Obviously the outcome of the game was disappointing, and unfortunately I don't see us winning many games at least until we get Amir back in February. This next stretch of games is going to be very, very difficult (PUR, PSU, MARY, OSU, NU) and if two of our floor leaders (Mason and McBrayer) play with the kind of emotion they displayed last night, things could go from bad to worse for this team.
Mason didn't have any shots going for him in the first half which really seemed to bring him down mentally, this led to foul trouble and as a result, not a whole lot of time spent on the court. We need him down the stretch on the court instead of sitting on the bench because I believe that he's the type of player that just needs to see the ball go through the hoop to get in a sort of groove. He looked totally dejected last night and completely played himself out of that game.
For McBrayer, he really needs to stop yapping at the refs. I've been noticing him doing this a whole lot more this year than the last. Perhaps he thinks that with him being an upperclassmen he should be awarded with more help from the refs but I think he really needs to get over that. There was also a sequence of events, where NU got a quick transition bucket and McBrayer started yelling at Fitzgerald. The next time down the court he had the ball in his hands on the perimeter and didn't seem to like what was going on offensively around him, so he did a half shrug and jacked up a three with about 20 seconds still on the shot clock. Luckily, it went in; but it sure looked to me like he was just giving up there for a bit.
Basically, my main point is that we need these guys to really step up from a mental standpoint. These guys need to set better examples for the younger guards if we have any hopes of salvaging this season. If anything, they should know just how fleeting success can be for this team, they both played big roles on the 8 win season two years ago and the 24 win season last year.
I don't think this season is lost yet, but I am definitely going to be watching Mason and McBrayer very closely over these next 5 games. If they can get beyond the whole "Woe is me" mentality and step up, then I think that will be a big indicator as to how our team plays as a whole for the rest of the conference games.
Mason didn't have any shots going for him in the first half which really seemed to bring him down mentally, this led to foul trouble and as a result, not a whole lot of time spent on the court. We need him down the stretch on the court instead of sitting on the bench because I believe that he's the type of player that just needs to see the ball go through the hoop to get in a sort of groove. He looked totally dejected last night and completely played himself out of that game.
For McBrayer, he really needs to stop yapping at the refs. I've been noticing him doing this a whole lot more this year than the last. Perhaps he thinks that with him being an upperclassmen he should be awarded with more help from the refs but I think he really needs to get over that. There was also a sequence of events, where NU got a quick transition bucket and McBrayer started yelling at Fitzgerald. The next time down the court he had the ball in his hands on the perimeter and didn't seem to like what was going on offensively around him, so he did a half shrug and jacked up a three with about 20 seconds still on the shot clock. Luckily, it went in; but it sure looked to me like he was just giving up there for a bit.
Basically, my main point is that we need these guys to really step up from a mental standpoint. These guys need to set better examples for the younger guards if we have any hopes of salvaging this season. If anything, they should know just how fleeting success can be for this team, they both played big roles on the 8 win season two years ago and the 24 win season last year.
I don't think this season is lost yet, but I am definitely going to be watching Mason and McBrayer very closely over these next 5 games. If they can get beyond the whole "Woe is me" mentality and step up, then I think that will be a big indicator as to how our team plays as a whole for the rest of the conference games.