eyjee

I am... loving what I'm seeing? Offense is fluid. The help on defense has been there. Shots are actually going in...

Pain. Go Bulls 🤘

How we're not holding for last shot at the end of the half is just mind-bogglingly stupid.

I think going to the zone out of the gate, I'm assuming to expend less energy on defense with an insanely depleted bench, might be the first tactical decision GH3 has made all year.

I spy Boldin on the bench in a boot? Oh boy...

Yes great clarification. It can come from the coach but he doesn't need to be the only one to show it, and he certainly doesn't need to show it to instill it in the culture. I think Oats -> Whitesell -> GH3 is like a Pokemon who is devolving. Oats was a major hype guy, it went from top to bottom in the org, and it's no surprise that Hodgson coaches the same way. Whitesell was more reserved, but I think his teams still had some buzz. Could easily be trickle down from the Oats days but I think of a guy like Hardnett who always had that swag and energy on the court and Quill never played for Oats. GH3 is... a lemon 😅 Basically what I'm saying is I'm afraid that the "energy" we're seeing from the Bulls these days is the GH3 culture. More reserved.

I may be off because my memory is horrible but didn't a ton of energy in the Oats days not just come from Nate? I'm talking like I remember the athletic trainer, whose name escapes me, being one of the most hype guys on the bench. It doesn't have to only be the HC, or it can be someone besides the HC. Energy is culture based, in my opinion.

I don't know if we have an answer for Agee and Hill. I'll continue rooting for any sort of visible improvement. Hope they cover. Hope they prove me wrong and win. Go Bulls 🤘 Side note: Was Kanye's reason of leave ever disclosed? Hope the kid is okay, whatever happened.

Zaakir is the only guy who plays consistently tough in the paint and it's not a coincidence it's because he is the lone guy who was here when some of our past culture was still employed. Anyone on this roster even know how to take a charge?

This Akron/Toledo game is miles ahead of the product we currently put on the court every night. Long road...

Kent ran it up from 23-17 to 31-17. Halcovage timeout. 1:26 later, Kent had run it up to 39-17. Halcovage timeout. Brutal stretch.

I'm basically 95% out on GH3 but I'll say how Fulcher develops this off-season into next season will be very telling for this coaching staff. The kid can play, he just has to get rid of basically a full turnover + per game. That is... if he doesn't transfer...

I like how we shoot the most threes in the MAC like we have prime Graves, Massinburg, Harris, and Williams all on this team. All I really wanted to see during the course of this season was consistent improvement. Dark days, friends... dark days.

I can't believe they're subjecting a national audience to this team. Go Bulls 🤘

I have no doubts the MAC championship will be Akron v Toledo... but with Ohio and Kent taking a step back and CMU, BGSU, Miami OH to an extent, all taking steps forward? The tournament is gonna be very fun this year. And we'll all be able to keep our sanity by not having to worry about it... 😆😢

Came here to use this exact word. This is painful. Again, I don't know much about basketball X's and O's. Never played. Only watch Buffalo ball and Knicks playoffs, some March Madness games, some MACtion because Enrique Freeman is a joy to watch. I've been trying to figure out what we're doing out there, and as far as I can tell... On defense: It's man to man with a major focus on switching off screens that half the time we either don't do, aren't athletic enough to do, or miss assignments. Our guards are also constantly going under screens which at this point I can only assume is being coached. On offense: I've got nothing. It's either the ball at or near the top of the key with our wingers running around the zone handing the ball off to each other and then settling for a mid-range or three, no cuts to the basket. Or. It's pass the ball to Adams or Chatman and it dies there as they try to dribble through three defenders. In summary: Unwatchable. I need like a NFL level broadcast of this system breaking it down because I am confused.

Ohio's been putting it together recently after a particularly slow start. Uncertain if that coincides with injuries/returns from injury on their end. I don't know, man. Just cover. Show me some improvements. Show me an ounce of a system on offense or defense. Better yet, prove me wrong and win. Go Bulls 🤘

Can't imagine this is also coming with the discourse that letting GH3 go was a bad move? 😅

If nothing else, watching Acuff and Chatman battle it out could be pretty entertaining 🤷‍♂️ Go Bulls 🤘

I don't disagree with any of this per se, and frankly I hate that I'm becoming a Halcovage apologist of sorts... And for the record, I'm pissed too don't get me wrong. This team is basically unwatchable. I can't figure out the system, if one exists. And I miss the competitiveness our guys used to have on the court. Guys far more skilled than what we're pumping out on the court right now willing to dive on the floor, take charges, hustle back on D and hustle to get into the play on O. But I'm willing to give GH3 a full recruiting shot... that's really my only point and the only thing keeping me from fully giving up on the guy as a HC at this point. He's gotta prove it this off-season. That's for sure.

I think there's a lot of revisionist history happening on Whitesell in here. The 21-22 roster was absolutely stacked and he couldn't get them better than a 4 seed in the MAC tourney coupled with a first-round exit (yes, to the eventual winner, but still). I'm sorry but if you have Williams and Segu coupled with Mballa, Skogman, Hardnett. Jack coming off the bench drilling threes. Fagan coming off the bench with that hustle. Brewton coming off the bench wishing he could shoot threes like Mace... you gotta do better Really what I think we all miss deep down is just the general blue collar hard hat era. I saw Zaakir try to draw a charge last night and that was one of the most charged up moments I've had this season, even with it ending up being a defensive foul. It was just nice to see a player have the attitude of putting their body on the line for the team, trying to spark something with hustle. But yes, that culture that attitude that comes from the staff down. I'm trying so hard to give GH3 the benefit of the doubt. To give him a full recruiting year. To see if he can keep Boldin and Sabol and what kind of growth they show next season. To see if he can coach Fulcher out of these turnovers so he can be a tempo changing guard off the bench for us. I'm just not seeing it though.

Outside of GH3 coming in and being a tactical genius with his basketball strategy I don't think anything was saving this season. Except maybe finding a way to have hired Hodgson instead...

Sabol to Chatman. Two dribbles. Close range jumper. Miss. Defensive Rebound. Back on defense. Brutal.

I'm gonna hold fast to the fact that I want to give GH3 a chance at a full recruiting schedule but I'd be lying if I said the bolded didn't worry me in a big way.

Getting real close to deeming this offense unwatchable. I don't know enough about basketball X's and O's to even try and think what system GH3 has in place for this team in the offensive zone... but man... if I see one more iso fade-away mid-range jumper... Ball State has such a great thing going having Jihad and Hendricks on the court at the same time. Jo covering Hendricks and having Jihad on Isaiah or Sy is the whole reason we're in the foul trouble we find ourselves in. Jihad and Hendricks is what our Skogman/Mballa should have been.