Chemistry, fundamentals

[pmcmullen]

I'll take whatever flaming follows this comment. It hits me as being painfully obvious. Cooke literally destroys this team's in-game chemistry. Stupid forced shots, dribbling into multi-coverage, trying to single-handedly control the game, etc. I can only hope someone puts a lock on him.

And this love of playing from behind, and poor FT shooting. Add in a brutal showing of our occasional turnoveritis and it was a well-deserved loss. Unfortunately this is a painfully bad one in a weak conference.

I hope there is a quick turn in basic fundamentals, and realizing that we are a better team when we play like a team - not like a certain one player can carry the world.

[funeralplanner]

Like Larry said, Cooke looked really rusty. I didn't listen to the entire game, but why was he in the game if he played that bad?

[TommyGola]

Originally Posted by pmcmullen I'll take whatever flaming follows this comment. It hits me as being painfully obvious. Cooke literally destroys this team's in-game chemistry. Stupid forced shots, dribbling into multi-coverage, trying to single-handedly control the game, etc. I can only hope someone puts a lock on him. And this love of playing from behind, and poor FT shooting. Add in a brutal showing of our occasional turnoveritis and it was a well-deserved loss. Unfortunately this is a painfully bad one in a weak conference. I hope there is a quick turn in basic fundamentals, and realizing that we are a better team when we play like a team - not like a certain one player can carry the world.

I couldn't agree more. Every time they had an opportunity to make a run, Cooke forced the ball and turned it over or threw up a wild shot. He has no sense of team whatsoever.

[cralford]

Originally Posted by pmcmullen I'll take whatever flaming follows this comment. It hits me as being painfully obvious. Cooke literally destroys this team's in-game chemistry. Stupid forced shots, dribbling into multi-coverage, trying to single-handedly control the game, etc. I can only hope someone puts a lock on him. And this love of playing from behind, and poor FT shooting. Add in a brutal showing of our occasional turnoveritis and it was a well-deserved loss. Unfortunately this is a painfully bad one in a weak conference. I hope there is a quick turn in basic fundamentals, and realizing that we are a better team when we play like a team - not like a certain one player can carry the world.

Haven't watched the game yet but I probably agree. I will let you know. I am not going to single someone out without at least seeing the game.

[jack72]

Originally Posted by funeralplanner Like Larry said, Cooke looked really rusty. I didn't listen to the entire game, but why was he in the game if he played that bad?

I suspect Archie kept thinking Cooke would turn it around. DD started off strong with 6 points and never made another basket. Problem was who do you put in, as everyone but Kyle played badly.

[flyerfan4life]

Crosby is BAD. We better hope that McKinley is a rare breed at point guard or get a Juco or grad transfer.

[maddog07]

Originally Posted by flyerfan4life Crosby is BAD. We better hope that McKinley is a rare breed at point guard or get a Juco or grad transfer.

That's an insult to players who are bad. He's terrible. No where near an A 10 player, not even at Fordham
Posted via Mobile Device

	Fordham FORDHAM Fordham University is an independent Jesuit university established in 1841 as St. John's College on old Rose Hill Manor in the village of Fordham, then part of Westchester County in the Bronx, NY. The name Fordham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "ford" and "ham," meaning a wading place or ford by a settlement. Rose Hill is the name given to the site in 1787 by Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant, in honor of his family's ancestral home of the same name in Scotland. The College was originally staffed by diocesan clergy. The name was officially changed to Fordham University in 1907. Fordham's 10 schools enroll 14,448 students. There are 7,652 undergraduates, of whom 3,842 live in University-managed housing either on-campus or in the local community. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams. Athletic claim to fame is consistent mediocrity in nearly all sports and few A10 title winning programs.

[ud69]

Wasn't just Cooke, there was plenty of blame to go around - other than Kyle.

[SeasonTicketFan]

UD in four losses has struggled against big front lines. The size in the middle seemed to disrupt UD. Big men in the middle stop the slashing that is used heavily in the offense. It also bothers their defense.

