enrique14150

Ohio vs Akron - I saw the matchup on TV and was instantly disgusted. I wasn't going to root either way...until they kept showing John Groce, which caused me to lean towards Ohio. Then I got to enjoy, as someone who was there in 2005 in the stands watching helplessly, an Ohio team blow a double-digit lead in Cleveland. Akron vs Kent - eeew.

Time was eventually called on Reggie here not because he didn't have competitive teams but because those teams (for various reasons in those games that we don't need to re-live) couldn't get over that hump and raise that trophy. Every year I say Kowalczyk's pink slip is already filled out, they just need to sign and date it. I absolutely agree that he's a good coach who has built a program that yearly fields good teams. But he hasn't won a thing, unless you want to count the regular season. They're stuck - you'd be crazy to get rid of him, but is it EVER going to go anywhere further? I'll say this from our experience here - if you make that change, to say that "good" hasn't been good enough (and I get it), it has to be someone who's clearly better. And the pressure is on that person right from the start - they're inheriting a ready made contender and they need to win ASAP.

I still don't understand why there's any comparison between what's happening here and what Bryan Hodgson is doing in Arkansas. Good for him. I don't see how it has any bearing on our situation. For me, the transfers who are already juniors and seniors don't get any better. It seems like a shortcut to competitiveness but it's fleeting, and your turnover goes way up. Once this was a "lost year" I didn't mind seeing the freshmen get lots of minutes because it may pay off down the line - provided they stay. I fully recognize that didn't work out for UB with Skogman, Jones, Jack, etc. But if the team is going to lose, I'd rather they lose with players with the potential for being good in a year or two. Rather than "it's a bunch of random transfers, they aren't winning now and they're not going to get any better."

"Can they recruit here?" I should hope so. They have in the past. Though for basketball and football, usually it's been guys who need to prove themselves. Mack and Oliver at football; think of guys like Perkins and CJ in basketball. Those were hungry competitors. I always thought those higher rated recruits like Jeenathan Williams and Segu didn't have the same drive (then again, Battle did). I hate to think of "what if", but you look at where they were this season, the overall and individual talent and the results. I couldn't help think of Dave Skogman, who would've been a senior this year, averaging 13.3 points for Davidson; Curtis Jones, averaging 10 points for a top 10 Iowa State team and presumably would've averaged plenty more here; plus Chatman and presumably Isaac Jack. To me that looks like a WAY more competitive team that (a) solves this year's issues with matchups inside, and at point guard and (b) doesn't rely so much on a crew of freshmen. To me they actually DID bring in the kind of talent to be good at this level, but the new reality of transfers just gutted the plan. I don't know how much of that talent was brought in based on stability and continuity from before, but it gives me hope that you absolutely CAN bring in talent. Can Halcovage? We'll see. The next question is, can you keep them around long enough to do something. I think transfers are a short-term fix that results in way too much turnover to build a style and identity. They can top off a team, but not form the bulk of a team (as we saw last year). But the reality is you have way more turnover with guys leaving.

If you're like me and you didn't see this as a complete rebuild coming in (they were a .500 team last year), then this season was a complete disaster. To be fair - there was a lot of turnover last year, and a lot of turnover again this year. Judging against their predecessors, Hurley, Oats, and Whitesell all inherited way better teams (with greater expectations too). Once I accepted what this team was at this point (I didn't like it, but it was the reality), I started looking at the big picture. Wins and losses now didn't matter as much as the coaching staff and young players getting as much playing time and lessons learned as possible. In that sense they were successful down the stretch. The team kept playing hard to the end, and they got better (the youngsters all improved, and the team played better defense) - that told me the coaching staff hadn't lost the team and they were learning too. However, all that will be for naught if those guys all leave in the offseason. A lot of people wanted a younger coach on the rise, with potential, and I had to accept the growing pains with that. I just didn't think it would be THIS bad. Like, "losing to Little Three teams" bad.

Bluebird - absolutely, I thought the same thing. The kids started carrying the play on their own. I don't think they could've handled that a couple months ago. Again, big picture here, they got a lot more playing time this year than they would've in previous seasons and hopefully that lays a good foundation for the team going forward. Maybe this is the coach in me talking but I have zero tolerance for anyone who can't keep their cool, yells at the ref and costs the team points. He lost control of his actions and it hurt the team. No one else is responsible for that.

