College of the Holy Cross

[UAalum72]

While we're talking about Sam, Wilkin interviews him today http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Getting-to-know-forward-Sam-Rowley-of-UAlbany-5036167.php

[DanesRGood]

I think it's tough going to Sam sometimes when we give up posessions or even baskets when they are calling travels on him. I know we lost atleast 1 basket and maybe 2 going down low to him.

 

He's drawing alot of attention (rightfully so) but he has to learn to handle it better.

 

He has (I believe) 32 turnovers in 8 games as good as is he, he has to make some adjustments.

 

Sam is an extremely efficient player is all aspects except assist to turnover ratio.

 

By no means am I blaming Sam for the loss we need him to keep playing hard and we need a few other guys to step up!!!

 

Two of those travels were horrible calls.

[Phoenix]

I've been impressed with how productive Sam has been..given the fact that he's double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed nearly every time he receives the ball in the low post. A large portion of his turnovers have been travels. I'm not so sure many of them have been the right call..but they need to get that figured out either way..addressing both the real and phantom travels. They're obviously not as damaging as a steal and transition type turnover..but with Sam's high FG% are real lost points. The team has been out shot..in terms of FGA..in every game except one. Now part of that is related to the team's focus on getting to the free throw line..but it also shows how important the possessions the team does have are.

[Clickclack]

Day after...still a disappointing loss...I thought they could have had that one. Top priority has to be to get something out of this bench...you can't rely on the same two or three guys every time out...Odunsi and Shangalia have thus far given us ZERO....that sucks. I believe both of them could be a significant help based on their talent level. I know it's fiction at this point until it happens but I do believe our ceiling as a team is a good deal higher then where we are right now, remains to be seen if CB can get it out of them.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Clickclack

[Phoenix]

It is fair to point out that Odunsi has missed three of the team's eight games with a concussion.

[UAalum72]

And he'll miss at least the Brown game too

http://blog.timesunion.com/collegesports/evans-should-be-ok-for-danes-odunsi-probably-wont-play-tuesday/16683/

[Dane Pound]

4-4 after eight games. Considering we've played 6 of those 8 on the road I should be happy but last night's loss was aggravating.

 

So far this team has seemed a little like the 2011-12. Like that team we have an evident weakness. Unlike that team I think this year's team will be more consistent and hopefully improve on those weaknesses.

 

A couple of random thoughts so far:

 

-at the beginning of the year it seemed like we had a ton of pg options. So far, the only one I've really like is DJ. I think Hooley can run the offense but it's too much to ask him to be our main scoring threat and handle the ball. Hopefully Odunsi is healthy and can contribute and Haas figures out which shot is a good shot.

 

-I like Dave Wiegmann and I thought he played well when GJ was out. He's going to help us win a lot of games this year. That said, I think Gary is playing much better and should get more minutes. His health might be a factor in that right now.

 

-Speaking of GJ, I'd like him to be a little more aggressive on offense. He shooting a great percentage from the field. I'd like him to see him with double digit field goal attempts.

 

-It'll be fun to watch some of the bench guys come along. It's gotta happen, just a question of when.

 

-Wins and losses aside, I'm looking forward to watching this team play until March. There are times I get frustrated that X player isn't aggressive enough but that's just how they play the game. They share the ball, grind and are going to win games from the shoulders up. There doesn't seem to be anybody on the court that "needs" to score and I'm fine with that.

[UA_MA_2000]

Day after...still a disappointing loss...I thought they could have had that one. Top priority has to be to get something out of this bench...you can't rely on the same two or three guys every time out...Odunsi and Shangalia have thus far given us ZERO....that sucks. I believe both of them could be a significant help based on their talent level. I know it's fiction at this point until it happens but I do believe our ceiling as a team is a good deal higher then where we are right now, remains to be seen if CB can get it out of them.

 

These guys will be just fine and will contribute by season's end and next year. The game will continue to "slow down" for them. Odunsi looks just like Air Johnson did when he first got playing time last year. It takes time to adjust to the speed of the game and get your legs under you. When I played college ball, I remember the first few games that I played in. Everything was so fast, and I was winded after 2-3 possessions despite having the best endurance and foot speed on the team. Practice just does not equate to game minutes. Similarly, if I go out and run 800m or mile repeats, that is good but I still have to get out there and race a 5k to truly get my legs right. As long as our bench players have the work ethic, Coach will develop them. When in doubt train like Weigman does; the kid is a rock star for how he has improved.

[UAalum72]

Great Danes need to dig deeper for regular season - Wilkin today

 

Iorizzo: Family ties cross globe for Danes' Hooley