Topic: GAME THREAD -- MU vs LA Lafayette

[herdfan129]

The defense from the Herd in the 2nd half was some of the best defense we have played in a decade!

The best I can remember since we beat Cincy in Cincy under Herrion.

[goherd24]

Indiana just beat these guys by 30

Yeah and they also played shot horribly and had a bad game against Indiana. It's possible we can beat Indiana if we play good ball.

[DC01HERD]

Obinna is a defensive force.

[DC01HERD]

We can play with Indiana if we limit turnovers. It will interesting to see how we can get to the rim against them.

[Herdmeister]

Indiana just beat these guys by 30

and they beat Jackson State last night 70-35

[Rockin Herd Fan]

I think playing deliberate team like Campbell has really helped this team learn to play with more discipline.  They still made some sloppy plays last night, but not nearly as many as earlier in the season.  You can still play a freewheeling style of basketball without playing carelessly.  It seems like Danny has tightened his rotation earlier than normal this season.  Usually he plays a lot of guys throughout the OOC portion of the schedule and then really tightens up the rotation in conference play. 

[overherd1]

I think this team could be special.  I'm not saying they are or will be, but could be.  If the chemistry works itself out and we learn to make the extra pass and continue our improved defense.  We appear to be more athletic and at times more aggressive.  Second half play last night was good!  Will be interesting to see where we end up. 

[miltonherdfan]

Obinna is a defensive force.

barring injury, obinna will almost certainly break jansson's career blocked shot record before conference play starts next season.  that's crazy!  if he would somehow keep up his crazy pace of 6 blocks/game, he would be the new record-holder after 1 CUSA tourn game THIS season!  & then have 3 more yrs of eligibility remaining.  hahahaha

thru 5 games, his #s so far this season stack up very favorably with whiteside's his 1 yr here.  granted, it's a 5-game sample vs a 30-some game sample, but it's not as if obinna's individual performances this season aren't repeatable.  he hasn't had a 45-pt game or a 25-reb game or anything like that to distort his averages.  he's played 5 good, solid games.  but their per-game averages, from minutes to points, rebs, blocks, all the way across the board are almost identical.  whiteside's FG% was a little higher, but hassan didn't test his range nearly as much as obinna does.  but, IMO, obinna makes up the difference there with a much higher FT%, meaning he's not near the liability whiteside was on the floor if opponent goes to hack-a-shaq.  OAK also scores slightly better so far on ball-handling stats (more assts, less TOs).

so, my question for DD is, how many more whiteside-esque games does OAK need to put up before he "earns" beyers' or goran's starting lineup spot?  ::)

[2xBison]

barring injury, obinna will almost certainly break jansson's career blocked shot record before conference play starts next season.  that's crazy!  if he would somehow keep up his crazy pace of 6 blocks/game, he would be the new record-holder after 1 CUSA tourn game THIS season!  & then have 3 more yrs of eligibility remaining.  hahahaha

thru 5 games, his #s so far this season stack up very favorably with whiteside's his 1 yr here.  granted, it's a 5-game sample vs a 30-some game sample, but it's not as if obinna's individual performances this season aren't repeatable.  he hasn't had a 45-pt game or a 25-reb game or anything like that to distort his averages.  he's played 5 good, solid games.  but their per-game averages, from minutes to points, rebs, blocks, all the way across the board are almost identical.  whiteside's FG% was a little higher, but hassan didn't test his range nearly as much as obinna does.  but, IMO, obinna makes up the difference there with a much higher FT%, meaning he's not near the liability whiteside was on the floor if opponent goes to hack-a-shaq.  OAK also scores slightly better so far on ball-handling stats (more assts, less TOs).

so, my question for DD is, how many more whiteside-esque games does OAK need to put up before he "earns" beyers' or goran's starting lineup spot?  ::)

he's pretty much getting Goran's minutes now.  I'd guess he may be starting soon. 

