Now that emotions have died down

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The main thing that concerns me and it’s showing to be a trend is that we’re not getting to the FT line. We’re missing that guy that will just lower his head and drive (Heron). Doughty was supposed to play this role, but he’s turning into a spot up shooter. We have enough of those. Also, Okeke has to be more aggressive. He’s super talented, but he’s not showing it because he’s not aggressive. These things can all be corrected, so I’m not overly conerned yet. Guys just need to embrace their roles in this team.

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Here's a pretty comprehensive list on the things I think we need to fix:

1. Get our inside guys to be more in control and aggressive. Wiley makes these awkward jumps sometimes when the ball is passed to him inside. He misses dunks that could easily be and-1 opportunities. He has the size and strength to be so dominant, but at times looks like he's built from styrofoam.

2. Guy Okeke involved more. He made one basket last night that was an and-1, and it was a picture perfect moment of the type of player he could be if he were more assertive. We can't just pass him the ball and say 'be more aggressive', but I think there are moments where he is indecisive or decides to pass the ball where he could just drive and score easily.

3. Don't make careless errors. These were aplenty last night...dribbling ball out of bounds, errant passes, missed assignments on D. Luckily, I think last night these may be attributed to the time off. I don't think we'll be that bad anymore this season.

4. Give Jared Harper the best chance to play well. Like last season, Harper's play is directly proportional to how the team performs. He wasn't faced with a lot of pressure last night, he just made mistakes within his own play. I think sometimes he tried to do too much.

5. Find creative ways to get the ball inside. It has shown time and again that passing the ball to Wiley, Spencer, or Anfernee and letting them back down against their defender only to shoot a hook is not a high percentage basket. We need to find more movement inside. For instance, we could pass the ball to Wiley, he could recognize a double team, and make a quick dish to a slashing guard for an easy basket. I'm not saying that would work, but it's the type of quick play that I think we would benefit greatly from.

It's basketball, we are still currently a tournament team. We didnt win them all last year, wasnt expecting that this year.

I wasn't able to watch the game nor have I seen the stat line but knowing whom our coach is I can assume we did not shoot the ball well, had a lot of turnovers, were outrebounded, and played terrible defense?


Games like this are going to happen under Bruce. Games like this do not happen with coaches like Tony Bennett. It is what it is. We have to take the good with the bad and keep rolling

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If this trend continues however, then cause for concern may be justified.

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You mean the trend that started with the UAB game four games ago on Dec. 15th? That trend?

Because even though we beat UAB and Murray State, we've been looking bad on the court for (counting Ole Miss) four games now.

(Not counting UNF because you shouldn't.)

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Because even though we beat UAB and Murray State, we've been looking bad on the court for (counting Ole Miss) four games now.

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I am torn on this game, because we haven't looked nearly as dominant in a lot of our big games this year. I agree that 2 weeks off is a long time in basketball, and it was inevitable we were going to have some rust on the road against a good team. I also think a lot of our issues are fixable and we can be a much better team come March, but we are definitely behind where we were this time last year.

We are missing Heron, who was our go to player when shots weren't falling. he could get us out of slumps just by driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line. Also, I like our big men, but they got destroyed on the boards last night. We haven't been as consistent rebounding the ball this year, and Wiley still turns the ball over too much.

Still too much season left to get worked up over one loss, but I do agree there are more issues than just "one bad game." Hope we get going back in the right direction against UGA this weekend. Especially since i plan on going.

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I agree other than Wiley. I feel way better about him one on one with his back to the basket, than fronting someone and taking it straight to the basket.

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It's important though that he backs down closer to the basket. He's become better at it throughout the season, but I remember when he first started, he was having to launch some long hook shots. Last night, I noticed Ole Miss was quick to double team him...a defender would quickly dart over to cover him once he got the ball. It seems like our staff would've known this and prepared him for it. Those double teams should open up scoring opportunities if we know the right pass to make.