St. Bonaventure vs. UB, Saturday @2:30

[DaBulls99]

28 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I found this interesting as well. The rotation tonight was really short. Only 3 bench players played and only Hardnett got over 10 minutes. Wonder what the reason was? Not a good recipe going forward. Something to keep an eye on. Now is the time to work guys in and get valuable experience for February/March. Def happy we won, no doubt, just curious about the lack of a rotation. 

I wouldn’t read too much into one game. Lots of guys have been sick lately/dings and bruises/etc. Who knew Jack had a concussion? It’s also based on matchups. 

[yussi1870]

14 hours ago, skrabukes said:

The record is now even and will likely move above .500 against a sub-par opponent on Tuesday, before hitting a gauntlet over the rest of the month before MAC play. Fun times recently, let's hope it continues!

Does St John Fisher count? I don’t think that win gets shown, but a loss would?

[yussi1870]

2 hours ago, DaBulls99 said:

I wouldn’t read too much into one game. Lots of guys have been sick lately/dings and bruises/etc. Who knew Jack had a concussion? It’s also based on matchups. 

I thought it was great strategy. It really threw the SBU coach off as he was clearly expecting the subs

[BrooklynBull]

On 12/3/2022 at 7:22 AM, rma said:

UMass dropped football and is in the A-10, but it doesn’t seem to be working for them. They really only excel at hockey and marching band. 

If UMass dropped football, who did I see UB play in Amherst, Mass. in October?

[MuchMany]

5 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I found this interesting as well. The rotation tonight was really short. Only 3 bench players played and only Hardnett got over 10 minutes. Wonder what the reason was? Not a good recipe going forward. Something to keep an eye on. Now is the time to work guys in and get valuable experience for February/March. Def happy we won, no doubt, just curious about the lack of a rotation. 

Whitsell shortened his bench because he knew he was playing for his job yesterday. 

Seriously though, I think we're going to see the rotation take shape over the next couple games prior to conference play. A few guys who have been playing regularly will be reduced or excluded entirely. Agree with @Chet, it would be nice for Ceaser to get a small backup PG role. I think our ceiling his higher in March with him as a turbo ball-handler next to two tall athletic SGs. Really haven't been impressed by Foster, he seems a step slow and lacking some true D1 skills. 

[Tee4three]

A couple other factors I believe that played into the rotation are

The schedule the last game was a week ago and next D1 game is in a week.

No one got into foul trouble

And Curtis Jones was on absolute fire and never cooled off. I kept think there would be a line up change once Curtis and the line up had multiple bad possessions in a row and it just never happened 

 

[rma]

2 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

If UMass dropped football, who did I see UB play in Amherst, Mass. in October?

I saw UB play a game in Amherst, MA as well. It appears from what I saw during that game that UMass dropped football.

[Dabulls]

I believe we didn’t see Caeser play because foster is an upperclassman with experience. Whitesell knew Bona was going to play tough and wanted to play guys he knew wouldn’t be rattled by the pressure. Foster has been inconsistent offensively but is a pest on defense. 

[enrique14150]

I was on the road this weekend, so all I could do was monitor the score.  What a delightful win!  When I saw the final, I laughed like Sideshow Bob when he was elected mayor.

I still think this team has a lot of work to do.  They're capable of good performances like this, and still capable of some duds.  Still a work in progress - but clearly, progress is being made.  Curtis said in the Buffalo News that he's been just trying to be more consistent and let the confidence flow.  I feel like they're getting better at the defensive end and that's going to bode well when it's time for MAC games. Jonnivius Smith said in the News that he worked a lot on his defense lately, that with his stature, he needs to bring the intensity.  I agree with the posters who've said that Powell is a wild card - but he hits his foul shots.  I think Caesar at this point, as a true freshman, is a spark off the bench but he has a lot to work on defensively.  And that's okay, because he's 9 games into his first season, I'm not expecting the finished article yet.  

 

 

[UBinMD]

1 hour ago, enrique14150 said:

I was on the road this weekend, so all I could do was monitor the score.  What a delightful win!  When I saw the final, I laughed like Sideshow Bob when he was elected mayor.

