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


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.

Is cloning illegal in college basketball?

If not, then I'd like to order two more Marcus' for my X-Mas presents this year, cause I think with three of them we can beat anyone.
 

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.

I don't know how anyone adjusted to the inconsistent, but interesting constant foul calls last night. I think the B1G season will change. I think refs are just setting the tone early in the year calling a lot.

I think we need to remember this team got together late and missed practices because of Covid. Richard is playing a bunch of guys cause he probably still doesn't know what he has yet. It's a good problem though because it will make guys rise up and increase the competition. The worry I have is that it can wreck chemistry on a team if guys don't accept roles. That's on Richard to communicate with his players. That is an area he hasn't always been great at.
 

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.

So when I said that he won't shoot this poorly very often....I was correct. What was your problem with what I posted now?
 

I don't know how anyone adjusted to the inconsistent, but interesting constant foul calls last night. I think the B1G season will change. I think refs are just setting the tone early in the year calling a lot.

I think we need to remember this team got together late and missed practices because of Covid. Richard is playing a bunch of guys cause he probably still doesn't know what he has yet. It's a good problem though because it will make guys rise up and increase the competition. The worry I have is that it can wreck chemistry on a team if guys don't accept roles. That's on Richard to communicate with his players. That is an area he hasn't always been great at.
Specific examples?
 


So when I said that he won't shoot this poorly very often....I was correct. What was your problem with what I posted now?

That no one shoots that poorly that often. Its like saying someone who got married 5 times doesn't get married that often, because think of all the days they didn't get married. His shooting woes have persisted for a year.
 


Gabe is a good enough scorer inside the arc and good enough defender where he is still better than Tre and Mash even if he isn’t making 3’s IMO.

I agree that Gabe is a better option for extended minutes, primarily because of defense, than those two players at this point but Mashburn is the likely point guard of the future so he must play and develop with these players. As far as Tre Williams, he's been pretty mediocre so far but he at least appears to be a better athlete than Gabe and he's not going to shoot as often so he has that going for him.
 

That no one shoots that poorly that often. Its like saying someone who got married 5 times doesn't get married that often, because think of all the days they didn't get married. His shooting woes have persisted for a year.

I said "Gabe won't shoot this poorly very often". Under 10%. And you found two other instances.

Again....how is what I said incorrect? You don't have to double down on that poor take.
 



Specific examples?

I know this source isn't always the best and is biased, but Doogies pods have mentioned it. Kids leaving the program (again biased). RJ has mentioned it on his pod in years past as well.

A specific example of Pitino's communication of roles had to do with Amir. It's why he always most transferred.
 

I know this source isn't always the best and is biased, but Doogies pods have mentioned it. Kids leaving the program (again biased). RJ has mentioned it on his pod in years past as well.

A specific example of Pitino's communication of roles had to do with Amir. It's why he always most transferred.
Which kids that left didn't understand their role?
 

I don't know how anyone adjusted to the inconsistent, but interesting constant foul calls last night. I think the B1G season will change. I think refs are just setting the tone early in the year calling a lot.

I think we need to remember this team got together late and missed practices because of Covid. Richard is playing a bunch of guys cause he probably still doesn't know what he has yet. It's a good problem though because it will make guys rise up and increase the competition. The worry I have is that it can wreck chemistry on a team if guys don't accept roles. That's on Richard to communicate with his players. That is an area he hasn't always been great at.
I would say it's not surprising that RP hasn't established a consistent substitution pattern yet. With a bunch of new guys (and Curry back after a couple of years of not playing) it seems to me that the non-conference games are exactly when a coach is going to experiment with playing time and combinations in an effort to determine what his sub pattern will be when the really important games start.

Dealing with foul problems with his Bigs has probably messed with some of the plan a little as well. With virtually no chance to play during the summer and limited practice time this fall, now is exactly the time you tinker and try to find and work out the bugs.
 




I said "Gabe won't shoot this poorly very often". Under 10%. And you found two other instances.

