Blue03 Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 Game is slipping further away, but bad stretches aside they’ve been good. Still in for a rough season but the improvement is there. BRING ON THE BONNIES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDerekRx Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 JMU 9/9 fg stretch now. Even despite that its only 19 pts thanks to some heating up from Chatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueblue32 Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Sabol has grown a lot even in a month so far. I hope we keep him for 4 years lol 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDerekRx Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Confidence is growing with Sabol. I liked the JMU announce crew honestly. Did a lot of good work on UB, Buffalo and GH3 with his recruits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBlearns Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 You know, honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised and encouraged (long-term) from today's performance. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDerekRx Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 81-66. A lot to like in that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocCas86 Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Improved defensive effort, check. Something to build on. Turnovers still on high side, but better than recent games. Hope to see continued improvement in next game. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UB Horns Up Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 36 minutes ago, Blue03 said: Game is slipping further away, but bad stretches aside they’ve been good. Still in for a rough season but the improvement is there. BRING ON THE BONNIES This post gave me a chuckle the big bad wolf is coming Saturday to UB Alumni Arena be careful what you wish for. This UB Bulls team is very offensively challenged and very young with a young inexperienced coach George Halcovage. The St Bonaventure Bonnies shut you down defensively and they have better inside outside game than UB presently has offensively. Of course there is Mark Schmidt who I place top five all time in the Big 4 basketball since I have been following. 1. Nate Oats UB 2. John Beilein Canisius 3. Mark Schmidt St Bonaventure 4. Joe Mihalich Niagara 5. Bobby Hurley UB The game will be close because the Bonnies have a tendency to play down to their opponents level at times. But in the second half when UB Bulls go cold shooting wise the Bonnies will most likely pull away. I win either way as a Buffalo fan of both basketball teams even though I would like to see the Bonnies win because they have the best chance of the Big 4 teams to make the NCAA Tournament representing Buffalo basketball in my opinion. UB Horns Up! Go Bulls! Go Bonnies! Let’s Go Buffalo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 1 hour ago, UB Horns Up said: This post gave me a chuckle the big bad wolf is coming Saturday to UB Alumni Arena be careful what you wish for. This UB Bulls team is very offensively challenged and very young with a young inexperienced coach George Halcovage. The St Bonaventure Bonnies shut you down defensively and they have better inside outside game than UB presently has offensively. Of course there is Mark Schmidt who I place top five all time in the Big 4 basketball since I have been following. 1. Nate Oats UB 2. John Beilein Canisius 3. Mark Schmidt St Bonaventure 4. Joe Mihalich Niagara 5. Bobby Hurley UB The game will be close because the Bonnies have a tendency to play down to their opponents level at times. But in the second half when UB Bulls go cold shooting wise the Bonnies will most likely pull away. I win either way as a Buffalo fan of both basketball teams even though I would like to see the Bonnies win because they have the best chance of the Big 4 teams to make the NCAA Tournament representing Buffalo basketball in my opinion. UB Horns Up! Go Bulls! Go Bonnies! Let’s Go Buffalo I don’t really care. It’s a new team, they’ll probably lose, but they’ll grow. And I’ll show up to support my team no matter what. Gotta bullieve and enjoy the ride 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBulls99 Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Big bad wolf? Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBlearns Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 (edited) 31 minutes ago, DaBulls99 said: Big bad wolf? Lol Bona's definitely better than UB and will be rightly favored and will likely win, but if anyone's the big bad wolf in the Big 4 this year, shouldn't it be Canisius? They did beat Bona in Olean, after all.... Edited November 30, 2023 by UBlearns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 12 hours ago, xDerekRx said: 81-66. A lot to like in that game. Played to a better score line away against a ranked team than we did last year at home. Add in a new coach without a full roster and Isaiah Adams missing and I’d say we’ve got a lot to be excited about in the coming years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineBull Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 I think many of the people on this board need to relax and see the big picture here. We have a new coach, a first time head coach, with many new players. This stuff takes time to develop. We all knew going into this season this was not going to be about wins and losses, but about improvements and growth both from the team and individual players. Lets all relax and let this team develop and let this coach find his way. I remain excited and think the future is bright for this team and this program. This coach is building something and lets all enjoy the process of it being built from the ground up. We all know after the last disaster of a coach we are starting from ground zero with the reconstruction of this team. This is about building a program and building it the right way. Personally I am excited to watch this develop. As you all know I tend to limit my comments and when I do I tend to provide an in depth review of the team as I see it thus far. I tend to wait to complete this analysis until further in the season but this seems an appropriate time to provide my first thoughts after 7 games. Here are my thoughts on this team and the roster thus far: Coaches: I have heard lots of criticism of the coaches and their passion on the sideline. What I see is a coach who is composed and involved in teaching. He may not be as fierce as Hurley but in my eyes that's a good thing. What is important is how fiery he is with the players in the huddle, if you look closely you will see he is much more intense in that situation. On the sideline during action he is a composed teacher like his predecessor Jay Wright. I for one am a huge fan of this approach. All of the coaches seem to be involved and I think we have something great developing with this staff. I like that coach is toying with different defenses like the 2/3 zone and a 2/2/1 full court press now and then to keep the offense off balance. I think as a group we have struggled with the 2/3 zone thus far but I think the more they play it the better we will get at it. I have said from the beginning we made a great hire in GH3 and he has established a great staff. Lets see how it develops as the year continues. The important part is that the team shows continuous improvement and is playing their best basketball by the end of the year. Clearly the coaching staff has been disciplining players for either on court or off court behavior and I am a big fan of this. Laying the ground work for a culture, a culture of success. Team: They seem to be struggling to find a grove together. We look