Yes , Whipple played well today ... got called for at least 2 phantom fouls too . If Coach could get our rotation right and adjust to the flow of game we could be very good... I would start JK, Omar with Methnani and Milan as their backups; then start Alvaraz, Whipple and Taliaferro with Lemetti, Cruz and Benning / Aidas as backups
As far as Whipple goes, the 4-5 shooting in the first half caught everyone's attention, but I like the fact that the kid knows how to board he is a natural rebounder. And as much as I like some of our other guards they are behind Whipple in the areas of defense and rebounding.
I think Lemetti will be a really good stag player, but he is a freshman that has things to work on. Whipple also has things to work on. And Taliaferro as great as I think he is, needs to work on lay-up drills going to the basket. His percentage from half courts seems to be better than his shooting against the backboard.
I have to hand it to Sydney for adding some really nice pieces to this team. I think we will perform better as the season progresses. Its a disappointing loss today not just because we were in the game but also because we got to face BC without two of there better players. So clearly it was an opportunity. We had some wide open looks like normally we hit that didn't fall. I was OK with the strategy. Lemetti and Taliaferro shoot their average and we win this game. But they didn't and we are still a team that is only just good enough to lose. No such thing as a must win in the non-conference schedule but for confidence sake this game versus the wildcats is a big one.
Post by 01041949bob on Dec 16, 2018 21:14:56 GMT -5
I like the idea of my starting 5 in my previous post and each player having a backup and as game progresses see what 5 is doing the best and use them according .. SJ seems to sub my the seat of his pants ..I still think we have excellent talent and can pull this thing together
Yes , Whipple played well today ... got called for at least 2 phantom fouls too . If Coach could get our rotation right and adjust to the flow of game we could be very good... I would start JK, Omar with Methnani and Milan as their backups; then start Alvaraz, Whipple and Taliaferro with Lemetti, Cruz and Benning / Aidas as backups
As far as Whipple goes, the 4-5 shooting in the first half caught everyone's attention, but I like the fact that the kid knows how to board he is a natural rebounder. And as much as I like some of our other guards they are behind Whipple in the areas of defense and rebounding.
I think Lemetti will be a really good stag player, but he is a freshman that has things to work on. Whipple also has things to work on. And Taliaferro as great as I think he is, needs to work on lay-up drills going to the basket. His percentage from half courts seems to be better than his shooting against the backboard.
I have to hand it to Sydney for adding some really nice pieces to this team. I think we will perform better as the season progresses. Its a disappointing loss today not just because we were in the game but also because we got to face BC without two of there better players. So clearly it was an opportunity. We had some wide open looks like normally we hit that didn't fall. I was OK with the strategy. Lemetti and Taliaferro shoot their average and we win this game. But they didn't and we are still a team that is only just good enough to lose. No such thing as a must win in the non-conference schedule but for confidence sake this game versus the wildcats is a big one.
Yeah from a confidence standpoint this game against the Wildcats is HUGE. For as poorly as a lot of the MAAC teams have been doing preseason league schedule, I don't think UNH would be a contender in our league. Therefore the Stags need a victory badly, and hopefully with a little breathing room to spare just to show these fairly good (though losing) efforts against Oakland, ODU and BC are a sign that wins are indeed around the corner. And considering the first three games in the league are against Rider, Iona and a better than expected Niagara, confidence will most certainly be needed in order to get off to a decent start. Moral victories are over now, we have to start winning!
Something has to be done to our style of play to get us to the foul line. Just a few more made foul shots would have changed the outcome in several past games. Must come up with a remedy
Something has to be done to our style of play to get us to the foul line. Just a few more made foul shots would have changed the outcome in several past games. Must come up with a remedy
Yes, we need to get to the foul more. Some of that is style of play, but most of it is a function of the type of players we have. Basically, Kasibabu gets to the FT line a lot, and Neftali gets to the FT line an average amount of time. The others, not so much. With Neftali playing less minutes (26min and 21min) in the last 2 games and Kasibabu getting in foul trouble..... no wonder we are not getting to the FT Line.
I feel the biggest issue right now is...... why is Neftali Alvarez playing so few minutes?
At (2-9) the Stags will need to go (13-6) in the next 19 games just to finish the regular season at (15-15). Anything less than that results in another losing season.
Regarding Herren, IMO the one Stag who could have slowed him down was Benning, who unfortunately was unavailable (I think).
I don't think he was unavailable. He was in in uniform and looked ready to go as far as I was concerned. For whatever reason I think it was a CD. Same as Milin BTW.
As far as slowing down Herren, yes he's a great shooter and found himself open a lot for good looks. But really, that's a product of trying to guard a pretty dynamic scoring team in BC where you had to pick your poison in a way. First half actually we basically shut out the high scoring Bowman by emphasizing coverage on him. He got a majority of his points late from the foul line. Hard to cover everyone. And the fact that Herren started and got hot against us was a result of normal starter Jordan Chatman being injured and out of the lineup, thereby creating the extra minutes and opportunity for the son of a former NE legend to do his stuff. And in that regard we were unlucky and the Eagles benefitted for sure.