Again....how is what I said incorrect? You don't have to double down on that poor take.

You're arguing semantics. I didn't say he does it that often. I gave you other instances showing this isn't an albatross. 10% of his games he shoots under 10%. If you're happy with that production then be happy.

I hope Gabe finds it. If he starts shooting at a rate near his freshman year the Gophers will be much much better. If he shoots like he has to start the year, they will struggle to beat good teams assuming he averages 8-10 shots per game.
 

You're arguing semantics. I didn't say he does it that often. I gave you other instances showing this isn't an albatross. 10% of his games he shoots under 10%. If you're happy with that production then be happy.

I hope Gabe finds it. If he starts shooting at a rate near his freshman year the Gophers will be much much better. If he shoots like he has to start the year, they will struggle to beat good teams assuming he averages 8-10 shots per game.

Never said that I was happy with his shooting performances. He's been underwhelming since his freshman year. Just saying that if he shoots closer to his average, the Gophers probably aren't sweating it out at the end of the game. Because other than Carr...he's consistently our highest volume shooter. It's a real problem when he shoots THIS bad.
 

Never said that I was happy with his shooting performances. He's been underwhelming since his freshman year. Just saying that if he shoots closer to his average, the Gophers probably aren't sweating it out at the end of the game. Because other than Carr...he's consistently our highest volume shooter. It's a real problem when he shoots THIS bad.

He is a career 38.8% shooter overall. He may just be a not great shooter who shoots a lot. I know he has had good games but good shooters don't need the perfect situation. He gets plenty of wide open looks.

Isaiah Washington shoots 37.0%, but higher on free throws. He is a not great shooter who shoots a lot.
 

Fwiw...


Gabe finds himself in a tough spot. Best thing for a jump shooter to do is jack them up one after another, but he’s now so cold that his attempts could arguably be considered poor decisions. Hope he can adapt and become a creator, which I think will soften the close outs. Maybe?
 

Winning a close game where you have to play hard to finish is better for this team at this point in the season than a blowout game where they win by 30. We had to get defensive stops late in the game, and we did. We had to find a way to get some points, and we did. We take the win, learn more about what needs to be done, and stay undefeated.
 

Gabe hit free throws and drew that huge charge. He shot like complete $hit but he isn't a waste of space out there. He will need his shot to start falling to space the floor though and become someone defenses have to 0 in on.

I'm more concerned with our frontcourt and how they can't score, rebound, or stay out of foul trouble. I only watched LMU part 2 but box scores suggest there could be more production there as well.
 

Fwiw...


Gabe finds himself in a tough spot. Best thing for a jump shooter to do is jack them up one after another, but he’s now so cold that his attempts could arguably be considered poor decisions. Hope he can adapt and become a creator, which I think will soften the close outs. Maybe?

This is good. Gabe probably found Carr a few times when he was open. It's always good when the leader of your team is quick to heap praise on the other guys....especially when said guy didn't have a good game.
 



I'm more concerned with our frontcourt and how they can't score, rebound, or stay out of foul trouble. I only watched LMU part 2 but box scores suggest there could be more production there as well.

The front court is a difficult situation. New guys from a year ago....may just need some time to settle in. Omersa is my main concern. It's clear that he is going to get a decent amount of playing time. His energy is a positive....but really it ends there. At times he can make good defensive plays, but his negative plays where he's out of position or has a ball bounce off his hands seem to happen way too often. Even when he makes a play like that nice alley-oop last night....he follows it up by getting a technical. Stupid. When you don't bring a whole lot to the game....you better be sure that you aren't making stupid unforced errors like that. And the shooting foul at the end of the game? He's got to know better.
 

The front court is a difficult situation. New guys from a year ago....may just need some time to settle in. Omersa is my main concern. It's clear that he is going to get a decent amount of playing time. His energy is a positive....but really it ends there. At times he can make good defensive plays, but his negative plays where he's out of position or has a ball bounce off his hands seem to happen way too often. Even when he makes a play like that nice alley-oop last night....he follows it up by getting a technical. Stupid. When you don't bring a whole lot to the game....you better be sure that you aren't making stupid unforced errors like that. And the shooting foul at the end of the game? He's got to know better.
Omersa should be out there for 2-3 minute stretches max. He should give guys breathers and be focused on rebounding and defense. I really thought he could be a contributor in those two areas this year but he seems undisciplined so far.