like a team that has not played a lot of basketball together which is true. There are many factors involved in this. The new coaching regime as we talked about above, an influx of freshman who are playing significant minutes, our best player has not played in over 1.5 years and is trying to get comfortable on the court again. I think we are slowly seeing Sy find his way back to form. Offensively there has not been enough ball movement yet. I think that needs to change and I think it will as players get an understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There have been so many turnovers and that is concerning. Turnovers have such a huge impact on a teams ability to win games. We expect turnovers with a new system and new players, especially with young players in the ball handling positions as this team is currently configured. We did not expect this level of turnovers. The unforced turnovers are a huge problem that this team needs to resolve. Defensively is the biggest concern I have for this team. We have given up way to many easy buckets in the half court set. Our interior defenders (Williamson, Chatman and Smith) in all honesty have been terrible at protecting the rim. They need to be more physical and frankly work harder at making the offensive players uncomfortable. If this team can grow into a team that limits the unforced turnovers, moves the ball better offensively and does a better job with team defense to protect the rim, I think we will all be happy with those results. I felt the effort defensively was much higher yesterday against JMU then it has been all year. Small steps is what I expect this season to be about, small steps in the right direction. Kanye Jones: He has clearly been in the coaching staffs dog house. I feel for the most part he has played rather well thus far. His shot has been off for most of the year. I am still not a fan of his footwork on his shot but I am afraid its too late to change that. He has attacked the rim off the dribble going both left and right with quite a bit of success. He has been one of the only players able to consistently get to the free throw line. I think he has rebounded the ball better than last year. I would still like to see more effort defensively and see him distribute the ball more. We saw yesterday in the JMU game him dribble into double teams on multiple occasions. That ball needs to be moved. I did feel like he worked harder on defense yesterday then he has all year. I think Kanye will be a key contributor to this team all season long. Sy Chatman: He is struggling to get comfortable on the floor because of his long period of not being on the floor. I would like to see him not settle for jump shots. I think he is a great player with his back to the basket and we need to see him in the post more backing his opponent in especially when the match up is in our favor. We saw him do that a few times yesterday in the second half with success. He is a strong guy who is tough to handle in the post. Defensively he needs tgo be a better rebounder and rim protector. He tries to block every shot and that hurts him a lot of times. On the perimiter on offense he needs to be a better passer. The ball gets stuck with him too often. With Sabol on the floor and his ability to shoot it should open up the floor and he needs to learn how to take advantage of that. Ryan Sabol: I have been really impressed with him thus far. Defensively he has been better than I expected. Offensively he is as pure of a shooter as we have had here in maybe a decade. His stroke is true and sweet. I think he is adjusting to the level of play around him. He has struggled with his fg% minus three pointers and I think that will come. I would like to see him take advantage of his mid range game as I think that could be a strength of his and an easier way to get his shots off when attacking off the dribble. I think we really have a great player in the making here. I like that he is getting minutes and he is proving each day he deserves them. If I am coach we are working to get him ten shots minimum per game, he has the green light anytime he can get it off. His shooting makes this team better by opening up the floor for all others. Isiah Adams: His adjustment to this team and his new role has not been smooth. Similar to last year, way to many turnovers, unforced turnovers as a result of not moving the ball. He wants to be the man on this team and he deserves that but he needs to learn to let the game come to him and not force it and result in a turnover. I would like to see him use his length more and attack off the dribble, too often he settles for jump shots. I thought he has rebounded the ball better than last year, but defensively I have not seen the effort I saw at the end of last season. At the end of last season he was getting after it on the other teams best players. I would like to see that again, this team needs someone to step up in that way. Anguan Boldin JR: Boldin and Sabol are the best players on this team and they have proved it thus far this season. I know the older guys Chatman, Smith and Adams want this to be their team, but the kids have proven this is their team. They are playing the game the right way and giving max effort and moving the ball. Boldin has really been impressive on the defensive end of the floor. He is strong and quick and willing to sacrifice his body for the team. He is a very good rebounder for his size. Offensively, his ability to offensive rebound and attack off the dribble are things this team really needs. He has not looked comfy with his jump shot except in one game but I am sure that will come. I am so excited to see him develop and I remain confident he will develop into one of the stronger players in this conference, as soon as next year. Zakir Williamson: Its so nice to see him on the floor and getting minutes. We have heard all summer how well he has been playing. He looks slimmed down again this year and I want to see him be physical cause this team needs that more than anything else. thought y was the best I have seen him play. banging down low and being a pest defensively. Offensively anything he gives us is a bonus. I would like to see him continue to develop in the post and look to kick the ball out to Sabol when help comes on his side. I would like to see Zakir work on getting 8 rebounds per game. This team needs help rebounding and he is the answer. Shawn Fulcher: Clearly this kid is used to playing fast. He is best when the tempo is high paced, but this approach is definitely not one the coaching staff is looking to take advantage of. I would like to see him slow down in the half court and look to create shots for his teammates, namely Sabol and Adams. Defensively I like what I see, he is a pest and willing to contribute on the boards. HIs jump shot looks strong and I know that will continue to improve. If he improves his assist to turnover ratio that will really help this team compete in games. Overall, I like what I have seen and I look forward toing comfortable in his role and improving as the season continues. He is going to be a solid contributor for years to come. Bryson Wilson: This kid is an athlete and physical. I thought yesterday was his best game of the season. It is going to take him sometime to figure out this level of competition. I would like to see him attack off the dribble more and focus on rebounding and getting himself to the free throw line with that athleticism. He looks very uncomfortable with his jump shot, I hope the coaching staff is working on that. With Sabol, Boldin, Fulcher and Wilson, I really like the direction this team is heading. I think that can be a solid nucleus and I love that he is getting minutes and learning on the fly. I look