I'm disappointed that I don't see any progress with the offensive schemes. Maybe it's there - I'm just not seeing it. Cruz and (to a slightly lesser extent) Benning have very little court awareness when they are dribbling. Even when they do make passes... weaving aside... the ball moves soooooo slowly from Stag to Stag. When is the last time we saw the Stags throw it into the post - have it quickly kicked back out to a wing, then reversed for an open 3 or tossed right back into the post for a clean look? Certainly doesn't happen with any consistency.
* I'm definitely on board the patience train. Record has already exceeded my expectations and I think we're transitioning towards better teams - including next season.
Yes, lackadaisical is NOT the adjective to describe this team.
The word has to be FRUSTRATED.
Everyone is playing hard. Witness the tight games and comebacks.
The frustration of the entire team has to be the inability of a consistent contributor on offense.
Jay needs scorers. PERIOD. Outside and inside. The frustration is also that wide open shots are left on the court.
The strategy is to keep the possessions and score down, but players who have wide open shots pass them by.
The result is you have 2 seconds on the shot clock and you are forcing something. We have way too may shot clock violations.
Many scoring opportunities are wasted with the current strategy. But the flip-side is, you cannot count on the current roster to hit above 20% of those open looks.
Final Stag MAAC Regular Season Games Stags at Monmouth on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 pm on ESPN3 Stags at Manhattan on Friday, March 6 at 7:00 pm on ESPN3
2020 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship Schedule Round-Game-Match-up-Date-Time- ESPN Network First Round Game 1 No. 8 Seed vs No. 9 Seed Mar. 10 5:00 PM ESPN3 First Round Game 2 No. 7 Seed vs No. 10 Seed Mar. 10 7:00 PM ESPN3 First Round Game 3 No. 6 Seed vs No. 11 Seed Mar. 10 9:00 PM ESPN3
Quarterfinal Game 4 No. 1 Seed vs Game 1 Winner Mar. 11 7:00 PM ESPN3 Quarterfinal Game 5 No. 2 Seed vs Game 2 Winner Mar. 11 9:30 PM ESPN3 Quarterfinal Game 6 No. 3 Seed vs Game 3 Winner Mar. 12 7:00 PM ESPN3 Quarterfinal Game 7 No. 4 Seed vs No. 5 Seed Mar. 12 9:30 PM ESPN3
Semifinal Game 8 Game 4 Winner vs Game 7 Winner Mar. 13 6:00 PM ESPNN Semifinal Game 9 Game 5 Winner vs Game 6 Winner Mar. 13 8:30 PM ESPNN
Championship Game 10 Game 8 Winner vs Game 9 Winner Mar. 14 4:00 PM ESPNU
Except for brief stretches at the end of the first half and start of the second half it was a mostly dreadful game. Offensive ineptitude nay have reached new lows today.
Possession after possession with aimless weaving for 25 seconds, punctuated by a desperation contested shot to barely beat the shot clock . . . if we hadn't turned it over already. And our bigs inability to finish at the rim is almost comical. God bless him, Eze plays hard and physical. He defends and rebounds. But he literally cannot make a shot more distant than a dunk. Cruz had maybe the worst double-figure scoring game I have witnessed. The ball repeatedly gets stuck when he receives a pass, and he is either incapable or unwilling to kick it out to spotted up shooters. He cannot work on the perimeter of an offense. I could go on but if 'you don't have anything nice to say . . .'
Anyway, I disagree that we were lackadaisical. The kids play hard. They get after it on defense and would have held Rider in the 50's if not for the late foul shots given. But this has to be one of the most offensively challenged Stags teams in school history.
If anyone on the floor was lackadaisical, it was Rider. When they turned up the intensity they took control of the game. Frankly, given their length and talent I would suggest they are the biggest underachievers in the MAAC this season.
Tough to criticize Cruz not kicking it out. How many times was he given the ball with 7 seconds left on the clock. And frankly even in traffic he’s your best scoring option.
It has crossed my mind that anyone should feel free (even encouraged) to take the OPEN 3 when it is presented...Methnani, Benning, Aidas, AJR, Whipple, even Maidoh who often finds himself open at the top of the key. Using the whole shot clock waiting for Landon isn’t working. If the other guys hit 25-30% of those shots, it seems like a better deal than really forcing at the end of the shot clock time after time. Someone else has to have the confidence to take the shot...especially since those guys are not defended tightly out there. Plus we would get a share of offensive rebounds on misses.
