***OFFICIAL LOYOLA MARYMOUNT AT MINNESOTA GAME #2 IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

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It makes you wonder if at some point we'll see a coach just tell his defenders to play off of Gabe on the perimeter and dare him to make shots.
 

This team looks like it will be another under performing Pitino team.
 

stocker08 said:
Well he shot under 10% tonight. As I said....he won't shoot that poorly very often.
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He did twice last year. 0/10 and 1/11. Find me another big ten starter who has shot under 10% on 10+ shots 3 times in their last 25 games. Hell,in their career.

If he was good outside of these games I’d be ok. But he isn’t good at shooting over his last 34 games. Which is a large sample size.
 

fair said:
It makes you wonder if at some point we'll see a coach just tell his defenders to play off of Gabe on the perimeter and dare him to make shots.
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Why play off him? To double down on Robbins, Curry or Omersa??
 

Tre Williams shot 28.2% from the field overall and 27% from 3 as a Freshman. He had a team high 3 turnovers in only 9 minutes of play tonight. I'd pump the breaks on him being a contributor much less taking Gabe's minutes.

If Gabe is over 50% from the field for the night, he's usually had a great (not good) night given the percentage of his shots that come from behind the arc. I don't think Gabe got the same shot quality as a Sophomore that he did as a Freshman. We really only had Marcus Carr as a facilitator while his Freshman year we had Coffey and McBrayer. I'd argue his Freshman year it was also easier to lose Gabe being that he could be on the floor with Oturu/Murphy/Coffey making him a lesser part of the defensive focus. Finally, the line moved back from his Freshman to Sophomore years. That's a significant difference especially if you are the type of shooter who creates spacing/gets room by setting up a foot or more beyond the arc...all of a sudden that's getting real close to the NBA line.

I do think there is a lot of evidence that Gabe is more of a streaky shooter than a pure shooter. Even his game logs from his Freshman season where he shot 41% from 3 show that: He had a 5 game stretch from 12/21 through 1/3 where he went 3-11(2-8), 0-10 (0-8), 3-11 (2-8), 2-9 (1-6), 1-4 (1-3). There's another really bad stretch near the end of that year too if you want to check it out the stats: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...397214/type/mens-college-basketball/year/2019
 


tikited said:
This team looks like it will be another under performing Pitino team.
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Yeah. We have less talent than we'd like to admit and we are terrible at putting those people in positions to succeed.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Yeah. We have less talent than we'd like to admit and we are terrible at putting those people in positions to succeed.
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Going to get worse once Carr leaves. I don't see any player who will be "the guy" after this season (assuming Carr leaves...which he will).
 

EG#9 said:
Tre Williams shot 28.2% from the field overall and 27% from 3 as a Freshman. He had a team high 3 turnovers in only 9 minutes of play tonight. I'd pump the breaks on him being a contributor much less taking Gabe's minutes.

If Gabe is over 50% from the field for the night, he's usually had a great (not good) night given the percentage of his shots that come from behind the arc. I don't think Gabe got the same shot quality as a Sophomore that he did as a Freshman. We really only had Marcus Carr as a facilitator while his Freshman year we had Coffey and McBrayer. I'd argue his Freshman year it was also easier to lose Gabe being that he could be on the floor with Oturu/Murphy/Coffey making him a lesser part of the defensive focus. Finally, the line moved back from his Freshman to Sophomore years. That's a significant difference especially if you are the type of shooter who creates spacing/gets room by setting up a foot or more beyond the arc...all of a sudden that's getting real close to the NBA line.

I do think there is a lot of evidence that Gabe is more of a streaky shooter than a pure shooter. Even his game logs from his Freshman season where he shot 41% from 3 show that: He had a 5 game stretch from 12/21 through 1/3 where he went 3-11(2-8), 0-10 (0-8), 3-11 (2-8), 2-9 (1-6), 1-4 (1-3). There's another really bad stretch near the end of that year too if you want to check it out the stats: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...397214/type/mens-college-basketball/year/2019
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Streaky player ummm...have good streaks too.
Gabe’s best “streak” last year was going 14/34 in late November/early December 4 game stretch.
There was a 3 game stretch where he made multiple 3s in each game. At no other point did he make 2+ threes in consecutive games. He shoots enough to make 2/X in consecutive games
 




EG#9 said:
Holy crap was that an awful game. I was going to be concerned about this team for real if they didn't win easier than they did on Saturday, and they were lucky to escape with a win at all. You are at home with the (theoretically) better athletes playing the same team for the second time in a row, this should not have been a problem.

This is going to be a very long year if things don't drastically improve on both ends of the floor. I hate the lack of phsyicality from our bigs and the lack of shooting as a team overall. Both had some moments, Johnson flashed, Curry made a few key plays midway through the 2nd when it looked like the Gophers would pull away, but for the most part guys didn't put much good on tape. Marcus Carr saved this team (specifically this coach) from a really brutal loss.
Looking forward to Pitino's tweet referencing the pandemic like every tweet mentioned being "young" last year.
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The win was nice, and I'll take it. Secondly, instead of ripping the Gophers, I'll give some deserved credit to LMU for making it a tough game .

