Is This One Of Those Years ?

calvin · January 20, 2008

One of those years where we get no breaks and injuries just ruin the season ? I hope not but if you look at it we havent been healthy all year. Beginning of the year Collin and Dez werent healthy. Then it was Josh an Keith and when we finally get some momentum going the whole team and the coaches get sick and we put together two stinkers.

There is no way we will be the team we want to be if Keith doesnt get healthy. He was very good against Memphis last year and OSU and UT this year but he hasnt been able to get going b/c of the injuries. Hopefully he gets healthier this week, otherwise it will be a tough road. And what has happened to Harold Stewart ? Is he in the doghouse ? I thought he was very good at the end of last year but his PT has been cut way down, hopefully he can get going as well.

The 8 day break could not have come at a better time, usually you dont like these breaks during the year but we need it badly. Hopefully JJ we give the team a couple of days off so they can get healthy and refreshed. I expect to see a different team the next time we get on the court. I hope I am right.

CMJ · January 20, 2008

This is a very dangerous stretch. After MTSU on the road(where we've been shakey) we have USA at home.

greenminer · January 20, 2008

It's been frustrating, but don't get too ruffled if we don't win the regular season. As long as we put ourselves in a position to get a good draw for the conference tourney, I'll be happy.

It's the tourney title that will get us into the field of 65.

untgeorge · January 20, 2008

It's been frustrating, but don't get too ruffled if we don't win the regular season. As long as we put ourselves in a position to get a good draw for the conference tourney, I'll be happy.
It's the tourney title that will get us into the field of 65.

The better we do in regular season, the better our seed will be if we get into the NCAAs. A 12 seed (probably already unattainable) is a lot better than a 14 seed; 12 seeds win their first game pretty often.

NTPhiKap99 · January 20, 2008

The better we do in regular season, the better our seed will be if we get into the NCAAs. A 12 seed (probably already unattainable) is a lot better than a 14 seed; 12 seeds win their first game pretty often.

I'd love to have won a few more games but we started slow in conference play last year and then turned it on late rolling into the conference tournament. We'll turn it around and hopefully get healthier as the season goes on.

greenminer · January 21, 2008

The better we do in regular season, the better our seed will be if we get into the NCAAs. A 12 seed (probably already unattainable) is a lot better than a 14 seed; 12 seeds win their first game pretty often.

What is the Belt's seed history in the NCAA? I just don't think anything less than lights out would get a Belt seed much better than a 14.

Just to elaborate a little, I don't think a bad stretch through the Belt would kill us if we win the conference tourney anyways. It's so hard to get through the Belt with less than 3-5 losses anyways.

What would put us higher than a 14 seed? OOC name games...especially on the road.

NTPhiKap99 · January 21, 2008

What is the Belt's seed history in the NCAA? I just don't think anything less than lights out would get a Belt seed much better than a 14.
Just to elaborate a little, I don't think a bad stretch through the Belt would kill us if we win the conference tourney anyways. It's so hard to get through the Belt with less than 3-5 losses anyways.
What would put us higher than a 14 seed? OOC name games...especially on the road.

You are correct Sir regular season conference play means nothing we've got to win the tournament to get in anyways. And beating Sun Belt teams really doesn't help our RPI much the only way to get higher a seed is to continue beating good non-conference teams like we did with OSU. But if we can beat teams like that consistently we really wouldn't need to worry about conference play. But for now lets just worry about the conference tourney and just hope we don't get a 16 seed but I think we've already done enough to avoid that.

foutsrouts · January 21, 2008

You are correct Sir regular season conference play means nothing we've got to win the tournament to get in anyways. And beating Sun Belt teams really doesn't help our RPI much the only way to get higher a seed is to continue beating good non-conference teams like we did with OSU. But if we can beat teams like that consistently we really wouldn't need to worry about conference play. But for now lets just worry about the conference tourney and just hope we don't get a 16 seed but I think we've already done enough to avoid that.

This team has got to jell and jell quickly. Injuries etc. have obviously been a major problem, but I still don't think that we've figured out who the "go to guy" is yet during crunch time. I think we had similar problems last year before we finally pulled out of it a bit before the conference tourney. Hope we start figuring things out as a team VERY soon.

untbowler · January 21, 2008

being outside and just reading the AP stories it seems that the team has trouble closing out the games such as blowing 5+ point to leads with under 5 minutes left such as at FAU and the Troy game. Guess UNO was a throw away due to the flu-bug and a ready opponent, but seems a little frustrating that they can not close the deal. Also hope JW is ok seeing that he got elbowed and needed stitches along with a possible concussion.

PlummMeanGreen · January 23, 2008

One of those years where we get no breaks and injuries just ruin the season ? I hope not but if you look at it we havent been healthy all year. Beginning of the year Collin and Dez werent healthy. Then it was Josh an Keith and when we finally get some momentum going the whole team and the coaches get sick and we put together two stinkers.
There is no way we will be the team we want to be if Keith doesnt get healthy. He was very good against Memphis last year and OSU and UT this year but he hasnt been able to get going b/c of the injuries. Hopefully he gets healthier this week, otherwise it will be a tough road. And what has happened to Harold Stewart ? Is he in the doghouse ? I thought he was very good at the end of last year but his PT has been cut way down, hopefully he can get going as well.
The 8 day break could not have come at a better time, usually you dont like these breaks during the year but we need it badly. Hopefully JJ we give the team a couple of days off so they can get healthy and refreshed. I expect to see a different team the next time we get on the court. I hope I am right.

Reader's Digest Large Letter Edition

Nothing can be done about those injuries, but as an outsider looking in & after watching last year's Memphis game in the 1'st round of the Big Dance & even watching this season's UT game at the Super Drum via FSW (a few days after the Horns beat UCLA); but if JJ can recruit 2 more to add to the kind of talent of his freshmen guard, then that is when the Mean Green will win an SBC basketball championship a few years running and will get much further into the Big Dance than has ever happened in Mean Green basketball history.

Coach JJ (IMHO) is still the right man at the right time for the Mean Green basketball job, but I just hope he gets all the recruiting budget he needs to get those 2 extra special players of a similar caliber of our true freshmen guard,ie, Mr.White; of course, we do need a little Lady Luck to help us out with the old injury bug-a-boo, too, right? :rolleyes:

Totally Unrelated To Mean Green Basketball: This last Sunday was the 40'th anniversay of a college basketball event I was lucky to have been a fan participant, and that was the UH/UCLA matchup tagged the Game of the Century in the Astrodome. Speaking of having a nucleus of 3 good ones to build a team, UH Coach Guy Lewis had Elvin Hayes, Don Chaney and Theodus Lee with a good supporting cast which got them to that Game of the Century. It also got them to the Final 4 that year. Phi Slamma Jamma came a few years later for UH.

This last Sunday's Fort Worth Star Telegram had a great (almost) full page coverage all of all the things that came out of that one game which played a huge part of making college basketball the national sport we know today; which it really had not been of such a level before that one game in the Astrodome. Dick Enberg still calls that game his all time broadcasting highlight. Wish I could link that Sunday page from the FWST, but......................I just don't know how!

Edited January 23, 2008 by PlummMeanGreen