forward to watching him continue to develop. Lloyd McVeigh: Nobody has struggled to adjust to this level like Lloyd has. Besides a 5 minute stretch a few games ago he has looked very nervous and uncomfortable. I am struggling to figure out of he is a post or wing player. He seems to be struggling with this same issue. He needs to limit the turnovers and needs to contribute on the boards when he is on the floor. Defensively he looks scared to being called for a foul. I think once he gets more comfortable at this level we will see a lot of improvement. Sometimes it takes time and I think this is one of those cases. He needs a game where he drops in 15 points to get him going. Lets hope that game is coming up. Jo Smith: He has been our only rebounder. On the offensive glass he is relentless. Defensively I would like to see him be more physical. Offensively he is too dominant with his left hand. He has been shooting the ball well from outside but I would rather see him put the ball on the floor and attack the rim and get to the free throw line. Many of the bigs covering him on the perimeter are not able to stay in front of him without fouling. He needs help on the glass as he cannot be our only rebounder. He looks to me to be the leader of this team and I would like to see that continue to develop. Good things happen when the leader of the team is one of the hardest workers on the team. I see a 20 rebound game in his future. Has this team been hard to watch sometimes this season, yes. Have the games been frustrating because of the turnovers, yes. Lets not lose site of the big picture and what this season is about. This team and coaching staff is growing and I for one am going to remain patient and enjoy the process and watching them improve with each game. I have purchased tickets to the last three games for the final home stand and I cannot wait to see them in person. By then, I suspect this will be a different team. I believe in these players and these coaches and I say Go Bulls! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 11 minutes ago, MaineBull said: I think many of the people on this board need to relax and see the big picture here. We have a new coach, a first time head coach, with many new players. This stuff takes time to develop. We all knew going into this season this was not going to be about wins and losses, but about improvements and growth both from the team and individual players. Lets all relax and let this team develop and let this coach find his way. I remain excited and think the future is bright for this team and this program. This coach is building something and lets all enjoy the process of it being built from the ground up. We all know after the last disaster of a coach we are starting from ground zero with the reconstruction of this team. This is about building a program and building it the right way. Personally I am excited to watch this develop. As you all know I tend to limit my comments and when I do I tend to provide an in depth review of the team as I see it thus far. I tend to wait to complete this analysis until further in the season but this seems an appropriate time to provide my first thoughts after 7 games. Here are my thoughts on this team and the roster thus far: Coaches: I have heard lots of criticism of the coaches and their passion on the sideline. What I see is a coach who is composed and involved in teaching. He may not be as fierce as Hurley but in my eyes that's a good thing. What is important is how fiery he is with the players in the huddle, if you look closely you will see he is much more intense in that situation. On the sideline during action he is a composed teacher like his predecessor Jay Wright. I for one am a huge fan of this approach. All of the coaches seem to be involved and I think we have something great developing with this staff. I like that coach is toying with different defenses like the 2/3 zone and a 2/2/1 full court press now and then to keep the offense off balance. I think as a group we have struggled with the 2/3 zone thus far but I think the more they play it the better we will get at it. I have said from the beginning we made a great hire in GH3 and he has established a great staff. Lets see how it develops as the year continues. The important part is that the team shows continuous improvement and is playing their best basketball by the end of the year. Clearly the coaching staff has been disciplining players for either on court or off court behavior and I am a big fan of this. Laying the ground work for a culture, a culture of success. Team: They seem to be struggling to find a grove together. We look like a team that has not played a lot of basketball together which is true. There are many factors involved in this. The new coaching regime as we talked about above, an influx of freshman who are playing significant minutes, our best player has not played in over 1.5 years and is trying to get comfortable on the court again. I think we are slowly seeing Sy find his way back to form. Offensively there has not been enough ball movement yet. I think that needs to change and I think it will as players get an understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There have been so many turnovers and that is concerning. Turnovers have such a huge impact on a teams ability to win games. We expect turnovers with a new system and new players, especially with young players in the ball handling positions as this team is currently configured. We did not expect this level of turnovers. The unforced turnovers are a huge problem that this team needs to resolve. Defensively is the biggest concern I have for this team. We have given up way to many easy buckets in the half court set. Our interior defenders (Williamson, Chatman and Smith) in all honesty have been terrible at protecting the rim. They need to be more physical and frankly work harder at making the offensive players uncomfortable. If this team can grow into a team that limits the unforced turnovers, moves the ball better offensively and does a better job with team defense to protect the rim, I think we will all be happy with those results. I felt the effort defensively was much higher yesterday against JMU then it has been all year. Small steps is what I expect this season to be about, small steps in the right direction. Kanye Jones: He has clearly been in the coaching staffs dog house. I feel for the most part he has played rather well thus far. His shot has been off for most of the year. I am still not a fan of his footwork on his shot but I am afraid its too late to change that. He has attacked the rim off the dribble going both left and right with quite a bit of success. He has been one of the only players able to consistently get to the free throw line. I think he has rebounded the ball better than last year. I would still like to see more effort defensively and see him distribute the ball more. We saw yesterday in the JMU game him dribble into double teams on multiple occasions. That ball needs to be moved. I did feel like he worked harder on defense yesterday then he has all year. I think Kanye will be a key contributor to this team all season long. Sy Chatman: He is struggling to get comfortable on the floor because of his long period of not being on the floor. I would like to see him not settle for jump shots. I think he is a great player with his back to the basket and we need to see him in the post more backing his opponent in especially when the match up is in our favor. We saw him do that a few times yesterday in the second half with success. He is a strong guy who is tough to handle in the post. Defensively he needs tgo be a better rebounder and rim protector. He tries to block every shot and that hurts him a lot