Last Edit: Dec 17, 2018 10:07:48 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
I feel the biggest issue right now is...... why is Neftali Alvarez playing so few minutes?
Defense could be one answer. BC's Herren was having a career game and I think Sydney was looking for someone to stop him. Herren had too many wide open 3's
Nef is a defensive pest, so no I don't think it was that reason per say. His offensive game is in a bit of a funk at the moment so maybe that's more the reason he wasn't out there all the time. Normal freshman up and downs he's going through. He'll recover soon I'm sure.
The other reason why he got benched so long was the play of Aidas yesterday. Best game by far from him this year. Sort of reminded me of his play down the stretch of last season actually. So despite this being another loss and the negatives things regarding some of the players, this was one thing that was positive I think.
Something has to be done to our style of play to get us to the foul line. Just a few more made foul shots would have changed the outcome in several past games. Must come up with a remedy
Yes, we need to get to the foul more. Some of that is style of play, but most of it is a function of the type of players we have. Basically, Kasibabu gets to the FT line a lot, and Neftali gets to the FT line an average amount of time. The others, not so much. With Neftali playing less minutes (26min and 21min) in the last 2 games and Kasibabu getting in foul trouble..... no wonder we are not getting to the FT Line.
I feel the biggest issue right now is...... why is Neftali Alvarez playing so few minutes?
Neftali was struggling and Aidas came in and was near perfect on the offensive end in the 2nd half - so SJ stuck with him. Let's not forget that when Aidas is "on" his vision/passing are top-tier, as we saw in yesterday's game.
He was a little below his mpg average vs. ODU. I don't remember exactly what happened - but he wasn't having a great game... ODU length giving him some trouble. Did SJ try some 3pt heavy shooting lineup for a bit? I feel like I remember at some point thinking the Stags didn't really have a PG in the game.
Whipple may have earned a starter spot or at least first off the bench. Benning is fine when he is aggressive but set shots are not his strong suit. I like the offensive firepower Calvin brings but he received some nice cross court passes reminiscent of the Stags when they were really good. Those assists came mainly from Aidas I believe.
Alvarez just tried to force too much at one point and I think Syd wanted more discipline. There was a lot of hesitation feeding an open Kasibabu. Omar did fine in his debut back from injury. Looking forward to him doing more. Landon just had an off day
Last Edit: Dec 17, 2018 10:23:21 GMT -5 by stagparty
We aren't in MAAC play yet so I hope these experiences playing teams in the ACC carry over to what I think is a weak MAAC slate.
Alverez was a little puzzling on why he was so bad yesterday but he did force a lot as mentioned. Let's not forget he is a freshmen so there will be some growing pains. He will turn it around. Also a little weird Taj didn't get one minute when he started almost every game of the last 10. Maybe he was sick? Omar looked slow but I think he can be a difference maker as he gets back into Basketball shape. I'm not completely sold on Felix yet, does not seem complete yet so I think Whipple could start if he stays hot. Jon needs to continue to fight on the boards. I really like what we have gotten out of him in terms of hustle and scoring. If he can be a 10 and 10 guy and play more then 20 minutes a game I like what he brings.
Let's bring a W home vs. UNH and gain some momentum going into the new year to open vs. Rider at home. First two MAAC games couldn't be more crucial for this team. Contender or Pretender time for the Stags as OOC can mean nothing if you get the job done in conference and in March.
See how good or how bad the New Hampshire Wildcats really are on Wednesday at 11:00 am as they host Marist (4-5). UNH are (2-2) at home and are averaging just 284 fans in their 2,500 seat Lundholm Gymnasium. So far this season against the MAAC UNH has lost to Quinnipiac(63-69) and Niagara(67-71).
Something has to be done to our style of play to get us to the foul line. Just a few more made foul shots would have changed the outcome in several past games. Must come up with a remedy
Yes, we need to get to the foul more. Some of that is style of play, but most of it is a function of the type of players we have. Basically, Kasibabu gets to the FT line a lot, and Neftali gets to the FT line an average amount of time. The others, not so much. With Neftali playing less minutes (26min and 21min) in the last 2 games and Kasibabu getting in foul trouble..... no wonder we are not getting to the FT Line.
I feel the biggest issue right now is...... why is Neftali Alvarez playing so few minutes?
Expecting your Freshman point guard to play almost every minute and provide team leadership is asking an awful lot - even if he is talented. He may prove to be as valuable as Tyler Nelson was someday - but right now he's not Tyler Nelson. He's a freshman experiencing a lot of growth and making some mistakes.