Early in the season I was wincing when anyone other than Landon fired a three, but the strategy has to change for what the opponent gives you. At this point, some of the other players can’t do much worse than Landon on shooting threes.
Patience everyone. We were not going to sweep the 4 home games - had a chance to win 3, could have lost all 4. Need to give JY and staff another full recruiting cycle. Need better basketball players not just athletes - Rider was superior to us in that regard. Let's hope for one more league win and another in the tournament. I think the the best we can do under the current circumstances.
So sad to see AH go out on a losing note.
When Sydney came in to Fairfield I gave him a lot of slack for 2 years even though I felt that he was seriously underachieving with the talent he had. I thought it was unfair to judge Johnson until he had his own recruits that could play his style of basketball.
I think Young deserves that same opportunity. He has coached this team up to play much better defense, I like a lot of the things I have seen him doing regarding our defense and rebounding. I am completely unimpressed however with what we are doing offensively. My observations:
1) We do the same things when we are ahead by 5 or down by 12. When the team is down double digits the weave has to go and the team has to look for a faster shot. 2) We never try to break the press. Today was the first time all season I can remember actually breaking the press and getting a dunk. This needs to happen every game or there is no risk pressing us. There is no risk pressing the stags because they don't try to beat the press. The get the ball across halfcourt and run an offense that takes 30 seconds to yield a shot with only 20 seconds on the clock. 3) We don't roll the ball when we are down. Yes, it only saves 5 seconds a possession, but those seconds matter. 4) We are way too predictable. The first play nearly every game is a three set up for taliaferro. 5) I understand we are running an offense to try to set up a wide open look. But what happens if someone finds themselves wide open in the middle of running a play? I feel like the players are afraid to take wide open looks. Shooters have to be told when they are wide open to shoot. I don't see players that appear confident to take open shots. 6) When trying to break the press Taliaferro should be on the three point line ready to shoot. Someone else needs to be involved in bringing the ball up. Landon standing alone at the 3 point line without a defender is 3 points. Lyndon breaking the press is a turnover 30% of the time.
So I understand what Jay is trying to do with the offense. Limit possessions, shorten games against teams that may be more athletic. But there are some fundamentals with the offense that need to change. The offense is too mechanical. There are too many shot clock violations. Too many turnovers. Today was a tough end for me to 39 years of watching games at Alumni hall.
It has crossed my mind that anyone should feel free (even encouraged) to take the OPEN 3 when it is presented...Methnani, Benning, Aidas, AJR, Whipple, even Maidoh who often finds himself open at the top of the key. Using the whole shot clock waiting for Landon isn’t working. If the other guys hit 25-30% of those shots, it seems like a better deal than really forcing at the end of the shot clock time after time. Someone else has to have the confidence to take the shot...especially since those guys are not defended tightly out there. Plus we would get a share of offensive rebounds on misses.
Early in the season I was wincing when anyone other than Landon fired a three, but the strategy has to change for what the opponent gives you. At this point, some of the other players can’t do much worse than Landon on shooting threes.
Yeah, what he said. Methnani, Whipple Kavialaskus and Benning can hit the three. We are better off hitting 25% of those than a shot clock violation or turnover. By the way, we got a few rebounds and putbacks on desperations 3's today. Its better to at least get off a decent look.
Last Edit: Mar 1, 2020 23:50:20 GMT -5 by reindeerfan
Honestly, the simple reason why our offense looks so bad is because our opponents can overplay us on every offensive possession. We don’t have any players that can legitimately create their own shot. This team runs sets, and they do get open shots, but they simply can’t knock them down. JY has tried different combinations, but nothing seems to be working. It is so frustrating to watch. The team works extremely hard on defense and on the boards which is all effort. I’m encouraged on how hard they play, Let’s see if we can split 1of the next 2 games.
Yes, lackadaisical is NOT the adjective to describe this team.
The word has to be FRUSTRATED.
Everyone is playing hard. Witness the tight games and comebacks.
The frustration of the entire team has to be the inability of a consistent contributor on offense.
Jay needs scorers. PERIOD. Outside and inside. The frustration is also that wide open shots are left on the court.
The strategy is to keep the possessions and score down, but players who have wide open shots pass them by.
The result is you have 2 seconds on the shot clock and you are forcing something. We have way too may shot clock violations.
Many scoring opportunities are wasted with the current strategy. But the flip-side is, you cannot count on the current roster to hit above 20% of those open looks.