The three's were dropping early, but even then UB was down by a couple at the half. The shooting percentage fell off in the second half and except for a tease of a run to get it to 5, they couldn't get over the hump (again). The team didn't quit, but ran into a guy having a red hot night. Chatman - someone said I was hating on him. I think today it would be perfectly justified. He was having a bad shooting game anyway (it happens), but then goes and gets himself ejected. At that point he had 5 points...but was called for a goaltending (again), that's -2, plus the 4 free throws he gave them for the technicals, that's -6. I kept thinking about those 6 points when they were down 5 or 7 points. Yeah, however are we going to miss this. Sabol - someone recently thought he wasn't doing well. Freshmen and sophomores often have a hard time putting forth consistent performances. His shots were dropping and he rolled with that confidently. Zakir - wasn't afraid to take it to them inside, even though they were bigger. McVeigh - another guy who played more confidently and hit a couple of his shots. He's been shooting better lately (though that bar was set really low) Smith - slowed down by some early fouls Northern - props to Coit, that guy was playing awesome. The big guy in the middle seemed like one of those guys who gets a basketball gig because he's big, not because he's that great at basketball.

"Hate" is way too strong a word - more like "frustration." He's a talented player who's consistently scored a lot of points for a team that needed them this year. What frustrates me to no end is that he can score lots of points, but is the one that screws it up at the worst times, often when the game is on the line/momentum could change. He'll get you plenty of points earlier but I don't want him to have the ball at the end. It's like watching the basketball version of Miro Satan - a guy who will score a lot but you'll never win a thing with him. And he was one of the only guys I've seen this year who showed a noticeable lack of effort on some plays. He'd get beat and just stand and watch. I get that there had to be a lot of frustration this season - but that's a bad look from a team leader and veteran, who should be setting the example for the rest. Contrast that with Jo Smith, that guy works his tail off, so does McVeigh. He also has a bad habit of looking at the refs for calls when the immediate concern is the other team breaking the other direction in transition. Bad optics. I don't hate Chatman, but I won't miss him. What happens when the shots he's taking are taken by other guys? Do their numbers pick up? Teams are taking what, 50-60 shots a game, you're parceling them out somehow. He's averaging 32 minutes a game, and takes about 25% of their shots - yeah he should be averaging double digits. Every college fan wonders "what are we going to do without so-and-so?" And other guys come in, or step up, or develop.

If that's what we're comparing this to, then good times are ahead. After a couple years building, those Bulls went on to have consistently competitive teams. And built the foundation upon which succeeding coaches added. I'm like most everyone else in that I didn't see this program as needing a total rebuild after last year, and I was just as shocked at how bad the basketball was. Once I got past that, I started seeing the bigger picture. We'll see how this plays out.

The Bulls couldn't get over the hump tonight. They closed the gap to 7 at the half, working past a bunch of early three's by Ohio. Second half they were behind by double digits again (almost 20 at one point)...fought back to down 7. Ohio took a timeout, the Bulls got a good defensive stop...and on the ensuing possession Chatman bricked both free throws. Over the next three or four possessions Chatman and Adams kept turning it over. I kept yelling, "you guys are the seniors!" You're supposed to be the ones they count on during times like that. Ugh. It's not the first time either. I'm going to say this as nicely as I can, but bluntly speaking, I'm not going to miss them. Adams regressed this year (one of the guys behind me said it's because he's not playing out wide like he should), Chatman puts up points but screws it up at the worst possible moments. What are they going do without them? How about maybe, win. 18 turnovers, many by guys who are experienced enough to know better, way too many. A sneaky stat lately, and I'd have to look back to see if this is a recent development - the Bulls have been outrebounding teams, or pretty even, and scoring more in the paint. It's not what I would expect from this lineup. Zakir - I don't know why we didn't see more of him, he had a nice putback and foul early on. Wilson - a little ragged today, he and others had a tough time driving to the net. Sabol - wasn't getting looks, as soon as my brother said "he only has 1 point" he hit a three. Fulcher - was getting beat off the dribble by their quick point guard. For these guys, a lot of this can't just be taught, they have to play and learn it themselves, so all this game time is valuable. McVeigh - actually hit a couple shots, and had a couple scrappy rebounds. Ohio - Clayton was ridiculous. I was amazed at the times he actually missed. This game is a little closer if Ohio doesn't manage to shoot 42% from three. There were times that not a single student (outside of the band) put their horns up for a free throw. For shame. In the end, Ohio hit too many from three and UB turned it over too much. The team defense has gotten better though - they're extending opposing possessions, they're not giving up so many easy buckets. It felt like the kind of game 2 months ago they would've lost by 25. The fact that the team is still playing hard tells me that either (a) the coaching staff hasn't lost them or (b) they're trying to each make the best possible highlight film for other teams to see. The optimist in me hopes for the former. I keep finding this season that I just like going to games.

