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Post by Duct_Tape_Pounce on Dec 6, 2023 22:26:27 GMT -6
The roster certainly has talent. We have five scholarship players who returned from last year’s team, and of those five, I think it could be argued that 4 were among the top 5 or 6 players on last year’s team. Maybe they didn’t put in the work this offseason and got high on the praise they were getting from all over instead of staying hungry, but they do have talent.
To some extent, it’s about effort. So much of defense is effort. So much of rebounding is effort. Our free throw shooting has sucked this year. How much time do our players put into shooting free throws outside of practice? I don’t really know the answer to that, other than to say it’s probably not enough.
When the team really tries, they show glimpses of what they can be. They did against Providence, Southern Miss, and even tonight in the second half. The problem is they are only glimpses. The players have to make a conscious effort to play their best for a full 40 minutes. They have not done so this year.
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Post by Petes on Dec 6, 2023 22:45:27 GMT -6
Don't be too critical guys! You'll trigger Petes! You can say this team is bad but Calling Bart Lundy a bad coach is idiotic and embarrassing.
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Post by ghostofdylan on Dec 6, 2023 22:54:45 GMT -6
Could you say that Bart Lundy, a good coach, has done a bad job so far this season?
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Post by reginaldkdwight on Dec 6, 2023 23:16:33 GMT -6
Could you say that Bart Lundy, a good coach, has done a bad job so far this season? One of the worst in D1 so far this year.
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Post by reginaldkdwight on Dec 6, 2023 23:20:26 GMT -6
Disagree. Don't think the roster is actually talented. Everyone on this board this offseason was just excited because of the strong season last year thinking that all these new additions were big time gets talents wise but when you look closer there's nothing to indicate that. Almost all of the new guys either come from a lower level of play whether it's JUCO (which is much weaker in this era of hoops where qualifying for div 1 grades wise is EZPZ compared to 20 years ago) or prep school. Not much talent to be had there. All the guys who come from other D-1 programs were guys who literally couldn't even get on the court period, or weren't any good/productive in very limited minutes. Those type of retreads don't work out for a reason, they just flat out aren't very good. After the GB game people were wondering why can't we get a transfer who impacts the game like Reynolds did. Well look at his first 2 years in college, he actually played and was very productive.
As for KP, he is literally a small guard, with mediocre athleticism, who doesn't have strong enough handles to play PG/lead guard, doesn't have playmaking ability, and isn't really good on defense either against small guards who out quick him or bigger guards who he doesn't have the size to matchup with. He basically even last year was strictly valuable because he was a good 3pt shooter (which is a very very valuable trait). However it's more likely than not that his efficiency in that regard was merely variance and he's not actually a near 40% 3pt shooter. He's likely not as bad as he's shooting now, but he's probably more realistically closer to a 32-33% 3pt shooter which just isn't really anything to write home about when that is specifically all you really bring to the table.
No moral victories in "making this game close" towards the end. It wasn't. We got demolished and then made a few shots when they were letting off the gas. But every time they refocused they snatched control right back.
ok Does that mean you agree Jimmy? because this team is given all the resources to be successful and look like crap. Its either we dont have talent or the coaching staff isnt doing enough to put the talent in the right place. I think its some of both and with Freeman out there goes are one actually talented player. Won't be shocked when he jumps ship to a P5 squad this offseason.
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Post by Cactus Panther on Dec 7, 2023 8:19:36 GMT -6
Bart Lundy's radio post game comments, including about team chemistry and player mentality, are in the second link. tun.in/tyhQpI
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Dec 7, 2023 8:43:50 GMT -6
Bart Lundy's radio post game comments, including about team chemistry and player mentality, are in the second link. tun.in/tyhQpIYou beat me too it. Normally Coach Lundy comes on right after the game. It was different as Scott Warras was not courtside. So, it was about 20 minutes after the game was over. I dislike it right away after the game, as I miss it when I'm leaving games. I have to get my app ready to just hear it.
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Post by FTA1982 on Dec 7, 2023 8:45:26 GMT -6
When your best player isn't a great leader, you'll have problems. I'm sure that has festered quite a bit with these guys. The coaches need to figure this out quick.
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Post by Cactus Panther on Dec 7, 2023 9:29:59 GMT -6
I wonder if Bart's comment about Noah Reynolds' post game behavior and/or rivalry comment after the GB game had something to do with having the radio interview later. Perhaps this is a way to let emotions settle. I like the rawness of the immediate interview, but also the introspective thoughts that were expressed last night after having extra time to settle in.
Or then again, maybe the high broadcast proximity was the reason for the later appearance. We will see going forward.
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Post by Petes on Dec 7, 2023 10:21:18 GMT -6
Could you say that Bart Lundy, a good coach, has done a bad job so far this season? That is the correct take but good coaches have bad years all the time. Izzo is having a real rough year at MSU and everyone would agree that he’s still a good coach. Matt painter went 4 straight years without a tournament win at Purdue. These are 2 of the best coaches in the country but they still have down years.Dennis Gates was the golden boy of the SEC last season and is now going to miss the tourney In year 2 so is it time for mizzou to panic? How will this team grows throughout the year and what does Lundy learn from this season moving forward.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2023 10:35:53 GMT -6
Missouri will miss the Tourney because they lost to Jackson State? They are 7-2 and will win 20+ games.
