UNH game thread

[purplehaze]

Hopefully Coach and staff will work on some things in practice today and tomorrow. Alot of the problems though are not going to be rectified by any practicing or coaching. Alot is mental and intangible. There is no one player who can put the team on his back and carry it. It is rare and wonderful to have or have had such a player. they don't come around too often.

 

 

As Norman Dale said "This is your Team."

[Dane96]

[quote name='bosiydid' date='Jan 4 2008, 09:04 AM' post='29797'}

 

- Any dissenting post authored on this board is immediately met with.....arm chair quarterbacks suck, you don't know what your talking about, who are you to question anything that goes on with this program, I live with the Browns, and know them like the back of my hand, I've worked in all branches of government, I know all about budgets and money, I've worked in the marketing department at 45 premier university's in the country etc. etc. etc. That might be stretching it a bit, but you get my gist. I personally don't care to listen incessantly to how great you are, all I see it is you talking down to people (myself included on a number of occasions) by fictitiously building yourself up. You seem bar none, to be the most intolerant person on this board of dissenting opinions, and thats a freaking shame.

 

My final say on the subject (as I will stick to my promise to DP) you should probably learn what helping with info to keep this board moving is...and what attacks are. You are the pot calling the kettle black on this one, having jumped the gun so many times you have apologized to Siena fans for g-dssakes. Bob87 probably wants to tar and feather you for that (JOKE...so dont get your pants in a bunch).

 

You should also learn the difference between ego maniac and giving a curriculum vitae for backing. See, for the "newbies" as you put it...and YOU fit that category whether you like it or not when it comes to the Albany athletic program (heck...I fit it compared to others on this board), posts on this board come from uniformed perspectives that make expectations for our program crazy. These are paid professionals and teenagers (for the most part) out there. So instead of saying something like "Dude...you are 16 years old and you have a family member who is a Dane athlete...your limited CYO hoop knowledge can't allow you to really understand the enormity of what is actually going on from a playing/coaching perspective." to a newbie, I offer my background as a perspective as to why the info I am giving is either from a source...or why I may have a more advanced understanding. DO you really think I care if members of this board suckle at my teet because I worked so hard to do certain things? NO, I do not...but I hope to advance the overall cause of the UA program with my info. And believe me...I have been quick to deride Albany and its variety of staff members when it is necessary.

 

Folks, we are coming off of two AE championships...relax. Some schools have never had one (MAINE).

 

You should have heard the things Doc Sauers and James Jones would go off on players about. Or little things why players sat the bench. Here is a tidbit-- If a player sat down during a timeout with Doc (and Doc wasn't satisfied with the team performance), that guy could expect to still be sitting on bench coming out of a timeout. Doc felt his players should be up...and ready to go...and conditioned to go. Imagine that...a player riding the pine because he sat during a TO. Now compare that to not playing a kid so he can learn the game and not cause Albany to breakdown defensively. Which is more ridiculous?

 

As to offering credentials, it is like the guy who succesfully day trades vs. a Senior Broker at Goldman. I expect the Senior Broker to give me his credentials as to why I should listen to him instead of the day trader. I dont think he is an ego maniac, however I do think he is sporting the resume to show me why his info may be better than the day trader.

 

I have never not met people in person if they asked to do so...and I dont hide behind message boards. Anyone who would like, ask Dane Pound to point me out at a home game...he knows where I am at. Feel free to come and actually meet me.

 

Good day to all....and Bleed Purple (that's for the old guard who may or may not own that shirt).

[Patch]

Not to oversimplify things even though our offensive problems are complex.

 

1. In 13 games our primary ball handlers Martin and Lillis have combined for 80 TOs - 6+ pg

 

2. The 3 guys who have gone to the FT Line the most are a composite 65 of 107 or 60%

 

3. the 3 guys who have had the most 3PFGAs are a combined 60 of 177 - 33%

 

With that said - add into the equation that our hustle and defense have been below par.

 

From my vantage point I don't see any individual at fault - it's a team effort (and I don't mean that in a good way). It seems everyone is looking around and saying "it's not my fault, I only made a couple of mistakes" well when you play 10 guys those 2 or 3 mistakes become 20 - 30 per game.

 

Add it all together and you've given away 3 or 4 games - 5 and 8 could have easily been 8 and 5 or even 9-4. But it is what it is.