of times. On the perimiter on offense he needs to be a better passer. The ball gets stuck with him too often. With Sabol on the floor and his ability to shoot it should open up the floor and he needs to learn how to take advantage of that. Ryan Sabol: I have been really impressed with him thus far. Defensively he has been better than I expected. Offensively he is as pure of a shooter as we have had here in maybe a decade. His stroke is true and sweet. I think he is adjusting to the level of play around him. He has struggled with his fg% minus three pointers and I think that will come. I would like to see him take advantage of his mid range game as I think that could be a strength of his and an easier way to get his shots off when attacking off the dribble. I think we really have a great player in the making here. I like that he is getting minutes and he is proving each day he deserves them. If I am coach we are working to get him ten shots minimum per game, he has the green light anytime he can get it off. His shooting makes this team better by opening up the floor for all others. Isiah Adams: His adjustment to this team and his new role has not been smooth. Similar to last year, way to many turnovers, unforced turnovers as a result of not moving the ball. He wants to be the man on this team and he deserves that but he needs to learn to let the game come to him and not force it and result in a turnover. I would like to see him use his length more and attack off the dribble, too often he settles for jump shots. I thought he has rebounded the ball better than last year, but defensively I have not seen the effort I saw at the end of last season. At the end of last season he was getting after it on the other teams best players. I would like to see that again, this team needs someone to step up in that way. Anguan Boldin JR: Boldin and Sabol are the best players on this team and they have proved it thus far this season. I know the older guys Chatman, Smith and Adams want this to be their team, but the kids have proven this is their team. They are playing the game the right way and giving max effort and moving the ball. Boldin has really been impressive on the defensive end of the floor. He is strong and quick and willing to sacrifice his body for the team. He is a very good rebounder for his size. Offensively, his ability to offensive rebound and attack off the dribble are things this team really needs. He has not looked comfy with his jump shot except in one game but I am sure that will come. I am so excited to see him develop and I remain confident he will develop into one of the stronger players in this conference, as soon as next year. Zakir Williamson: Its so nice to see him on the floor and getting minutes. We have heard all summer how well he has been playing. He looks slimmed down again this year and I want to see him be physical cause this team needs that more than anything else. thought y was the best I have seen him play. banging down low and being a pest defensively. Offensively anything he gives us is a bonus. I would like to see him continue to develop in the post and look to kick the ball out to Sabol when help comes on his side. I would like to see Zakir work on getting 8 rebounds per game. This team needs help rebounding and he is the answer. Shawn Fulcher: Clearly this kid is used to playing fast. He is best when the tempo is high paced, but this approach is definitely not one the coaching staff is looking to take advantage of. I would like to see him slow down in the half court and look to create shots for his teammates, namely Sabol and Adams. Defensively I like what I see, he is a pest and willing to contribute on the boards. HIs jump shot looks strong and I know that will continue to improve. If he improves his assist to turnover ratio that will really help this team compete in games. Overall, I like what I have seen and I look forward toing comfortable in his role and improving as the season continues. He is going to be a solid contributor for years to come. Bryson Wilson: This kid is an athlete and physical. I thought yesterday was his best game of the season. It is going to take him sometime to figure out this level of competition. I would like to see him attack off the dribble more and focus on rebounding and getting himself to the free throw line with that athleticism. He looks very uncomfortable with his jump shot, I hope the coaching staff is working on that. With Sabol, Boldin, Fulcher and Wilson, I really like the direction this team is heading. I think that can be a solid nucleus and I love that he is getting minutes and learning on the fly. I look forward to watching him continue to develop. Lloyd McVeigh: Nobody has struggled to adjust to this level like Lloyd has. Besides a 5 minute stretch a few games ago he has looked very nervous and uncomfortable. I am struggling to figure out of he is a post or wing player. He seems to be struggling with this same issue. He needs to limit the turnovers and needs to contribute on the boards when he is on the floor. Defensively he looks scared to being called for a foul. I think once he gets more comfortable at this level we will see a lot of improvement. Sometimes it takes time and I think this is one of those cases. He needs a game where he drops in 15 points to get him going. Lets hope that game is coming up. Jo Smith: He has been our only rebounder. On the offensive glass he is relentless. Defensively I would like to see him be more physical. Offensively he is too dominant with his left hand. He has been shooting the ball well from outside but I would rather see him put the ball on the floor and attack the rim and get to the free throw line. Many of the bigs covering him on the perimeter are not able to stay in front of him without fouling. He needs help on the glass as he cannot be our only rebounder. He looks to me to be the leader of this team and I would like to see that continue to develop. Good things happen when the leader of the team is one of the hardest workers on the team. I see a 20 rebound game in his future. Has this team been hard to watch sometimes this season, yes. Have the games been frustrating because of the turnovers, yes. Lets not lose site of the big picture and what this season is about. This team and coaching staff is growing and I for one am going to remain patient and enjoy the process and watching them improve with each game. I have purchased tickets to the last three games for the final home stand and I cannot wait to see them in person. By then, I suspect this will be a different team. I believe in these players and these coaches and I say Go Bulls! Exactly. The only reason we didn’t see the immediate hatred for Whitesell was because the results weren’t too atrocious. But he had stars that knew how to play together. Then the team regressed and we’re left with pretty much nothing. Now we ACTUALLY have to rebuild an entire program from the ground, and people are quick to say it’s not working. No kidding, it’s easy to rebuild a team when a few seniors graduate, it’s not easy to rebuild a program when most of the team and coaching staff is gone and the team is left with no identity. Takes time, but we’re seeing good signs. I think the turnover issue stems from the new style of ball. GH3 wants to play Nova ball, but unfortunately we’re not villanova. And the teams we play press very hard, which doesn’t help. High press against a team that’s just learning to play a passing game comes with a long learning curve. I think with his style we can develop into a good team, but it’ll take some adjustment to opposition play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuchMany Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 59 minutes ago, MaineBull said: