Tonights Game

[Big D]

Yes a sizeable contingent, including 20-30 students, along with local alums and families.

[UA66]

Great game against a very good team. The defensive effort by both teams was intense. Fortunately we now have the team depth to stay with teams like Bucknell who rotate players in a lot of players to maintain their defensive intensity. Not sure we could have stayed with them in the past in that situation. Now we have at least ten players who can be counted on.

 

Kudos to the student sections at the end court seats. They were loud, rowdy, and really into it. They were a factor!

[Dane Pound]

When I was walking up from the parking lot last night with over an hour to tip-off I couldn't figure out why there was a crowd of people lined up on the steps to the CUE. I realized when I got there that they were students waiting to get in. We used to be happy to have students at the games and now they have to wait in line - AMAZING.

 

Did anyone notice the front of the Arena? They have snazzed it up quite a bit.

[McFan]

Great game. Great Atmosphere.

 

I have to admit at halftime I would have been happy to hold it at twelve points. Unbelievable 18 point second half swing.

 

This is a fun team to watch. Jamar has an off night and Siggers is there for the scoring.

 

Everybody did their little things. Lillis plays D. Everybody did enough rebounding. Connelly, Covington, B. Wilson, Gifford, and even the gaurds really hold a very good big man in check. Quite a difference from last years Sacred Heart debacle where an average big just killed us.

 

Did anybody notice the beating Iati was taking. They were killing him on the screens. I guess I've never paid attention to how tough he is. He just kept bouncing off and fighting through guys that had 20-60lbs on him. Off night shooting for him but I don't think he took any bad shots. And personally, if he's on the floor it's to shoot first pass second.

 

Delaware will be another test. Can't wait for Friday.

[JonUA97]

Great game last night. It was also great to see everyone.

 

Let's keep the momentum going!

 

SSS

[Clickclack]

It was an AWSOME game, I can't talk today, no voice. At halftime I was hoping to keep it under 10 pts. Great comeback. Jamar and Iati and Brent had an off night. But this team is good and Brown has so many interchangeable parts that he can just bring in. The thing that impressed me most was team defense, how they doubled on McNaughton and then how crisply they rotated to cover the open shooter. Team defense was awesome. This team is very very good! I can't wait for this Friday.

[Dane96]

Alrighty...still tired (getting old) but my game report is ready to go:

 

ARENA: Looked great, however I was a bit dissappointed with the NCAA banner (cant really read the Philly part....pretty small). It looked very snazzy. One upgrade we need immediately is a foul/pts scoreboard, most likely attached to the wall on the South Side of the building. It would really give the building a great look. Lit up SEFCU Arena signs would be a nice addition to the outside. Hall of Fame room was fantastic little atmosphere both before and during the game (I acutally misssed 6 minutes of the second half because I was having some fun in there...I blame my roommate for that).

 

GAME:

 

The first half we looked horrendous. Even over the crowd you could hear Brown screaming for the guys to move. There was little fluid motion, however our D was keeping us in the game. There was one sequence where I groaned and said "HOLY CRAP...are you kidding." It was the sequence where IATI chucked a three...missed badly...then went for a steal (which he shouldnt have) and gave Bucknell an easy score because the D was left out of position. I THOUGHT THE GAME WAS ALL DONE HERE.

 

However, Siggers end of half play gave hope that we would keep this respectable. Honestly, a loss by 4 or 5 is all I wanted and hoped for at this point...because that WOULD BE RESPECTABLE.

 

At half-time we were talking with some UA people and we all agreed on this: BUCKNELL WAS VERY...VERY FAST. I was expecting a smart, Princeton style team; the type of guys you play in the school yard and they just out hustle and kill ya. BUT NO....Bucknell was fast and athletic....and had unreal quick releases (VEGETOSKY and GRIFFEN ESPECIALLY). This...was no doubt an advantage over UA. Bucknell, IMHO (and my roomie who grew up playing with a ton of great players), was mid-pack A-Ten, CAA type speed.

 

The second half was simply amazing. First, the JAMAR injury absolutely sucked the gas out of the crowd. I think we all had bile in our mouths. I turned to my roomie and told him this was gut check time and we could still come back without him if these guys brushed it off and just played hard. THE DANES RESPONDED. In no way can we go far without JAMAR, but it was highly encouraging to see the DANES respond. Jon Iati was great with the ball.

