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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 10:49:43 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 26, 2004 10:49:43 GMT -6
I hope our guys are ready to play tomorrow night. WSU appears to be a very good team! I say appears because I haven't seen them play yet, but their record speaks for itself. They are having some kind of "pack the gym" night, so it should be a big crowd. I hope the fan bus thing does actually work out and we will have at least some UWM fans there to get them going. It will be a tough test for DP seeing as Doliboa is a similar type player (or as similar as there is in the HL) - Doliboa is VERY good IMO. Also, they have a solid guard (Hollins), hopefully Ed and our two headed point monster (Hill and Kadima) will be able to handle him. I think that Joah is going to have anther big game (we need him to). Right now, Joah is playing with a great deal of confidence after two GREAT games at GB and at UD. Also, WSU has five seniors and seven freshman. Simply put, I don't think that any of their "young" guys will be able to stop Tucker. He is on a roll and is quite a load to handle. IMO if he get 15 - 20 we will win, if he get 10 or less, it will be a big struggle unless someone else unexpectedly steps up big time (maybe Hill coming off a career type game at UD ). Anyways, it should be an awesome game, too bad it isn't on TV.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 11:19:44 GMT -6
Post by wsuboardmember on Jan 26, 2004 11:19:44 GMT -6
Hey, Pnthr30! I think I've seen you post on our WSU board before. Always nice to have people from the other schools post to each other's boards. I know the Raider fans are absolutely stoked for tomorrow night's showdown. A lot of people aren't giving us much credit yet, but that will come in time if we can continue playing well. Coach Biancardi has really done a great job of turning around this program, and he's only been here since April! But we still have a lot of work to do before we are consistent enough to stay with the big dogs, I think. Our last 2 games, we have built nice leads (10-14 points in the second half) only to give them up. Both wins, UIC and Buttler, came down to last second shots that were missed. We should never have let either team back in the game, but I think it will be good for our freshmen in the long run to face that kind of challenge. Actually, we only have 4 seniors this year. Zach Williams, a transfer from OSU, has to sit out this year. Basically, we play a 7-man rotation of 2 seniors and 5 freshmen. Sr. Braden Bushman hasn't played much because of a broken sternum from earlier this year, so I'm not sure if he will see much, if any, PT. Sr. Mark Starkey comes off the bench from time to time, but he probably won't get much PT either. What has made us successful this year is that our freshmen haven't played like freshmen, at least since we started conference play. They have matured so quickly, and the entire team has played as one big unit. I think you'll find that Deshaun Wood will give Tucker a good game. Wood had 6 steals and 3 assists with 0 turnovers against Butler on Saturday, and he is a fantastic ball-handler. To be successful against us (and I think you probably will win, but it should be close), you won't be able to just guard Doliboa and Hollins as you have in the past. Our 7 regulars all average at least 5 points, and any of them can put up double digits on any given night. For those of you coming to Dayton for the game, have a safe trip. It might just be the best part of your journey!
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 11:40:03 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 26, 2004 11:40:03 GMT -6
Coach Biancardi has really done a great job of turning around this program, and he's only been here since April! I couldn't agree with you more. I don't know all that much about Coach B, but what he has done so far is remarkable. We, as Panther fans, know how much work goes into transforming your program from the bottom up. Although you are losing a lot in Doliboa and Hollins after this year, I think that you will be a team to wrecken with in years to come. You obvioulsy have a coach who knows how to "coach"........now he just needs to get all "his" guys in there and you will really be able to see what he is all about. It is nice to see that the conference is really developing itself into a solid conference throughout (all teams). By the way, I wish I could make the trip to the Nut house, that was always one of my favorite places to play. ;D Back in the dark days, it was one of the games that we actually had a shot at winning. lol But even then it usually didn't work out the way we planned.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 11:49:53 GMT -6
Post by wsuboardmember on Jan 26, 2004 11:49:53 GMT -6
The Nutt may have been your favorite place in the past, but we're working to make it your worst nightmare for the future! ;D
A year ago, I would have agreed with you losing Doliboa and Hollins would have been a big loss. And not to take anything away from them because they have been great for the program, but what I see in our freshmen makes me feel confident that we will have a fairly smooth transition into next year. Down the stretch in the last few games, our freshmen have been just as poised (and sometimes more so) than Hollins and Doliboa.
If things keep going, the WSU/UWM series could be pretty exciting over the next few years. It's a shame you guys are so far away, makes it tough to do the road trip.
Jeff
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Kingsbury
Junior
Sadly, no longer in the "Fear 42" Fan Club!!!