I think many of the people on this board need to relax and see the big picture here. We have a new coach, a first time head coach, with many new players. This stuff takes time to develop. We all knew going into this season this was not going to be about wins and losses, but about improvements and growth both from the team and individual players. Lets all relax and let this team develop and let this coach find his way. I remain excited and think the future is bright for this team and this program. This coach is building something and lets all enjoy the process of it being built from the ground up. We all know after the last disaster of a coach we are starting from ground zero with the reconstruction of this team. This is about building a program and building it the right way. Personally I am excited to watch this develop. As you all know I tend to limit my comments and when I do I tend to provide an in depth review of the team as I see it thus far. I tend to wait to complete this analysis until further in the season but this seems an appropriate time to provide my first thoughts after 7 games. Here are my thoughts on this team and the roster thus far: Coaches: I have heard lots of criticism of the coaches and their passion on the sideline. What I see is a coach who is composed and involved in teaching. He may not be as fierce as Hurley but in my eyes that's a good thing. What is important is how fiery he is with the players in the huddle, if you look closely you will see he is much more intense in that situation. On the sideline during action he is a composed teacher like his predecessor Jay Wright. I for one am a huge fan of this approach. All of the coaches seem to be involved and I think we have something great developing with this staff. I like that coach is toying with different defenses like the 2/3 zone and a 2/2/1 full court press now and then to keep the offense off balance. I think as a group we have struggled with the 2/3 zone thus far but I think the more they play it the better we will get at it. I have said from the beginning we made a great hire in GH3 and he has established a great staff. Lets see how it develops as the year continues. The important part is that the team shows continuous improvement and is playing their best basketball by the end of the year. Clearly the coaching staff has been disciplining players for either on court or off court behavior and I am a big fan of this. Laying the ground work for a culture, a culture of success. Team: They seem to be struggling to find a grove together. We look like a team that has not played a lot of basketball together which is true. There are many factors involved in this. The new coaching regime as we talked about above, an influx of freshman who are playing significant minutes, our best player has not played in over 1.5 years and is trying to get comfortable on the court again. I think we are slowly seeing Sy find his way back to form. Offensively there has not been enough ball movement yet. I think that needs to change and I think it will as players get an understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There have been so many turnovers and that is concerning. Turnovers have such a huge impact on a teams ability to win games. We expect turnovers with a new system and new players, especially with young players in the ball handling positions as this team is currently configured. We did not expect this level of turnovers. The unforced turnovers are a huge problem that this team needs to resolve. Defensively is the biggest concern I have for this team. We have given up way to many easy buckets in the half court set. Our interior defenders (Williamson, Chatman and Smith) in all honesty have been terrible at protecting the rim. They need to be more physical and frankly work harder at making the offensive players uncomfortable. If this team can grow into a team that limits the unforced turnovers, moves the ball better offensively and does a better job with team defense to protect the rim, I think we will all be happy with those results. I felt the effort defensively was much higher yesterday against JMU then it has been all year. Small steps is what I expect this season to be about, small steps in the right direction. Kanye Jones: He has clearly been in the coaching staffs dog house. I feel for the most part he has played rather well thus far. His shot has been off for most of the year. I am still not a fan of his footwork on his shot but I am afraid its too late to change that. He has attacked the rim off the dribble going both left and right with quite a bit of success. He has been one of the only players able to consistently get to the free throw line. I think he has rebounded the ball better than last year. I would still like to see more effort defensively and see him distribute the ball more. We saw yesterday in the JMU game him dribble into double teams on multiple occasions. That ball needs to be moved. I did feel like he worked harder on defense yesterday then he has all year. I think Kanye will be a key contributor to this team all season long. Sy Chatman: He is struggling to get comfortable on the floor because of his long period of not being on the floor. I would like to see him not settle for jump shots. I think he is a great player with his back to the basket and we need to see him in the post more backing his opponent in especially when the match up is in our favor. We saw him do that a few times yesterday in the second half with success. He is a strong guy who is tough to handle in the post. Defensively he needs tgo be a better rebounder and rim protector. He tries to block every shot and that hurts him a lot of times. On the perimiter on offense he needs to be a better passer. The ball gets stuck with him too often. With Sabol on the floor and his ability to shoot it should open up the floor and he needs to learn how to take advantage of that. Ryan Sabol: I have been really impressed with him thus far. Defensively he has been better than I expected. Offensively he is as pure of a shooter as we have had here in maybe a decade. His stroke is true and sweet. I think he is adjusting to the level of play around him. He has struggled with his fg% minus three pointers and I think that will come. I would like to see him take advantage of his mid range game as I think that could be a strength of his and an easier way to get his shots off when attacking off the dribble. I think we really have a great player in the making here. I like that he is getting minutes and he is proving each day he deserves them. If I am coach we are working to get him ten shots minimum per game, he has the green light anytime he can get it off. His shooting makes this team better by opening up the floor for all others. Isiah Adams: His adjustment to this team and his new role has not been smooth. Similar to last year, way to many turnovers, unforced turnovers as a result of not moving the ball. He wants to be the man on this team and he deserves that but he needs to learn to let the game come to him and not force it and result in a turnover. I would like to see him use his length more and attack off the dribble, too often he settles for jump shots. I thought he has rebounded the ball better than last year, but defensively I have not seen the effort I saw at the end of last season. At the end of last season he was getting after it on the other teams best players. I would like to see that again, this team needs someone to step up in that way. Anguan Boldin JR: Boldin and Sabol are the best players on this team and they have proved it thus far this season. I know the older guys Chatman, Smith and Adams want this to be their team, but the kids have proven this is their team. They are playing the game