 

THIS WAS A HUGE TEAM WIN. I dont think I am a homer in saying: THIS DANES TEAM SHOULD....SHOULD...have the ability to win the AE...and make a suprise in the tourney if they should go that far. This team showed unreal heart, unreal hustle, and absoluetly unselfish teamwork. The passes were very, very good in the second half...looking of that 2nd and 3rd option. The team defense was tremendous...absolutely challenging every pass and shot with intense energy. For all intents and purposes, McNAUGHTON was taken out of the game. Bucknell's offense came from 2 guards...on about 8 big threes.

 

That being said, this was still a slopply game at times...and the offense needs some work. The encouraging thing is the depth of this squad. Offensively, we need to attack the hoop more because we settled for too many jumpers at times when the D was aggressive (perfect time to head to the hoop).

 

Individual notes:

 

FANS: YOU GET THE NUMBER 1 STAR. Unreal atmosphere...truly. There were probably about 100 empty seats...all in the season ticket areas (so they prob didnt show). The most encouraging sign is that the fans on the baselines were ALL STUDENTS. Those sections seat about 750 each. So, on a Friday night, we got about 1200-1500 students to come out. The crowd was loud, boisterous, and shut down the BUCKNELL section (which contrary to reports...I was sitting next to them) was about 300 people. My roommate is an A-Ten grad and commented how awesome the atmosphere was. In the second half you could feel the creciendo of the crowd building up. It finally erupted when we took the 41-40 lead...and was deafening the rest of the way. Great chants...and the band sounded good.

 

Band: Learn some of the traditional songs please...and how about the Alma Mater/Fight song for the end of the game.

 

Players:

 

Jamar: A bit sloppy at times, not really the Jamar we know. Yet, he still got 12 and 6 assts with limited time on the floor. He is MUCH quicker than last year. He simply moves like a cat with the ball. There were two sequences at the end of the game when he dribbled through the baseline where I thought "Would Brown not freak if that wasnt Jamar?" How he tiptoed the line...I will never know.

 

Iati: not great shooting night...but that doesnt tell the story. As McFan pointed out, he is one tough cookie. Was absolutely getting set up with screens on nearly every possessions.. yet managed to fight through or get around them. HE played VERY VERY WELL. He truly shined when Jamar was out...handling the ball effective.y.

 

Connelly: Unsung hero. I was looking forward to seeing what this guy can do...and I was not dissappointed. I think he had 8 and 4...but that too is not the story. He is a big...big kid, but he is also VERY VERY ATHLETIC. He is going to be something special. I think he is our most athletic big man. He is tough and basically beat the crap out of McNaughton and the other big guy. He even got away with some smart fouls (the refs blew it). He is the ANTI-TODD MARTIN.

 

Siggers: What more can you say....the kid was unreal. The AE teams are going to have his hands full with this kid. He is so freakin quick...and just absolutely attacks the rim. My roommate cringed at his first jumper and I told him to watch...Siggers would get it together. He did. Siggers was the offense in this game. He played some smart basketball. Speed wise...he probably was the best match-up for the quick Bucknell guys.

 

Brent Wilson: Not a great Brent game, but like a Captain should, hit big shots and grabbed some huge boards when we needed them. Played some tough D. MADE AN UNREAL SAVE OF THE BALL TO START A BREAK...diving into the crowd...typical stuff from the Iowa guys.

 

B. Lillis: The human punching bag was at it again...diving around and making people angry with his tough nosed defense. Encouraging was that after he failed to take an open jumper, he attacked a bit more when Jamar was out...and hit a big three...huge three. He has the skill to beat people one on one...he just needs to realize it.

 

Michael Knight: great guy off the bench. His three was gorgeous. Played some good defense and moves well without the ball. A nice pickup by Brown.

 

Gifford: Looked like a Frosh...but definately is bigger than I thought...and much more athletic then Zo. He has some learning to do. The difference between him and McNaughton wasnt glaring, however you can tell the experience difference. Gifford got blocked by McNaughton...but he played solid D against the Bucknell star. He didnt look awestruck either. McNaughton is more polished in that he reads/feels what the D is giving him before he receives the ball...and immediately goes to the weakness when he catches the rock (that one up an under move as an example, through the double team). Gifford thinks a bit too much when he gets the ball. This...will change with experience.

