Glass half full outlook

[joeybaloney]

If (and it's a big if) Smith and Elvis both come back healthy, this team can still do some serious damage. Mike is going to be thrown into the fire now, and he's going to get some valuable experience being the man running the show. Other guys are going to be playing more minutes and hopefully developing as well. Our records going to suck, we may not even finish .500 for the regular season. But if Brea, Smith and Elvis are healthy by the end of the season, good things can still happen. Grant has to figure it out. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.
I am not giving up. I'm stupid like that.

[steve]

You only play better and you only develop when you have adequate coaching. This team has one shooter on the entire team that is a catch and shoot guy and can even take it to the hoop and he's been out the last few games and this day and age how many shooters has Grant recruited and signed? It's a travesty.

[UD62]

Still a ways to go, but I think I heard Kate Smith trying out her vocals. Difficult to believe what happened the last three days, and now our guards are down.

[TommyGola]

Originally Posted by joeybaloney If (and it's a big if) Smith and Elvis both come back healthy, this team can still do some serious damage. Mike is going to be thrown into the fire now, and he's going to get some valuable experience being the man running the show. Other guys are going to be playing more minutes and hopefully developing as well. Our records going to suck, we may not even finish .500 for the regular season. But if Brea, Smith and Elvis are healthy by the end of the season, good things can still happen. Grant has to figure it out. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. I am not giving up. I'm stupid like that.

Come on, Joey, I love your positive attitude...but I have attended or viewed every game this year and they have looked bad in every game. Now, you have two starting guards out and no real point guard. There is no way this team can turn around anything. My guess is they may go .400 in A-10 play and don't even make the NIT. There is no hope for this team.

[longtimefan67]

Originally Posted by TommyGola Come on, Joey, I love your positive attitude...but I have attended or viewed every game this year and they have looked bad in every game. Now, you have two starting guards out and no real point guard. There is no way this team can turn around anything. My guess is they may go .400 in A-10 play and don't even make the NIT. There is no hope for this team.

Tommy, I wouldn't want you on my team. This team hasn't been healthy since day one. If Mali and Kobe are done for the year, life goes on and someone else steps up.

[hawkoooo]

Originally Posted by longtimefan67 Tommy, I wouldn't want you on my team. This team hasn't been healthy since day one. If Mali and Kobe are done for the year, life goes on and someone else steps up.

You are joking right? There is no possible way your posts are real. They have to be tongue in cheek. Right?

[longtimefan67]

Originally Posted by hawkoooo You are joking right? There is no possible way your posts are real. They have to be tongue in cheek. Right?

No, Big Mike has been more effective than a limped Mali since he came back. Give the reigns to Mike, baptism by fire. Hopefully Elvis just tweaked his knee; we'll see. Brea hasn't even played a minute this year yet...what about these circumstances don't you get? IF everyone expected to play WAS fully healthy like we thought in July, this is a different outcome. It's not, next man up. If they end sub .500, oh well, there's next year. I'm a fan but my life and mental state don't depend on a final 8 run.

[OSU Flyer]

@ShoweyD
17-18: reset, doesn’t count.
18-19: Obi’s first season, doesn’t count.
19-20: COVID, doesn’t count.
20-21: COVID hangover, doesn’t count.
21-22: Reset + all freshmen, doesn’t count.
22-23: How can you really play without your PG?

23-24 reset to year 1. 9 seed by 2026 is new goal
Posted via Mobile Device

[hawkoooo]

Originally Posted by longtimefan67 No, Big Mike has been more effective than a limped Mali since he came back. Give the reigns to Mike, baptism by fire. Hopefully Elvis just tweaked his knee; we'll see. Brea hasn't even played a minute this year yet...what about these circumstances don't you get? IF everyone expected to play WAS fully healthy like we thought in July, this is a different outcome. It's not, next man up. If they end sub .500, oh well, there's next year. I'm a fan but my life and mental state don't depend on a final 8 run.

We have two guards left and one of them is still "sick" or whatever Brea is. At a certain point you have to have bodies man. We decided to save scholarships for the future that doesn't exist and spend the rest on project bigs who never play.

[OSU Flyer]

Originally Posted by hawkoooo We have two guards left and one of them is still "sick" or whatever Brea is. At a certain point you have to have bodies man. We decided to save scholarships for the future that doesn't exist and spend the rest on project bigs who never play.

Team use the last scholarship on another guard vindicated

[zmz723]

Originally Posted by hawkoooo We have two guards left and one of them is still "sick" or whatever Brea is. At a certain point you have to have bodies man. We decided to save scholarships for the future that doesn't exist and spend the rest on project bigs who never play.