 

As an armchair quarterback it seems to me this team is looking for bad things to happen and are finding them. Right now mental toughness is not a strength of this team.

 

Somehow they need to get a good win to get on track.

[Dane96]

Very good post.

 

And this is the difference between being an armchair QB with perspective and simply saying "THIS KID SHOULD PLAY BECAUSE HE IS ATHLETIC!

[Clickclack]

Dane,

 

Not sure what the reference to apologizing to Siena fans is all about....when I realize I'm wrong....I have the mental fortitude and integrity to own up to it, not sure I can say the same about you.

 

You should also learn the difference between ego maniac and giving a curriculum vitae for backing. See, for the "newbies" as you put it...and YOU fit that category whether you like it or not when it comes to the Albany athletic program (heck...I fit it compared to others on this board), posts on this board come from uniformed perspectives that make expectations for our program crazy. These are paid professionals and teenagers (for the most part) out there. So instead of saying something like "Dude...you are 16 years old and you have a family member who is a Dane athlete...your limited CYO hoop knowledge can't allow you to really understand the enormity of what is actually going on from a playing/coaching perspective." to a newbie, I offer my background as a perspective as to why the info I am giving is either from a source...or why I may have a more advanced understanding. DO you really think I care if members of this board suckle at my teet because I worked so hard to do certain things? NO, I do not...but I hope to advance the overall cause of the UA program with my info. And believe me...I have been quick to deride Albany and its variety of staff members when it is necessary.

 

But yet it's acceptable to run people down by saying ......."Half, if not more or these armchair types have never played a high level of high school (or coached) ball, let alone college, yet y'all are experts." and this gem...."And for the record, I can BITCH about Ambrose's D. I have watched nearly every game...and I am coming at you from a coach and former college player's perspective. The kid wouldn't be playing for me either. He is a talent...but one who needs to understand the nuances of college." Ego maniac.....? Let this collective board be the judge!

 

You seem to be making a concerted effort to paint me as someone who questions the coach at the drop of a hat, when in fact I've done no such thing. To the contrary, I've gone on record as saying that I trust Coach Brown and his assesment of the roster/players he has available to him. What continually disappoints me in many of your posts.... is that while you lecture us on how NOT to be a Siena like board, you in fact turn it into just that. How about having a civil discourse with people instead of constantly feeding us a steady does of your accomplishments chased by some condescending remark.

 

I am aware of what my reputation on this board is and that when I joined I was quite the hothead and still am in many respects. I however, have learned to be sensitive towards dissenting opinions instead of running people down. There's a way to post with respect.....especially when discussing something with a fellow UA fan/alum.

 

You would be well served to remember that!

 

Peace!

[Dane96]

How 'bout not jumping into replies that were not to you...at all...but to other members. Let them come out and say something...I think they are big boys and girls to defend any attack I made on them.

 

Enjoy the weekend.

[JustDrastik]

Dane96,

 

I provided you with reasons as to why Ambrose's athleticism would be beneficial to us and why he should play more. Scroll up. I didn't just say "HE'S ATHLETIC - PLAY HIM". Secondly, how is this any different than saying Player X is a big body, and we need size - it would be beneficial to play him some more.

If you can name another player on the team who can take someone off the dribble consistently, I'll stop this thread. If you can name someone who can drive and finish, I'll stop responding. If you can name someone who can get to the line often, I'll stop posting to this. Ambrose's abilities seem as though they COULD help cure our problems.

 

If you're basketball coaching abilities/knowledge are so profound, why are you trolling this board and picking apart/criticizing people's posts and not coaching for some institutions and winning 20 games a year? Food for thought. I'm hungry.

[Clickclack]

How 'bout not jumping into replies that were not to you...at all...but to other members. Let them come out and say something...I think they are big boys and girls to defend any attack I made on them.

 

Enjoy the weekend.

 

 

YOU PEOPLE ARE COMICAL

 

Half, if not more or these armchair types have never played a high level of high school (or coached) ball, let alone college, yet y'all are experts.

 

I'm a PERSON TO!

 

Honestly, this is the point I was trying to make. You can write all of what you did and more but you don't have to be an all out prick.

 

Peace!

[Dane96]

Dane96,

 

I provided you with reasons as to why Ambrose's athleticism would be beneficial to us and why he should play more. Scroll up. I didn't just say "HE'S ATHLETIC - PLAY HIM". Secondly, how is this any different than saying Player X is a big body, and we need size - it would be beneficial to play him some more.