Granted, the played a terrible game, but it seems when they are disrupted in the middle, the tram falls apart.

UD plays really short and gets away with it a lot, but not always....

[C-time]

Originally Posted by maddog07 That's an insult to players who are bad. He's terrible. No where near an A 10 player, not even at Fordham Posted via Mobile Device

Hey stop disparaging Fordham! They beat Davidson tonight!

	Fordham FORDHAM Fordham University is an independent Jesuit university established in 1841 as St. John's College on old Rose Hill Manor in the village of Fordham, then part of Westchester County in the Bronx, NY. The name Fordham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "ford" and "ham," meaning a wading place or ford by a settlement. Rose Hill is the name given to the site in 1787 by Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant, in honor of his family's ancestral home of the same name in Scotland. The College was originally staffed by diocesan clergy. The name was officially changed to Fordham University in 1907. Fordham's 10 schools enroll 14,448 students. There are 7,652 undergraduates, of whom 3,842 live in University-managed housing either on-campus or in the local community. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams. Athletic claim to fame is consistent mediocrity in nearly all sports and few A10 title winning programs.

[T-Bone 84]

Originally Posted by funeralplanner Like Larry said, Cooke looked really rusty. I didn't listen to the entire game, but why was he in the game if he played that bad?

There are times when I think Archie gets preoccupied with showcasing players a bit too much. Either that or he trusts those players a bit too implicitly. Regardless, we came out of the gate competitively tonight, with Baby D in the starting lineup and scoring our first 5 points. Then, from the time the score was 15-10 Flyers, the game got out of hand, and we were never able to get the wheels back on. Part of that was because the offensive flow just wasn't there, and ball-hogging disrupts flow. And yes, Charles is a ball hog.
Posted via Mobile Device

[TommyGola]

Originally Posted by SeasonTicketFan UD in four losses has struggled against big front lines. The size in the middle seemed to disrupt UD. Big men in the middle stop the slashing that is used heavily in the offense. It also bothers their defense. Granted, the played a terrible game, but it seems when they are disrupted in the middle, the tram falls apart. UD plays really short and gets away with it a lot, but not always....

That's precisely why you must press and run against the bigger teams.

[frisco flyer]

It's a shame that some posters are trying to pin this loss on Cook. He is no more responsible than any other Flyer, including the coaching staff. This thread is not a very good way to welcome back our best player who is doing his level best to come back from injury and help the team as best he can.

I thought UMass was far better prepared for this game than we were. Our defense was OK but not great, our guards collectively had a lousy game with too many TOs and too few fast break points. We couldn't do anything inside if our life depended on it, and they made shots when they needed to make shots to keep us from getting back in the game.

This game was lost in the first half, like all our other losses, and there's plenty of blame to go around. It's unfair to try to pin this on any one player. We usually have a game like this during the course of a long season, let's hope that's all this was and that we play better and get the W in Pittsburgh this weekend.

This puts a real dent in our at-large aspirations and we can I'll-afford another loss like this.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

[Smitty10]

Originally Posted by pmcmullen I'll take whatever flaming follows this comment. It hits me as being painfully obvious. Cooke literally destroys this team's in-game chemistry. Stupid forced shots, dribbling into multi-coverage, trying to single-handedly control the game, etc. I can only hope someone puts a lock on him. And this love of playing from behind, and poor FT shooting. Add in a brutal showing of our occasional turnoveritis and it was a well-deserved loss. Unfortunately this is a painfully bad one in a weak conference. I hope there is a quick turn in basic fundamentals, and realizing that we are a better team when we play like a team - not like a certain one player can carry the world.

Charles Cooke is a cancer to the offense period. This isn't a rust thing, this happens even when he scores 20, he stifles the offense. The quick passing looking for the great shot doesn't happen with Charles Selfish in there. This team is going nowhere until he's gone. It's a shame that the class of Kyle, Kendall and Scoochie have had their final two seasons not reach the potential by the most selfish player in the AM era.

