chrisfisher

Another great WHOLE team effort. I don't know the stats, but I'm pretty sure we had a bunch of players in the 8-15 point range. Quincy Williams is stepping up BIG TIME. Keith Wooden had a great all around game. He made his shots, rebounded well, and even stuffed two shooters within a 10 sec. span! I hope Wooden gains confidence going into the Nebraska game. Ben Bell looked great too. He handled the full court press beautifully and made some great shots. Calvin Watson had a decent game, but didn't seem to get as many open shots as usual. Harold Stewart played well too. Overall, we were definitely more aggressive driving to the basket tonight. We drove to the rim more in this game than I can remember for a while. At times, we were too aggressive and committed turn overs while forcing them to the big men... nonetheless, I really liked this aspect of our game tonight. We had several slam dunks. Something I've wanted for some time now! We have big man under the basket.. to hell with finesse backboard shots, let's slam them in!! Again, great all around team effort. I hope we keep this up in Nebraska!

These silly negative media comments are the kind of things that are done/said when you win 4 games in 2 years. We are easy media targets, and they need a good laugh. Grin and bear it. This will all change once we start winning again. Y'all need to mentally prepare yourself for 24/7 media coverage if we hire Dodge, which some coverage will be really positive, while other coverage will be scathing. By they way, the so-called media experts that criticize us for naming our fields after DD obviously do not know our football history and are ignorant themselves. Yes, we had 2 losing seasons under DD, but he took the football program from obscurity to places (SBC Championships, NO bowel, etc.) we have never been or hadn't been in long while. Many teams have asked a coach to leave, but still honor his accomplishments.

Don't fret... we'll have a totally new coaching staff...

I'm sorry, but this article doesn't make any impression on us, except that we are influenced by money like every other college in the nation. This article will not harm us in ANY way whatsoever. Our 4-17 record over 2 years harms us more than anything. No one will remember this article except you and those that get angry over it. It was convenient story for a slow media day... that's all. No one really cares what we name our facilities. Right now we are eating humble pie. Start winning games with our new coach and all the ugliness will disappear over night.

Obviously, Sturns' play this season has justified a starting role. However, I think that Jonnie Jones is holding back on that for some reason to further Sturns' development. I am not sure what, but I suspect it has to do with becoming team player and not trying to do too much on his own. Just a guess though. I suspect that Sturns will earn a start at some point. Also, I noticed someone mentioned Sturns should start over Bell. Lately, I have seen rumblings about Bell. I am really not sure why. IMO, he runs our offense better than anyone, and you can really tell a difference when Bell takes a seat. Remember this Bell's first play in D1A B-Ball, and he already looks mature. I think over time he will become an outstanding player for us. IMO, I think the only area Bell is struggling at right now is with his shooting. He started out early in the season making his shots, but has really struggled lately from the floor... and even missed 2 critical free throws at the end of the Tulsa game that could have sealed the deal for us. Other than that, I say keep Bell in as much as possible.

If we shoot like we did against Rice and Charlotte, we can beat anyone. It's hard to lose when you score 80-90 points in a game.

I am sorry I cannot share your sentiment about the television monitor. Yes, we got robbed on that one. However, I do not blame a television monitor. When we let the referees or equipment decide who wins then we don't deserve that win. We should have been the hell out of UTA, and instead let them lead most of the game. Scoring more points than the opponents overcomes all obstacles including bad refereeing or equipment failures. Hopefully, UTA is our wake up call when playing lesser teams. Apply this lesson to Texas State please.

Gotcha. Thanks for the information. You may be right about set plays. And if this would help us score more, then I am all for it. One thing: You made a favorable comparison of Rice's style of play, but that might be a hard sell to Jonnie Jones seeing that we put up 90 points plus a win with our style of play. I am not trying to defend or promote our style of play; rather, make casual observations or ask questions from those that have a better knowledge of the game. IMO, the biggest problem we have is that if our outside shooters have a bad day, we cannot consistently count on our big men under the basket to pick up the slack.

sorry, I don't have much technical expertise in basketball... can you explain what the "set offense" means? Scripted plays perhaps?

Does anyone know what is specifically wrong with his knee(s) or how he injured his knee? How about his prognosis for recovery this season? I think their is a ton of potential in Wooden.

I just reviewed the stats for the Tulsa game. I am even more excited about our Tulsa win. We had horrible shooting, and for an outside shooting team, this usually costs us that game. If I had looked at these numbers (without knowing the final score) combined with the knowledge that Davis sat out, I would undoubtedly predicted we lost this game. Fact is, we found a way to win despite our poor shooting. This is how the great teams win games. I am not saying we are "great," though time will tell. What I am saying, is this is a very good sign that our team is maturing into something better than we have ever been. I don't think we could have pulled this win off last season given those stats. Next week's Nebraska game will give us an idea were we are at right now.

Great post.

Let's not overlook the Texas State game this Saturday. This is NOT a guaranteed win. Texas State lost to UALR by only 5 points last night (83-77). Recall that UALR was picked to win the SBC West. We cannot get complacent with Texas State, like we did with UTA. Get your butts to the Super Pit this Saturday so we can cheer on our team to a 5-1 record!