Please, let's not re-live that game. We have so many better memories to draw from. Most of this season is done and dusted. The only way is forward. Halcovage isn't going anywhere. We'll see what they can do from here off some late season progress.

I don't mind adding to a team with guys in the portal, but I don't like building primarily with them. For the guys who are only here for a year or two, they (a) don't get better, they're as good as they'll be; and (b) there's just way too much turnover. When you already have a core of players, and you add on someone like that, then fine. (if they're going to be here for 3 years, there's enough potential and time to develop) The freshmen - that's exactly my feeling right now. This season felt like a disaster for most of the time. Right now, the progress I've seen in them, it feels slightly less disastrous. IF they stay, you have the core of a new team that just a big jump start to their development with that much playing time. A big "IF" in today's NCAA. Battle/Bortz/Bird/Gilbert all played a ton early on, and it paid off in the end.

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. Sabol - he's a freshman. Progress won't be linear. I coach kids, some of them don't show progress for months then it seems to kick in during the season. What I like about all these freshmen right now (plus Zakir) is they've grown beyond being hesitant to take a shot or make a play. So often you see freshmen that defer taking a shot when they really should - these guys have already gotten past that. I agree with those who say the overall talent level of the team isn't good enough. But it looks better than it did a couple months ago. How this goes from here, it depends on who they can keep and how well they recruit again. Maybe I just can't be pessimistic/miserable all the time. Or I just seem to see a more competitive team out there lately. I'm not at practice, but the team looks more organized and better prepared lately, and to me that shows the coaching staff is learning too. How many people wanted an up-and-coming coach with potential rather than a re-tread? Okay, then that means putting up with the growing process for them as much as with the players. One thing I love seeing right now is the team hasn't bagged it. They're still playing hard even though they have no chance at the postseason. It tells me that maybe they have faith in the staff, and they staff hasn't lost them, and that maybe they're actually building something. Because that's a heck of a lot better than starting from scratch this offseason. I've seen enough improvement lately to think, "okay let's see how this plays out." Glass half full.

There are plenty of games I was angry about this season, or disheartened, or flat out embarrassed. This isn't one of them. The Bulls competed today against a good team, it was an even game till they got sloppy on a series of possessions and Toledo went on a run. The team kept fighting the whole time. I saw a more intense Coach Halcovage and some continued improvement from a lot of players, which I want to believe is from coaching. Nothing for me to be really mad about today. When you look at the stats - they shot 49%, 30% from three, 11-11 at the line, almost even on rebounds, 11 blocks, beat them on points in the paint, the only thing I would point to is 17 turnovers. But the rest of those look good to me, and a LOT better than earlier in the year. Bottom line, Toledo got to the line way too many times and hit almost all their free throws. Chatman - does what he does, be the go-to guy. Adams - my brother said, you kinda didn't realize he had that many points. Zakir -uses his body well and positions himself well, and finally has a nice touch inside. Major improvement from this guy. Wilson - I love what he's bringing off the bench. Plays aggressively at both ends. Man the refs were bad today. Probably both ways. I feel like a lot of basketball refs anticipate plays and fouls and call things they think are about to happen, and when you look at the replay, they didn't. My brother said at some point, it was devolving into a death spiral of makeup calls. I can't say enough about how much some of these guys have improved lately. It gives me hope for next year - if they can keep this core of Sabol, Fulcher, Wilson, Boldin, and Zakir, add a big guy and a three-point shooter, they're looking a lot more competitive. Also, please bring in Dontay Carruthers for one practice to teach guys how to earn some charges. Wilson tried, got decked. But they don't even attempt them much. Toledo - every year I say, Kowalczyk's pink slip is already filled out, they just have to sign and date it. All these good teams and he has zero MAC titles, zero NCAA trips. Cochran is a handful. Maddox has taken the 'short shorts' thing too far. Crowd - this is the base UB crowd. This is who you'll get however bad the season is. I wish we'd see more students there, but that's been slipping for a long time, even when the teams were good. The liveliness, and the fun, withered away. So props to the band for picking up the slack as best they can.