[ud69]

Originally Posted by Smitty10 Charles Cooke is a cancer to the offense period. This isn't a rust thing, this happens even when he scores 20, he stifles the offense. The quick passing looking for the great shot doesn't happen with Charles Selfish in there. This team is going nowhere until he's gone. It's a shame that the class of Kyle, Kendall and Scoochie have had their final two seasons not reach the potential by the most selfish player in the AM era.

I disagree. When he is healthy he is our best defender. When healthy he is our best offensive weapon. Tonight, he had a bad game - so did just about everybody else not named Kyle Davis.

[Smitty10]

Originally Posted by ud69 I disagree. When he is healthy he is our best defender. When healthy he is our best offensive weapon. Tonight, he had a bad game - so did just about everybody else not named Kyle Davis.

I'm not talking about his defense. And the only times our offense goes in the tank is when he's playing. I said it the same thing after the past 2 games and he proved me right again tonight. He can score 20 and he still stifiles the offense.

[San Diego Flyer]

We faced one of the better defensive teams of the season. Cooke was rusty from his injury layoff. It wasn't like he was able to go hard in the days off. Their defense created the perfect storm for him to fail. He did not let the game come to him. I feel it was an aberration.

Also we were 3-0 and they were 0-3. We let them get juiced up and they kept the pressure on. After we got to 41-42 we imploded as their Freshmen outplayed our Seniors.

[UDBaby]

I thought Archie also had some very odd lineups on the floor for too many minutes, especially when we cut their lead and tied it in the 2nd half. Crosby, Sam, DD on the floor at the same time, for any length of time, is a recipe for turnovers, missed opportunities and WTF moments.

They played like a team that thought they were gonna win just because they showed up...call it benign arrogance - at least from what I saw.

[Runnin' Rebel]

Originally Posted by jack72 I suspect Archie kept thinking Cooke would turn it around. DD started off strong with 6 points and never made another basket. Problem was who do you put in, as everyone but Kyle played badly.

I thought Archie went with Cooke too long in the 2nd half (when we were closing in on them) - I would have replaced Cooke with Mikesell.

Seemed like Archie left Mikesell on the bench for a good part of the 2nd half.

Also... the blame doesn't go entirely with Charles - even though he did force the action too much.

I noticed that when Charles gets the ball, his teammates tend to stand and watch too - giving him no one to pass to, and then he ends up driving into multiple people at the rim.

[oldfan]

After reviewing all four loss there is one common issue which makes winning those games hard. It is not one individual player or the coaching staff game preparation. It is that the Flyers do not have Big Steve.

The Flyers lack a presence underneath. To compensate there is much more double teaming on the opposition post men than would be routinely necessary. One expects double teaming on the post man if he is a dominating post player but even rather pedestrian post players who otherwise would not merit much comment except for their size require the Flyers to double team them. This opens up the outside.

UMass took control of the game when they started hitting those outside shots. If the Flyers were to adjust and press more against the outside shooters then the post men would have there way.

Neither Xeryius nor Sam seem capable of consistently getting good defensive position on a big postman and this is required when the offensive player is much bigger than the defender. Sam is a bit slow and plays a bit soft underneath while Xeryius tries to use his athletic gifts to offset a weakness in basketball fundamentals. One of the reasons Ryan appears to have the starting role is that he does play more intelligently but he is too small to be effective against the big post man.

The Flyers will have trouble going forward against similar teams because of the lack of that presence underneath.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

[hessbz12]

I'll admit, I called Charles a ball hog last night. I just feel like he tried to force things too much as opposed to let things come to him. The aforementioned post that mentions others standing around makes a good point. But I've also seen many a game this year where they swing the ball tremendously, Charles included, where Charles or someone else gets a great shot. That was rarely the case last night. Amherst is a curse for us. I was just hoping we could finally break that curse. I think their size really messed with us. Scooch played pretty poorly and his 2nd foul in the 1st half was the turning point.