If you can name another player on the team who can take someone off the dribble consistently, I'll stop this thread. If you can name someone who can drive and finish, I'll stop responding. If you can name someone who can get to the line often, I'll stop posting to this. Ambrose's abilities seem as though they COULD help cure our problems.

 

Yes you did...and I am cool with that! And you did respond last night...with good stuff. The answer to your questions is: NOBODY...nobody can fill that role. And I have said since last year that Siggers would be our biggest loss. Kid was everything you said...and sometimes more. Sometimes he was less.

 

Bottom line again, Will plays guys to win games. It is clear that Ambrose has the tools right now to do that...but is a liability elsewhere according to the guy who gets paid to make those decisions.

 

You and I actually see more eye to eye than others will have the board believe. Where we differ is whether or not playing Tim is best for the team. From what I have seen...but more importantly from what the man who gets paid to make decisions has stated, it WAS not in the best interests early on.

 

Maybe the UNH loss changes that. I argue...who loses the time?

 

I am hungry too. If you say Iati...totally agree with you. But the truth is...Connelly, Wilson, Martin, Lillis, are getting the minutes and need to get the minutes. That means Ambrose gets about 5 more a game.

 

Those five more minutes are not going to change our problems of taking care of the basketball.

[McFan]

Dane96,

 

I provided you with reasons as to why Ambrose's athleticism would be beneficial to us and why he should play more. Scroll up. I didn't just say "HE'S ATHLETIC - PLAY HIM". Secondly, how is this any different than saying Player X is a big body, and we need size - it would be beneficial to play him some more.

If you can name another player on the team who can take someone off the dribble consistently, I'll stop this thread. If you can name someone who can drive and finish, I'll stop responding. If you can name someone who can get to the line often, I'll stop posting to this. Ambrose's abilities seem as though they COULD help cure our problems.

 

Yes you did...and I am cool with that! And you did respond last night...with good stuff. The answer to your questions is: NOBODY...nobody can fill that role. And I have said since last year that Siggers would be our biggest loss. Kid was everything you said...and sometimes more. Sometimes he was less.

 

Bottom line again, Will plays guys to win games. It is clear that Ambrose has the tools right now to do that...but is a liability elsewhere according to the guy who gets paid to make those decisions.

 

You and I actually see more eye to eye than others will have the board believe. Where we differ is whether or not playing Tim is best for the team. From what I have seen...but more importantly from what the man who gets paid to make decisions has stated, it WAS not in the best interests early on.

 

Maybe the UNH loss changes that. I argue...who loses the time?

 

I am hungry too. If you say Iati...totally agree with you. But the truth is...Connelly, Wilson, Martin, Lillis, are getting the minutes and need to get the minutes. That means Ambrose gets about 5 more a game.

 

Those five more minutes are not going to change our problems of taking care of the basketball.

 

Without going into a whole rotation thing, I could say you could take a minute or two from all of these guys. To me the hardest to take minutes from is Martin. W/o him a press would eat us alive (and still bothers us with him). Brent (most likely due to injuries) is having trouble defending and just doesn't score inside. He could take a blow now and then. Ambrose for Wilson would require maybe other changes to the lineup, but in my eyes there are absolutely times that Ambrose could benefit this team on the floor.

 

That said, no I am not the coach, or want to be the coach. I'm not at practice, but would love to be there. Does Will want to win, off course, nobody is questioning that. I would do things differently. And I'm sane and mature enough to recognize that how I would do it has no bearing on anything beyond this board and people I talk hoops to.

 

Without a time machine, I wonder how good Jamar would have been if Coach wasn't forced to play him through all of the mistakes. Everybody pause and think about that. I think Coach has done a fantastic job, but I think Jamar did a better job.

[UA_MA_2000]

I didn't watch or listen to the game last night, but the statistics that jump out at me are:

 

1. Attendance at UNH of only 521. Wow.

 

2. UAlbany had a team total of 6 assists. 6?! Not good. Suggests to me that we're not penetrating and dishing. Moreover, when Martin or whoever drives with the ball, a player who doesn't have the ball needs to move into position to do 2 things: (1) MOVE so as to create a passing lane so that the person (i.e., Martin) with the ball can dish to you for a potential assist; and (2) if nothing else move on the court so that the person guarding you is necessarily out of position if he is attempting to play help defense. With regard to #2, if my man cheats a little bit to cover a passing lane or play help defense, I need to move my butt to the three-point arc or somewhere else on the court to force that defender to choose to either continue to move with me or play the help defense. By doing this, you either free up yourself, or take away the help defense that was trying to stop our ball handler -- i.e., Martin.