[2xBison]

Byers playing like 2 seconds left in the game

I know the guy is the guy to hate on right now but, he was 50% from three on a small sample of 4.  That's pretty good in terms of "too far away bricks".  He also had only one turnover yesterday.  So, really one turnover and a silly foul or two but many many more positives in his game last night.  I guess he has gotten him self to a place, fans are on him no matter what he does.  He had a very solid stat line last night and a solid game.

we need the rest of the roster to put up shooting percentages from three like Serenac and Byers, the team would be much better off.  Goran has a high percentage from 3 but I don't see that lasting all season.  We need the outside shots to spread the floor, particularly from our bigs.

[2xBison]

Beyers jumped straight up in the air a good 3 feet from the ?shooter,? who was leaning in from 70 feet away.

One of the worst calls in basketball history. Seriously. That bad.

no kidding.  horrible call by the ref.  bail out a guy from 70 feet when a defender jumped straight up.

[2xBison]

Taylor cant hit a darn thing , hes slumping big time

if he keeps that up some of you can give him the Byers treatment.   ??? ::) ::)

[2xBison]

When the defender jumps straight up in the air, there?s no such thing as the ?cylinder? rule.

Beyers was also about 4-5 feet from the shooter.

thank you.  some need to brush up on the rules.

[2xBison]

Tonight is the kind of stat line we have to have from Beyers. 5-9 from the floor, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist but the real big one 1 TURNOVER! That's what we need consistently from Beyers.

Obinna right now is our best player, he learns to finish a few of those easy ones and he scores 25 tonight.

don't tell these guys the stat line.  it ruins the narrative.

[The E-Man]

thank you.  some need to brush up on the rules.

Tell that to CUSA officials... Did you see the game last night? Toussaint had a clear block shot and they still called the foul. If we had other officials from say that Big 10 Beyers jumping straight up wouldn't have been a foul. CUSA officials are some of the worst I've seen.

[ThunderingHerdFan]

Tell that to CUSA officials... Did you see the game last night? Toussaint had a clear block shot and they still called the foul. If we had other officials from say that Big 10 Beyers jumping straight up wouldn't have been a foul. CUSA officials are some of the worst I've seen.

The official who made the call on Beyers made the ?controversial? (but I thought correct) call against Auburn in the Final Four when they lost to Virginia in the semifinals on a foul call in 2019.  He?s one of the top officials in the game, but he missed that one terribly.

[MUonium]

by far, i think its unanimous that OAK is currently the most valuable, overall player on the team.  George too.  which leads me to....

i haven't looked at stats (attempts compared to others and scoring %) but give Kinsey credit for unselfish play, even if he struggles handling the ball, sometimes finishing.  teams are keying on him.  he's doing things somewhat quietly; D, rebounding/put-backs and assists.  it's hard to remember that he's 6'5, his leaping ability makes us think he's 6'9 and almost we expect him to have a auto-height switch or perfect timing all the time, lol. 

Taylor will be OK- he's dealt with the changes of playing within a West structure and now a team that is much more diverse.  DD has mentioned taking bad chances (passes, etc.) as a team, not just Taylor.  that (IQ, staying cool and collected) is what separates good teams from average. 

i agree that past statements that the Campbell game was a bit of a fluke (shooting %).  imho, we've played some decent teams and we i think we can stay close with Indiana if we finish shots/FTs better.

Glad to see that Early is playing smarter, better D and finding his niche- he's proving me wrong in some ways.  same for Serenac.  Toussaint has a pretty good IQ for a FR and has a foundation for a solid future, plays within himself.  he'll learn D without fouling, we will have another positive contributing, team player.

If Byers and Miladinovic can just improve D when on the court and concentrate a little more specific on what 's the best O roles for themselves we can be  better overall.  i know the coaches are working on sorting things out, but it is on them to help these guys as soon as possible.  remember, Byers has actually won us a few games in the past.

i do give credit to staff in regards to adjusting for lack of sweet shooting from outside so far this year.  this is a different team from Elmore days and West days.  how do we get these guys to stroke shots more consistently, relaxed but focused, like many of the teams we've played seem to do.

