Post by nashvillestag on Nov 26, 2014 13:30:48 GMT -5
Well not really his hometown or where his high school is, but certainly Boston is close enough (maybe 45 min.), and he certainly had some good games in the city (B. Garden- E. Mass. Final last spring as example), so I do think this will be an extra exciting event for him and his many family and friends who are sure to be there when the Stags take on the Huskies. I do know one thing however, coach Coen of Northeastern will not be unprepared for what Tyler can do. It's my understanding that the two have known each other for a long time so obviously the kid will get special attention now that he has shown that he can produce against college competition. Hopefully extra attention one way can lead to big games by others. Marcus, Kirkland? As far as the Northeastern team, they have gotten off to a great start with victories in their first four games including beating Florida State and Manhattan. They do play UMass tonight, a very tough test for them. But ironically almost all of their key players are the same ones who performed against us when we defeated tham last season at the Arena. Their basic rotation of seven includes I believe only one key player who wasn't on the court last year, that being 6'8" forward Quincy Ford. He waa out because of an injury, but Blue Ribbon Magazine calls him their "most dynamic" player. And he isn't even among their top two scorers, those being 6'6" David Walker and 6'8" Scott Eatherton, both in double figures.The Huskies have a very long roster with all of their key players being in the 6'3"-6'8" range. I don't think they are a tremendous running team, they don't score an inordinate amount of points. What they are however is very stingy on defense. This as well as the fact that they are very experienced has been the biggest reason for their fast start. And many have picked them to win the Colonial Conference this season. Does this opponent represent too high a mountain for the Stags to climb? Well obviously the odds aren't with them, but I really don't see this as an impossible task if we see some of the things we saw last game. If not another huge game from Tyler, maybe the residual damage by others BECAUSE of Tyler and the extra attention on him? Anyway, let's play the game and see what happens. A victory here would be a huge step in creating some optimism that has been missing for a long time now.
Because of the snow storm in Western Massachusetts, Northeastern's game at UMass is available this afternoon at 2:00 pm as a PPV ($6.95) on the UMass All-Access website:
Tyler's performance vs SD just makes things that much better for Marcus. I expect we'll see him on the floor for much of the game and that his foul trouble is a one-off. I also think that all the hype about Tyler, who doesn't love a shooter, has taken our attention from Kirkland, whose line from the SD game is as good as Tyler's if not better. He's active like Mo was. Not as good a shooter, yet. But he is difficult to guard and, as someone else posted, his defense was excellent. Mike finished inside like he hadn't before and if he continues with that he will become a difficult match-up. Finally, JoeStag and others have pointed out Tyler's basketball IQ. Watching Kirkland's role in our press break and his passing, I think we have another player who really gets the game. Lots to look forward to.
Tyler's performance vs SD just makes things that much better for Marcus. I expect we'll see him on the floor for much of the game and that his foul trouble is a one-off. I also think that all the hype about Tyler, who doesn't love a shooter, has taken our attention from Kirkland, whose line from the SD game is as good as Tyler's if not better. He's active like Mo was. Not as good a shooter, yet. But he is difficult to guard and, as someone else posted, his defense was excellent. Mike finished inside like he hadn't before and if he continues with that he will become a difficult match-up. Finally, JoeStag and others have pointed out Tyler's basketball IQ. Watching Kirkland's role in our press break and his passing, I think we have another player who really gets the game. Lots to look forward to.
What I thought Kirkland did very well vs SD was that he got the ball on the low post and showed a lot of patience, by not making up his mind of what he was going to do until he evaluated the situation. And then he either Passed, dribbled, drove or shot. In prior games, it seemed he was just going to the hoop, somewhat out of control. While I hope he plays at the level he showed vs SD, I hope to see that he ends up as a 10ppg, 7rpg, 2assists and some physical defense.
I agree with Nash that Northeastern will key on Nelson..... that means Nelson will be forced to pass, and are other players will have to convert.
Umass beat Northeastern today 79-54, as Northestern had 20 turnovers and shot 37% from the field, and got killed on the boards 43 - 27
Last Edit: Nov 26, 2014 19:52:18 GMT -5 by JoeStag
There are conflicting times on the Fairfield Stag homepage about Saturday's game time. The original one was 3 PM, but in the Tyler article it says 1 PM. Hope they can get this straight!
I'm surprised that Northeastern got blown out by UMass after their fine start, maybe we have a chance if the Stags play a great game on the road. What do you think the spread will be?
A road win for us versus a 4-1 team would be sweet; especially since our only true road game this season resulted in the largest margin of defeat ever for us.
While the 6-9 Eatherton is an inside force and leading score, they have 2 three-point shooters that have been shooting lights out. The 6-7 redshirt Quincy Ford who is shooting 45% (13-29), and David Walker who is shooting 60% (15-25). Last year, we held Walker to only 2-8 shooting(0-5 from the arc) and forced 4 turnovers on him. So both of those guys were non-existant in last years game. We have to do something similar to them this year.
BTW, last year Marcus hit a Huge three pointer at he end of the game to put us up 4. Then sank 2 FT's to put them away. We need a big game from him
