***OFFICIAL GOPHERS VS WESTERN CAROLINA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

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To be fair, Western Carolina doesn't seem too bad. Though I doubt they shoot 3's like this all the time.
 


How is that not a travel on Mathieu? Picked up the ball, stepped off of his left foot, then jumped off two feet for an and-one. Still don't get that rule...so many players get away with it: "the jump stop".
 

howeda7 said:
To be fair, Western Carolina doesn't seem too bad. Though I doubt they shoot 3's like this all the time.
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actually they are spot on with their game average. They should also shoot around 27 threes
 

Our current issues, other than lack of depth, are very fixable. Attitude. Effort. Errors.
 




Awesome seeing Andre get his jumper back. He's looked a lot more confident the past 2 games.
 

Don't love seeing Dre in the game with 1:30 left, up 18 and hitting the deck hard....
 






I like Matheiu's double arm flex after an and 1. He's played three solid games in a row and is starting to look like he did last year, a 5'9" point guard playing big and not afraid to drive and finish or dish (not turning it over) in the lane.
 




The offensive rebounds we gave is very concerning. But the steal and assists numbers are very good. A good well balanced offense. Six guys had 9 or more points. Five guys had at least 3 assists. I continue to be impressed with Mason. Our backcourt looks to continue to be strong in the coming years.

It's just going to be a little rough down low unfortunately. Our big guys need to learn to just put the ball up right away when they are open near the basket. Too many times they take a dribble and don't go anywhere, allowing the defense to surround them. King did that at one point. He pumped faked several times instead of just going up right away. Ended up as a blocked shot.
 

There is no way gaston diedhiou speaks worse English than homer drew...
 

I was frustrated with our poor rebounding, partly because we never seemed to adjust to the 3 point shots that caused the ball to bounce farther off the rim. Also, our guards failed to find someone to box out. While Mo and Elliot have their definite problems, many of the extra rebounds for WCU came because our guards were caught watching the ball and then reacting. Rebounding requires reacting as soon as the shot goes up and anticipating the angle of the carom.

The other thing I would have liked to see in this game is to have our bigs post up down on the block and seal their defender. With our size advantage down low, this game was a great opportunity to work on feeding the post. I saw many times where Elliot (more than Mo) ended up 20 feet away from the basket above the key. Hard to understand how Elliot helps the team when he's up there.

As someone said, however, we're winning by 20 playing ugly. It will be fun to watch this team if/when they put everything together.
 

I agree with you about Mason, his shot was as smooth as silk and he has a very bright future in maroon and gold. I think we should start referring to him as just 1 word. Silk
 

GophersInIowa said:
The offensive rebounds we gave is very concerning. But the steal and assists numbers are very good. A good well balanced offense. Six guys had 9 or more points. Five guys had at least 3 assists. I continue to be impressed with Mason. Our backcourt looks to continue to be strong in the coming years. It's just going to be a little rough down low unfortunately. Our big guys need to learn to just put the ball up right away when they are open near the basket. Too many times they take a dribble and don't go anywhere, allowing the defense to surround them. King did that at one point. He pumped faked several times instead of just going up right away. Ended up as a blocked shot.
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Bob Knight thinks your wrong
 

GophersInIowa said:
The offensive rebounds we gave is very concerning. But the steal and assists numbers are very good. A good well balanced offense. Six guys had 9 or more points. Five guys had at least 3 assists. I continue to be impressed with Mason. Our backcourt looks to continue to be strong in the coming years.

It's just going to be a little rough down low unfortunately. Our big guys need to learn to just put the ball up right away when they are open near the basket. Too many times they take a dribble and don't go anywhere, allowing the defense to surround them. King did that at one point. He pumped faked several times instead of just going up right away. Ended up as a blocked shot.
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Good points but the guards have to stay out of foul trouble with McNeil gone. Great kid, but Pitino was subbing Kendall in on defense end of first half because both Dre's had two fouls. Going to forget the first half; 19-4 rebound advantage for them at one point just indicates they weren't ready to play. I thought we played fairly well second half. Guards played very well. Morris was much more in control tonight. Joey King, for all the crap he gets here, has become pretty valuable. Just a lot of hustle plays. The big guys are frustrating though.
 

scher215 said:
Bob Knight thinks your wrong
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Ha!

I do agree with Knight that players in general need to use the shot fake around the perimeter more often. I just don't need to hear him say it 30 times a game.
 

Mulligan said:
Good points but the guards have to stay out of foul trouble with McNeil gone. Great kid, but Pitino was subbing Kendall in on defense end of first half because both Dre's had two fouls. Going to forget the first half; 19-4 rebound advantage for them at one point just indicates they weren't ready to play. I thought we played fairly well second half. Guards played very well. Morris was much more in control tonight. Joey King, for all the crap he gets here, has become pretty valuable. Just a lot of hustle plays. The big guys are frustrating though.
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Yeah I just meant the combination of Mason looking very good already and three good guard recruits coming in next year. We're thin right now, that is for sure. Have to hope for no injuries.
 

Mulligan said:
Good points but the guards have to stay out of foul trouble with McNeil gone. Great kid, but Pitino was subbing Kendall in on defense end of first half because both Dre's had two fouls. Going to forget the first half; 19-4 rebound advantage for them at one point just indicates they weren't ready to play. I thought we played fairly well second half. Guards played very well. Morris was much more in control tonight. Joey King, for all the crap he gets here, has become pretty valuable. Just a lot of hustle plays. The big guys are frustrating though.
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I could understand the frustration with Joey King in the past.....but he's been pretty good so far this year. You can tell that he's put on some weight in order to fight for rebounds down low. Still.....his value comes with making smart plays. Good passes and solid shooting. Aggressiveness was one of my concerns. He has put those concerns to bed for now.
 


Dre Hollins really played well on both ends of the court, he had a long stretch guarding the 3 spot and did a great job. He really helps the substitution pattern on both offense and defense.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Our big guys need to learn to just put the ball up right away when they are open near the basket. Too many times they take a dribble and don't go anywhere, allowing the defense to surround them. King did that at one point. He pumped faked several times instead of just going up right away. Ended up as a blocked shot.
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The centers have learned to pass out to an open man (and good things often happen when they do), but Joey still tries to to go one-on-two under the basket - not a high percentage shot for an undersized big man without reliable offensive moves.
 

stocker08 said:
I could understand the frustration with Joey King in the past.....but he's been pretty good so far this year. Y
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He's been better this year but he wasn't so great in the first half tonight; he was better in the second.
 

cjbfbp said:
He's been better this year but he wasn't so great in the first half tonight; he was better in the second.
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They were switching ball screens which is definitely hurt joeys effectiveness on the pick n pop
 

I knew that the loss of Austin Hollins was going to leave a large void but I never thought it would be this significant. Currently this team looks nothing like the team that made the nit championship run last year
 

Pretty early in the season still. Remember, last year early we were having struggles against the likes of Chaminade if I remember correctly. NIT was at the end of a progression of the players learning more about Pitino's system. I am not sure what the excuse is this year due to many of the starters being seniors, but if they can solve the fouling problem they could be pretty darn decent. I almost said pretty darn good but I just can't say that.
 

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