm commenting because he has recently gotten the chance to prove himself and that's what he has done. I just think they really need to bring him along with the other bigs. To be a high quality school, you have to have the bigs, and that is something that I don't think they spend enough time on.

[SuperJon]

If you think they don't spend enough time with these big guys then you simply don't know enough. Antwan is just barely 18. He's even younger than Seth was this time of year. There are high school seniors that are older than him. He's still learning his body and developing the things he needs to develop to be a quality college player. His whole life he's been more athletic than everyone else and now he's having to develop the little things because the athleticism has caught up. We've seen him start to "get it" as the season has progressed and he's picked up more minutes as that development has gone on. Right now, he's your typical freshman forward. The only reason you're really noticing it and that it's even close to being a "big deal" is because we don't have anyone older than him right now to play in front of him. Ideally, we'd have a junior or senior taking up most of the minutes so he could take his time to develop but unfortunately, we don't have any.

Case in point: Look at Austin Smith last year. The kid kept developing as the year went on and by the time the year was out, he was playing a good amount and was successful.

[lusparky]

You know, I see what you're saying, he's a young kid, but he plays for a Division 1 basketball team. If he was good enough to get recruited, put him on the court. When they do, what happens?? He scores which is something that Liberty isn't doing much of this year, shooting 42%. In 80 minutes of play, he has 49 points, shooting 63%. How is he going to get better, by getting in there and get beat up inside.

I'd trade McMasters off for him in the starting line up. McMasters is getting you 4.2 rebounds a game, but what is that when Gordon, who is a foot shorter than McMasters is 4.5 boards a game. In fact, the rest of the starters are averaging more. I'm not trying to come down on McMasters, what I'm saying is that there a lot of talent there that is being wasted on the bench. He's got a big body and strong hands, something Liberty is lacking. Burrus is only averaging 1.7 boards a game, but if you calculate the minutes per game with the amount of rebounds, he's averaging more rebounds per 5 minutes than anyone else on the team.

In a team that is still trying to figure themselves out, I think Burrus is one of the brightest spots. Hopefully by the end of the season, LU will get off some of that baby fat and by next year be a real threat, if not the favorite in the Big South, but this year they need to put the ball in someone's hands who can get points on the board for them.

[thepostman]

he's going to be very good...very raw, but he was one of the few bright spots last night

[jcmanson]

I'd trade McMasters off for him in the starting line up. McMasters is getting you 4.2 rebounds a game, but what is that when Gordon, who is a foot shorter than McMasters is 4.5 boards a game. In fact, the rest of the starters are averaging more. I'm not trying to come down on McMasters, what I'm saying is that there a lot of talent there that is being wasted on the bench.

Burrus played 24 minutes last night. How is that "wasting on the bench?"

Also, Carter only played 16 minutes. As fans we get too caught up in who's starting.

Carter brings something to the team no one else does - a shotblocking presence. He's blocked 19 shots this year. The next most is 5. And that doesn't factor in how many shots he's altered. Sure he needs to hit the glass more, but he still deserves to be on the court those 16 minutes.

[Cider Jim]

I'm wondering why Burrus got twice the amount of playing time that Konan got (24 vs. 12 minutes). Didn't Konan break into the starting lineup? Has that changed?

[SuperJon]

Konan was in foul trouble and ended up fouling out pretty early.

[lusparky]

I did a little more math about shot blocking. Burrus got two blocks today giving him a total of 6 in 99 minutes of play, compared to McMasters 19 in 320 minutes of play. If you average it out, Burrus is averaging .06 blocks a minute and McMasters is averaging .05 blocks a minute. Four of his six blocks have come in the last two games, when he's gotten real playing time.

Again, I'm not putting down McMasters, he's a factor for us this year and the next three, but I just wish the players that are making more of an impact are out on the floor more.

One side note, if McMasters is going to dress like Chris Andersen for the Nuggets, maybe he should play like Andersen to back it up. He looks like a fool if he dresses like that and then plays like a back up.

