Thursday, November 30, 2006

That's more like it

This was the team I was expecting to see this year. Solid performance with a little help from MSU's very sloppy play. This was my first time seeing the team. Here are some quick thoughts...
-- The tight flex looked good, the spread flex looked a little more uncertain (to the point where the shot clock was winding down repeatedly).
-- Al needs to work the refs so Williams gets more calls his way. Two of his PFs were clean blocks.
-- I know Dudley worked on his mid range shot, but we need him in the post. He showed how deadly he is there. It also looks like his FT shooting will be more consistent this season.
-- Marshall is just not a player. Another off night and his ball handling was rough. Get the guy closer to the basket.
-- Rice is bound to heat up. Fortunately we can count on him from the line.
-- This team needs McClain back soon for his fresh legs alone.
-- As the season progresses, another scorer will have to step up and someone aside from Spears and Dudley will have to rebound.

Overall this win somewhat offsets last week's losses. Another strong showing against UMass and I'll enter the Kansas game with more confidence.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can anyone explain to me why Al Skinner loves the big white gumps who can't move, shoot, play defense, rebound, or do anything to held a basketball team? First its Nate Doornekamp and now its John Oates. They're always playing 4 on 5 because Oats is useless. Throw in Williams' lack of an offensive game and they're playing 3 on 5. No wonder why they can't score any points against good teams.

Anonymous said...

I went to the game. Obviously BC looked good against a solid Big 10 team, and the student sections were full. But the money seats were half empty. That pisses me off. Why buy the goddamn tickets if you're not going to go? Makes us look weak on TV because the angles always show those seats, not the full student sections. I've been saying for years that BC should put the kids at midcourt opposite the camera like they do at Cameron. I know it'll never happen, but I can still dream.

I've been to 95% of Dudley's home games over his career, and quite a few road games. That was easily the best game of a great career. He absolutely dominated, all you have to do is look at the box score. But he also took some charges, played great D, tipped some rebounds, etc., things that don't show up in the box score. Amazing. He is a slgihtly less athletic Shane Battier.

Sean Williams is incredible. Even if this BC team goes .500, it will be a fun season watching him average 7-8 blocks a game. I just wish his rebounding would pick up a little.

A couple of gripes. John Oates absolutely sucks on D. He can't move his feat and he really exposes the team to weakside rebounds when he doesn't get his ass on his man when the shot goes up, which is all the friggin time. He has a role, but it's not as a starter. His minutes need to drop to 8-10 a game, and I hope that happens when/if Akida McLean comes back. As for Marshall, the guy is a total disappointment. And the frustrating thing is that it is all in his head. I can live with the fact that he is a streaky shooter, a lot of players are. But the thing that bothers me is that when his shot isn't falling, he starts to pout and yell at the refs. He allows his cold hand to affect the rest of his game. He stops playing defense, stops rebounding, starts throwing the ball away. I hope he reads this because he needs to be reminded that this is his senior season, and he's not going to the NBA next year. So he has about 25 meaningful games left in his life, that's about 1000 game minutes. He should play every one of those minutes as if they're his last. Leave it all on the floor for crissakes.