the right way and giving max effort and moving the ball. Boldin has really been impressive on the defensive end of the floor. He is strong and quick and willing to sacrifice his body for the team. He is a very good rebounder for his size. Offensively, his ability to offensive rebound and attack off the dribble are things this team really needs. He has not looked comfy with his jump shot except in one game but I am sure that will come. I am so excited to see him develop and I remain confident he will develop into one of the stronger players in this conference, as soon as next year. Zakir Williamson: Its so nice to see him on the floor and getting minutes. We have heard all summer how well he has been playing. He looks slimmed down again this year and I want to see him be physical cause this team needs that more than anything else. thought y was the best I have seen him play. banging down low and being a pest defensively. Offensively anything he gives us is a bonus. I would like to see him continue to develop in the post and look to kick the ball out to Sabol when help comes on his side. I would like to see Zakir work on getting 8 rebounds per game. This team needs help rebounding and he is the answer. Shawn Fulcher: Clearly this kid is used to playing fast. He is best when the tempo is high paced, but this approach is definitely not one the coaching staff is looking to take advantage of. I would like to see him slow down in the half court and look to create shots for his teammates, namely Sabol and Adams. Defensively I like what I see, he is a pest and willing to contribute on the boards. HIs jump shot looks strong and I know that will continue to improve. If he improves his assist to turnover ratio that will really help this team compete in games. Overall, I like what I have seen and I look forward toing comfortable in his role and improving as the season continues. He is going to be a solid contributor for years to come. Bryson Wilson: This kid is an athlete and physical. I thought yesterday was his best game of the season. It is going to take him sometime to figure out this level of competition. I would like to see him attack off the dribble more and focus on rebounding and getting himself to the free throw line with that athleticism. He looks very uncomfortable with his jump shot, I hope the coaching staff is working on that. With Sabol, Boldin, Fulcher and Wilson, I really like the direction this team is heading. I think that can be a solid nucleus and I love that he is getting minutes and learning on the fly. I look forward to watching him continue to develop. Lloyd McVeigh: Nobody has struggled to adjust to this level like Lloyd has. Besides a 5 minute stretch a few games ago he has looked very nervous and uncomfortable. I am struggling to figure out of he is a post or wing player. He seems to be struggling with this same issue. He needs to limit the turnovers and needs to contribute on the boards when he is on the floor. Defensively he looks scared to being called for a foul. I think once he gets more comfortable at this level we will see a lot of improvement. Sometimes it takes time and I think this is one of those cases. He needs a game where he drops in 15 points to get him going. Lets hope that game is coming up. Jo Smith: He has been our only rebounder. On the offensive glass he is relentless. Defensively I would like to see him be more physical. Offensively he is too dominant with his left hand. He has been shooting the ball well from outside but I would rather see him put the ball on the floor and attack the rim and get to the free throw line. Many of the bigs covering him on the perimeter are not able to stay in front of him without fouling. He needs help on the glass as he cannot be our only rebounder. He looks to me to be the leader of this team and I would like to see that continue to develop. Good things happen when the leader of the team is one of the hardest workers on the team. I see a 20 rebound game in his future. Has this team been hard to watch sometimes this season, yes. Have the games been frustrating because of the turnovers, yes. Lets not lose site of the big picture and what this season is about. This team and coaching staff is growing and I for one am going to remain patient and enjoy the process and watching them improve with each game. I have purchased tickets to the last three games for the final home stand and I cannot wait to see them in person. By then, I suspect this will be a different team. I believe in these players and these coaches and I say Go Bulls! Respect for getting that all down on paper and I admire the optimism. Unfortunately, I read a lot of hope, but not a lot of reasons for hope. But that's what being a fan is sometimes - blind, fervent partisanship and I'm usually not averse to that kind of fun. I'm looking forward to being on the court Saturday, go UB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 29 minutes ago, MuchMany said: But that's what being a fan is sometimes - blind, fervent partisanship Bills fans are used to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuchMany Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 3 hours ago, Blue03 said: Bills fans are used to it Eh, they're mostly spoiled doomers these days. Sad really. 4 hours ago, Blue03 said: I think the turnover issue stems from the new style of ball. GH3 wants to play Nova ball, but unfortunately we’re not villanova. And the teams we play press very hard, which doesn’t help. High press against a team that’s just learning to play a passing game comes with a long learning curve. I think with his style we can develop into a good team, but it’ll take some adjustment to opposition play. I'm curious how you think "Nova ball" is causing the turnovers? I think it's mostly not having any primary or secondary ball handling on the team. Like to a point I've never seen on a non SWAC/MEAC D1 team. And I'm not worried about how that will impact this year's W-L record, but how it is going to make our guys fall into bad habits and how it hinders our style of play, which will influence future recruits deciding whether they want to come here. And it's concerning to me that either GH3 felt comfortable with this going into the season or that this was the best he could muster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue03 Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 53 minutes ago, MuchMany said: Eh, they're mostly spoiled doomers these days. Sad really. I'm curious how you think "Nova ball" is causing the turnovers? I think it's mostly not having any primary or secondary ball handling on the team. Like to a point I've never seen on a non SWAC/MEAC D1 team. And I'm not worried about how that will impact this year's W-L record, but how it is going to make our guys fall into bad habits and how it hinders our style of play, which will influence future recruits deciding whether they want to come here. And it's concerning to me that either GH3 felt comfortable with this going into the season or that this was the best he could muster. I guess I’m meaning coach is wanting them to learn a new style that they’re not used to. And until they’re comfortable there will be issues. Just a learning curve in trying to make them better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 8 hours ago, MaineBull said: I think many of the people on this board need to relax and see the big picture here. We have a new coach, a first time head coach, with many new players. This stuff takes time to develop. We all knew going into this season this was not going to be about wins and losses, but about improvements and growth both from the team and individual players. Lets all relax and let this team develop and let this coach find his way. I