I still think this team has a lot of work to do.  They're capable of good performances like this, and still capable of some duds.  Still a work in progress - but clearly, progress is being made.  Curtis said in the Buffalo News that he's been just trying to be more consistent and let the confidence flow.  I feel like they're getting better at the defensive end and that's going to bode well when it's time for MAC games. Jonnivius Smith said in the News that he worked a lot on his defense lately, that with his stature, he needs to bring the intensity.  I agree with the posters who've said that Powell is a wild card - but he hits his foul shots.  I think Caesar at this point, as a true freshman, is a spark off the bench but he has a lot to work on defensively.  And that's okay, because he's 9 games into his first season, I'm not expecting the finished article yet.  

 

 

In regards to Jones and Caesar we saw last year Jones likely had more skill than he probably showed early because he was coming in and playing with very veteran plays that had been in the system a long time. I'm sure he was not going to come in and just try to take over. This year, he sees the opportunity and he now is building the confidence to become the go-to guy in some situations. It also struck me that this is the first time UB has had a player score 20+ in 4 straight games since Massenburg? If that's true, JW and Rondo seems like one or the other should have done that at some point since they were our stars. I personally found that surprising. Caesar is a ball of energy and fast, but he definitely needs some polish. That is what you need to build. The fact he doesn't have to try and be "the man" as a true freshman is good for us. Joe Smith could become a solid post presence while Jack continues to grow. I also think if we can get Adams and Zid to be consistent performers along with Jones, they could be a real challenge for the MAC. Limit turnovers, pass the ball crisply and keep the assists up and we will have a good season.

[UBlearns]

24 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

It also struck me that this is the first time UB has had a player score 20+ in 4 straight games since Massenburg? 

On the broadcast, I think they said it was the first since Mitchell Watt, but I don't remember the exact threshold - i.e. more than x points in 4 straight games.  Might have been 20 but might have a higher number.

[DocCas86]

This team has played well over the past three games.  I am hoping they can keep things going against Tulane.

I saw there was some inside information that Chatman would rejoin the team for MAC play.  If that is the case, I hope they are able to fit him into the lineup with limited disruption.  In theory, Chatman makes the team deeper and adds another scoring option.

[John]

3 hours ago, enrique14150 said:

I was on the road this weekend, so all I could do was monitor the score.  What a delightful win!  When I saw the final, I laughed like Sideshow Bob when he was elected mayor.

I still think this team has a lot of work to do.  They're capable of good performances like this, and still capable of some duds.  Still a work in progress - but clearly, progress is being made.  Curtis said in the Buffalo News that he's been just trying to be more consistent and let the confidence flow.  I feel like they're getting better at the defensive end and that's going to bode well when it's time for MAC games. Jonnivius Smith said in the News that he worked a lot on his defense lately, that with his stature, he needs to bring the intensity.  I agree with the posters who've said that Powell is a wild card - but he hits his foul shots.  I think Caesar at this point, as a true freshman, is a spark off the bench but he has a lot to work on defensively.  And that's okay, because he's 9 games into his first season, I'm not expecting the finished article yet.  

 

 

I agree with the Caesar opinion. After seeing him play he looks like he can become very good offensively with his speed and athletic ability. He is lacking defensively and have seen him beaten on several occasions. In high school he probably played or needed to play very little defense. If he can improve like Jones has he cold become one of our better players. On the team defense it is curious and interesting how this team has started to play a zone defense when all of our past teams played hardly any zone. In several games it looked like they have embraced the zone and actually played better in that defense. Interesting to see how that plays out in the MAC. Go Bulls!!!

[UBinMD]

43 minutes ago, John said:

I agree with the Caesar opinion. After seeing him play he looks like he can become very good offensively with his speed and athletic ability. He is lacking defensively and have seen him beaten on several occasions. In high school he probably played or needed to play very little defense. If he can improve like Jones has he cold become one of our better players. On the team defense it is curious and interesting how this team has started to play a zone defense when all of our past teams played hardly any zone. In several games it looked like they have embraced the zone and actually played better in that defense. Interesting to see how that plays out in the MAC. Go Bulls!!!