Carter brings something to the team no one else does - a shotblocking presence. He's blocked 19 shots this year. The next most is 5.

[jcmanson]

Again, I'm not putting down McMasters

One side note, if McMasters is going to dress like Chris Andersen for the Nuggets, maybe he should play like Andersen to back it up. He looks like a fool if he dresses like that and then plays like a back up.

[Cider Jim]

This old hag had to do a Google image/Wiki search to even find out who Chris Andersen is, and apparently he's the original "bird man" and has a very similar hair style to our LU version:
http://www.luello.com/blog/wp-content/u ... uggets.jpg

Chris received the nickname "Birdman" by former NBA player Junior Harrington for his athletic, high-flying game and wing tattoos on his inner biceps. His trademark has been his "Birdman" celebration, wherein he would cross his arms and flap his hands like the wings of a bird after scoring on an emphatic dunk or blocking a shot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Andersen

[ToTheLeft]

So because you dress to emulate someone, and don't live up to it, you're a fool?

Next time you dress up to go to a meeting or work, and don't make billions like the big wigs, consider yourself a fool.

[flamesbball84]

Chris Anderson is a backup, so if he were to emulate him, then Carter should be a backup...

[thepostman]

Chris Anderson is a backup, so if he were to emulate him, then Carter should be a backup...

haha, i was thinking the same thing..

seriously though...who cares how the guys dresses?? its who he is..its really not a big deal, I am more concerned about seeing the guy improve...honestly i think seeing more of him and burrus in together would be an interesting look...it could leave mcmasters more freedom to float around the perimeter and let burrus be the guy banging down low...just a thought...haven't seen the team play much this year so maybe they have tried this lineup...but its an interesting thought, i would like to see how that would work

[lusparky]

But would it be OK for Ochocinco or the old Terrell Owens to act the way they do if they weren't stars? How about Lebron James' antics? Do you think the people of Cleveland would put up with his actions if he didn't deliver? Chris Andersen also averages 6 boards and shoot 55% per game off the bench in the NBA, McMasters has that ability, he can dress like Little Bo Peep if he pleases. It's just not professional. Look at the Yankees, Braves, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, they look very professional and well kept and they win! That's something we need and it's something that McKay enforced. If you look like a rag tag bunch of guys, chances are you're going to play like that. We need that sense of professionalism. Even with the way they come out of the locker room at halftime, we just kind of wander out onto the court. Go to a Kentucky game and see if the players just wander out onto the court. They come out as a team. We just look so bush league. If you want to be an elite team, you have to start acting like one.

[SuperJon]

That's something we need and it's something that McKay enforced.

I'm going to address this part with a simple statement: You, sir, could not be more wrong.

Every player wore different shoes.

Every player wore different types of undershirts at any point.

Every player wore different types of sweat bands and head bands at any point.

Every player wore different warmups.

Every player wore different types of socks.

Those are all forms of individualism on the court. If you want the team to look alike, then it's an all-or-nothing type of thing. Carter's socks just happen to be longer. Carter's hair just happens to be spiked. It's the same type of individualism as any player who wears an undershirt, sweatband, or longer socks.

You have gone from an off-based criticism of playing time to judging a player for the way he looks. If you want to talk about how he's playing, then go ahead, but don't rip the kid personally. There's no difference in you ripping Carter for how he looks than me ripping Evan for his tattoos or Antwan for his hair. That wouldn't be accepted, so neither should this. If Dale Layer is fine with Carter looking the way he does then I have no reason to complain about it.

[SuperJon]

How about Lebron James' antics? Do you think the people of Cleveland would put up with his actions if he didn't deliver?

Two words: Danny. Green.

He is a rookie who is the lowest paid player on the team and has only played in six games. He's averaging 1.2 points and 2.3 minutes per game. By all accounts, he's the last guy on the bench, and at best, the next to last guy on the bench.

What's my point?

