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Maine @ UA


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For anyone who did not see the results today, UNH lost to Bingo in OT. UA is now in a 3 way tie for 5th and the next 2 games are with UNH and UMBC, the 2 teams UA is tied with. Obviously win both and the finish is no worse than the 5 seed with a possibility at the 4. A split would probably put UA at the 6 and 0-2 that the doom and gloomers have would obviously put UA at the 7 seed.

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As someone said at the game, maybe we should have Jerel Hasting's mom here for every game. Glad to see him have a career day on Senior Day. Really a hardworking player and one of my favorites this year.

 

If Tim Ambrose can shoot consistently from the outside he's pretty impossible to guard. I didn't realize he had scored as much as he did, surprised to see he had 27.

 

Glad to see the intensity back from this team.

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The run the team went on before the half to take the lead could be the turning point in the season IMO. Instead of going into the half down 8 again to an opponent we should beat, we went on a nice run to go into the half with our heads held high and a lead for once. Jerel was out of his mind today. Great to see him, along with everyone really pick up the slack with so many guys out.

 

BTW, am I the only person who thinks we are a MUCH better team with Johnson at the point?? Maybe coach should move Raffa off the ball permanently when he gets back

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Hopefully some of us can come back off the ledge a little bit and we can get back to focusing on the prize: A couple of more wins and we might be able to sneak into the field for either the College Basketball Invitational or the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

 

On an aside, my favorite part of the game today was when Giffy got the ball in the corner and took four long strides to the basket for a lay-up, not even thinking he should put the ball on the floor. My vantage point was head-on and it definitely elicited a reaction. Other than that play, though, I thought Giffy (and the rest of the team) looked solid.

 

EDIT: Before anyone thinks I am crazy (crazier) I would like to note that I have very minimal interest in either of the post-season tournaments besides the NIT and NCAAs, and that the post was meant to provide levity....

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BTW, am I the only person who thinks we are a MUCH better team with Johnson at the point?? Maybe coach should move Raffa off the ball permanently when he gets back

The ball movement looked better today, and the turnovers were WAY down, with a 20:6 assist to turnover ratio, so it made for more watchable baketball.

 

And sorry for posting right after you, but I guess we were writing at the same time....

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I know people poke fun of the CBI or the other post season tourney, but if it means an additional game where our young kids can get some experience and playing time then count me in. It's not something I would hang my hat on, a tournament like that alone is not something to aspire for during the season or preseason but a game is a game especially for a young team.

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I know people poke fun of the CBI or the other post season tourney, but if it means an additional game where our young kids can get some experience and playing time then count me in. It's not something I would hang my hat on, a tournament like that alone is not something to aspire for during the season or preseason but a game is a game especially for a young team.

It would be good, but as a last resort.

Remember, now that we took care of Maine, it's two more wins in the conference slate, and then three more wins in the conference tourney...

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I know people poke fun of the CBI or the other post season tourney, but if it means an additional game where our young kids can get some experience and playing time then count me in. It's not something I would hang my hat on, a tournament like that alone is not something to aspire for during the season or preseason but a game is a game especially for a young team.

It would be good, but as a last resort.

Remember, now that we took care of Maine, it's two more wins in the conference slate, and then three more wins in the conference tourney...

 

Is that all it is? Easy peasy! :blush:

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I know people poke fun of the CBI or the other post season tourney, but if it means an additional game where our young kids can get some experience and playing time then count me in. It's not something I would hang my hat on, a tournament like that alone is not something to aspire for during the season or preseason but a game is a game especially for a young team.

It would be good, but as a last resort.

Remember, now that we took care of Maine, it's two more wins in the conference slate, and then three more wins in the conference tourney...

 

Is that all it is? Easy peasy! :blush:

Hey, it's two more home games, right?

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10 point lead with 46 seconds left. Giff at the line.

 

What happened to Will Harris? He has disappeared. :(

 

Please tell me Giff makes them.

 

Do you think UA is better off without Harris?

