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In Search For Identity


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I re-watched the game from last night. Through the bad calls, bad turnovers, bad shooting, and bad game plan, I realized that this team really lacks identity.

This is a time where guys like Antwain Johnson, Jayvon Graves, Davonta Jordan, and Gabe Grant are supposed to really step it up a notch. Not only by their play, but stepping up in being upperclassman leaders and pushing the younger guys. And, well, we don’t have it. Despite the talent in the roster, we are really lacking the leadership and guidance from Juniors and Seniors. 
 

Everything last night just happened so fast and I’m not seeing anybody on the team pulling guys together and being in the center showing passion and emotion. I just recall the last two years whenever play would stop, CJ and Nick would always pull guys in and talk it over about whatever. That has not happened yet this season.

I think the Bulls are in the midst of an identity crisis and though it’s not a bad thing yet, it’s going to define games through conference play and into the playoffs. 
 

My point is, it’s time for the upperclassman to rise up, and be the leaders that we need. Both in play and in guidance. And I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

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26 minutes ago, mikescherrer8 said:

My point is, it’s time for the upperclassman to rise up, and be the leaders that we need. Both in play and in guidance. And I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Yep. There is talent on the floor (some of it hidden by streaky shooters that have yet to find their rhythm) but I feel like we lack a true leader. Who holds the team accountable? Who fires guys up when things get dicey? There was a grit and intensity that came from CJ, Caruthers and Perkins -- I just don't see it yet this year.

We need to figure this out quickly as Depaul is going to be a TOUGH game and back-to-back losses start to weigh on confidence.

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While I agree with most of this I would say that we have an identity. Our identity is in your face defense, solid rebounding (when our guards rebound we win), get out in transition and get fast break points and we run a up tempo offense. I don’t think much has changed from Oats to Whitesell in that regard.

I think our issue has been execution. And we have deficiencies. And yes you can pinpoint lack of on the floor leadership (Graves is a quiet leader not vocal) and therefore guys trying to do too much. Thus taking us out of the flow of our designed offense. Example is Johnson with his horrible shot selection. Grant when he enters the game first thing he wants to do is chuck up a 3. I don’t think identity is the issue. Guys buying into their roles going forward is what we need to work on. Being selfless (looking at you Johnson). Even Jordan tried to do too much last night and was a turnover machine. We didn’t handle their half court trap last night, learning lesson. And when we step out of conference we will run into teams that have length and height. It’s been our bugaboo in the NCAAs as well. But I think in conference play we will be alright. We are at worst a .500 team in conference. The true measure of this team will be in those games that will move the needle and make you a 12-6 or 11-7. Those grind out gut checks games. 

Until then we have many areas we need to improve on. Certain guys need to buy in (Johnson and Grant) Others like Nickleberry just need to get use to D1 ball and gain confidence. Hardnett needs to stay out of foul trouble. Yes much of that is bc he is playing out of position. These 4 players are vital bc they are essentially our bench. A stable of UB has been bench production. 

 

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3 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

While I agree with most of this I would say that we have an identity. Our identity is in your face defense, solid rebounding (when our guards rebound we win), get out in transition and get fast break points and we run a up tempo offense. I don’t think much has changed from Oats to Whitesell in that regard.

I think our issue has been execution. And we have deficiencies. And yes you can pinpoint lack of on the floor leadership (Graves is a quiet leader not vocal) and therefore guys trying to do too much. Thus taking us out of the flow of our designed offense. Example is Johnson with his horrible shot selection. Grant when he enters the game first thing he wants to do is chuck up a 3. I don’t think identity is the issue. Guys buying into their roles going forward is what we need to work on. Being selfless (looking at you Johnson). Even Jordan tried to do too much last night and was a turnover machine. We didn’t handle their half court trap last night, learning lesson. And when we step out of conference we will run into teams that have length and height. It’s been our bugaboo in the NCAAs as well. But I think in conference play we will be alright. We are at worst a .500 team in conference. The true measure of this team will be in those games that will move the needle and make you a 12-6 or 11-7. Those grind out gut checks games. 

Until then we have many areas we need to improve on. Certain guys need to buy in (Johnson and Grant) Others like Nickleberry just need to get use to D1 ball and gain confidence. Hardnett needs to stay out of foul trouble. Yes much of that is bc he is playing out of position. These 4 players are vital bc they are essentially our bench. A stable of UB has been bench production. 

 

I think this team is still working on the identity issue and do agree it is more of an execution issue with all the newer players. It is truly up to the coaching staff to get these players to buy in to the scheme and/or change based on the players abilities. We don’t have any true identity yet. We had an identity the last few years because of the players we had in Caruthers, CJ and Perkins. Still have faith in this group and hope we see improvement in many areas of play. Go Bulls!!!!

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30 minutes ago, squire17 said:

This team has an identity. Not a good one: Shoot it from beyond the arc. What could go wrong? Aside from the Harvard and W&M game, plenty.

Shooting 3’s sadly is what basketball has morphed into and no matter what our family and fans say will not change the game. The game of taking jump shots, driving inside or around the foul line and taking pull up jumpers are gone. How many times do you see players taking a shot and following their shot to try and get the rebound? The saying we hear is no matter how badly the player is shooting from 3 point line he has to keep shooting. If a player is having a bad shooting night how about getting the other players involved. I thought the game was suppose to be team and ball movement. We still enjoy the game and will continue to support our UB teams. Go Bulls!!!!

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3 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

TT as we know is very good defensively. They can make any game ugly. Despite that I’ve seen the athleticism there in spurts for DePaul. Will we be disciplined enough to hang with DePaul is the million dollar question?

Hope so. It would be huge.