Bulls win? Bulls win! Wow that was fun. You couldn't help but be afraid it would come unglued down the stretch, as Eastern kept scoring, but UB kept answering in kind. It was a close game until UB went on an 11-0 run (how few times we've said that all season!) second half, a lead that they ran with the rest of the way. Eastern was playing their zone and it seemed like UB was ready for it. As others have pointed out, the 3-point shooting was bad again but it was made up for by excellent work inside. I didn't know they had it in them. Even so there were so many layups they missed. Some good passes and movement off the ball to the net. Made their foul shots at the end. The only disappointing part was we didn't get to finally sing "I believe that we have won!" at the end. Chatman - tough at both ends of the floor (some good blocks that reminded me of Kelvin Robinson back in the day), made his shots at the end Adams - the three's weren't going but he knows when to stop at hit a 2-point jumper. Fulcher - continues to make progress. He's not such a defensive liability anymore, and his quickness to the hoop is starting to cause opponents a problem Zakir - that's what we want to see! I don't know what's kicked in lately, but he's more purposeful under the net, he's developed a nice touch there, he's not taller than these guys but he finds his way. Wilson - really good minutes off the bench, hits his foul shots, really good progress there. Eastern - 66 shot attempts, and Acuff took 31 of them. He had 26 points - well if you take 31 shots you better. At times first half they matched UB for some bad shots. Crowd - pretty decent for a Tuesday night, for a bad team, on a lost season. The student end zone was pretty full until we realized half of it were fall athletes who had to be there. Props to the band, they sound great (was that "Low Rider" by War?), and they lead the cheers when True Blue is nonexistent and the rest of the end zone are glued to their seats. At least they're there, but they don't seem to know what to do. Props to Halcovage and company, this is another game that it seemed like they had a plan for how to deal with the opponent and the guys were up for it. It wasn't a tough opponent but who cares right now. It's a very encouraging sign that the young guys are starting to show improvement - Sabol (who's been up and down all year, as to be expected), Fulcher, Wilson, Zakir. I wish we could see Boldin and Graham get more time, but they're hurt. IF they stay, and this is a core of a new team that's gotten a lot of playing time already, AND they pile on another recruiting class (another inside player or two and a deadly three-point shooter please)....maybe we're making progress here finally. Coaches and players alike. I had fun tonight and I hope you did too.

You could tell that Akron's game plan was to feed the ball into Freeman, let UB commit multiple defenders to him, then kick it back outside to someone open. Except UB seemed to know this was coming, and did a good job of reacting quickly and getting out to cover. We rip on the coaches a lot, maybe this is one where they deserve some credit for good preparation.

Good catch, thanks. From Row O it was tough to see.

The bar is set REALLY low right now. So I hoped that they kept it competitive for a half, on a day when they were honoring an all-time great with some others in attendance. And they did that, up by 6 at the half, partly because they played much better defense today, partly because Akron wasn't shooting well (partly because of that defense). I figured we might be able to hear Groce explode at halftime in that locker room, and sure enough they eliminated that deficit quick after halftime. The Bulls stuck around, kept it a 3-5 point game most of the second half but couldn't quite get over that. Like so many other times, the game was decided in the last 3 minutes and the Bulls folded up. But I was entertained, the team played hard, especially more physically on defense. Among so many games to get down about (the Kent game, for instance) or mad about (the NIU game, or the Niagara game), this wasn't the worst. They were in it today despite some of the worst 3 point shots ever - how many didn't even hit the rim? Chatman - his usual double digits, and to his credit, hit his foul shots at the end Adams - got some good rebounds today, tough to the basket on offense, but fumbled it away at the end. Zakir - some progress here. He wasn't afraid to get tough underneath. Sabol - not his day Fulcher - getting more confident taking it himself to the hoop. They need that. Wilson - wish we saw more. Hit his foul shots The team could really use some more depth but I guess Graham and Boldin are hurt? Akron - until the very end, they were HORRIBLE from the line. At one point they were 4-14. The person they trot out there once a game to try foul shots blindfolded was doing about as well. To the point that I kept thinking, keep fouling them, they can't hit their shots. First half they weren't hitting three's, second half they started to. I expected better from Freeman, I thought he was going to have a record day against this UB team, but the Bulls had a plan for him, get physical, and they did a good job of it. Akron goes to the hoop inside forcefully and confidently. You match that or you get run over. My brother: "Akron's bench warmup shirts say something like 'Right is Right'. I wonder if those are court-ordered?" Crowd - the team gave them a reason to get excited at times. The band does a great job of cheering in the almost total absence of True Blue.

Love this! My favorite Modie Cox memory for the Bulls was against Boston College at Alumni. UB was giving them a game, their gameplan was for Modie to dribble the ball just past mid court and wait till there were about 10 seconds left on the shot clock. He would drive to the net and either get fouled, make the layup, or dish it off. It kept working and BC didn't know what to do. BC called a timeout, the crowd was going nuts, someone almost hit Jim O'Brien with a can and he flipped out. Dec 11, 1993. BC won that game by 13 in the end, that team went to the Elite Eight in the tournament. That was back when big conference teams actually had the guts to come and play UB here. The 1993-94 season saw BC, Miami (FL), Duquesne, and Pittsburgh all come to Alumni.