The roster construction is awful. Everyone knows guard play is what wins in college hoops and we keep getting big man transfers who don’t play
Posted via Mobile Device

[longtimefan67]

Originally Posted by zmz723 The roster construction is awful. Everyone knows guard play is what wins in college hoops and we keep getting big man transfers who don’t play Posted via Mobile Device

The guard situation when Crutcher was the only real viable option was also not good; the difference is Crutcher never got seriously injured. What happens to the 19-20 team if Jalen Crutcher went down for 15-20 games and then came back at 75-80%? UD would have lost 10-12 games that year if not more...

[ud2]

Originally Posted by longtimefan67 Brea hasn't even played a minute this year yet

Brea played 25 minutes against UNLV...6 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2/7 from 3, 0/1 from 2. Hopefully he just had a bad 3 day stomach flu like I had.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...5_DAYTON@UNLV/

[longtimefan67]

Originally Posted by hawkoooo We have two guards left and one of them is still "sick" or whatever Brea is. At a certain point you have to have bodies man. We decided to save scholarships for the future that doesn't exist and spend the rest on project bigs who never play.

Maybe there wasn't anyone in the top 150 of available PG's left and the staff believed Mali was going to be good with Mike as a learning backup. Elvis has never been nor will he ever be a pg. He's a scorer.

[hawkoooo]

Originally Posted by longtimefan67 Maybe there wasn't anyone in the top 150 of available PG's left and the staff believed Mali was going to be good with Mike as a learning backup. Elvis has never been nor will he ever be a pg. He's a scorer.

I seriously can't tell if your posts are serious. Top 150? How about just a D1 guard? We don't have any man!

[hawkoooo]

Originally Posted by ud2 Brea played 25 minutes against UNLV...6 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2/7 from 3, 0/1 from 2. Hopefully he just had a bad 3 day stomach flu like I had. https://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...5_DAYTON@UNLV/

Dude I'm not trying to be heartless or act like I'm some big tough macho man, but would a "stomach bug" keep you out of a tournament the outcome of which likely decides your entire season?

[ud2]

Originally Posted by hawkoooo Dude I'm not trying to be heartless or act like I'm some big tough macho man, but would a "stomach bug" keep you out of a tournament the outcome of which likely decides your entire season?

If he had a severe stomach bug, IMO that would be enough to sideline him, he wouldn't be able to play thru that IMO. There was also the risk of infecting the rest of the team.

[bcross]

Originally Posted by ud2 If he had a severe stomach bug, IMO that would be enough to sideline him, he wouldn't be able to play thru that IMO. There was also the risk of infecting the rest of the team.

Brea being on the bench for the Robert Morris game is the headscratcher. We're not far removed from spaced out benches and facemasks yet we had a player who was too sick to play sitting on the bench.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by longtimefan67 No, Big Mike has been more effective than a limped Mali since he came back. Give the reigns to Mike, baptism by fire. Hopefully Elvis just tweaked his knee; we'll see. Brea hasn't even played a minute this year yet...what about these circumstances don't you get? IF everyone expected to play WAS fully healthy like we thought in July, this is a different outcome. It's not, next man up. If they end sub .500, oh well, there's next year. I'm a fan but my life and mental state don't depend on a final 8 run.

Solid.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by longtimefan67 No, Big Mike has been more effective than a limped Mali since he came back. Give the reigns to Mike, baptism by fire. Hopefully Elvis just tweaked his knee; we'll see. Brea hasn't even played a minute this year yet...what about these circumstances don't you get? IF everyone expected to play WAS fully healthy like we thought in July, this is a different outcome. It's not, next man up. If they end sub .500, oh well, there's next year. I'm a fan but my life and mental state don't depend on a final 8 run.

The situation is likely to force AG into playing Mike, who very well may be the best PG on the team. Mike & Brea are the best pure outside shooters we have. Hopefully Brea can come back and begin to build up into a solid season.

[flyhi524]

IF, the talent is there, then why are these the results? Maybe he had a game plan for a lottery pick, but can't coach kids try to NG to make a NCAA tournament

[tirebiter]

So, I'm out all day - come back and look at the DaytonFlyers web site and it says UD Wins 79-76 on overtime. (It still shows that as of now - 6:50pm Pacific.) I then go to the box score play by play, and UD and BYU are backwards in the action columns. Then I see UD actually loses in OT after having 23 point lead. And then I hear that Mali Smith has a season threatening injury in the last play of regulation. And then I read that Kobe Elvis also has a potential season ending injury.