 

 

When Maine went up in the beginning of the game I thought it was gonna be another long one, but the guys stepped up today and brought home a big W. Hopefully we can string a nice run together. So glad to see Jerel have a big night, I've been waiting all year to see him get some significant minutes. Thought the D really tightened up at some points and the ball movement was better today. A lot less standing around. one thing I've noticed all year is that we have such a difficult time getting the ball inbounds from the baseline. I've never seen a team at our level stuggle so much with this. Anyone notice this as well?

 

 

For anyone who did not see the results today, UNH lost to Bingo in OT. UA is now in a 3 way tie for 5th and the next 2 games are with UNH and UMBC, the 2 teams UA is tied with. Obviously win both and t

 

he finish is no worse than the 5 seed with a possibility at the 4. A split would probably put UA at the 6 and 0-2 that the doom and gloomers have would obviously put UA at the 7 seed.

 

 

The run the team went on before the half to take the lead could be the turning point in the season IMO. Instead of going into the half down 8 again to an opponent we should beat, we went on a nice run to go into the half with our heads held high and a lead for once. Jerel was out of his mind today. Great to see him, along with everyone really pick up the slack with so many guys out.

 

BTW, am I the only person who thinks we are a MUCH better team with Johnson at the point?? Maybe coach should move Raffa off the ball permanently when he gets back

 

 

I know people poke fun of the CBI or the other post season tourney, but if it means an additional game where our young kids can get some experience and playing time then count me in. It's not something I would hang my hat on, a tournament like that alone is not something to aspire for during the season or preseason but a game is a game especially for a young team.

 

I. On Harris's Second-Half Sebatical

Harris didn't disappear in the game; he was close to the coaches on the bench and was obviously out due to the tendinitis. As to the statement above positing whether "UA is better off without Harris": NO. PERIOD. No explanation needed. Basketball is such a difficult game to play when one has nagging injuries, muscle pulls, tendinitis, etc. There is so much twisting, turning, stopping, starting, movement in all directions at varying speeds, that injuries have a profound effect on one's impact on the court. Harris has gone to war this year for this program. He's played hurt, sick, thrown up, you name it. He's still charged up and going to battle, giving his all, IMHO. Coach was quoted once complimenting Harris as a politician. Hey, indeed; maybe he'll run for a seat in the NYS Legislature one day and make some noise for us in the Assembly or Senate. :-)

 

II. On Ball Movement Against a Zone and Attacking a Zone Generally

 

When Maine went up early, I actually felt perfectly calm about the outcome and the rest of the season, because I saw immediate differences in how we were playing. I thought to myself in the first ten minutes of this game, that Coach Brown made some profound improvements and adjustments in our offense attacking the zone. I am very impressed. I'm no expert in how to attack a zone. Of course, we all know that outside shooting can and may very well beat a zone defense. But how does one penetrate a zone and get shots closer? My guess is that to accomplish these things, a team needs to pass the ball very, very quickly, flood areas of the zone with more offensive players than defensive players, and use dribble penetration to the extent required to draw 2 or more defenders (total) to the ball.

 

Often times, it seems that when our guard ("O1") penetrates, another player on D comes to the ball, such that D1 (who was originally on the ball as D1) and D2 are now both on the ball. Of course, players D2–D5 could also be on the ball depending on where and how O1 penetrates. Anyway, one of our guys — say, O2 — is left open because D2 left to help with ball penetration. Often times, the open man on offense, say O2, is open on the perimeter or weak-side perimeter because the zone defense is taught to shift to cover offensive players who pose the most significant threat (usually determined by proximity to the basket). The problem is, however, that while we make the pass from O1 to O2 (resulting in the ball being with O2 in the high post or perimeter somewhere), the zone collapses again with D3 and, say, D4, which requires our O2 guy to kick the ball back out and start over. Today, O2 not only passed quickly and refrained from holding onto the ball for too long of a time (which allows D3 and D4 to collapse on O2) but looked to pass quickly to players OTHER THAN O1 and O2 who are simply on the perimeter.

