Wright State 2/5

[mcdadenets50]

Good coaching will never let a team quit on their season. Never. Time will tell.

[mfscho]

brewtownbrian said:

mcdadenets50 said:

Al and Paige combined made 3 more shots than my lazy a** did on my couch.

Not gonna get the job done against most teams, not to mention a pretty damn good WSU team. Or did UWM's bad play make them look THAT much better?

Wright State's offense was just clicking once they went on that run to end the first half. In the second half, they were seriously drilling almost everything they put up. Combine that with our terrible offensive execution to open the half, it was quickly over.

[dylanrocks]

I'm in favor of the execution of our offense. Without having seen the game, I think our lack of talent has finally caught up to us. I've long said that this is one of the least talented teams in the Horizon League.

[Deleted]

dylanrocks said:

I'm in favor of the execution of our offense. Without having seen the game, I think our lack of talent has finally caught up to us. I've long said that this is one of the least talented teams in the Horizon League.

I agree Dylan, in past threads some have claimed that this team does have talent in place and I just don't see it. I like Roman's potential along with Thornton, Franklin, and Swiggett, but the rest of these guys are seriously lacking. Talented players don't disappear for entire games on a consistent basis like Avo and Paige have in the past. They are not the answer, and my hope is that this new recruiting class will be afforded an ample opportunity for big minutes next year.

[PJD]

This looks like a mentally tired team. It looks like the rigors of the D1 basketball season is catching up with them. Very few are used to it, much less the amount of losing they have been through this year. This was the second to two very tough road games against the most difficult teams in the conference. I can understand how they can get down. I don't think we can assess this much more at this point. Let's see how the rest of the season and tourney plays out.

[brewtownbrian]

I agree with most all of what you said. I think the inexperience factor has led to many of the guys "hitting the wall", physically and mentally. And playing the top 2 teams in the conference back-to-back, on the road, with only a day between games certainly didn't help their state of mind.

I think it can be assessed, at this point, that there is Butler and Wright St. and then everyone else in the league. And I think it shows that average players on a bad team, look pretty good most of the time, but when they face more talented teams with more talented players...the true colors come out.

I'm not trying to get down on Avo and Paulsen, but those guys were non-existent the last 2 games. I didn't watch the Butler game, but in watching the Wright St. game it seemed that Burleson just over-powered, out-worked and out-performed Paulsen. And it seemed whoever was guarding Avo easily slid in front of him when he tried to penetrate. He then was forced to get rid of it. And that's what I saw, from those 2, most of the game.

[BBFran]

You guys will be amazed by how Paige and Al and Avery and Marcus play next year. It always happens when kids become seniors. And don't be so quick to forget how many fine games they have had among them this year.

Now you add in the fact that this year's babies will have put on some weight, gained some strength, gained some confidence, will understand the whole experience better. Add in the fact that you have some grown men coming in, in Torre and Jason and Deion. Add the highly talented new players like Kevin and Deonte and Tim. The mere fact that we may have an actual post game will alone transform the way the team can play.

It's been a tough year, but don't give up on these guys. The coaches sure haven't.

The bottom line is that Bruce built a great team but he didn't build or leave a program. This is different. Rob is starting it over the way he and Bo started it seven years ago, by finding good freshmen just like they found Dylan and Adrian and Chris, then filling in with transfers and jucos. It's going to take a little while but the results will be worth it.

And in the meantime, there is no way he and his staff are giving up this year. They'll play to the last horn.

[uwmeasye]

UWM head coach Rob Jeter on the loss

"When you shoot 20 percent in a half, that's just not going to get it done, especially when you play a team the caliber of Wright State. It's a good time for a break for my guys. We have nine days to regroup, and we're going to use that time wisely."

Jeter on the difference between the first meeting between these two teams and this game

"I thought that first game in Milwaukee we just, for 40 minutes, we gave the effort you saw for the first 16 minutes of the first half. We weren't able to sustain that, and obviously on the road it's a lot different. This time of year, you can't beat yourselves and we just had way too many turnovers. In that one stretch that really let the game get back in their favor, we had five in a row."

