Nolen

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bga1

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One guy that came to play his guts out was Al Nolen. 6 boards, 6 assists, 5 steals, 9 points.

He should have had a ton more assists but guys could not convert. I wish Al was a better shooter but he's not our problem. He needs to be paired with a 2 guard that can fill it up and so far no one has stepped forward. Personally, I would go with Joseph and let him shoot 15 shots a game. He's been inconsistent but we need to develop a guy. Westbrook-- I don't know, sometimes he's great but..........
 

Al gave it all he had and was our only scrappy player tonight. I would have liked to see a little bit of fire from DJ. Rebounding and free throws continue to be huge liabilities...no scoop there.

The "Monson years" tought me a few things, like not letting a loss eat me alive. I feel like I grew up some during that time and now a bad loss may not kill me, unlike a few years ago. After a game like tonight I will thank Dan for my more mature attitude. That's a word to the wise.
 

Have to give it up to Nolen tonight. Played his ass off again, just like he does every single game. I hated on him some last year and obviously he isn't the most well rounded player, but you can tell no one is more hurt than him when we struggle and no one gives it their all all the time like Nolen does. If I couldn't respect his game fully before tonight, you can count me as a big believer in what he does for our team.
 

Absolutely!!!! What is it with these guys that are always putting Al down. I don't get it.
 

Al's been playing his ass off lately almost leading us to victory himself with his heart. He definitely fills the stat sheets like DJ. I love watching him in games like tonight where he drives by his guy every single time and dishes a nice pass to a player like Sampson who either can't hit the wide open shot or can't even catch the ball. If Nolen was just a decent scorer he'd be a pretty solid NBA prospect.
 


I liked what Al did tonight and has done for the most part over his time here.

But will someone please spend hours with him doing the drill in practice where you swing tackling dummies to bump him repeatedly as he is shooting layups. The difference between him and someone like Kalin Lucas is that for some reason Al doesnt make a high percentage even when gets in the lane, he seems to get fouled (which is fine) or nothing.

That being said, in a lot of games throughout the last couple of seasons, Al is sometimes the only one our players who looks like he belongs on D-1 court.
 

Free throw shooting counts. If we make 85 % I think we are 7-0.
 

Nolen and NBA in the same sentence? Please tell me I did not read that. MN had the 9th or 10th worst pg play in the Big Ten last season and this year it will be the same. Nolen plays hard, but so do the players on Iowa. Results are what counts.
 

Yes, try reading again and you'll see that it said IF Nolen were a decent scorer he would be a solid NBA prospect. Decent probably wasn't a strong enough word, but basically if Nolen were a good shooter/finisher, can you tell me why he wouldn't be a solid NBA prospect? I realize he never will be a good enough shooter, but I was just saying...

minngg said:
Nolen and NBA in the same sentence? Please tell me I did not read that. MN had the 9th or 10th worst pg play in the Big Ten last season and this year it will be the same. Nolen plays hard, but so do the players on Iowa. Results are what counts.
Click to expand...
 



I like Nolen's defense the most but I would also like to see more of what Cobbs can do.
 

ncgo4 said:
Free throw shooting counts. If we make 85 % I think we are 7-0.
Click to expand...

This team will go only as far as their FT % allows .... It seems like such a simple stat, but in the end, FT's are huge, they could have a 7-0 or a 6-1 record...
 

Al seems to be a leader off-court too. After the game last night, us fans on the plane and players as well were disappointed and tired but Al was the most animated with other players while waiting for security screening and waiting for luggage. We need leadership from Al, Damian and a few others to get us back to consistently executing the fundementals.
 

85%

ncgo4 said:
Free throw shooting counts. If we make 85 % I think we are 7-0.
Click to expand...

Yipes those are high standards! Has any NCAA team ever shot even 80% from the line?

I am betting NOT.

I would be happy with 72% at this point!
 



It seems picking on Nolen has become too fashionable. One mistake he makes, many are ready to question everything he does and every salt he is worth. I would agree that Nolen is part of the problem we are having collectively. But, he does not deserve all the things directed at him.
 

I agree with bga. Pair him with Devoe. Westbrook appears to be a loner on the team who is only focused on what's best for him.
 

I just finished viewing the game tape and I really liked what I saw of Nolen for the first 38 1/2 minutes. I can't remember him playing better. He drove and dished more times in this game than I remember in all the other games this season combined (with, maybe, a major portion of last year thrown in). He looked like a point guard, actually getting his teammates open looks.

But for the last 1 1/2 minutes ... with the game on the line ... old habits reemerged. But it's a start.
 

I didn't see the game.

Any thoughts on why we got killed so bad on the boards in the first half?
 

Section201 said:
Yipes those are high standards! Has any NCAA team ever shot even 80% from the line?

I am betting NOT.
I would be happy with 72% at this point!
Click to expand...
Harvard 1983-4 82.5%

What did I win?
 

Johnny, what do we have for Mikie?
A new Washer and Dryer!

Actually, you win my appreciation for your rare kind words for our point guard! :)
 


Mikie, you have never stopped making me laugh -- not at you but with you. Hope you are doing well...
 

GoFerit said:
Mikie, you have never stopped making me laugh -- not at you but with you. Hope you are doing well...
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Not too bad. I won a collector's edition "I LOVE Adam Boone" T-shirt!
 

wow

Mikie S said:
Harvard 1983-4 82.5%

What did I win?
Click to expand...

look's like someone offered up an Adam Boone tee shirt already. What more could you ask for?

where did you dig that stat up from? good find.

82.5 is astounding.
 





I checked yesterday and saw 5, but today it seems to have dropped to 4... only 1 D1 team was under 50%... at an astonishingly bad 38.6%.

I certainly hope that is on very, very limited attempts.

info here: http://kenpom.com/tmleaders.php?c=FTPct
 

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