This is long, LONG overdue. But I had heard in the past they wanted to honor him but since he was off coaching during the season, it was difficult to schedule/arrange. Turner Battle and company (Bird, Bortz, Gilbert) were the ones who set this program on the path to competing and winning things. I don't know how they convinced a top 100 recruit to come here, especially considering where the program was at the time, but that was a leap few if any others would make. (Apparently it was over offers at Pitt and Virginia Tech, because he wanted to play for Reggie). And it got the ball rolling for everything afterwards. With all due respect to Wes Clark, who I consider the most talented player they've ever had, CJ, Watt, McCrea, Perkins...Turner is still the guy I want with the ball in his hand running the show at the end if we need a score. Battle (in an article at the time): "me and the other seniors always dreamed of turning this program around." Those are the kind of guys we need for next year. In the world of unlimited transfers and NIL money I realize that's a tough stretch. As for future players to be honored, you have to consider Watt and McCrea since they won MAC player of the year awards. Watt in his senior year was almost unstoppable at times at both ends of the court. CJ is a no brainer someday, probably Perkins as well. Maybe Idbihi. The bar might be too high for Mike Martinho, Calvin Cage, Will Regan. I'll dig out my old Mighty Maniacs shirt for Saturday's game.

I suppose I have a different definition of hilarious, or maybe it's the coach in me. I do find it funny to see someone toss a shoe like that - I just don't find it funny if that's costing them points at the end of a close game. If he got up and pushed back, fine. Because maybe that gets a matching technical (or nothing at all). I thought Hurley was a regular clown for his antics, but at least you could say he was firing up the team/crowd. This was just free foul shots for the other team, after (as you described) THEY were the aggressors. Amongst a sea of demoralizing losses, this was an especially atrocious one because down the stretch, it was largely due to poor foul shooting. ("Poor" being an overly polite way of putting it). I know foul shots at the end can be tougher under pressure, but they're still foul shots, something you can control for being good at.

Congrats guys, I didn't know you could find a new depth of losing but there it was. We were astounded watching the game down the stretch as the Bulls did everything they possibly could to lose this game. Miss your foul shots - check. Miss a dunk - check. Throw a guy's shoe and get a technical - check. The foul shooting alone, I just could not believe how they missed all those. They are what their record says they are, and even when they could/should have won they didn't and you saw why. Chatman - I've been critical many times this season, but yet again you saw it - the guy can put up 20+ points but will make mistakes/miss shots at the worst possible times at the end. Yesterday, those two free throws. He's a guy who will put up points for you but you'll never win a thing with him. Wilson - are you kidding me? You threw the guy's shoe? You're fighting to get playing time and you think that was a good idea? There's a difference between the games where you sat back and saw a team that was trying but just wasn't nearly as good as their opponent, and a clown show where they miss all their foul shots down the stretch and one guy throws a shoe in a loss to an equally bad opponent.

We should take some enjoyment from the few moments when we can this season. It was fun to see them actually go on a positive run for once, and play with a lead. And make a couple key plays at the end.

I recall he was talking to them, but he had his own demands. At the same time as he was still on staff here officially, he was also seen in Tuscaloosa with Oats with Alabama stuff on. It wasn't a good look. He was and is a great recruiter - credit where credit is due. His actual coaching resume was really thin (see his wikipedia page).

Coaching hires - I have come to the point that I don't get too high or low in the first place. I say, "we'll see." Because UB's best coach was a guy whose resume was 'high school coach, then assistant for a couple years at a MAC school.' They just had a dud of a football coach who was a position coach in the NFL. People here don't want re-treads, which means you're getting younger guys who don't have experience. The ceiling is higher, but as we're finding in real time right now, the bottom is lower too. People were distressed that it seemed Whitesell couldn't sell a new generation of talent on the program. So they needed someone younger and more energetic with a vision. Right now the talent looks worse and it doesn't appear to be getting better on the horizon. I've always thought your staff needs (1) an x's and o's coach, (2) someone who can recruit and sell the place to everyone, and (3) someone who's good at working with people - maintaining the morale and mindset of the group. Under Oats, we had all three - Oats seemed to know the x's and o's, Hodgson was the recruiter, Whitesell was the glue. Under Whitesell it seemed like they didn't have a recruiter. Right now...I don't know if you've got any of these.