He's seeing a lot of minutes so far because Robbins and Johnson both are either playing equally as bad or in foul trouble. Curry hasn't played very well either.
 

Gabe reminds me of Markelle Fultz. Never thought about his shot, just shot it and it went in. Something happened and now when he shoots it looks like he goes through a 100 step process on how to do it (IE The yips) once you go down that path it is almost impossible to get out of your own way. I will agree with a previous post, I think he just needs a beer!
He needs at least a fifth of bourbon.

If I was coach, after over a year of watching a player struggle with his shot, I'd try him off the bench and see how my team does with another player in the starting lineup. If all he is giving me is defense, I can bring that in at any time. Whereas, shooting and offensive production needs to be found for this team and Gabe has had more than enough opportunity to get right from the starting 5. Maybe he can find his stroke on the pine.
 

Omersa should be out there for 2-3 minute stretches max. He should give guys breathers and be focused on rebounding and defense. I really thought he could be a contributor in those two areas this year but he seems undisciplined so far.

He's seeing a lot of minutes so far because Robbins and Johnson both are either playing equally as bad or in foul trouble. Curry hasn't played very well either.

Foul trouble. Robbins and Johnson are both quite a bit better than Omersa. Neither is going to be a dominant force on offense, but they are both pretty solid on the defensive end. Johnson specifically seems to be a really smart player who understands spacing well and rarely is out of position.

But yeah....when Omersa is in....the team struggles. He just needs to play smarter and more under control. He's just all over the place in a bad way. Too many mistakes made for a guy that doesn't really make many plays himself.
 

Fwiw...


Gabe finds himself in a tough spot. Best thing for a jump shooter to do is jack them up one after another, but he’s now so cold that his attempts could arguably be considered poor decisions. Hope he can adapt and become a creator, which I think will soften the close outs. Maybe?

What Marcus said is absolutely true. Gabe made three key plays in the stretch run, including making free throws, and taking a charge, that made the difference in the game. I didn't notice Gabe taking any bad perimeter shots, either. They were open and in sync with the offense. No forcing them. maybe one or two taking it to the basket he could have pulled back. He's a valuable player.
 

Foul trouble. Robbins and Johnson are both quite a bit better than Omersa. Neither is going to be a dominant force on offense, but they are both pretty solid on the defensive end. Johnson specifically seems to be a really smart player who understands spacing well and rarely is out of position.

But yeah....when Omersa is in....the team struggles. He just needs to play smarter and more under control. He's just all over the place in a bad way. Too many mistakes made for a guy that doesn't really make many plays himself.
There was a point in the second half where LMU simply did not guard him (they doubled Carr instead). He got pulled out of the game on the next break. If the defense doesn’t bother with you, and you can’t make them pay, then it’s a 4-5 game.
 

He needs at least a fifth of bourbon.

If I was coach, after over a year of watching a player struggle with his shot, I'd try him off the bench and see how my team does with another player in the starting lineup. If all he is giving me is defense, I can bring that in at any time. Whereas, shooting and offensive production needs to be found for this team and Gabe has had more than enough opportunity to get right from the starting 5. Maybe he can find his stroke on the pine.

That assumes, of course, that he has a reliable shooter on the pine now to replace him. I'm not seeing that. Being cold is typically not a reason for benching. Missing assignments, being lazy, not following instructions, etc. are more likely punishable with bench time.
 

That assumes, of course, that he has a reliable shooter on the pine now to replace him. I'm not seeing that. Being cold is typically not a reason for benching. Missing assignments, being lazy, not following instructions, etc. are more likely punishable with bench time.
If Gabe is cold, he last lost a lot of limbs the past year.
 




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