He's been dancing with LeBron just as much:

[youtube]

[/youtube] (fast forward to 1:50)

[lusparky]

The Cavs are 11 games up in the Central Division, second best record in the NBA and Lebron is leading that show on and off the court. Liberty is 2 games below .500 in the Big South and have yet to find a leader on the court. Their best win came over Tenn State with an RPI of 285 and a close game at GMU (RPI 159). If Liberty was undefeated, one or two or three losses, they could dance all over the court and dress like it's Halloween, but they aren't and even the teams that are, like Texas, Kentucky and Kansas, don't act like that, they are much more professional. I mean, am I the only one that thinks these things? Am I the only person who sees a 6-8 record and thinks we are under achieving? I know we had a tough opening schedule and I'm not saying this team is an NCAA tournament team, or last years team, but at least a team that could finish in the top 2 or 3 in the Big South this year. Even if we weren't winning, we're still shooting 42% with one player in double figures. Our opponents are shooting 40% and still outscoring us. With the way they are playing and not shooting, they will be lucky to get home court advantage in the first round of the Big South Tournament. Radford, Coastal, Winthrop and VMI look to be ahead of LU at this point.

I wish they would put players on the court who can score points and act basketball players. Look like you're playing for a D1 team and not some high school.

[SuperJon]

Basically, you completely changed your argument. Instead of saying, "No one that isn't producing would be allowed to do this" you changed to "Well, they're on a really good team so it's ok."

If you expected us to be Top 2-3 in the conference this year, then yes, you were the only one that thought that.

If you think that we're underachieving at 6-8, then yes, you are the only one that thinks that.

We've won the games we were supposed to win this year. We have lost the games we were supposed to lose. There has not been a single game that we were supposed to win that we didn't win and there's not a single game that we weren't supposed to lose that we didn't lose. We are exactly who we thought we were going to be. We're an extremely young team with no go-to-scorer. The media prediction of this team was to finish 6th or 7th in the league. Most people on this board would've considered a .500 season a success for this year. We lost a sure-win due to the snow which would've brought us to 7-8. I'd say most everyone on this board would be okay with 7-8 for this point of the year.

We are a team that has gotten better as the season goes on. We have shown improvement. While we're not winning games, you have to look at the individual aspects of the game.

At the beginning of the season, Patrick Konan and Antwan Burrus were nowhere near ready to play. Now, both of them are playing about 20 minutes a game.

At the beginning of the season, Jeremy Anderson couldn't hit the ocean from the beach. Now, he's getting his shot back and has started shooting better.

Against UCF, we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. However, we were moving the ball and getting open looks. That's not something we could say at the beginning of the year. Coach Layer says that he thought that game was one of the best games we've played all year. Unfortunately, we just couldn't shoot.

Yes, this year we're at a point where things are tough.
Yes, this year we're at a point where we're finding positives in the way we move the ball and the way we play defense.
Yes, this year we're at a point where we have to find positives in things other than wins.

We are exactly what we thought we'd be. If you had outlandish expectations, that's your problem.

[jcmanson]

sparky's a McKay fan, that explains everything

[thepostman]

ummm mckay couldn't of cared less what the players did with their individualism....this person arguments are now completely baseless..

ps....mcmasters didn't have his hair spiked against ucf...i guess he's improving as a person

[olldflame]

Layer talks about Antoine in the latest "coaches corner" on the SID site. He said that at the beginning of the year he was the 12th man on the bench, and now he is fighting for starter's minutes. Those sound like carefully selected words, so I'm thinking Carter will continue to be in the starting lineup, but we all saw how little that meant Saturday in Lexington.

[LUnpretty11]

The bottom line for Carter is he needs to rebound and make lay-ups. He's not doing that very well... at all. He hasn't deserved a starting spot, and frankly, IMHO the only reason he starts is cause the dude is 6'11". I'm not trying to bash him personally, but the dude has got to step it up.

[SuperJon]

in the latest "coaches corner" on the SID site.

The ending of that video is really fun to see.