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 12:10:32 GMT -6
Post by Kingsbury on Jan 26, 2004 12:10:32 GMT -6
The game is going to be a tough one tomorrow. Vegas has opened up with UWM as a 4 point favorite. I wonder if Wright State is going to zone us, since we did have some trouble with the zone in the GB game.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 13:05:51 GMT -6
Post by uwmfan on Jan 26, 2004 13:05:51 GMT -6
Wright State posters,
What kind of crowds have you seen so far this year? I'm sure they're growing fast with the successes thus far.
I've only been to Nutter once but it was memorable. Saw panther30 playing in (I believe) his last game as a panther, and was picked to shoot a half-time promo shot from half court. Had the exact distance but was just off to the side of the rim a hair.
Of course, the shot was not out of the range of p30 back then!
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 13:24:48 GMT -6
Post by wsuboardmember on Jan 26, 2004 13:24:48 GMT -6
Actually, our crowds aren't significantly better overall than they have been in the past. We are still in the mid 4000's per game. I think we're doing a better job this year with promotions to draw in fans, especially the students. Our student attendance has never been great, but I think the winning will help.
We had a "Jam the Gym" day against Ball State (I believe) and we ended up with about 6500-7000. That was before we started winning, so it will be interesting to see how much we get tomorrow night (we're having another "Jam the Gym" in your honor!).
WSU is still perceived by a large portion of the Dayton area as a second rate school compared to the University of Dayton. UD has a very good team, and a program that has a lot of rich history, and that is tough for us to overcome. I don't even want to get into the media bias in the Dayton area, but if you want to know about it, go to the WSU board. You will see plenty of talk about it there!
I would be disappointed if we don't get at least 7000 fans tomorrow night. I think we will start drawing better crowds if we continue to build the program, but I don't expect any significant overnight jump. If our freshmen continue at this pace over the next couple of years, plus the top 50 recruiting class we are expecting for next year, we should do pretty well.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 13:26:22 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 26, 2004 13:26:22 GMT -6
My last game was a tournament game against UD in Green Bay. My last home game was against WSU though.....
According to the WSU board, here is their attendance:
Last year: 4,361
This year: 4,956
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 13:31:29 GMT -6
Post by uwmfan on Jan 26, 2004 13:31:29 GMT -6
Panthr30 did you play a tourney game at Nutter? Can't remember the year at all but thought for sure you were there.... WSU: Great crowds. 5k is very respectable and I bet the place will be jumping tomorrow. I just hope the good guys win! Should be a great game.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 13:32:09 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 26, 2004 13:32:09 GMT -6
WSU is still perceived by a large portion of the Dayton area as a second rate school compared to the University of Dayton. ............... I don't even want to get into the media bias in the Dayton area..... Believe me, you don't need to tell us about being viewed as second fiddle by the media. haha We have to deal with Marquette (who made a Final Four run last year), the Bucks, and UW (Wisconsin). Although UW is about an hour west of Milwaukee they seems to get better coverage in the paper and on the news than UWM does. Although I do have to admit that we have been recieving better coverage of late (some last year and some this year), but we still have a long ways to go.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 13:36:02 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 26, 2004 13:36:02 GMT -6
I believe the 1996 and 1997 MCC tournaments were at the Nutter Center. I know the 1998 tournament was at GB. I think in 1996 we lost to Northern Illinois (don't remember how badly), and in 1997 we (Otto) missed a putback layup at the buzzer to win it (or maybe tie it). I think the 1997 game was against WSU, but I may be wrong (have it on tape somewhere, but it is not in the rotation of being viewed often. ).
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 14:02:28 GMT -6
Post by admin on Jan 26, 2004 14:02:28 GMT -6
Pnthr30...
So you're saying that wont be on ESPN classic any time soon? ;D
Later, UWMfreak
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 14:15:38 GMT -6
Post by pnthr30 on Jan 26, 2004 14:15:38 GMT -6
haha yeah, not exactly "Classic" in my book. The best I can hope for is that game tomorrow night will be a Classic. ;D
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 15:45:16 GMT -6
Post by uwmfootball on Jan 26, 2004 15:45:16 GMT -6
Not enough interest in the bus. With school just starting, and the road trip being quite long, i am not suprised. But we tried. We will have over 8,000 for GB and WSU when they come here in sonsecutive saturdays.
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WSU
Jan 26, 2004 15:46:04 GMT -6
Post by uwmfootball on Jan 26, 2004 15:46:04 GMT -6
consecutive was the word i was looking for. ;D
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