Jeter on Wright State

"They are just a solid team. They do the same things and they've done it game after game. They just play their game and play their style and move the basketball. DaShaun Wood is a matchup problem, Burleson is crafty and knows how to get things done and their freshmen - like I said before the game it's going to be a battle of whose freshmen can play better. Their two freshmen have really stepped up and are playing more like upperclassmen right now."

[reggiewheelerfor3]

Pearl was one for quick fixes, so I have no doubt IF he were the coach of UWM this year, this team would be heavily based on JUCO players...Plus, remember, Childress and Passley would almost certainly have been here and would likely have been sophomores with a year under their belts. I'm not criticizing what Jeter is doing, but let's not sell Pearl short with where the team may have been this year -- Almost certainly couldn't have competed with the likes of Butler, but MAY have had an extra conference win or two under their belts at this point.
Again, I'm not criticizing what Jeter is doing...yet. He is building from the ground up. Let's just hope his creation turns into a skyscraper rather than a mud hut.

[milwsport]

RJ said the WSU frosh are playing like Upper Classmen right now. But keep in mind that they have upper classmen to lead their team. Our freshmen don't. With all due respect to BP, no way could he have fixed this. You don't replace your top seven guys in one season and expect to do much better than we are doing.

I do think that Gentry, Franklin,Swigget and Thorton have great potential. Others have said that too. They need time to develop.

[reggiewheelerfor3]

You're right. Nobody could've fixed this completely right away. There are just different approaches to cleaning up the mess, and I think BP had a plan in place that involved a lot of JUCOs and fewer underclassmen...concentrating more on 2- or 3-freshmen per class than a slew of freshmen.
I just have no doubt that the team would be a little more experienced overall this year if he were still around, and maybe a touch better because of it. Whether or not that would be better for the longrun is up for debate.
I'm not trying to cause a stir here, because I generally like what Jeter is doing. I just don't think it's fair to say that BP would've had a pretty bare cupboard like Jeter has this year, because he wouldn't have. He would've had at least a couple of his own returnees here plus some JUCOs. Childress and Passley (anyone else?) chose not to attend UWM when Pearl left, leaving Jeter with a bigger mess than he may have had otherwise.

[reggiewheelerfor3]

My point was, it's not fair to say BP had great teams but didn't build a great program. He just does things differently personnel-wise than Jeter. Besides, a lot of credit has to be given to Pearl for helping to raise UWM to the level where it's at now where Jeter (or whichever coach may have replaced Pearl) can come in and land the quality recruits that we're getting now. I just hate hearing how BP left almost nothing behind. Great teams but not a great program? Bogus.

[Kingsbury]

Actually Passley would not be on the team, he left in the summer of 04 while Pearl was still the coach. The other recruit who left with Childress was James Douglas who was on the Missouri Tigers last year (didn't play) and is no longer in school. I agree that BP would have went the Juco route and it would be interesting to see how BP would have handled a rebuilding year like this.

I think players rolls are going to be more defined next year. There is no reason Franklin should have to play the 1 - 4 next year, like he has this year. He is the prototypical 2 guard in the swing offense and will also play the 3 when needed. I don't want to see Ricky at PG duties next year.

[brewtownbrian]

kingsbury said:

I think players rolls are going to be more defined next year. There is no reason Franklin should have to play the 1 - 4 next year, like he has this year. He is the prototypical 2 guard in the swing offense and will also play the 3 when needed. I don't want to see Ricky at PG duties next year.

I couldn't agree more. Ricky's such a strong-bodied guy too. And I think his strength is not being fully utilized b/c he's usually guarding a guy who is much taller and stronger.

Hopefully Swiggett can bounce back from his knee injury, and isn't Deion James more of a PG?

[dylanrocks]

BP is a fantastic bench coach, motivator and salesman. But to say that he left anything other than crumbs behind is at best unrealistic.