I wanted to address the "horrible offense" in a separate response. I was a bit shocked to see this. We may not have the offense you would like to see, but the fact is we put points on the board. Even in our 14-14 season last year, I recall reading we were ranked in the top 30 in points per game. And look at our output this season, though admittedly the 65 points for the Tulsa game was somewhat "low" (actually, typically for most other teams) in scoring. We are without a doubt, a more perimeter/3 point shooting team. Maybe this is what you don't like? I would love to see us going to our big men under the basket more, but this hasn't been a productive area for us just yet. Quincy has really stepped up in this area, while Keith Wooden is REALLY struggling. Wooden seems to either (1) mishandle the ball (2) get the ball hit from his hands, or (3) misses the easy under the basket shot. If we can get Wooden to help Quincy under the basket, this could all change. Please let me know what specifically you don't like about the offense.

I recently posted a thread that stated, "I might be a new Michael Sturns fan" and then followed up after the Rice game, "OK, I am a Michael Sturns fan now." I have to admit I didn't see his talent last year. He seemed out of control and trying to do to much and for the wrong reasons (for his own glory and stats, not for the team). However, as we know now, his style of play was representative of behavior and attitude off the court as well. It appears to me that he is a different person this season. He has calmed down on the court, become a team player, and is scoring some serious points. The only negative thing I can say is that he can be streaky, but with more playing time now, I think he can become a consistent, dominant player. On another post, I stated that with Davis sitting out for 6 weeks, the players are starting to find themselves and look to each other, rather than just to Davis during tough ball games. I can't wait until Davis, their team leader, returns to a more complete team on and off the court. Davis' game will undoubtedly improve because other teams will have to worry about so many different threats, not just Davis.

It is a sign of maturing program when we risk losing a big donor in order to regain control of our own destiny. RV's strong determination to move us forward overcame the influence of money. And that doesn't happen often, anywhere.

Well, we are probably better than last season, and that ain't a bad thing. It is really too early to tell though. However, we play Western Kentucky Dec 19. They are currently ranked #15 in the nation by Sagarin and a top 10 mid major. That will be an excellent measuring stick for us.

I am pretty sure that was Cavlin Watson. I made the same comment to a fan that the 3 was from NBA range. Beautiful shot! But you are right, Sturns has stepped up BIG TIME this season.

The man played on our football team, and gives millions to the school. He has every right as former student/athlete and big time donor to speak his mind. While I admit, I didn't care for his DRC ad, it didn't harm us in any way either. And so what if he gets advertising and exposure for his business. Most sponsors do. Should we shame Sonic since they didn't support us out of the goodness of their heart? He reached out to us through the media with his green blood comment, and we should welcome him back with open arms... like all families do after a silly argument. We'd be crazy not too.

This game was another nail bitter. I like exciting games, but damn, my poor heart can't take this. I still have a headache from yelling so loud and long!

Calvin Watson was a little off tonight, though he made some clutch 3's. If we can get Watson and Sturns both on fire with a some additional scoring by Young (like in the Rice game), we'll return to 80 point games.

The crowd responded to the game in streaks...and were really noisy in the last few minutes. Tulsa actually had a good turn out... probably 50 or so folks sitting right next to our student section. The officiating was very poor again. There were phantom calls on both teams all night. Mean Green and Tulsa fans took turns booing the refs. I have to say, this win was a complete Mean Green team effort. We grinded out this win. It wasn't pretty, but each player gave their all. This team has absolutely no quit in them. They hung in their the whole game...a really pesky team to our foes. There may be one benefit to Davis sitting out: now team members are starting to look to each other, rather than just to Davis, to carry them through the rough times.

I hear you... notice my qualifiers in my statement... that it is likely a fluke... and I went to say that I know it is a little early to say this stuff...obviously, I am not 100% certain saying the UTA game was a fluke....but it is difficult to explain our two big road wins any other way...hopefully our team won't regress like they did towards the end of last season...it seems though with Ben Bell and Keith Wooden are just getting warmed up to the team, it appears that the only way is up for us... there is just that one damn Kendrick Davis injury factor that still has to play out....before we will know where we stand.

Our key to success = Wooden (or insert other big man name like Quincy Williams). We need a big man that can dominate under the hoop. Most importantly, he needs to make his shots... Forget the finesse jump shots or using the backboard. He 6' 9"...drive the ball with authority to rim, and slam dunk it! We get 2 points or foul shots. This will open the perimeter for our excellent outside shooters, get us to the foul line more (we lost to UTA because of this factor), as well as outright win a bunch of games due to the added inside points (we usually win on perimeter shooting alone).

Rice lost 79-73 to Oregon (5-0; first place in the Pac-10) tonight. And they took one overtime period to beat them. That was really good Rice team we beat on their home court... same as the Charlotte game. Folks, the UTA game was a likely a fluke. I know that it is a little early in the season to say this, but winning 2 out of town games against good teams does not happen by accident. The X-factor is Davis sitting out for the next 6 weeks or more. I can only hope the team plays like they did at Rice without Davis.