The two forwards #0 Scott, and the Australian played great, physical games. No one, (Curry, Johnson or Robbins) could stop Scott in the second half when he got a weaker or slower defender off balance. Also, the mulletman was on fire. If I were Richard II , I'd like to have those two LMU forwards on my team., and both would play a lot. 6-6 or not, those two could play.

They made their FTs, until the end, fortunately.

The guard play was not terrible by LMU either. I think LMU might have played their best game of the year tonight and they would have won if not for one Gopher who turned it back from disaster.
 
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Last couple pages...I didn’t see anybody mention Gach. I think he will be our second best player consistently or even best player on an occasional night.
The whole team looked off to me...uncomfortable...distracted. I do think at some point they’ll play better but?
Ihnen looks like he thinks he gets points for running up and back in a sideline channel, but only if he doesn’t touch anybody. Just absolutely lost out there.
Gabe has a mental or vision issue...but he can’t shoot this consistently bad in practice and still play big minutes? Gotta be a game anxiety thing?

Robbins and Johnson didn’t play like they’ve played basketball before either. Curry looked better and he is playing like a guy who last played three years ago.
Pandemic? Back to back? No fans? Somehow, some reason we are messed up good as a team.
Mashburn may come on. And Mutaf might be a secret weapon??? 🙏
Without Carr....omg...the thought is terrifying.
 

60's Guy said:
Last couple pages...I didn’t see anybody mention Gach. I think he will be our second best player consistently or even best player on an occasional night.
The whole team looked off to me...uncomfortable...distracted. I do think at some point they’ll play better but?
Ihnen looks like he thinks he gets points for running up and back in a sideline channel, but only if he doesn’t touch anybody. Just absolutely lost out there.
Gabe has a mental or vision issue...but he can’t shoot this consistently bad in practice and still play big minutes? Gotta be a game anxiety thing?

Robbins and Johnson didn’t play like they’ve played basketball before either. Curry looked better and he is playing like a guy who last played three years ago.
Pandemic? Back to back? No fans? Somehow, some reason we are messed up good as a team.
Mashburn may come on. And Mutaf might be a secret weapon??? 🙏
Without Carr....omg...the thought is terrifying.
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I think we are underestimating how difficult is to play a gritty, somewhat talented, well coached, but underdog team that has nothing to lose twice in a very short time.

We might have won more easily by doing something completely different the second game, like going small (Mashburn, Williams more, Robbins and Curry less) by pushing the tempo to the limit, and playing pressure defense, assuming greater depth, but who knows.

Richard went by the book and pulled it out.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I think we are underestimating how difficult is to play a gritty, somewhat talented, well coached, but underdog team that has nothing to lose twice in a very short time.

We might have won more easily by doing something completely different the second game, like going small (Mashburn, Williams more, Robbins and Curry less) by pushing the tempo to the limit, and playing pressure defense, assuming greater depth, but who knows.

Richard went by the book and pulled it out.
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Yes, I agree with you. However, we do not look comfortable and confident individually. Maybe guys are still trying to show each other how good they are in a game situation...not letting things flow...and as a result the output is very choppy individually and collectively.
Like Richard said...we gotta remember: We missed time to Covid, no team scrimmages with refs,
no public scrimmage, no Iowa State like scrimmage etc etc.. Lots of normal prep steps we have skipped, not by choice.
 



60's Guy said:
Yes, I agree with you. However, we do not look comfortable and confident individually. Maybe guys are still trying to show each other how good they are in a game situation...not letting things flow...and as a result the output is very choppy individually and collectively.
Like Richard said...we gotta remember: We missed time to Covid, no team scrimmages with refs,
no public scrimmage, no Iowa State like scrimmage etc etc.. Lots of normal prep steps we have skipped, not by choice.
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Good points, I agree, but it takes time for a team to get it together, especially with what happened with COVID and all the lost time to get on the same page. RP is correct, thankfully we have 1 great player, 3-4 good players, and some depth. Our team appears to be sort of gritty.

I watched Wisconsin the other night and it was surreal. They have plenty of talent, including Nate R, and the OSU transfer, but holy shit do they look young and white. Those three Minnesota guys Wahl, and the two big Eagan kids are huge, but look like they are 14 years old for what is worth. I'd like to say good riddance, but they probably will be good. Maybe very good in two years.
 

oak_street1981 said:
Good points, I agree, but it takes time for a team to get it together, especially with what happened with COVID and all the lost time to get on the same page. RP is correct, thankfully we have 1 great player, 3-4 good players, and some depth. Our team appears to be sort of gritty.

I watched Wisconsin the other night and it was surreal. They have plenty of talent, including Nate R, and the OSU transfer, but holy shit do they look young and white. Those three Minnesota guys Wahl, and the two big Eagan kids are huge, but look like they are 14 years old for what is worth. I'd like to say good riddance, but they probably will be good. Maybe very good in two years.
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Wisconsin is number 4 in the nation
 






60's Guy said:
Last couple pages...I didn’t see anybody mention Gach. I think he will be our second best player consistently or even best player on an occasional night.
The whole team looked off to me...uncomfortable...distracted. I do think at some point they’ll play better but?
Ihnen looks like he thinks he gets points for running up and back in a sideline channel, but only if he doesn’t touch anybody. Just absolutely lost out there.
Gabe has a mental or vision issue...but he can’t shoot this consistently bad in practice and still play big minutes? Gotta be a game anxiety thing?

