skrabukes

17 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

 

I like how the team is being built with freshman from the ground up, put in the tough time the first couple seasons and reap the benefits of it later. Making team management easier down the line

 

If the players stay for 4 years, they'll be in the minority of most players in the ncaa of recent history. Most players are at 2-3 by the time their time is up. I would love to know the statistic in D1 basketball of those players who exhausted their eligibility this season. What % were at only 1 school, versus 2, 3+? I'd wager that the "1 school" is less than 20% and "3+" is equal or more than the "1". If that is the case, it's an utter joke of a system.

Great season. Kent just got hot in the 2nd half. They've been a tough match up for us all season. Great to see the progress the team made from game 1 til the end. That's on the coach/staff, kudos to them. I wish 2 teams did that, but we all saw what we saw. Fingers crossed for next year,  since it starts now. Hopefully this womens roster will remain here and add a few pieces. Replacing #1 is a tall task, she was incredible, a leader in every sense. The men need someone like that. Without a leader, it's just spinning wheels. 

In watching the highlight video, it's funny looking at the gyms. They'd never fly in NYS with the wall so close to the baseline without padded walls. Every AD would be crying when the lawsuits rolled in when little Bobby got hurt against the hard wall.

Interesting to watch. We'll see how he translates over here. None of the (very brief) highlights that I saw looked like a gauntlet of opposition, but he has a nice frame and moves pretty smooth. Reminds me more of a young X. It took X a few years to come into his own, so we'll see if he is similar or a unicorn.

23 minutes ago, UBlearns said:

Truthfully fellas, I'm not particularly optimistic.

I understand that in this transfer portal era it's entirely possible that the team has 10 new players next year, but the sad fact remains that this team was not competitive for the vast majority of the season.  They lost 20 games by double-digits, including 13 (!) conference losses.  They had no semblance of a cohesive coaching/gameplan scheme.

Coach will get a second season and I accept that, but the entire staff should be on the hot seat as of the beginning of training camp.  I haven't figured out my benchmark yet for next season.  I want to say .500 overall and .500 in the MAC, but this team was not remotely close to either of those benchmarks this season.....and let's be honest, those aren't exactly lofty goals to begin with.

If they go .500 overall and .500 in the mac, gh3 should be coach of the year. Good luck with that. I'd love for someone to set betting lines on that one. I'm not a better, but I can imagine what those odds would have to be. 

2 minutes ago, John said:

 No hand shake between Burke and the Ball state coach and she never even looked his way as there appears to be still bad blood between them from last years game. 

I noticed the same before the game, although after the game they shook and were amicable (unlike last year).

28 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

I would like Jo back, Isaiah can take his talents to south beach. 

Beyond zero chance Jo comes back

54 minutes ago, Bluebird96 said:

EMU just beat Akron on their home court.  Wtf

They do have a coach that's been to the Elite 8, so that doesn't hurt, even with as bad as they've been.

Could you imagine this team this year without Sy? Gh3 lucks into a stud and wastes his last year. 

Full house here. Lots of noise also.  Gonna be a long night.

5 minutes ago, Chet said:

Absolutely no disrespect to those guys as they were one of my favorite teams, but Battle/Bortz/Bird/Gilbert had a disappointing senior season by finishing in 7th place in the MAC regular season. After a run in the MAC tourney from the 7th seed, they had the most devastating loss in the Bulls modern era after being up by almost 20 in the first half of the MAC championship game vs Ohio.

Up 19

Up 4 less than a minute left

Idbihi from the corner with Battle not touching the ball to end regulation

Leon freaking Williams 

Heatbreak

11 minutes ago, DocCas86 said:

While one has to admit this season has been bad.  I would characterize it as not enough experienced talent on the team rather than no talent. 

I am not done yet, but I am compiling stats for MAC conference play by player since 2015-16 season.  So far, Boldin's and Sabol stats seem to be decent stats for freshman and Wilson has come on to play better of late - but he likely did not play enough to really be able to gauge from his stats.  Not saying that the conclusions people are drawing are wrong - I just feel you need a little perspective on the fact that over 50% of the teams minutes came from players who have almost no D1 experience prior to this year.  This leads to turnovers, probably weak defense and inconsistent 3 point shooting. 

Here are some partial results showing FR with at least 75 3PT attempts.

When the freshman all are here 3 years from now, I'll change my tune. Based on the past 4-5 years, where practically no one stays more than a year or two beyond their freshman year, I'll remain steadfast in my current thoughts on where we stand. No one forced this staff to not get experienced players,  or even an experienced assistant coach. Last year's staff got experienced players along with a raw youngster in Jack. Instead we have what we have now, and that is a completely lost season, combined with a now last place status in the MAC, which is something that won't be seen as a positive on the recruiting trail.