Yikes. This is cartoonish. I expect a piano to fall on the team as they leave the locker room.

[hawkoooo]

Originally Posted by bcross Brea being on the bench for the Robert Morris game is the headscratcher. We're not far removed from spaced out benches and facemasks yet we had a player who was too sick to play sitting on the bench.

Something else is obviously going on. The walk-ons made the trip. He was at the RMU game cheering. If he was just sick he still would've made the trip and taken it game by game.

[T-Bone 84]

Originally Posted by hawkoooo I seriously can't tell if your posts are serious. Top 150? How about just a D1 guard? We don't have any man!

Correction: we have one - yes, one - healthy D1 guard on the roster. Mike. Beyond that, we now have 3 D1 guards who are in the infirmary, a swingman who has “handle” issues, a supposed Top 150 recruit who could help but (for whatever reason) has barely seen the floor, and a handful of walkons, 1 of whom has proven he can play a little at the D1 level. We also have 1 big who’s redshirting, 1 who’s already redshirted a year and has shown nothing this season, and an open scholly because we supposedly had so much d@mned talent that we didn’t need 1 more player on the roster.

Guess we did need 1 more player.
Posted via Mobile Device

[hawkoooo]

Originally Posted by T-Bone 84 Guess we did need 1 more player. Posted via Mobile Device

It isn't just one scholarship slot. There are also three project bigs who literally never touch the court. That's four scholarships (almost 1/3 of the entire roster) that could have gone to another guard(s).

This huge problem was so glaringly obvious that a dumb hick basketball-nobody like myself on a message board has been talking about it over and over for two years.

This was a very predictable math problem. That the injuries happened in order to fully exacerbate it is not the takeaway folks. That's just Murphy's law.

[joeybaloney]

Twice in the last 10 years I said to myself "well, season is over" very early in the season. First time was the 2014-15 season when two players broke into several dorm rooms and got kicked off the team, robbing(pun intended) our roster of any interior depth or size. The second time was last year, when we lost consecutive home games to UMass-Lowell, Lipscomb, and Austin Peay. I was wrong both times. It's a long season. I'm going to sit back and watch and see how this team progresses without Smith and Elvis. If we can get them both back a month before the A-10 tournament, all hope is not lost.

	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.

[longtimefan67]

Originally Posted by joeybaloney Twice in the last 10 years I said to myself "well, season is over" very early in the season. First time was the 2014-15 season when two players broke into several dorm rooms and got kicked off the team, robbing(pun intended) our roster of any interior depth or size. The second time was last year, when we lost consecutive home games to UMass-Lowell, Lipscomb, and Austin Peay. I was wrong both times. It's a long season. I'm going to sit back and watch and see how this team progresses without Smith and Elvis. If we can get them both back a month before the A-10 tournament, all hope is not lost.

Those 3 losses at the beginning last year are nowhere even close to the 3 loses in these last 3 days. Wisconsin is a very, very good team. They really should have beaten Kansas if not for the circus shot made with .2 seconds left by the Kansas guard in OT. NC St. is also a very good team. Dayton should have beaten BYU. But injuries and loss of Camara to fouls killed them. All 3 of these teams are likely top 100 teams. The real damage is what becomes of the backcourt for Dayton. To me, that's more concerning than the 3 losses. IF all injuries and sickness are short term, the losses could be more beneficial than 3 wins over pushover teams.

[UD62]

AM also had a 1-5 streak and headhunters were calling for his scalp. This tournament was not AM's finest hour and fans have a right to be upset. I agree that as bad as we played, these losses don't compare to the buy game loses last year. Guard situation is a concern, but Mike probably won't be a dropoff at PG given Mali's performance since he has been back. Should both guards be out for extended periods of time, or the rest of the season, things will certainly be interesting going forward. We have the Cowboys in Chicago, and at VT, those could be really tough games.

[The Gem]

Things look really bleak right now. We will see what goes on the rest of the season. We don't know how serious the injuries Mali and Kobe are, but it doesn't look good for Mali. Whatever we thought the team was going to be, they will have to reinvent themselves on the fly. I would rather have them come back strong at the end of the season, than start out strong and have a bunch of injuries at fade away at the end of the season.