Robbins and Johnson didn’t play like they’ve played basketball before either. Curry looked better and he is playing like a guy who last played three years ago.
Pandemic? Back to back? No fans? Somehow, some reason we are messed up good as a team.
Mashburn may come on. And Mutaf might be a secret weapon??? 🙏
Without Carr....omg...the thought is terrifying.
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I thought Gach played well tonight especially defensively. He was more aggressive and made some better plays. Offensively, he's tough to guard off the bounce which will only be another benefit top this team. We will have to wait and see about his consistency, but I totally agree that he's got the shot to be the 2nd best player.

Gabe certainly has something mental going. I will say and agree about what an earlier poster said. Amir and Dupree were better at finding Gabe and getting him the ball in the right spot. Carr wasn't as good at that last year, but is improving. Gach and Gabe don't have great chemistry yet either. This team was effected more so than some others by starting late and being shut down for some practices. They need to and will hopefully become more cohesive as the year goes on. I'm thankful basketball is having some non conference games.
 

BarnBurner said:
He has shot that poorly for a year. Dotard.
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Why do you always use the word Dotard? Do you know that Stocker is old and in mental decline?

Also here is a link for Gabe's career stats. He has not shot under 10 percent for a whole year.
 

oak_street1981 said:
The win was nice, and I'll take it. Secondly, instead of ripping the Gophers, I'll give some deserved credit to LMU for making it a tough game .

The two forwards #0 Scott, and the Australian played great, physical games. No one, (Curry, Johnson or Robbins) could stop Scott in the second half when he got a weaker or slower defender off balance. Also, the mulletman was on fire. If I were Richard II , I'd like to have those two LMU forwards on my team., and both would play a lot. 6-6 or not, those two could play.

They made their FTs, until the end, fortunately.

The guard play was not terrible by LMU either. I think LMU might have played their best game of the year tonight and they would have won if not for one Gopher who turned it back from disaster.
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Stan Johnson is highly thought of. He will do well at LMU. Playing back to back can also favor the lesser team.
 

manderson1984 said:
Why do you always use the word Dotard? Do you know that Stocker is old and in mental decline?

Also here is a link for Gabe's career stats. He has not shot under 10 percent for a whole year.
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To clarify for you - Gabe's shooting has been poor for a calendar year. He shot poorly last year, and last night was brutal. Perhaps you see something different. Something is not right with the young man, in terms of shooting a BB. Again, last night was an example of the majority of the past year. BRUTAL misses.
 


BarnBurner said:
To clarify for you - Gabe's shooting has been poor for a calendar year. He shot poorly last year, and last night was brutal. Perhaps you see something different. Something is not right with the young man, in terms of shooting a BB. Again, last night was an example of the majority of the past year. BRUTAL misses.
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I will not argue that he has not shot well for his standards and was especially bad last night. I do think he will be above 30% from 3's when the year is said and done. Above 30% from 3 is serviceable, but if he gets to that +35% then we are in really nice shape especially if he shoots 6-7 a game.
 

BarnBurner said:
He appears to be a good coach. Looks like he will be successful there.
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We will see. It's a tough conference and not an easy job. Beautiful campus and Stan is a great recruiter (Markus Howard and Dawson Garcia) and in general a good human. He also has a pretty cool story that he shares on the Doug Gottlieb podcast talking about his family leaving Liberia and just his career in general.

podcasts.apple.com

The Doug Gottlieb Show on Apple Podcasts

Sports · 2024
podcasts.apple.com
 


builtbadgers said:
Way to early for all the pessimism. Teams take time to play together. I understand the scars some have over all the losing but it is way too early to dump on this team.
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Yes and no.

Johnson and Robbins need to adjust to BIG officials and quickly. After three games, they both average a foul per 4-5 minutes which limits them to about 16-18 mpg. We need these two badly. They are seasoned veterans and need to play like one. If this continues, we are stuck with more of Omersa, Curry and Ihnen, who brings very little. RP needs to get Williams off the bench and on the floor.

Gabe needs to keep on developing his overall offense and his short game. He is better than most on D and game savvy. If Gabe doesn't improve, then Williams or more of Mash/Carr.

RP is throwing bodies out there at random with no obvious sub pattern. I would like to see more of the Mash, Carr, Gach and Williams grouping with one big. They are all decent ball handlers and will take what the D gives them. Less of Ihnen.

After three games, there are plenty of questions about this squad and who RP feels deserve the most PT. I see Gach being a very solid contributor and could be out best player on given nights. At this rate, Carr will be worn out by New Years so someone besides Gach needs to score.

IMO the keys are Mash/Williams development, Johnson and Robbins earning more PT, and Gabe getting back 12-14 ppg. At this point, that is a lot of hope.
 


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