 

What I saw was that O2, who flashes into the lane or cuts to the high post (but behind zone defense players on the perimeter; i.e., D1–D3 in a 3-2, because it's hard to play on-ball defense and watch behind you at the same time!) against a zone defense, would look to make a touch pass to O4 or O5 (or O3) for a higher percentage shot at the hoop. What happens is that when our O2 gets the ball D3–D5 have to move over to O2 because D1–D2 were just collapsing on O1. D1 and D2 are thereby out of the play temporarily. Thus, D3–D5 shift and move towards O2, requiring a quick pass by O2 to one of our players O3–O5. This can, and often was today, high successful! Of course O3–O5 will often have to know where to flash or cut down at the blocks or along the baseline once O2 gets the ball. O3–O5 have to look to see where D3–D5 (and perhaps even D1–D2 if they have recovered quickly and dropped down to help out).

 

The defensive players in a zone are taught to keep hands up because it helps block the passing lanes and allows for a fast reaction time should a pass come through. Defensive players constantly move to block off and shield open passing lanes, which are, of course, dynamic. Too often basketball players, whether at the local playground or especially on this team, appear to stand still and do nothing. It is the responsibility of players O3, O4, and O5, in the above scenario, to constantly move against the zone to CREATE new passing lanes as the defense shifts and reacts to ball movement and ball penetration. Most players think that once O2 cuts or flashes and creates that first pass, that the "play" is now in motion and about to come to some sort of positive fruition. NO! O1 just got doubled or at a minimum was stopped from penetrating. O3, O4, and/or O5, have to react to the defense, which has already reacted to the moves by O1 and O2, and O3–O5 must quickly enable a new passing lane.

 

As a general basketball principle, it would seem that one is not moving on offense, you're not working, unless it's a clear out play or a prescripted play. So MOVE, right? Create new passing lanes, run around behind defenders and the zone (trust me, on defense, it drives you nuts when your man goes down low and runs around behind you because I find it's difficult to watch the ball and your man). If you don't know where to move, go set an off-ball pick for a teammate; maybe he'll know where to move to. :)

 

The sum of all of the foregoing is that today, we really made extra passes like I haven't seen yet this season. I was very impressed with our basketball IQ today! I really have no idea what I'm taking about here, but the scenarios I tried to explain above (and which I probably explained very poorly) seem to not involve scripted plays but CONCEPTS to employ when on offense. Basketball IQ is knowledge of concepts and the ability to apply those concepts on the fly during a game in a fast-changing environment. If I were ever a coach one day (I'd be lucky if I could coach a CYO team to a .500 season), I'd try to teach concepts by way of brief lectures and discussion of examples, followed by simply scrimmaging a ton and practicing the concepts. I always hated the pointless drills I was forced to do. Having done the three-man weave drill for years and years, not one coach ever explained the purpose of that drill. As I understand it now, it's to teach players to fill the passing lanes and move from lane to lane (if need be) on a break. I think?

 

****

BTW, I like that "wheel" set that Coach called out near the end of the game. I always thought that our teams of the past did that really well, especially Siggers and Wilson. It seems to get 3 guys on the perimeter constantly moving (requiring the defense to also move) and seems to provide a better chance for dribble penetration than from a stationary triple-threat position. Perhaps the "wheel" is for running the clock down, but it seems like we used that basic kind of set in the past for normal offense. I think it can/could be highly effective for guys like Harris, Hastings, and all of our guards, etc.

****

 

So if anyone actually followed the basketball algorithm above, why isn't it easier to beat a zone defense? In my humble view, it's because playing offense the right way requires lots of energy and is simply tiring! First of all, on offense, a player is most likely running around just as much (or should be) on offense by setting screens, flashing into gaps in the zone, cutting to create new passing lanes, etc. Second, on offense, you must protect something of value — the ball! One may be dribbling, holding, or passing the ball. Perhaps not much more of a measurable effort is required, but it's something extra nonetheless to worry about on offense, and I do feel that it requires some additional energy. I see it in pick-up games all the time. More kids are lazy on offense than defense (ever notice how players in recreational games just sit around the perimeter or blocks waiting for a pass because they are tired?). I too find it much more draining to play offense than defense (same with offensive rebounding because the defense has the prime position when they are between you or the ball and the basket).

