UVM @ UA

[Clickclack]

Tough game on Sunday.....where do we go from here?

 

1 - I'll tell you where I'd start....play Giff to start this game and see how effective he is against Blakely. He's always done an admirable job on him but if he's ineffective early I'd sit Giff. Moving forward after this game I'd give Giff VERY VERY VERY limited minutes...I mean VERY limited minutes sprinkled in with a bunch of DNP's CD. I'm sure he's a great kid but we can't afford to play 4 on 5.

 

2 - The MJ experiment is over...he's been a huge disappointment....Black is the PG of now and the future...sure he'll some freshmen ups and down...no matter how bad of a game he has keep having confidence in him and develop him. Last night he was one of two people that showed up...I really hope Brown sticks through thick and thin with him.

 

3 - McRae should be named starter at the 5 spot from this point forward....with Metcalf backing him up. IMO McRae has been one of the more consistent effort guys...REWARD HIM! On a team where the other two "leaders" decide they want every other game off...hitch your wagon to those kids that give 100% effort.

 

4 - Regarding Harris and Ambrose....we NEED them to play and we need them to be successful in AE play...Having said that....time to stop coddling them....if at any point they look like they are dogging it out there....BENCH THEM/YELL AT THEM....if they tune out and mentally quit on this team then SO BE IT. How many more games will they give their team mates and fans the middle finger (figuratively speaking) and everyone just takes it. YOU COME WITH 100% EFFORT ALL THE TIME OR YOU DON'T PLAY.

 

What happened against Bing was nothing short of a slap to the face of the supporters and it stings even today. They are gonna either rally around each other and grow a pair collectively or they will fall apart. ENOUGH WITH THE ONE STEP FORWARD ONE STEP BACK!!!!

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

Going into this game with very low expectations, but cautiously optimistic this team will show some fight and make us believers again

[JRUGGS]

Going into this game with very low expectations, but cautiously optimistic this team will show some fight and make us believers again

good size crowd coming from Vt. - I cannot make it. The games are always entertaining. We are expecting the Danes best shot today and lord knows Brownie has Lonergans #. IF our guards play well and MoJo is striking 3's UVM should prevail. On the bright side for the Danes this is the last time Blakley comes to Albany.

[Dane Pound]

After seeing this team get called "soft" in the media I just want to see them circle the wagons and come out today and battle.

[statefan]

 

On the bright side for the Danes this is the last time Blakley comes to Albany.

 

Well, it might be on the optomistic side, but I can conjure up one circumstance of being glad to see him in Albany one more time, after today.

[GreatDanes06]

25% shooting so far in the first 14 minutes...ooo I've seen this game before

[UA'08]

same story different day. thank god im not watching this

 

change is needed and i dont care where it comes from

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

If this season is to be salvaged, changes need to be put in place by next weekend. My vote is send a message and take Harris out of the starting lineup.

[Clickclack]

These are truly the dark days of UA hoops.....the collapse of this program is palpable.....there is no energy in the team nor the fan-base. We are in a free fall as a program...I find myself struggling really hard to find anything redeemable in the performance of both players and coaches.

 

Where we have failed IMO is on the recruiting trail....we failed very very hard. There is no toughness on this team! In years past we might not have been the most fluid offensive team but we played in your face D and we rebounded the crap out of the ball.....we were both physically and mentally tough and if you played us you felt it for days afterward....not so any more. This team is rotten at it's core....! What we have is a team that can't score...can't shoot....can't rebound and doesn't play defense!

 

It's extremely difficult for me to type this post....Coach Brown needs to do some soul searching to figure out what type of system/program he want's and then to go and recruit the players that fit that system. As painful as it is for me to say this because I've always been a Will Brown guy....without a doubt this program is not moving in the right direction.

 

The NCAA runs are but a distant memory at this point....those days were truly the glory days. I refuse to believe that CB has forgotten how to coach...IMO he's gone away from the guiding principals that helped him identify the talent and intangibles that he built the two NCAA teams around. We used to be a team people hated to play because we never buckled and we never caved in.....now there is no reason to fear us....we are mentally weak.

 

IMO, the Gifford/MJ/Harris experiment is over....approach the rest of the season as a season to develop the future of this program. By the looks of it we'll have at least two scholarships for next season...perhaps three....go out and get a couple of tough SOB's.....get back to recruiting UA Basketball type of kids.

 

Last year the team went through massive amount of injuries....this year the team suffers from a different type of ailment....A BAD HEART!

 

Please don't take this post as an attack on the kids in the program or the coaches....it was not intended as a personal attack but something has to give.

[Clickclack]

BTW...for what it's worth I started following the program in 04/05 so while some of you might have lived through worse teams....these are my darkest days as a UA fan.

[UA'08]

i just dont get it, metcalf gets only 10 min? what happened to tartt?

 

mcrae needs to be inserted into the 5 first off.

 

harris played in the acc? no wonder why they said good riddance when he left. if people want him to be benched then have mcrae play the 4 and put metcalf in the 5 spot.

 

we have fallen into obscurity and can kiss the espn games weve earned goodbye.

[Clickclack]

Tartt has a bad ankle!

[danes05]

Anyone know where Glanton is ? I've seen Iati,Puk, and Watts in shirts and ties but no Glanton

[UA'08]

Tartt has a bad ankle!

 

must have missed that somewhere. thanks

[OrangeDane]

I have been and continue to be a strong supporter and season ticket holder, the current situation is however becoming untenable for many, including myself, I would never call out players because I do not think that is fair to these young men. There is something going on here that is obviously not good and the responsibility for what happens rests with the coach...it is that simple...he gets paid to recruit, retain and coordinate these kids into a cohesive unit. Right now....there is no coordination and very little apparent cohesion. Maybe its because the players have insufficient grit and heart but that is a value judgement I am simply not in a position to make. I have to go back to the coach, its his job to find players with those qualities. I have always been a supporter of Coach Brown and was happy we retained him when the Bonaventure job was calling for him...unfortunately the last few years have not seen us move forward and now it seems we are regressing at a distressing rate...over that past 3 or 4 years we've seen several players leave...and I suspect that some of those departures have created a daisy chain of events that have resulted in us being in the hole that Coach now finds himself in. I am not sure how he solves the current dilemma or even if he can, but this ship needs to be turned around quickly for we are not headed in a good direction right now. Hope no one finds this disagreeable or disturbing and I certainly plan on continuing to support the program, but...this thing needs fixing..and soon!