MBB vs WSU

[IAA Fan]

Not looking to promising. We have 4 people in foul trouble

[YsuPride]

Our league is a joke.   YSU has no chance of winning because the refs are calling everything on us.  24 fouls on YSU and 11 on Wright.   That is a shame and something needs done.  How does a team have a chance if they are being out shoot at the line almost 3-1.    This league is a complete joke!!

[goodnews]

Although YSUs defense is horrible the REFs are equally as bad.  WSUs big guy did a DROP 2 step was fouled and converted a 3 point play.... Simply put it was a walk and they didnt call it

[ysufan0505]

Fouls are bad but Slocum being out coached.... Again. Sigh.

[goodnews]

Until YSU can recruit and sign multiple formidable post players they will NOT be a threat in the Horizon.  The offense is all or nothing....... Live or Die by the 3.....  I know their arent multiple BIG men knocking the door down to play at YSU but recruiting is SELLING and PERSUADING not SETTLING...

[ysufan0505]

They don't even throw the ball into the post.... To set up any outside shots. It's pathetic honestly.... Idk what to think about this team.

[Dmorton]

Yes, the officiating was terrible.  You're not going to win may games playing 5 against 8, but this team craps the bed every year in the second half of season.  I don't know the answer to that, is it coaching, scheduling in the league, or what.  We'll be lucky to win 16 games again this year!

[rayI09]

And the beat goes on. Slocum must be a glutton for punishment. I mean how much losing can one person take?

[YsuPride]

The reason we lose in february every year is that the team is tired and run down.  Slocum hardly plays his bench so this happens every year at this time.   Yes the refs were bad last night but so was the team.  If we lose to detroit next then watch the fan support during the next home games. If we thought it was bad already. 

[Dmorton]

Good points News and Pride, I was hoping for atleast 6 of our last 9.  With three home games and stealing a couple on the road we'd have some momentum going into the league tourney.  Maybe win and couple there and get into some kind of post tourney where win could win a couple more and have a susccessful season.  These last two games and the Valpo game took the wind right out of my hopes for a better that average season.

[ysufan0505]

Kam had 4 points..... And Wright St had 51 bench points!!!! 51 of their 77 off the bench. Ysu has 7 bench points.... As Ray stated, Slocum hates to use the bench and it costs us. So go ahead and keep defending Jerry as this team continues to fall and plunder with the best best player in YSU history on the team.

[Lets_Talk]

I agree the officiating favored WSU, but that happens at times. A good team learns how to play through that kind of thing and still win, or at least be close at the end. And, as far as the HL being a joke because of the poor officiating, this type of thing happens in EVERY conference in the country.

I agree with the comments about the team getting tired. Where I disagree is with the problem being Slocum refusing to use the bench. Who exactly is there to use off the bench? Larson and Chojnaki play hard, but they are NOT D1 basketball players. Probably would be solid players at D2 level, but lack the athleticism to play at this level.

Keene averages 16 minutes per game. He has shown signs of promise, but he also has shown signs that he is a Freshman. That's because he IS a freshman.

Amiker averages almost 13 minutes per game. At times he plays well, at other times not.

Steward showed some promise last night, but he too is only a freshman.
Beamon has played sparingly, and he too is only a freshman.

Podolsky plays hard, but he is a former walk-on. He has played more than I ever expected, and at times has contributed more than I'd have thought possible.

The team is not helped at all by the inconsistent play of Belin. Even more, when he is not making shots, he may as well not even be on the floor, as he is a liability on defense, and he does not handle the ball well.

Also, very few teams in college have their top scorer as their best defensive player, but that is the case with this team. And, as the season is wearing on, this is having an effect on KP. Also having an effect is other teams smartly putting 2 and at times 3 players on KP, and forcing the rest of the team to step up. To their credit, Webber and Hain have improved significantly from last season, and they are each having solid seasons.

[Wick250]

Talk, good commentary, especially about Belin and Perry.  The great mystery to me is why Slocum burned the redshirts from the freshmen in the ooc schedule then hardly uses them in league play.  Despite their smaller size, Steward, Plummer, Beamon would be far superior options to Larson and Chojnaki when Hain gets in foul trouble or needs a rest. We could actually go very small, press all over the place, cause havoc, and at least provoke some fatigue among our opponents.  Instead, we get real passive when Hain is on the bench and allow opponents to shred our interior defense.

[ysufan0505]

Beamon used his redshirt last year.... And he never plays. Has good size at 6-4 for a 2 guard. Keene needs to play a lot more.... I agree Wick, why burn the redshirts of Steward and Plummer if they are never gonna play in league play? They could have used this year to develop and get in the weight room and get stronger. So many questions....

[Lets_Talk]

The question about burning the red-shirt year in OOC games is a very good question. Would be interesting to know what the thinking was on the part of Coach Slocum. Does not make much sense to burn the redshirt in OOC games, then rarely use the players in HL play.

As for the going small, and playing a style along the lines of VCU, I like it alot. Especially given that Hain, Weber and Kam all run the floor well, and the new rules benefit a team with players who can slash to the basket. KP gets close to 50% of his points on FT's in many games, and in some games even more.

In the game against Oakland, I noticed Bader started going to the basket, he got fouled, and then this led to him finally starting to make 3 point shots.

Also, players like Fletcher, Larson and Podolsky could be used in this style for their hustle, and to use their 5 fouls. When Larson and Fletcher are in, have them back protecting the basket, and instruct them to allow NO LAYUPS!!! So what if they foul out. Podolsky has enough quickness to play in this kind of system, and be a pain in the a$$ on defense. And, again, allow him to use all 5 fouls.

I still remember a game when Mike Rice was coach. Mike Solomon(sp?) fouled out, and scored ZERO points. Remember afterward Rise praising Solomon, because his role on the team was defense, rebounds, garbage points and create chaos. And, Rice wanted him to use all 5 of his fouls.

I know it is easy to watch on the computer and question the coaching. Slocum has likely fogotten more about basketball from an X and O standpoint than I have ever known. He also sees these guys every day in practice. It is obvious Slocum HATES to lose, I just think it would be interesting to know the answers to somew of these questions. And, I wish member of the media would ask questions of this type in post game press conferences, instead of:

"Coach, gotta be another hard loss?"
Coach, are the kids hurting after this loss?"
Coach, did the weather impact the game?"
Coach, does it ever get easy to accept a loss?"
Coach, if you had scored more points than the other team, do you think the outcome would have been different?"