Matchup zone can be very effective and when you watch them play, that seems to be what they are doing. It's actually fun for the players too, a bit different that the SU zone. It's also not as susceptible to 3 point sharpshooters. I think it's a good change of pace from time to time. I do this man-to-man is a good staple for the MAC.

[John]

23 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

Matchup zone can be very effective and when you watch them play, that seems to be what they are doing. It's actually fun for the players too, a bit different that the SU zone. It's also not as susceptible to 3 point sharpshooters. I think it's a good change of pace from time to time. I do this man-to-man is a good staple for the MAC.

With the MAC almost entirely man to man conference I think a zone could be effective since most teams are not exposed to it. The zone should help on the rebounding side since UB is not a very big, physical team on the front line. If the coaches can get the team to buy into a zone ti could be very interesting and as you said a change of pace to what other teams do offensively. Go Bulls!!

[Bluebird96]

6 hours ago, UBlearns said:

On the broadcast, I think they said it was the first since Mitchell Watt, but I don't remember the exact threshold - i.e. more than x points in 4 straight games.  Might have been 20 but might have a higher number.

Just did a really quick check, Watt scored 20+ in 4 straight in Feb/March 2012. I assume that’s what the announcers were referring to.

CJ scored 20+ in 3 straight once in 2018-19  (during which he scored 10+ in 34 of 35 games) and twice in 2017-18. 

Jeenathan also scored 20+ in 3 straight games once last year.  Remarkably, he scored 10+ in all 29 games he played, and 13+ in 28 of 29 games. 

[bullsbball]

Is Blocker okay?  Looked like he got injured (Leg?) just before the end of the first half and didn't return in the second half. He got injured with a minute left but stayed in the game. Looked like he was in alot of pain.

[UBinMD]

2 hours ago, Bluebird96 said:

Just did a really quick check, Watt scored 20+ in 4 straight in Feb/March 2012. I assume that’s what the announcers were referring to.

CJ scored 20+ in 3 straight once in 2018-19  (during which he scored 10+ in 34 of 35 games) and twice in 2017-18. 

Jeenathan also scored 20+ in 3 straight games once last year.  Remarkably, he scored 10+ in all 29 games he played, and 13+ in 28 of 29 games. 

That actually amazes me, but I guess that may be why I never felt like we had a go to scorer when we needed it since CJ

[Bluebird96]

11 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

That actually amazes me, but I guess that may be why I never felt like we had a go to scorer when we needed it since CJ

It’s probably been said many times before, but I feel like Jeenathan’s Senior season was under-appreciated.  He shot 49% from the field overall and 45% from 3. Aside from the 3 for 22 stinker vs Canisius and 3 for 14 vs WMU, he shot over 33% in all other games and 40% or better in 23 of 29 games.  He was the one guy that was pretty much consistent all season.

[UBinMD]

15 minutes ago, Bluebird96 said:

It’s probably been said many times before, but I feel like Jeenathan’s Senior season was under-appreciated.  He shot 49% from the field overall and 45% from 3. Aside from the 3 for 22 stinker vs Canisius and 3 for 14 vs WMU, he shot over 33% in all other games and 40% or better in 23 of 29 games.  He was the one guy that was pretty much consistent all season.

Don’t disagree that he was consistent, but we needed a little more at times. He was a very good player no doubt just not like when a player wills his team to wins at times. 

[Bluebird96]

3 minutes ago, UBinMD said:

Don’t disagree that he was consistent, but we needed a little more at times. He was a very good player no doubt just not like when a player wills his team to wins at times. 

Can’t argue with that. Definitely didn’t seem to have the same assassin’s mentality that CJ had in putting the team on his back and making so many huge shots at the end of games.  To be fair, he didn’t  have the same kind of supporting cast (or HC) that CJ had either. If anything I thought Jeenathan should’ve taken more shots especially of the 3-pt variety.  I guess with those high %’s you could call that good shot selection as opposed to chucking up 3’s like some of his backcourt mates (well, 1 anyway) were prone to do 😂

[DooleyBull06]

Jeenathan improved every year he was here. He just needed help. It wasn’t always pretty but he put the work in. The players that were brought in to help didn’t.

[DocCas86]

Offensively Jeenathan lead the way, no doubt.  I think last year's team fell short on defense.