We CANNOT play this way Saturday, next Thursday or the rest of the way for that matter. There is very little margin for error at this point. VCU as well as anyone right now and we know how talented Rhode Island is.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

[CoffeeCan]

The captains this year are SS, KD, and Josh Cunningham. I think that it is interesting that Cunningham, new to the team, was selected as a captain over Cooke. Cooke being a senior and having been with the team longer, being the leading scorer, etc. Also odd that KP was a captain prior to this year.

If I recall, Arch named captains in the past but this year they were selected by the players. Not sure what this says, but it sounds like JC is either a hell of a guy and player or the players dont respect CC or KP as much as you would think they would/should.

[Kevinob15]

Remember when everyone worshiped Cooke last year for his offensive prowess? It takes more than one player to disrupt and offense. We've been winning despite DD's offensive woes and turnovers because everyone else was focused and committed to the game plan. When you have 5-7 guys unable to carryout the game plan that's when you run into trouble i.e. last night. Cut the guy some slack, Cooke is going to win us some games we have no business winning.

[jack72]

Originally Posted by CoffeeCan The captains this year are SS, KD, and Josh Cunningham. I think that it is interesting that Cunningham, new to the team, was selected as a captain over Cooke. Cooke being a senior and having been with the team longer, being the leading scorer, etc. Also odd that KP was a captain prior to this year. If I recall, Arch named captains in the past but this year they were selected by the players. Not sure what this says, but it sounds like JC is either a hell of a guy and player or the players dont respect CC or KP as much as you would think they would/should.

May be more a reflection on off floor activities than on floor.

[116 Chambers]

Let me get this straight, Cooke is now the sole problem with this team? We are giving a free pass to our Senior leaders: Scoochie for a terrible start to last night's game (arguable our most important player) and Kendall for taking ridiculous 3 pointers (he now, dangerously, thinks he is a 3 point shooter). I won't harp on our Sophomore class's terrible night because they are Sophomores and not the team leaders.

We had a chance to win this game when it was 42-41 UMass, we just didn't make enough plays, missed to many bunnies, and turned the ball over a ton of times.

Time to move on and learn from this loss. The season is still in front of this team. The goal is still to go 14-4 in conference play and hopefully win the A-10 tourney for once...

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

[shocka43]

Originally Posted by jack72 May be more a reflection on off floor activities than on floor.

Or both...

[jack72]

With 5 minute gone Cooke came in with a score of 10-10. Over the next five minutes we took a 15-10 lead with a great ball rotation to Cooke for a three.

When we can get to the basket, Cooke and Pollard look amazing. When they cannot or turn the ball over, they look like crap. Those two big guys bottled up the drives and our turnovers did the rest. The ball movement was secondary. I cannot find points in the paint stats, but pretty sure we lost by a big margin.

[shocka43]

CC is a really good player. He, and the coaching staff, need to realize that this team gets by without any one player on the floor, CC included. He was rusty as hell last night. He also had 7 turnovers, a handful of which were when CC was trying to wrangle a pass or a loose ball because he had one thing in mind...be the guy to get to the rim. Not be the guy to lock the ball up and find an open man. Or get the loose ball, kick it out to an open teammate to start the offense...NO...it was to get the ball and force an attempt at a shot.

I agree with the above that CC does get in the flow of offense...at times. He is average more assists this year than he has his entire career. Granted, it still isn't a ton of assists...but they are there.

This team is better when they play as a team. CC was not good last night. No one was except KD. Just as easy as it is to pile it on CC, we can pile it on plenty of players last night. With that said, CC no longer gets a pass from me in terms of him feeling like he has to be "the man" when you have other scorers on the floor. I was on the fence over his last 4 appearances on the floor, but after last night...the "I'm going to try and get my average at the expense of others" is becoming more and more evident.

[SeasonTicketFan]

I thought the team laid a collective egg last night. That is guaranteed 1 to 2 to 3 times a year in A10 play. I can't remember the last year in which UD failed to lose to a team that was in the bottom half of the league.

Cooke was out of control in the 2nd half last night. He drove into the lane and was trapped too often. He gets away with it when the other team doe snot have a large presence in the middle.