 

Covington: Nothing offensively...but a monster on D. He just made McNaughton's night uncomfortable. And dont kid yourself...McNaughton is HUGE!!! Covington is going to make every single AE center get PT after games...because he is a true bruiser...but clean.

 

Coaching: Brown...probably coached one of his better games last night. He made the timely substitutions and timeouts. He reacted well to what the Bucknell D was giving us, and made sure the first half debacle (where we failed to rotate on D) was not repeated. YOU COULD SEE HIS EMOTION AFTER THE GAME...he was high fiving his entire bench. I am just upset I didnt get to chat with his parents (they werent in the Hall of Fame room)...who are great people.

 

Overall: We didnt play our best game, but we played as an unselfish and deep squad. This team will be a tough out in the ever improving AE. We won with D...on a night we lost our leader for a big stretch. The important lesson: The players stepped up and not only played a tough Bucknell team straight up without Jamar...they beat them without him. This is a huge, huge win....but the Danes need to work out some kinks.

 

Up next: DELAWARE...a game we should be able to take.

[UA66]

Excellent analysis Dane 96. As you implied, it should not be overlooked how good this Bucknell team is. I was really impressed with their speed, passing skills, and team oriented play. They are extremely well coached. Beating them, especially coming from as far back as we fell, was a measure of how good our team is and can be. The only thing I might disagree with - just a tad - was that we had an off-night shooting. Yes, Iati missed some open 3s but that Bucknell team played a very tight defense making us work ectra hard to get decent shots. In another year we would have been worn down. Team depth was a big factor in this win.

 

That we were able to shut down their offense in the second half indicates how tough our defense can be. It's always possible to win on a night when you can't hit the side of a barn offensively but you can play wicked defense.

 

By the way, what the hell were all those fire alarms about after the game? It was well after the game and the few of us who were still in the building were told to head for an exit. As I live in Mass., I haven't heard if the building burned down or not. I assume it was just a faulty alarm system overcome by the heat of battle from the game. I'm still planning to be there on friday nite for Delaware.

[UAalum72]

The "March 17, 2006 Philadelphia, PA" was in small print in order to leave room for a few more NCAAs.

 

I've mentioned before that the pep band (in new shirts for the basketball game) should be playing 'Purple and Gold' before and after each half, and during timeouts, to brand the program.

 

Times-Union: Opener is an eye-opener

 

Ettkin: Resilient Danes thump adversity

 

Rereading the preseason section, I see that the T-U noticed we use this forum to critique the media.

[B9j2j6s]

U72 and D96 I understand why you would want the P & G song played; It is my understanding that we no longer have the copies in which to play. The person who was able to arrange the song into the band arrangement graduated and the copies we had were lost over time. That was the story I was told.

 

BTW I hope everyone liked the low brass (me included) section playing the UA-UA-UA chant.

[KingDane]

Thank you, Dane96, for the excellent analysis.

 

I could only listen to the game on the Bucknell radio station. And the guys doing that game were very professional - only one whining incident - on a late game three point attempt where they complained that their guy was badly fouled.

 

It's good to see that you (and others) have praised Iati for a lot of intangibles. On the radio, it sounded like he played a terrible game.

 

A couple of questions - did Knight play at all in the second half? Its only one game - but I'm curious about impressions of Gifford. A chance that we've got a dominating big man in the future?

 

It was a great win.

[Clickclack]

King,

 

I like the way he played although he played in very short stretches. Obviously this was his first game and he probably hasn't played in a place this loud against a very very good center but I think he held his ground. He wasn't pushed around, he looked much more mobile then Z ever was has a very good shot from the FT line. I know his offensive game hasn't been on display that much but I've seen a couple of quick moves to the basket in the exhibition game two weeks ago and a hint of a hook shot (blocked by McNaughton) at least I think it was a hook shot. He also hit a nice 14' - 16' foot jumper in the exhibition. All in all I think he will be very very solid for us. With proper coaching and a good strength program I think he can dominate in our league, and play very good against higher level competition.