remain excited and think the future is bright for this team and this program. This coach is building something and lets all enjoy the process of it being built from the ground up. We all know after the last disaster of a coach we are starting from ground zero with the reconstruction of this team. This is about building a program and building it the right way. Personally I am excited to watch this develop. As you all know I tend to limit my comments and when I do I tend to provide an in depth review of the team as I see it thus far. I tend to wait to complete this analysis until further in the season but this seems an appropriate time to provide my first thoughts after 7 games. Here are my thoughts on this team and the roster thus far: Coaches: I have heard lots of criticism of the coaches and their passion on the sideline. What I see is a coach who is composed and involved in teaching. He may not be as fierce as Hurley but in my eyes that's a good thing. What is important is how fiery he is with the players in the huddle, if you look closely you will see he is much more intense in that situation. On the sideline during action he is a composed teacher like his predecessor Jay Wright. I for one am a huge fan of this approach. All of the coaches seem to be involved and I think we have something great developing with this staff. I like that coach is toying with different defenses like the 2/3 zone and a 2/2/1 full court press now and then to keep the offense off balance. I think as a group we have struggled with the 2/3 zone thus far but I think the more they play it the better we will get at it. I have said from the beginning we made a great hire in GH3 and he has established a great staff. Lets see how it develops as the year continues. The important part is that the team shows continuous improvement and is playing their best basketball by the end of the year. Clearly the coaching staff has been disciplining players for either on court or off court behavior and I am a big fan of this. Laying the ground work for a culture, a culture of success. Team: They seem to be struggling to find a grove together. We look like a team that has not played a lot of basketball together which is true. There are many factors involved in this. The new coaching regime as we talked about above, an influx of freshman who are playing significant minutes, our best player has not played in over 1.5 years and is trying to get comfortable on the court again. I think we are slowly seeing Sy find his way back to form. Offensively there has not been enough ball movement yet. I think that needs to change and I think it will as players get an understanding of their roles and responsibilities. There have been so many turnovers and that is concerning. Turnovers have such a huge impact on a teams ability to win games. We expect turnovers with a new system and new players, especially with young players in the ball handling positions as this team is currently configured. We did not expect this level of turnovers. The unforced turnovers are a huge problem that this team needs to resolve. Defensively is the biggest concern I have for this team. We have given up way to many easy buckets in the half court set. Our interior defenders (Williamson, Chatman and Smith) in all honesty have been terrible at protecting the rim. They need to be more physical and frankly work harder at making the offensive players uncomfortable. If this team can grow into a team that limits the unforced turnovers, moves the ball better offensively and does a better job with team defense to protect the rim, I think we will all be happy with those results. I felt the effort defensively was much higher yesterday against JMU then it has been all year. Small steps is what I expect this season to be about, small steps in the right direction. Kanye Jones: He has clearly been in the coaching staffs dog house. I feel for the most part he has played rather well thus far. His shot has been off for most of the year. I am still not a fan of his footwork on his shot but I am afraid its too late to change that. He has attacked the rim off the dribble going both left and right with quite a bit of success. He has been one of the only players able to consistently get to the free throw line. I think he has rebounded the ball better than last year. I would still like to see more effort defensively and see him distribute the ball more. We saw yesterday in the JMU game him dribble into double teams on multiple occasions. That ball needs to be moved. I did feel like he worked harder on defense yesterday then he has all year. I think Kanye will be a key contributor to this team all season long. Sy Chatman: He is struggling to get comfortable on the floor because of his long period of not being on the floor. I would like to see him not settle for jump shots. I think he is a great player with his back to the basket and we need to see him in the post more backing his opponent in especially when the match up is in our favor. We saw him do that a few times yesterday in the second half with success. He is a strong guy who is tough to handle in the post. Defensively he needs tgo be a better rebounder and rim protector. He tries to block every shot and that hurts him a lot of times. On the perimiter on offense he needs to be a better passer. The ball gets stuck with him too often. With Sabol on the floor and his ability to shoot it should open up the floor and he needs to learn how to take advantage of that. Ryan Sabol: I have been really impressed with him thus far. Defensively he has been better than I expected. Offensively he is as pure of a shooter as we have had here in maybe a decade. His stroke is true and sweet. I think he is adjusting to the level of play around him. He has struggled with his fg% minus three pointers and I think that will come. I would like to see him take advantage of his mid range game as I think that could be a strength of his and an easier way to get his shots off when attacking off the dribble. I think we really have a great player in the making here. I like that he is getting minutes and he is proving each day he deserves them. If I am coach we are working to get him ten shots minimum per game, he has the green light anytime he can get it off. His shooting makes this team better by opening up the floor for all others. Isiah Adams: His adjustment to this team and his new role has not been smooth. Similar to last year, way to many turnovers, unforced turnovers as a result of not moving the ball. He wants to be the man on this team and he deserves that but he needs to learn to let the game come to him and not force it and result in a turnover. I would like to see him use his length more and attack off the dribble, too often he settles for jump shots. I thought he has rebounded the ball better than last year, but defensively I have not seen the effort I saw at the end of last season. At the end of last season he was getting after it on the other teams best players. I would like to see that again, this team needs someone to step up in that way. Anguan Boldin JR: Boldin and Sabol are the best players on this team and they have proved it thus far this season. I know the older guys Chatman, Smith and Adams want this to be their team, but the kids have proven this is their team. They are playing the game the right way and giving max effort and moving the ball. Boldin has really been impressive on the defensive end of the floor. He is strong and quick and willing to sacrifice his body for the team. He is a very good rebounder for his size. Offensively, his ability to offensive rebound and attack off the dribble are things this team really needs. He has not looked comfy with his jump shot except in one game but I am sure that will