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11 hours ago, squire17 said:

Hope so. It would be huge.

Watched about the last 10 minutes of the DePaul game and if DePaul plays like they did against TT it will be a tall order for us to stay with or even beat DePaul. They are long, athletic and play with defensive tenacity. Rebounding and taking care of the ball are two keys for us to be competitive in this game. Go Bulls!!!!

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Hurley was supposedly a front runner for the DePaul job before turning to Arizona State.  I think DePaul ended up bringing back a former head coach.I don't follow college basketball enough to know if that coach is still around, but it looks to me like DePaul has come further than Arizona State since the respective coaching changes.

Just sayin'...

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16 minutes ago, UB77 said:

Hurley was supposedly a front runner for the DePaul job before turning to Arizona State.  I think DePaul ended up bringing back a former head coach.I don't follow college basketball enough to know if that coach is still around, but it looks to me like DePaul has come further than Arizona State since the respective coaching changes.

Just sayin'...

ASU has made it to 2 tournaments while DePaul hasn’t been relevant since now. Last time they made the big dance was 04. They are turning the corner now but since Hurley left, ASU has had more success.

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  • 2 months later...

Still searching for identity. Ugly loss against Akron at home. This year is going to be coming to a close quick and we still have no leadership. No senior or junior has taken up that role. That guy who brings all the guys together and shows some goddamn emotion. Really a frustrating season with 2 games left and I think it’s safe to say we are not getting a bye.

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17 hours ago, mikescherrer8 said:

Still searching for identity. Ugly loss against Akron at home. This year is going to be coming to a close quick and we still have no leadership. No senior or junior has taken up that role. That guy who brings all the guys together and shows some goddamn emotion. Really a frustrating season with 2 games left and I think it’s safe to say we are not getting a bye.

Not disagreeing here, but doesn't alot of this fall on Oats and Hodgson.  Nate maybe always knew he was out after this past season and didn't really do a very good job setting this team up for long-term success.  If we want Jim to build this team into his group, that takes time.  So for us to have 18 wins in a season with no leaders and maybe a team that doesn't fit with Jim's style of coaching is actually pretty impressive.

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2 hours ago, BullBoy said:

Not disagreeing here, but doesn't alot of this fall on Oats and Hodgson.  Nate maybe always knew he was out after this past season and didn't really do a very good job setting this team up for long-term success.  If we want Jim to build this team into his group, that takes time.  So for us to have 18 wins in a season with no leaders and maybe a team that doesn't fit with Jim's style of coaching is actually pretty impressive.

The hope (at least my hope) was that you got leadership from Johnson, Jordan and Graves.  There have been flashes, but collectively they have actually taken a step backward this year.  For next year, our top contributors will be  Graves, Mballa, Williams, Segu, and Hardnett.  Each of them has some aspect of their game that they need to improve upon for next year.   Skogman, Robinson and Freeman have promise, but they will all be playing their first year, so unknown how much they contribute.  It may be too soon to be talking about next year, but I think we will need a couple of transfers in my opinion to provide a bit more experience.  Think improvement that the Bulls made in Oats' third year adding Harris and Clark.

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4 hours ago, BullBoy said:

Not disagreeing here, but doesn't alot of this fall on Oats and Hodgson.  Nate maybe always knew he was out after this past season and didn't really do a very good job setting this team up for long-term success.  If we want Jim to build this team into his group, that takes time.  So for us to have 18 wins in a season with no leaders and maybe a team that doesn't fit with Jim's style of coaching is actually pretty impressive.

In terms of the future, I’m optimistic, And I agree with your points, but i was just referring to this year. 

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4 hours ago, DocCas86 said:

The hope (at least my hope) was that you got leadership from Johnson, Jordan and Graves.  There have been flashes, but collectively they have actually taken a step backward this year.  For next year, our top contributors will be  Graves, Mballa, Williams, Segu, and Hardnett.  Each of them has some aspect of their game that they need to improve upon for next year.   Skogman, Robinson and Freeman have promise, but they will all be playing their first year, so unknown how much they contribute.  It may be too soon to be talking about next year, but I think we will need a couple of transfers in my opinion to provide a bit more experience.  Think improvement that the Bulls made in Oats' third year adding Harris and Clark.

Agree with the majority of the opinions. The consistency really has not been here all year. There have been flashes and many of the players that we had high expectations or forecasts have not come through for us. Jordan and Graves were put into the leaders of the team and have been inconsistent overall. Johnson and especially Grant have failed to live up to their potential. Hardnett has been playing out of position all year but I am not sure what he can bring to the table as he has shown no shooting ability and Nickelberry has disappointed in all parts of the game. We will need positive improvements from both Segu and Williams next year to be successful. Our success over the last few years was helped by our Juco players and transfers  like Clark, Harris, McCrea, Hamilton and Connor. Still have hope for next year with our incoming recruits and any Juco players we get. Hope for a big game against Miami and maybe we can make some noise in Cleveland. Go Bulls!!!!

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8 hours ago, sportscliche said:

I'd expect several transfers out of the program as well. I heard that on average most D1 teams lose around 3. If the Bulls bounce out early in the MAC tournament you gotta figure at least that many will bail.

That's ok, we have lost a recruiting coach with JuCo ties!

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9 hours ago, sportscliche said:

I'd expect several transfers out of the program as well. I heard that on average most D1 teams lose around 3. If the Bulls bounce out early in the MAC tournament you gotta figure at least that many will bail.

Why do you expect several transfers? While I'm not saying that it can't happen (or won't happen), what would lead us to believe that we will have an outflow of players? Last year would've been a prime year for it to happen with the coaching changes and it didn't happen (outside of the signees).

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