 

With defense, one can cheat and play off your man (and still be "safe") when your man is on the opposite side of the court as the ball. I think, that as a defensive player, the defensive player has the luxury of staying between your man and the ball, and, as such, the defensive player does not have to move as much to block that passing lane (unless you have a situation where the offensive player is WORKING HARD and running around a lot). In contrast, the offensive player has to exert more effort to create a clear passing lane. It's mathematics (angles and stuff). It's somewhat akin to how a goalie need only move a little bit to shut off the angles on an offensive skater attempting to score a goal in hockey. When protecting a small area (i.e., a basket or goal), the offensive player has to move more and spend more energy to get a clear shot (or higher percentage shot) or to create a clear passing lane than the defensive player.

 

III. On Jerel Hastings

Awesome! Jerel as just plain fun to watch today. He had at least two dunks, each of which were rather spectacular (the rebound one and the one handed jam after receiving the pass when he cut in the lane towards the hoop in the second half). I can't say he'll be an "X" factor in the Tournament because he's already far too important to us to be simply an X factor, but he is going to be huge for us if we make a run in the tournament. I hope he starts for the rest of the season and gets opportunities to score some points, because he absolutely can. I think he always gives top effort (or sure seems to be from the fan's perspective), doesn't talk back to refs or anything like that, protects the ball on offense and passes with authority on offense, rebounds well, plays awesome perimeter defense, and on and on. He's a class act, and I'm happy he had a great game today on senior day and happy he's on our side!

IV. On Today's Results and Standings

I really hope we can win out and make that #5 seed. A #6 or #7 seed is tough because we play the 3 (Boston University) seed as the 6, or play the 2 seed (UVM if Bingo wins out or UVM drops it's last game, or Bingo if Bingo drops one) as the 7 seed. That's a tough weekend to have to play Boston University and UVM/Binghamton (assuming no upsets).

 

If we are the 5 seed, we then get the 4 seed and the 1 seed. I don't know who I would rather play as far as UVM and Bingo are concerned. I think I'd rather play UVM because I fear Bingo's athleticism. On the other hand, with our team's renewed focus and emphasis on perimeter defense, I can't see Bingo coming onto our home court and shooting 3s like they did at the Events Center recently. I'm very curious to read the views of other posters on this forum regarding what opponents we'd like to draw in the AE Tournament. Especially whether we'd rather play Bingo or UVM, etc.

V. On Johnson at Point

As to the statement by a poster inquiring whether we're "better . . . with Johnson at the point," I don't think there is enough "evidence" for us to really know for sure. I suppose this is how I go about examining that question: First, remember that Raffa has been hurt for quite some time, and a foot (toe) injury is going to affect a point guard, arguably, more than any other position on the court! Second, Raffa is probably a better shooter, right? Third, to the extent that Raffa has more turnovers, that may be attributed to a style of play rather than his ability at point. Raffa takes more chances slashing and trying to score points and some turnovers can certainly be attributed to that style of play. Finally, for anyone who was at the UAlbany vs. UVM game in Burlington back in January, when Raffa fouled out with a few minutes to play, that's when UVM made a furious comeback on us while pressuring Johnson at the PG. I know every fan was wishing Raffa was in at that point. Of course, I don't blame Johnson for that one bit. Were it today, I think he'd do awesome against that same UVM press. I mean, it's gotta be pretty darn tough to come in cold in a hostile environment against a trapping pressing defense with two minutes to play (in fact, that would suck). I know that's what a PG just does, but still, for a first-year division I player to have to come in cold like that at the end of the game like that UVM game (when all the other players are warmed up, etc) is a situation that I can understand would be difficult. Dealing with a round bouncing ball when nervous is a rather arduous task if you ask me. I'm just pointing out here that Raffa, when healthy, did awesome against Bingo and UVM (and other opponents too). To say we're "MUCH better with Johnson at the point" is not a statement I can agree with one bit. They are different type of players and do different things. I think we're a lot of fun to watch when both Johnson and Raffa are in there! Consider this fun lineup: Johnson (PG), Raffa (SG), Ambrose (SF), Hastings (PF), Harris ©. Interesting, eh? Wouldn't mind seeing that lineup against UNH, Hartford, Bingo, etc.