Yes the word is "FRUSTRATED"
Frustrated indeed. They are playing hard, yes, but when you see how easy it is for the opposition to get points at times while with the Stags it's like pulling teeth, that's a situation which suggests this season is probably going to end with a whimper unless the efficiency of the unit dramatically improves over the next couple of weeks. We expected something like this sure, but quite frankly considering we had some unexpected success during the first half of the year, the recent lethargic efforts on offense are hard to fathom. The team right now appears to be getting worse rather than better, and that's a bad sign. All that said however, I believe Jay Young is the man for this rebuilding job, a job that will have to be initiated by improving the roster quickly. For starters I really believe Caleb Green will be a very important addition next year because of his speed, skill and experience in running a ball club. Chef, too, I have high hopes for based on his reputation going back to high school, but actually I don't know much about him or his game other than watching him in a couple of scrimmages. Seems like our known incoming recruit from Maryland might be a great addition, but until he gets here we won't know for sure. After that, Jay HAS to upgrade the talent level quickly, especially since the changes in transfer rules that could be put into play in April might lead to real opportunities to upgrade quickly if handled smartly. More specifically we need at least two more GOOD GUARDS to go with Green and Benning. If that happens, then at this time next year we will be a lot less frustrated I think.
Last Edit: Mar 2, 2020 0:52:47 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
Patience everyone. We were not going to sweep the 4 home games - had a chance to win 3, could have lost all 4. Need to give JY and staff another full recruiting cycle. Need better basketball players not just athletes - Rider was superior to us in that regard. Let's hope for one more league win and another in the tournament. I think the the best we can do under the current circumstances.
So sad to see AH go out on a losing note.
When Sydney came in to Fairfield I gave him a lot of slack for 2 years even though I felt that he was seriously underachieving with the talent he had. I thought it was unfair to judge Johnson until he had his own recruits that could play his style of basketball.
I think Young deserves that same opportunity. He has coached this team up to play much better defense, I like a lot of the things I have seen him doing regarding our defense and rebounding. I am completely unimpressed however with what we are doing offensively. My observations:
1) We do the same things when we are ahead by 5 or down by 12. When the team is down double digits the weave has to go and the team has to look for a faster shot. 2) We never try to break the press. Today was the first time all season I can remember actually breaking the press and getting a dunk. This needs to happen every game or there is no risk pressing us. There is no risk pressing the stags because they don't try to beat the press. The get the ball across halfcourt and run an offense that takes 30 seconds to yield a shot with only 20 seconds on the clock. 3) We don't roll the ball when we are down. Yes, it only saves 5 seconds a possession, but those seconds matter. 4) We are way too predictable. The first play nearly every game is a three set up for taliaferro. 5) I understand we are running an offense to try to set up a wide open look. But what happens if someone finds themselves wide open in the middle of running a play? I feel like the players are afraid to take wide open looks. Shooters have to be told when they are wide open to shoot. I don't see players that appear confident to take open shots. 6) When trying to break the press Taliaferro should be on the three point line ready to shoot. Someone else needs to be involved in bringing the ball up. Landon standing alone at the 3 point line without a defender is 3 points. Lyndon breaking the press is a turnover 30% of the time.
So I understand what Jay is trying to do with the offense. Limit possessions, shorten games against teams that may be more athletic. But there are some fundamentals with the offense that need to change. The offense is too mechanical. There are too many shot clock violations. Too many turnovers. Today was a tough end for me to 39 years of watching games at Alumni hall.
Reindeer, you basically summed up my dismay... Maybe I should have said lackadaisical offense instead of lackadaisical play. Maybe it’s not a good word. I do like the way we are playing D under Jay, but something has to change on O. And, it’s not all about the players.
Defense has been a positive point on this team. However, offense is where everything is lacking. We need guards. We need guards that are very quick, guards that can score off the fast break, and guards I can pass the ball. We need to play three guards at a time . We don’t do that nor do we have the capability to do that. We all knew that this team was sure the guards to begin the season.
Jay Young did the best he could with the players he had.
We can still win some games in these last two, and in the Mac tourney. But things have to fall in place. The Maac tournament is a whole Nother ball game we are defense becomes more important.
Defense has been a positive point on this team. However, offense is where everything is lacking. We need guards. We need guards that are very quick, guards that can score off the fast break, and guards That can pass the ball. We need to play three guards at a time . We don’t do that nor do we have the capability to do that. We all knew that this team was short of guards to begin the season.
Jay Young did the best he could with the players he had.
We can still win some games in these last two, and in the Mac tourney. But things have to fall in place. The Maac tournament is a whole Nother ball game we are defense becomes more important.