[podcast411]

From a resume point of view today we are in better spot than last year at this time.
The big question mark is about health. Worst case we lost two PG. leaving just Mike as the only scholarship PG.
If Brea is back next week we get him for back up PG duties with maybe a walk-on PG helping out.
Clearly not ideal.
The next question is can the team start executing on AG’s offense. So far this year we have not seen that.
Is it a matter of attitude or talent level per why they are not executing the offense. Hopefully it is attitude as that can be changed.
The next few weeks will be pivotal for mike and the team’s development.
The season is far far from over. I still believe AG will right the ship.
Go flyers
Posted via Mobile Device

[OSU Flyer]

Originally Posted by podcast411 From a resume point of view today we are in better spot than last year at this time. The big question mark is about health. Worst case we lost two PG. leaving just Mike as the only scholarship PG. If Brea is back next week we get him for back up PG duties with maybe a walk-on PG helping out. Clearly not ideal. The next question is can the team start executing on AG’s offense. So far this year we have not seen that. Is it a matter of attitude or talent level per why they are not executing the offense. Hopefully it is attitude as that can be changed. The next few weeks will be pivotal for mike and the team’s development. The season is far far from over. I still believe AG will right the ship. Go flyers Posted via Mobile Device

Last year there were neutral court wins over Kansas and Miami. Virginia Tech might the only opportunity left to get a good win on non conference
Posted via Mobile Device

[podcast411]

Neutral court losses to 3 top 60 teams is better. Then 3 losses at home to sub 200 teams.
Seems bad losses are worse than anything else. Still a lot of games to play we just need to make sure there are no bad losses
Posted via Mobile Device

[CT Flyer]

Originally Posted by podcast411 The next question is can the team start executing on AG’s offense. So far this year we have not seen that. Is it a matter of attitude or talent level per why they are not executing the offense. Hopefully it is attitude as that can be changed. Posted via Mobile Device

Is it possible the offense in question is not a good offense or at least not a good fit for the current personnel? Maybe the head coach needs to start executing a better offensive scheme.

[Smitty10]

Originally Posted by podcast411 Neutral court losses to 3 top 60 teams is better. Then 3 losses at home to sub 200 teams. Seems bad losses are worse than anything else. Still a lot of games to play we just need to make sure there are no bad losses Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, but that's only half the equation. Is 3 losses at home followed by beating Miami, Kansas and Belmont worse than 3 ho-hum home wins along with 4 away losses to good teams?

In one scenario we have bad losses and great wins, the other we have no bad losses and no great wins.

I'd say this year, so far, is slightly better, but it's not a slam dunk. I'd say, this year, if followed by losing Mali and Elvis for a significant amount of time will probably turn out much worse without getting an auto-bid.

[flyerfanatic86]

Originally Posted by OSU Flyer @ShoweyD 17-18: reset, doesn’t count. 18-19: Obi’s first season, doesn’t count. 19-20: COVID, doesn’t count. 20-21: COVID hangover, doesn’t count. 21-22: Reset + all freshmen, doesn’t count. 22-23: How can you really play without your PG? 23-24 reset to year 1. 9 seed by 2026 is new goal Posted via Mobile Device

There's a lot of stuff that bothered me with Archie, but he certainly didn't make excuses. He just went out and made the tournament playing a walkon significant minutes.

[NJFlyr71]

Glass half full of what?, someone asks.


Just a few short week or so ago we were in Top 25.

Now we are left discussing whether the last 3 losses are 'good losses' vs the buy in losses of last year being 'bad losses'.


Yea these same kind of discussions go on in programs such as KY, Duke, NC, ......

For whatever reasons (illness, injury, player mis-alignment to position) this program continues to struggle gaining any kind of momentum year after year.

I keep reading about building (or re-building) the program. At some point the house needs to be finished and the occupants need to reside in the home.

Until this half full 'stuff' becomes a full glass of premium barrel proof bourbon or expensive champagne this program is now and will be what it currently is.

Yes 19-20 was a special year. So was 2014 and 1986 as E8 runs. And in-between that glass was half-full.

And we are coming up on the last E8 run being 9 YEARS AGO!

[The Gem]

I don't know that the glass is even half full. I looked up UD's records on sports reference,com, and we haven't been where we all want us to be (making the NCAA tournament and being in the top 25 more often than not in a long, long time. Since 1973-1974 ( which to me is the end of the glory days of the 1950's and 1960's) UD has made the tournament 11 times in 48 seasons. It would have been 12 if not for COVID. I don't mean to point fingers as it doesn't seem to matter who the coach, AD, or president is, the results speak for themselves. The only sustained success was 2014-17. It's not just Grant. Lack of achieving program goals goes back nearly half a century. I like Grant, he was my favorite player in the 1980's and I really, really want him to get us a level of sustained success. Call it the Eddie Einhorn Curse or whatever you want, but to sound like a broken record, for all the money we fans spend and the facilities we have, we should be doing better. A lot better.