 

VI. On Post-Season Tournaments.

We all want to make the NCAA Tournament of course. If we made it to one of the other 3 tournaments, such as the CBI (gotta be pretty much top 100–120 (or higher) or so RPI (most of the teams were last year), I'd absolutely be traveling to the situs of our game (unless it was at home of course). What is that fourth post-season tournament that was just announced this season? I can't remember the name?

 

I don't think we'll make the NIT based on our record or RPI (and we aren't winning the regular season title of course). The CBI would be great but no given. And then there is the fourth post-season tournament in its first year this year, and I have no idea what's it's called. The more games the better, I say ... .

 

VII. Final Thoughts

Finally, I was very encouraged and impressed by what I saw today, even when we were losing in the first half. The 20 assists/6 turnovers ratio is simply awesome. Coach was wild out there (lol), but I hope the players (and fans) know that probably he more than anyone wants the players to win and succeed for their own selves (and he wants to win too of course)! I'm sure that he is only yelling at them to make them better and to reach their potential. But hey, we saw a difference today; the perimeter defense really clamped down something fierce once McClemore (I think that was his name) started lighting it up from afar. When our crowd was cheering on defense (end of the first half) and our guys like Allen and Hastings were playing tough on-ball, perimeter defense, we looked like a nasty team that the America East had better prepare itself for in two weeks. Defense like that WILL get us back into the Title game. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Hastings and Allen up top on defense is huge for us because they are taller and really muzzle out the perimeter offensive players.

 

Nice to see Gifford and Convington have very nice games too. I swear though, as to Gifford, I feel bad for him sometimes out there. I think he's the most abused guy in the Conference. If it's not the refs hosing him with bad calls when he simply puts his arms straight up, he's getting whacked, shoved, hit, assaulted, you name it. Pretty nice jump hook he had (and some other shots too of course) on that one play today as well; no question he has a nice soft shot.

 

Anyone else ever forget that Billy Allen is only a first-year player in terms of eligibility? He has been great for us. He does so many little things out there and plays hard. He also does a good job of protecting and passing the ball. Reminds me somewhat of Jerel and how Jerel was last year. I think that Allen is definitely going to be a fan favorite, in my view, by the time he graduates and will do great things during his tenure here!

 

Sorry for the long post; probably drank too much coffee tonight.

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Not much to add to the above discussion.

 

I loved Hastings offensive aggression matching his normal defensive intensity.

 

As Tim's three point shooting becomes just enough to be a threat he will continue to score at will. Nice day 32 minutes, 27 points, 4 RB's, 4 assist, and 4 steals. And the stat of the game 1 foul.

 

I wasn't impressed w/ Billy Allen...until I heard the stats. 20 minutes, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 0 TO's.

 

Everybody liked the assist/TO ratio, how about steals/TO. Six steals, not something we seem to do a lot of.

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Go figure; just goes to show that I don't know anything!

 

From Mark Singelais's blog:

 

Freshman forward Billy Allen made an important contribution despite going scoreless for the seventh straight game, a string that includes two DNP’s.

 

He had five assists and no turnovers in 20 minutes while filling in for junior forward Will Harris, who had a quiet game with four points on 2-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes.

 

Brown said that to his knowledge, Harris’ knee tendinitis wasn’t a factor.

 

“He’s fine. He’s fine,” Brown said. “At least that’s what he tells me. He didn’t have that energy today, blew a couple of assignments early, and I thought the guys that were playing were playing too well. When Billy Allen went in there and was playing well, we just decided to play with him.”

 

Brown said Allen is UAlbany’s best passer against zone defenses, which made him very effective against Maine’s 2-3 zone.

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I don't think there is anything contradictory in the Singelais Blog and your thoughtful and objective analysis. You got it right. As far as Will Harris' health, it's all relative. We have been told that he has tendonitis in his knee and that's got to put a strain on him and perhaps tire him more readily. Your analysis is far more rational and objective than some of the crap written by some responders on the Singelais blog.

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