The rest of the team played poorly too. I though the team got out of what they do best. The question is why. But they do it every year.

[Sid Louick]

Originally Posted by hessbz12 I'll admit, I called Charles a ball hog last night. I just feel like he tried to force things too much as opposed to let things come to him. The aforementioned post that mentions others standing around makes a good point. But I've also seen many a game this year where they swing the ball tremendously, Charles included, where Charles or someone else gets a great shot. That was rarely the case last night. Amherst is a curse for us. I was just hoping we could finally break that curse. I think their size really messed with us. Scooch played pretty poorly and his 2nd foul in the 1st half was the turning point. We CANNOT play this way Saturday, next Thursday or the rest of the way for that matter. There is very little margin for error at this point. VCU as well as anyone right now and we know how talented Rhode Island is.

VCU absolutely demolished GW last night. Offensive rebounding and their "havoc" defense simply killed GW. With only one point guard really available to us, the "havoc" defense will likely be our undoing and our subpar rebounding will give VCU a lot of second chance points. Both games against VCU could be really tough for us to deal with.

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

[UDDoug]

Somebody has to take a shot. There were several (say four) possessions I saw where there was a lot of ball movement and player movement, passing up a shot for a better one, only to end up with no shot.

This team has a major flaw - take away the drive to the hoop and points in transition - and they struggle in the half court. They just don't have that many good shooters with confidence to knock down the jumper.

And in those games, they need to press and trap to generate points off turnovers.

They lost this game from the 16 minute mark of the second half to the 3:29 minute mark. Score was 38-36 and possessions were:

DD misses 3
Pollard missed dunk
Cooke charge
Scoochie made jumper (38-38)
Cooke missed layup
Miller missed layup
Cooke made three (41-42)
Cooke turnover
Crosby missed layup
Cooke missed layup
Pollard turnover
Crosby missed layup
Crosby turnover
Schoochie missed 3
Pollard miss two free throws
Williams dunk (43-52)
Scoochie missed three
DD turnover
Scoochie missed layup
Pollard makes one of two free throws (44-54)
Cooke missed three
Cooke turnover
Cooke missed layup
Williams missed layup
Pollard turnover (44-56)

That's 12 and a half minutes with 8 points, and many wasted possessions by many players. Virtually everyone played in that stretch. And played poorly.

I put this one on the collective players on the floor. They stunk it up.

[pmcmullen]

Originally Posted by Kevinob15 Remember when everyone worshiped Cooke last year for his offensive prowess? It takes more than one player to disrupt and offense. We've been winning despite DD's offensive woes and turnovers because everyone else was focused and committed to the game plan. When you have 5-7 guys unable to carryout the game plan that's when you run into trouble i.e. last night. Cut the guy some slack, Cooke is going to win us some games we have no business winning.

I couldn't disagree more. One player on a basketball team is more than enough to kill offensive rhythm.

[Alberto Strasse]

as Flyer Fanatics is the very good defense played by UMASS last night. They played their best "D" in years and forced a lot of turnovers.

	Flyer Faithful FLYER FAITHFUL Best college basketball fans in the country. Knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and loyal. Help to create one of the toughest home courts in the nation at UD Arena. Over 12,000 fans a game put the Flyers in the Top-30 nationally in attendance. Fan spirit and support growing to other UD sports and athletic programs as well.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

[TerryK_67]

Originally Posted by Alberto Strasse as Flyer Fanatics is the very good defense played by UMASS last night. They played their best "D" in years and forced a lot of turnovers.

I agree UMASS defense was decent, but..... I am not going to go back and count.... but I would bet over half of our turnovers were self inflicted..... maybe more!

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

[CE80]

They had 17 turnovers too and shot 47.8% from the line. It is not like they had a great night. Forget about everything else, we were 18-57, 31.6%.

[FlyerGuyer]

May be more a reflection on off floor activities than on floor.

Or both...