 

3. 4-17 from the 3-point arc. This is not good!

 

4. 20 for 26 from the free-throw line. This definitely works; I'm pleased with the number of free throws we took and the number that we made.

 

5. Turnovers = 13. Getting better ... . I can live with this number.

 

Just some random thoughts that I had, and the inferences that I formulated from the statistics are not necessarily well-informed or sensible. Nonetheless, I hope they make a little bit of sense.

[Patch]

In my opinion the problems this team is going through far exceed Ambrose playing or not playing!!!!!!

 

Timmy Ambrose is and can be an asset to this team.

 

He is the scorer type we sorely miss but if he is not bringing it at both ends it can really cost us.

 

A lot of times we just look at box scores and man to man matchups when evaluating players.

 

I wonder what Tim's problems are......

 

Does he comprehend the Game Plan?

 

Is he losing players in transition?

 

Does he correctly switch or not switch according to the plan?

 

Does he blow assignments - like certain players you are suppose go below the screen against others you must go over the top? or Sometimes coaches want you - on G & G screens or crossovers automatically switch. on G & F screens or crossovers you may want them to fight through/ go over or go under and other such things.

 

Does he know his defensive assignments on out of bounds situations sometimes you rotate and sometimes you play straight man or even zone it?

 

If he blows a good number of these type assignments sometimes it may appear that someone else blew an assignment when in actuality it was really him.

 

Or, Offensively if he goes the wrong way during a play does it ruin the play and strand someone and force them to make something out of nothing or force a turnover or just force the offense out of sync?

 

All of these things we as fans don't know but the coaches do!!!!

 

I'm sure the entire coaching staff would like to see Ambrose on the floor but at what expense.

 

For example: Last night Ambrose got 14 minutes and took 9 shots (2nd most on the team), he only hit 2 and didn't get to the FT Line maybe what he gave up may have outweighed what we gained on this night. I don't know!

 

I would like to believe if he executed offensively and defensively his minutes would rise considerably and in my opinion that would be good for this team.

 

If the coaches reward him for doing things wrong will he ever learn to do them correctly?

 

Hopefully, he is going to be a very productive player over the course of 4 seasons. Remember when Jamar was a freshman we were forced to play him and won 7 games I believe. Hopefully those days are behind us.

 

Basketball in my opinion is a game of efficiency, that's why we talk FG & FT %, rebounding differential and things like assist /turnover ratio. The more efficient you are in these type of areas the more chance you have of getting the "W".

[Clickclack]

In going back and forth (via PM) with D96, I recognize that some things that were included in my posts served no purpose to advance the point I was trying to make......that point being, that we should be able to accommodate and discuss dissenting opinions without running each other down. Something I felt (and largely still feel) D96 does quite often.

 

I've retracted some of my earlier comments that served no purpose, my apologize to D96 for clogging the board up with comments that appeared to be to personal. However, I stand behind my original point.

[JustDrastik]

Patch,

 

I agree with your assesment to an extent. I am just trying to point out that I feel that Ambrose may help cure some ailing problems we have. As a whole, the team needs to play MUCH better.

 

The UVM game is very important for 2 reasons:

1) How do we respond and play after losing a game we should have won against UNH - 7 dressed players. Unacceptable.

2) How do we fare against UVM, as they are one of the top teams in the league?

 

BIG GAME. Can we stop the losing streak as well?

[Patch]

JustDrastik - no explanation needed.

 

Patch,

 

I agree with your assesment to an extent. I am just trying to point out that I feel that Ambrose may help cure some ailing problems we have. As a whole, the team needs to play MUCH better.

 

I'm in agreemnet with you, I want to see Ambrose out there as much as anyone, as long as he's helping the team.

 

If he can just get to the point of doing an average job in everything else he'll be on the court to score more and hopefully we'll be a better team..

 

Some of the responsibility is on the coaches but the bulk of it is on him, he has to commit himself to improve in certain areas and his teammates should be helping too!