4 minutes ago, John said:

We can all have our opinions on what has happened. There have been opinions by some sports journalists that because of NIL and the transfer portal many of the mid major conferences are in big trouble getting talented athletes. Without a coaching staff with and without an experienced recruiter  with the current status in college it will be very difficult to get a decent roster and keep them. Do not have information if this staff has been successful in their recruiting. There are many college teams all over the landscape that are having terrible seasons.I recently seen Depaul’s record something like 2 wins and 0-17 in conference just to name one college. It is all about the power conferences and their millions and millions of dollars and these kids being sold on NIL deals that many of the mid majors can’t compete with. The idea of an education does not seem to be discussed. Will continue to follow some college basketball and some of us will look for other venues to spend our dollar on. 

DePaul plays in the big east against 9 teams ranked in the top 70 (one team ranked 200, and them). Ub plays in the mac with 0 teams in the top 100 and 8 teams ranked 200+. Not quite apples to apples comparison.

5 hours ago, NC_UBfan said:

Just watched WM insane OT win, the madness begins…

 

If that was the drawn up play to put everyone asleep and think the pass was overthrown, it's genius.  If not, lucky day for them!

45 minutes ago, enrique14150 said:

I can't compare results at this point to more talented teams in previous years because the talent level is so different.  At this point, realistically where they are, it finally looks like progress is being made.  There was a time earlier this season that it didn't look that way.

 

Who's fault is it that there is no talent here? The main talent (and scoring 52% of the points on the season) that is on this current team was left from the previous regime. Why does this staff get a complete pass about not bringing in any players if this team is so "talent-less"? Last year's team lost pretty much all of their scoring coming into the season, yet somehow brought in enough "talent" to be a .500 team and make it to the MAC tournament (including leaving behind their most talented piece that didn't even get to play last year). The "the coach got started late" doesn't work, sorry. This isn't 2000 where you only can bring in freshmen and then have to develop them over the course of years. They didn't bring in a guy like Armoni - veteran PG to help the new guys, or a guy like Zid, who at least made games enjoyable to watch, as frustrating as he was a times to watch, or Adams, or Jo, or a major talent like Sy who had to sit out. There's no reason for UB to ever have 2 MAC wins and 3 wins overall at this point in the season, NIL, no NIL, whatever. Again, this roster is far more "talented" than those 2/3 wins anyhow, but this whole talk is ridiculous at this point. The MAC is far leaner than year's past, only 4 teams in the top 200 in the NCAA and 3 teams 300+! The pre-season schedule didn't have a ton of the "big name" opponents as they have in year's past. Yet somehow we're relegated to "this team has improved", versus having wins. There's many more multiples of double digit losses than wins, including the time of the somehow recently "improved" team.

While I still go to the games and always support the teams and programs, I just can't understand how anyone can possibly see silver linings based upon what they've seen over the last several months of this team, and then possibly think that it's going to get drastically better once their (by far) best player is gone next year. At least when the Sabres suck, they at least pour on wins once their out of it (like they have been recently), and give people something to cheer over. We're still sitting on 3 wins (sorry, a 28 turnover "win" versus Roberts Wesleyan is not counted in my eyes) with only 2 games left to play. Maybe we can pull off a win on senior night and at least have something to smile about on Friday (versus the crowd leaving the games with their collective heads hanging like they have had to do most night's this year). 

The guy that took the half court shot was oh so close yesterday.  Just like the result of the game. In year's past, people would slam the staff when they lost, and they were winning half or more of their games. Now it's "oh great improvement" and "we played them close". 2 wins in league, 3 overall. It's rough to see, and shouldn't be this way.

37 minutes ago, Tee4three said:

The UB basketball team from say February 1st until today would beat the November team by 30+ 

And that's saying something considering UB was handled pretty easily last night against a very average Kent st team 

the last month or so was the first time I saw actual improvement, the improvement is there

the question is in my opinion is it where it should be 

While I don't completely disagree with the statement,  the "improvement " isn't much, and reasonably every team "should" improve over the course of a season, in theory.  Yes, Sabol is serviceable and even solid at times now as a spot up shooter (improvement) and Z isn't completely out of place on the floor now (improvement), but that's picking at straws in the overall scheme.  Again, every team should be improving over a season, so even if this one has done so even marginally, other teams have as well. 

I don't need graphs when a team has 28 turnovers against a .500 Robert's Wesleyan team, or has lost by double digits 11 times (versus 5 wins/single digit losses) since Jan 1. If that's "improvement", it's a scary thought.

4 minutes ago, TheCommish said:

Do you want us to have a whole new team? We need some pieces to stick around. Right now, I’m looking at my exodus yearly unless we have an NIL

I honestly have no answer to this. As bad as our record is, I still say this roster is better than a 2 win and 3 win overall team. The problem starts there. That being said, the roster talent isn't going to be improved next year once Sy, Adams and Jo are gone, so hold on to your hats, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

6 hours ago, TheCommish said:

Depends who is retained and who is brought in, if we have a max exodus, we’re done.