The chemistry problems were definitely evident last season, too. Remember we lost 5 of our last 9 games (with 2 of our wins by one point, and another win in OT vs. a garbage SLU team), including the embarrassing egg laid vs. Syracuse. You could tell that something wasn't quite right, whether it was on-court chemistry or off-court drama or both.

Bottom line, this ain't the TrueTeam of 2014 and 2015.

Still time to rectify it, though...

	Saint Louis SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 12,700 students. Founded in 1818, it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Located in St. Louis, MO, and just five minutes from the Gateway Arch, SLU offers 85 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate study tracks. Over 99% of the SLU faculty hold the highest degree in their respective fields. Fellow member of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Billikens, but also commonly known as "Sloo", the phonetic pronunciation of the school's initials. Athletic claims to fame include multiple national titles in men's soccer and men's basketball star Larry Hughes.

[Whacker]

Originally Posted by UDDoug They lost this game from the 16 minute mark of the second half to the 3:29 minute mark. Score was 38-36 and possessions were: DD misses 3 Pollard missed dunk Cooke charge Scoochie made jumper (38-38) Cooke missed layup Miller missed layup Cooke made three (41-42) Cooke turnover Crosby missed layup Cooke missed layup Pollard turnover Crosby missed layup Crosby turnover Schoochie missed 3 Pollard miss two free throws Williams dunk (43-52) Scoochie missed three DD turnover Scoochie missed layup Pollard makes one of two free throws (44-54) Cooke missed three Cooke turnover Cooke missed layup Williams missed layup Pollard turnover (44-56) That's 12 and a half minutes with 8 points, and many wasted possessions by many players. Virtually everyone played in that stretch. And played poorly. I put this one on the collective players on the floor. They stunk it up.

Dang Doug - you gotta give me a warning before you post that. I have women and children in the household.

[Kevinob15]

Originally Posted by pmcmullen I couldn't disagree more. One player on a basketball team is more than enough to kill offensive rhythm.

Then how have we been succeeding with DD and Sam on the floor? Cooke didn't start last night and we didn't look much better with him on the bench. I'm just saying we need to evaluate the offense as a whole because without CC I doubt our record is as good as it is now. Maybe if our bench steps it up a bit CC will stop pressing so much and let the game come to him. That's a big IF right now
Posted via Mobile Device

[UDBaby]

Originally Posted by Whacker Dang Doug - you gotta give me a warning before you post that. I have women and children in the household.

To steal a favorite line from a favorite writer...
"Whacker, keep passing the open windows."

[NovaFlyer]

I think this stream is a waste. We have a team doing their best every game and people criticise these students. Butler beats the number 1 team in the country then gets their asses kicked by Creighton. Bet the Butler board wasn't ready to crucify a player, or the team. Move on.

[UDTradition]

This ranks up with the lousiest thread in months.

CC played HURT. You try to attack the basket with a bruised back and sore wrist. CC did his ****edest to try to spark a horrible game plan and coaches silly substitutions.

BTW...the Creighton example with a 16-1 record and an RPI of 16 is a pretty bad example to make your point. UMass is not Creighton.

	Massachusetts MASSACHUSETTS UMass Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. The campus provides a rich cultural environment in a rural setting close to major urban centers. UMass enrolls over 20,000 undergraduates and 5,000 post-grad students. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Minutemen. Women's teams known as the Minutewomen. Sports achievements include NCAA Final Four appearances in men's basketball and women's soccer.

[pmcmullen]

Originally Posted by NovaFlyer I think this stream is a waste. We have a team doing their best every game and people criticise these students. Butler beats the number 1 team in the country then gets their asses kicked by Creighton. Bet the Butler board wasn't ready to crucify a player, or the team. Move on.

Crucify a player? Calm down. We're discussing things on... get this... a discussion board. I laid the cards on the table in my original post. Not everyone is going to agree with my opinion and observations, but plenty clearly do. If you don't want to discuss, find the non-discussion board and move on.

Sometimes observations stem around a player...

[ruechalgrin]

Team chemistry is so bad with Cooke that Dayton has the 11th/12th best defense in the country.