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Post by PantherU on Dec 7, 2023 10:44:13 GMT -6
Does that mean you agree Jimmy? because this team is given all the resources to be successful and look like crap. Its either we dont have talent or the coaching staff isnt doing enough to put the talent in the right place. I think its some of both and with Freeman out there goes are one actually talented player. Won't be shocked when he jumps ship to a P5 squad this offseason. Both, kinda. I think we have talent beyond BJ, but it's wildly out of balance. People want Khris Middleton to play more because he's absolutely kicking ass at 20 mpg. I'd argue he's kicking ass precisely because he's playing 20 mpg and can focus on playing well instead of doing everything he can to maintain longevity. For the guys who have regressed, I think it's often been because they've taken on a heavier load offensively this season. I think Elijah Jamison is being asked to do too much (not in small part because Pierce Spencer is injured) and he's pressing. Sometimes that works, like the second half last night, most of the time it doesn't. Pullian is the same. I think these guys are trying to do too much and it's causing them to force a lot of bad shots. I don't think the coaching staff has prepared them well for BJ's absence and, you know, playing without a real big or more than one serviceable one. So it's a twofold problem: it's a major recruiting failure on the front line (the "size is overrated" line is going to follow Lundy forever here lol) and it's a failure to adapt the team to the style of play they need to make up for those issues. If Faizon Fields played consistently to the level we've seen him play to in spurts, I think this team beats St. Thomas and possibly GB, hell maybe even Providence. The guy thinks he's a guard on occasion, which is ridiculous, why does he shoot threes every now and then? Those are wasted possessions. He didn't do it last night, so maybe they got through to him, but watching him take deep jump shots is like watching Rand do it, except he confidently misses them. Like he thinks he's got it and he doesn't. Darius Duffy is a post guy who would be a whole hell of a lot more effective if he were playing 10-15 minutes per game. Langston Wilson isn't a big. He's also not a guard. I don't know what Langston is, but he should probably figure it out. Look at the roster. There are a bunch of guys on the team who figure to be primary scorers, but they're not BJ so they're not primary scorers. Pratt, Franklin, Wilson, Pullian, Jamison, Fields, these are all guys who are more comfortable with the ball in their hands and don't do as well with all the little things - making the extra pass, setting screens, boxing the f*** out for rebounds, taking pride in your defense...I haven't seen consistency from most of the players on this side stuff. I think it's coaching more than talent, but clearly we have a lack of front court talent.
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Post by ghostofdylan on Dec 7, 2023 10:52:01 GMT -6
I want to know what happened with Jalen Johnson and Justin Thomas and why.
"I want the TRUTH!!!!"
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Post by TBone on Dec 7, 2023 11:31:39 GMT -6
I want to know what happened with Jalen Johnson and Justin Thomas and why. "I want the TRUTH!!!!" It seems pretty simple to me. They both wanted more playing time, or more of a role with the team. JT seemed to be relegated to specific situations or time with the second team, and at best, first off the bench. (ironically, he played the second most minutes last year) The big men played in a bit of a rotation looking for the hot hand for the night, relegating Johnson to minimal minutes until it was discovered that playing two bigs at once seemed to be a good plan for the team late in the year. (Johnson fit far better as a 4 with someone else playing the 5, then he did as a 5) And Jalen Johnson sticking around does little to change the team's performance this year. JT on the other hand, given his D and length at the perimeter... In this age of transfer portal and removing the need to sit a year when jumping into the portal, you're going to see a lot more of this rather than players biding their time to finally fulfill that role. It's the nature of the beast, and we've benefitted from this as well by bringing in other players dissatisfied with their roles elsewhere. If I feel I'm being improperly used according to my skills, or that I'm not being given the opportunities to grow at my job, I look for another job. No different here. When your best player isn't a great leader, you'll have problems. I'm sure that has festered quite a bit with these guys. The coaches need to figure this out quick. Has anyone insinuated that BJ's leadership has been lacking? Are players wanting more time or more shots a leadership issue from the team's best player? I'd argue it's the classic dilemma of there are only so many shots for a team, and when you have too many people wanting shots, a locker room issue has the potential to arise. BJ is a great distributor and has done so well this year when on the court. IMO, he's been a pretty unselfish player, given how talented he is on the offensive side. Look at Zach Howell's attitude and you'll see the type of player that is playing for the team and not himself. I'm not going to blame BJ because other players are being selfish - and that last statement is something that coach insinuated in his post-game interview. If anything, this is an issue that was created based on the people being recruited. And coach has to sell his vision on these guys to determine if they're truly OK with it before bringing them in. Unfortunately, he has to re-sell them on this at the end of each year now as well.
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Post by FTA1982 on Dec 7, 2023 12:11:51 GMT -6
On court he can be unselfish, but an off the court suspension early on wasn't a good look. They can't afford to have him missing games even if it was against Stout. It must have been something not great to be suspended for a game IMO.
It doesn't set a great precedent when the best player and a guy who likely received a majority of the NIL funds to stay is getting suspended before the season even begins. At preseason media day, he admitted he needed to be a better leader of the team and it was something he was working on.
This is just a fan's outside view from the awful start we've had.
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