come. I am so excited to see him develop and I remain confident he will develop into one of the stronger players in this conference, as soon as next year. Zakir Williamson: Its so nice to see him on the floor and getting minutes. We have heard all summer how well he has been playing. He looks slimmed down again this year and I want to see him be physical cause this team needs that more than anything else. thought y was the best I have seen him play. banging down low and being a pest defensively. Offensively anything he gives us is a bonus. I would like to see him continue to develop in the post and look to kick the ball out to Sabol when help comes on his side. I would like to see Zakir work on getting 8 rebounds per game. This team needs help rebounding and he is the answer. Shawn Fulcher: Clearly this kid is used to playing fast. He is best when the tempo is high paced, but this approach is definitely not one the coaching staff is looking to take advantage of. I would like to see him slow down in the half court and look to create shots for his teammates, namely Sabol and Adams. Defensively I like what I see, he is a pest and willing to contribute on the boards. HIs jump shot looks strong and I know that will continue to improve. If he improves his assist to turnover ratio that will really help this team compete in games. Overall, I like what I have seen and I look forward toing comfortable in his role and improving as the season continues. He is going to be a solid contributor for years to come. Bryson Wilson: This kid is an athlete and physical. I thought yesterday was his best game of the season. It is going to take him sometime to figure out this level of competition. I would like to see him attack off the dribble more and focus on rebounding and getting himself to the free throw line with that athleticism. He looks very uncomfortable with his jump shot, I hope the coaching staff is working on that. With Sabol, Boldin, Fulcher and Wilson, I really like the direction this team is heading. I think that can be a solid nucleus and I love that he is getting minutes and learning on the fly. I look forward to watching him continue to develop. Lloyd McVeigh: Nobody has struggled to adjust to this level like Lloyd has. Besides a 5 minute stretch a few games ago he has looked very nervous and uncomfortable. I am struggling to figure out of he is a post or wing player. He seems to be struggling with this same issue. He needs to limit the turnovers and needs to contribute on the boards when he is on the floor. Defensively he looks scared to being called for a foul. I think once he gets more comfortable at this level we will see a lot of improvement. Sometimes it takes time and I think this is one of those cases. He needs a game where he drops in 15 points to get him going. Lets hope that game is coming up. Jo Smith: He has been our only rebounder. On the offensive glass he is relentless. Defensively I would like to see him be more physical. Offensively he is too dominant with his left hand. He has been shooting the ball well from outside but I would rather see him put the ball on the floor and attack the rim and get to the free throw line. Many of the bigs covering him on the perimeter are not able to stay in front of him without fouling. He needs help on the glass as he cannot be our only rebounder. He looks to me to be the leader of this team and I would like to see that continue to develop. Good things happen when the leader of the team is one of the hardest workers on the team. I see a 20 rebound game in his future. Has this team been hard to watch sometimes this season, yes. Have the games been frustrating because of the turnovers, yes. Lets not lose site of the big picture and what this season is about. This team and coaching staff is growing and I for one am going to remain patient and enjoy the process and watching them improve with each game. I have purchased tickets to the last three games for the final home stand and I cannot wait to see them in person. By then, I suspect this will be a different team. I believe in these players and these coaches and I say Go Bulls! I thought Mike Washington's success in his 1st year at Ball Stage last year was a reasonable expectation.....20-12 and 11-7 in MAC. No D-1 wins with many very uncompetitive games and a single victory vs a D2 by a couple is no reason for optimism. Hitting the panic button is more than reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocCas86 Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 11 hours ago, Chet said: I thought Mike Washington's success in his 1st year at Ball Stage last year was a reasonable expectation.....20-12 and 11-7 in MAC. No D-1 wins with many very uncompetitive games and a single victory vs a D2 by a couple is no reason for optimism. Hitting the panic button is more than reasonable. Lewis was able to keep core together. Ball St. lost a lot in portal this past off-season and Ball St now ranked around ~260. I expect UB would have been better this year if a few players stayed, but this would not necessarily mean much for years 2 and 3. That said, I do think Halcovage missed a bit in rebuilding team, particularly not getting another PG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clodney Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) 14 hours ago, Chet said: I thought Mike Washington's success in his 1st year at Ball Stage last year was a reasonable expectation.....20-12 and 11-7 in MAC. No D-1 wins with many very uncompetitive games and a single victory vs a D2 by a couple is no reason for optimism. Hitting the panic button is more than reasonable. Ball State returned 8 guys last year that were responsible for 73% of their scoring the year prior. Not to mention, they got Jarron Coleman back from Missouri and he went on to lead the team in just about every category, It's a very different scenario. Edited December 1, 2023 by clodney 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UB92 Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 23 hours ago, Blue03 said: Exactly. The only reason we didn’t see the immediate hatred for Whitesell was because the results weren’t too atrocious. But he had stars that knew how to play together. Then the team regressed and we’re left with pretty much nothing. Now we ACTUALLY have to rebuild an entire program from the ground, and people are quick to say it’s not working. No kidding, it’s easy to rebuild a team when a few seniors graduate, it’s not easy to rebuild a program when most of the team and coaching staff is gone and the team is left with no identity. Takes time, but we’re seeing good signs. I think the turnover issue stems from the new style of ball. GH3 wants to play Nova ball, but unfortunately we’re not villanova. And the teams we play press very hard, which doesn’t help. High press against a team that’s just learning to play a passing game comes with a long learning curve. I think with his style we can develop into a good team, but it’ll take some adjustment to opposition play. I just picked a random comment here... I know people are complaining (or supporting) after every game (and during the game!). This is fantastic. After all, the alternative is crickets. So even though there probably is so much noise (statistically speaking) to analyze an individual game (and, especially, during a game), it fills the time and allows people/fans to express their interest and support (even if it is only "this coach isn't very good...we need a new coach...and AD"). I may not post as much, but I read almost everything. It would be sad to come to the board during/after the game and not read anything. Go Bulls! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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