Only thing weak about our offense is the lack of offensive rebounding and free throw shooting. We are top 50ish in every major offensive category (effective field goal percentage, turnover percentage, free throws attempted/field goals attempted, etc.) except these two. Cooke is one of the better offensive rebounders and free throw shooters. So I just don't think the facts support the conclusions.

[Gazoo]

When a running back runs the ball 10 times in a row and only nets 10 yards you don't generally blame the running back. You blame the coach for calling the plays or the offensive line for not doing their job.

When a basketball player is not fitting into the offensive system you don't 100% blame the player either. The coaches need to put him in a position for the whole team to be successful by coaching in practice and game film. If that player won't listen, you cut his minutes. They are not cutting his minutes. Therefore I have to imagine he's doing what he's told.

Miller is a superb coach, but he's not perfect. It's not Cooke's job to "figure this out" it's the coaches job to make it work. Cooke's problem is not that he can't dribble or shoot. It's decision making. Blame the coach.

[flybye]

Cooke settled down in the second half and did just fine. He needs back in the starting lineup where he is comfortable. Get this team healthy and Josh back in Feb and this team can be really good come The A Ten Tourney. Josh will be interesting , he adds depth and strength to the frontcourt and will free up Pollard so he is not guarding bigs all the time. I like where we are heading on D and he will only make it better. I don't trust the At large selection process and without any Big wins I am counting on winning our First Tourney Championship in 14 years!!!! Think about that 14 years. Its the only thing the Seniors have not done. We should pack the building and make it 3 home games. Now....only lose two more, at Rhody/VCU and then I think at large is reasonable. This senior Class is so special lets enjoy it and Crown them in Pitt!

	Rhode Island RHODE ISLAND The University of Rhode Island was chartered as the state's agricultural school in 1888. The school became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1892. Located in southern Rhode Island, URI is a quintessential New England campus - rural in feeling yet close to the city of Providence, the state's capital. Linked to the city, the beaches, and nearly every corner of the state by both rail and public transit, the campus is easily accessible from Boston and New York URI currently offers 100 majors in seven degree-granting colleges. There are more than 12,000 students on the Kingston campus, about 3,000 in Providence, and a complement of about 700 faculty. Fellow members of the A10 Conference. Nickname is the Rams.

[San Diego Flyer]

Has anyone noticed when Sam subs out of the floor lineup, Archie wants to school him on what he did wrong as he heads to the bench? Sam wants no part of it and consistently won't look at Arch and walks past him even as Arch is trying to make eye contact. The two of them must have a pretty solid relationship, because I don't know of too many coaches that would take a snub like that. Kind of makes one squirm a bit watching it. No player on the team is beyond taking advice from the head coach.

[MrFlyerFanatic]

I liked the concerted effort to force feed Baby D on Saturday. 1-7 from 3 and 2-8 overall weren't good, but there was clearly a message that they were going to put the ball in his hands and he was to shoot whenever remotely open.
My guess is that he's starting to warm up in practice and Archie is making it a focus to get his game confidence back.
He also got a lot of looks (only CC and XW had more attempts), so there may have been a mismatch that Archie liked.

[Radar]

Originally Posted by MrFlyerFanatic I liked the concerted effort to force feed Baby D on Saturday. 1-7 from 3 and 2-8 overall weren't good, but there was clearly a message that they were going to put the ball in his hands and he was to shoot whenever remotely open. My guess is that he's starting to warm up in practice and Archie is making it a focus to get his game confidence back. He also got a lot of looks (only CC and XW had more attempts), so there may have been a mismatch that Archie liked.

If you were to watch the replay, however, most of DD's 3-pt attempts were a good 3' behind the line.

[sabo2]

In the four games, DD is averaging 27 minutes of play. He is 3-21 in shooting, totaled 17 points with 7 rebounds and 2 steals. While we have won 3 of the 4, it is basically because others have shot well and not because he rose to the occasion. Due to injury, he is our only viable option. In future games, this kind of production can be fatal.