Who that is retained vs leaving brings you hope into next year? Sy is done, Jo is surely leaving along with Adams. Sabol, Bolden, fulcher, McVeigh, Z, Wilson, graham + ??? gives off optimistic vibes? The "???" better be 2+ studs and 3+ strong role players because none of those potential returning guys are Alphas next year, and several aren't even strong enough to warrant time on a contending squad, sadly.

Fingers crossed for better days ahead.

16 minutes ago, BrooklynBull said:

Dan Dakich.

Idbihi buried the 2 FTs cold as ice. It was just the most memorable game ever. "Buzz em again" and "no goddam socks". I'll never forget those quotes.

16 minutes ago, everlast2504 said:

 

The game where Reggies was hitting the refs table buzzer to get BG back out of the locker rooms because the ran away with time still in the game. 

Best game ever

1 hour ago, rma said:

We need it gone to improve the fan experience so that we have more than 500 people in attendance on a Tuesday night. And because it is no longer standard to have a track around a football field in division 1 football anymore. Lance had a better stadium (from a fan perspective) at UWW than we have here. 
 

The rest of what you said I don’t necessarily disagree with, it’s just how the industry has changed. Cam Newton took (allegedly) around $200k to play at Auburn. These days $200k wouldn’t get you close to a heisman winner. 

Whether the track is there or not, no one is going to sit outside on a work night, on a 30 degree day in rain/snow/wind, for a game that pits 2 teams with 5 wins each, in the MAC. If it was UB vs Bama, people would show. UB vs Kent, not happening beyond those that are die hard supporters or the halftime kids and their family. I've watched games in that stadium for 25 years and I've never felt, "boy, this view sucks". I've thought, "wow, I can't see the replay on that screen", "damn, it's windy out here", and recently "wow, I don't get that coaching decision". Nor do I have the millions of dollars to remove the track, which supports 6 of the 16 teams that is required for MAC membership. 

7 minutes ago, SGBull said:

Completely agree with everything you said. Priority number 1 for me has always been the track. UB stadium as a whole has the worst lines of sight out of any stadium I have been to from high school, D3, D1 and NFL.

I just keep reading through this and previous posts and it's all just maddening. We want millions for NIL, want the track removed, new amenities, everything. We need that track gone so that the 500 people in attendance on a Tuesday night can enjoy the game more I guess. I really enjoyed when I could just watch the games, players, coaches and enjoy the sport and game being played in front of me. Now it seems that it's about the $$, for players, coaches, staff, along with all of the frills that they have now. When I went to UB, I was more than happy with just going to school, getting to compete as an athlete, and getting a few tiny little perks for having done so. Now, UB recruits people that no one else wants, and once they develop, they leave for $$. If they don't play, they leave because the coach had it in for them. It's all nonsense and frankly not nearly an enjoyable experience as an alumnus/fan as compared to as recently as 5 years ago. Listening to the non-stop griping from a handful of people on here,  those on Twitter/X, but few, if any, doing anything to improve the situation. When Reggie was making $150k, it was too much $$ for some, now our coaches make 400-700k and it's still not enough, and the players don't make enough, and the ADs don't make enough. I enjoyed UB athletics as amateur/college sports, now it's just a joke, and reading all this is even more of one. 

As bad as this basketball season has been, it's still been nice to see those who I've sat with at games for 10+ years (as we whine from our seats about how ugly what we're watching is). Sadly, those numbers alongside me have dwindled as the season has gone on, and I'm quite confident they will continue to do so moving forward.

Priority #1 for me always has been the game, being entertained, following growth of players over the seasons and being connected to the school, players and coaches. Very little of that seems to be in place anymore, sadly.

Z was impressive.  Good for him

Sy is a stud, plain and simple.

Outside of the first 10 min of the game, this was a very entertaining game. A win is a win, no matter who it's against.  They're especially nice at this time when they've been few and far between.  

Some flashes of good passing, which I hadn't seen much of. Still sloppy at times, but as I said at the early part of the season...there is talent there. This isn't a 3 win team.  Certainly not a top tier team by any stretch of the imagination,  but this roster is plenty good enough to have a 10 win season. They surely won't,  but they should've been. 

33 minutes ago, MaineBull said:

He was definitely like this last year.  He is a good third or fourth option on a team.  The difference this year is he he is being asked to be option 1 or 2 and he does not have that ability.  He is also being asked to be a leader and we can all see how that is going.  This team will not have success with this type of player on a roster.  We cannot support a player giving such poor effort, it's flat our embarrassing and setting this program back.  The best situation for all is he grad transfers out of program.  Best way to assure that happens is to make an example of him, and establish culture by saying lack of effort has consequences.  As a result he gets upset and transfers.  BYE!

Let's see, #1 option is gone, let's run #2 option out of town and a top rebounder is gone too. Who's the option now for next year? The spot shooter? The 4th year big man who has averaged like 1ppg over 3 years? Sounds like a great plan running talented players off. Good thing we've been able to enjoy all of this winning this year, since next year will be a "rebuilding year".