Last but not least is playing within the inconsistent world of referees, night in and night out, it's not easy but this is also on the staff (and players) to recognize early in games and play accordingly/adjust as necessary.

[Rockin Herd Fan]

I try not to complain about officials, but those guys last night were terrible for both sides. 

[svherd]

Based on last nights results, Dan should be chomping at the bit to get into the Belt. We can obviously compete very well and win the league easily. Excited for that.

Like how George is playing so well. Kudos to the young man.

[The E-Man]

This is a different team from Elmore days and West days.  how do we get these guys to stroke shots more consistently, relaxed but focused, like many of the teams we've played seem to do.

Last but not least is playing within the inconsistent world of referees, night in and night out, it's not easy but this is also on the staff (and players) to recognize early in games and play accordingly/adjust as necessary.

This is an entirely different team from the Elmore, West days. This team is the most talented DD team I've seen since hes been here. We just have to get our shooting touch and we will be competing for a CUSA championship. OAK is only going to get better and more confidence as the season goes on. The keys last night was our defensive play even though we got out rebounded. Taylor's basketball IQ is extremely high, the kid done small things that many may have not payed attention to. Saturday is a very important day for the Herd in both football and basketball. I hope we win in both sports. I really feel like we have a chance to beat Indiana..

[pembrook burrows III]

Louisiana picked up a lot of talent in the portal this offseason. One of the big guys was 6th man of the year in the PAC-10 for Arizona last year. One of the guards started and averaged double figures for St. John's in the Big East. Another guy who played was a starter for San Jose St. in the Mountain West and yet another was a transfer from Creighton. Add those guys to an already big squad with 3 returning starters from a 17-9 team, and you would think they might be tough to beat by years' end. Also, the Rain' Cajuns are coached by Bob Marlin, a former Marshall assistant under Dana Altman. Marlin has won over 430 games coaching at Louisiana and Sam Houston State, which places him in the top 5 all-time winningest coaches at the Division 1 mid-major level. Others in that same circle include Mark Few of Gonzaga, Bob McKillop of Davidson, and Randy Bennett of St. Mary's. So not a bad team by any stretch.

Shooting will ultimately determine how far this team can go this year. I have nightmares about scoring 17 points in the first half against the Hoosiers when nothing seems to fall. But for the first time in many years, I feel like we have the horses to defend all over the court, and we are not getting pushed around under the basket. OAK and George have made quite a difference this year for us in the frontcourt.

Speaking of OAK, the pick he set on that poor young man from Louisiana last night was shocking but clean. The officials reviewed the video and made no call. I think the guy was out cold on the floor for almost a minute. When OAK goes into beast mode, look out! His offseason work has made him into a force.

[The E-Man]

Speaking of OAK, the pick he set on that poor young man from Louisiana last night was shocking but clean. The officials reviewed the video and made no call. I think the guy was out cold on the floor for almost a minute. When OAK goes into beast mode, look out! His offseason work has made him into a force.

I hope the young man is alright, he was still wobbly and needed help to get off the court.

[2xBison]

Tell that to CUSA officials... Did you see the game last night? Toussaint had a clear block shot and they still called the foul. If we had other officials from say that Big 10 Beyers jumping straight up wouldn't have been a foul. CUSA officials are some of the worst I've seen.

I was there and don't disagree the officials were not good.  I saw the bad call at the half too.

[BoydCountyHerdFan]

I am very hopeful that DD sticks with this rotation he has going right now.  Andy, Taevion, Beyers, George, Obinna, Early and Toussaint are the top 7 on this roster.  Goran and Marko can get spot minutes here and there but the other guys (Braun, Fricks, and McKey) just aren't ready to compete at this level right now.  I hate that DD wasted their year of eligibility (that's just horrible roster management on his part) but they can't help us win in conference play.  I have said on here that the lack of shooters will haunt us throughout the year but going big can help to off set that somewhat and that seems to give us the best chance to compete with the better teams right now.

[herdfan129]

Disagree. In the world of transfer portal the days of redshirting most of the class are now over with. They will get a chance to play more against Bluefield. Who knows, they might come on strong by the end of the year.