Mercer Post Game

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Holy Dunans 

[jared52 4,354]

1. Rebounding

2. Free throws 

3. Refs

That's what made that one interesting. Missed Spencer and Brown for this one. Hope they do their stuff and get back in the line up. Wiley looks like he will be a good one at AU. 

 

[Awbee 32]

Where's foundation eagle? 

[kd4au 1,145]

Wow what finish!!!!!!!!!!!WDE

[AuburnArch13 185]

3 minutes ago, jared52 said:

1. Rebounding

2. Free throws 

3. Refs

That's what made that one interesting. Missed Spencer and Brown for this one. Hope they do their stuff and get back in the line up. Wiley looks like he will be a good one at AU. 

 

Free throw shooting on the whole actually wasn't too bad. Wiley and Heron were the only players to miss more than 1. Heron just picked the worst possible time to miss his 4. 

[AUjcsbija 15]

7 minutes ago, Awbee said:

Where's foundation eagle? 

Has to wait for the crow to finish cooking

[jared52 4,354]

2 minutes ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Free throw shooting on the whole actually wasn't too bad. Wiley and Heron were the only players to miss more than 1. Heron just picked the worst possible time to miss his 4. 

Late free throw shooting I should have probably said. 77% isn't too bad for a game. But it was in the high 80s at one point. 

[cole256 17,039]

Man reading the game thread is hard....some of you need to stop pretending that you're cheering for this team. Also calling players idiot and stuff.....do you know how hard it is to play this game? Idk man, I mean call a player out if he's not good but personal stuff because they lost a ball in a trap, when you can't even dribble a ball better than a 7 year old.....that's sad

[AuburnArch13 185]

3 minutes ago, jared52 said:

Late free throw shooting I should have probably said. 77% isn't too bad for a game. But it was in the high 80s at one point. 

Yeah, missing them late was frustrating to watch. I'm curious as to why we didn't try to inbound to Purifoy late as he seems to be our most consistent at the stripe. 

[AU64 10,122]

3 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Man reading the game thread is hard....some of you need to stop pretending that you're cheering for this team. Also calling players idiot and stuff.....do you know how hard it is to play this game? Idk man, I mean call a player out if he's not good but personal stuff because they lost a ball in a trap, when you can't even dribble a ball better than a 7 year old.....that's sad

What is sad is someone making juvenile comments like that one noted above....Why do you take shots at people like that?   No point in it.....

[cole256 17,039]

Also yes, rebounding struggles was expected, I wrote before the season closing games will go like this. You're playing with practically no experience...these things should be expected not we got a new 3 star, 4 star, 5 star player we're a ncaa team....

[NoALtiger 3,849]

Well that nicely wrapped an interesting week in AU basketball. 

[FoundationEagle 637]

2 minutes ago, AUjcsbija said:

Has to wait for the crow to finish cooking

Crow doesn't taste like beating a terrible team on a Hail Mary that was required because of poor play to start with. It was a hell of a shot. I'm glad he made it. We are still not a good team. Had that shot not gone in, it would have been a large black mark on our record when it comes tourney time, especially at home. I said in the game thread that we will likely look like a top tier SEC team next year, but with the youth we have, this is the struggle we can expect.  I stand by that, but I have my doubts.  None of that changes the fact that almost the entire team folded up like a tent when the pressure was on minus one miracle shot. None of that changes the fact that we give less effort to even attempt to block someone out for a rebound than most middle school teams. None of that changes the fact that we simply don't run any type of offense other than throw the ball around the perimeter and pray someone can make a contested shot. None of that changes the fact that almost every team we play has wide open shots all game long. We are good at defending the inbounds pass and we have good talent. The rest of our game is quite ugly right now.  One miracle shot doesn't change any of that. It helps for post season chances should we improve and become a team. If we don't become a team and keep playing as a bunch of individuals, it won't matter.  We just got very lucky to beat a bad team at home.  It's better than a loss.  Right now, yes. We suck. We need to improve to make any post season. Can we?  Sure. Have we yet this year?  Not that I've seen. It will take time for Wiley to work into the offense and defense and for the team to get used to him being there. Once he does that, I think we will see improvement. 

[AU64 10,122]

Wiley is definitely a good addition.....the shooting did not look like a couple days ago and wonder if the addition of Wiley had anything to do with it...maybe changed the dynamics....or perhaps just an off day.  My oft expressed concerns about shooting ....again an issue.   I noted at one point that DP was 1 of 8 from the field and did not see that he had much impact on the game but missed some of it due to grandkids visiting.     . 

Anyway...a great finish for the Tigers and beautiful shot by Dunans.....a nice reward for the fans who came out to see the game. 

[tombigbeetiger 223]

even with all the warts and farts, i still like this team...hell guys, at one time there was 4 freshmen on the floor......the key piece has been added, wiley, now watch this team continue to grow......as soon as they realize HOW to rebound, this team will be fun to watch......they have to pay more attention to their positioning when they go for a rebound....still getting too far under the basket,both being pushed and just not realizing where they are on the court.....don't underestimate this bunch

[WarTiger 3,896]

11 minutes ago, FoundationEagle said:

Crow doesn't taste like beating a terrible team on a Hail Mary that was required because of poor play to start with. It was a hell of a shot. I'm glad he made it. We are still not a good team. Had that shot not gone in, it would have been a large black mark on our record when it comes tourney time, especially at home. I said in the game thread that we will likely look like a top tier SEC team next year, but with the youth we have, this is the struggle we can expect.  I stand by that, but I have my doubts.  None of that changes the fact that almost the entire team folded up like a tent when the pressure was on minus one miracle shot. None of that changes the fact that we give less effort to even attempt to block someone out for a rebound than most middle school teams. None of that changes the fact that we simply don't run any type of offense other than throw the ball around the perimeter and pray someone can make a contested shot. None of that changes the fact that almost every team we play has wide open shots all game long. We are good at defending the inbounds pass and we have good talent. The rest of our game is quite ugly right now.  One miracle shot doesn't change any of that. It helps for post season chances should we improve and become a team. If we don't become a team and keep playing as a bunch of individuals, it won't matter.  We just got very lucky to beat a bad team at home.  It's better than a loss.  Right now, yes. We suck. We need to improve to make any post season. Can we?  Sure. Have we yet this year?  Not that I've seen. It will take time for Wiley to work into the offense and defense and for the team to get used to him being there. Once he does that, I think we will see improvement. 

Since your mind is so made up that we will struggle all year, why do you bother to watch? Then complain when we don't play well.  It just seems counter productive to watch a game when you already expect us to struggle and probably lose.  

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

while our guys didn't play like they should have, I definitely say without the blackhead, white  ref we would have won by 20. He was just plain out cheating for Mercer. The out of bound foul on Dumas and the goal tending was plain out crap. I don't know who he is or where he came from but I hope Gus sends some film to whoever his boss is and makes sure he does not call another AU game. He should be fired. Maybe he is kin to Shaw. Not to worried about this down game after big win this week and with OK and UConn up next. All teams have a down game now and then. Especially with a young team like this you better get ready for a little bit of a roller coaster ride. WDE 

[Sully to Beasley 643]

Al Davis' most famous quote comes to mind...just win baby. We won and that is all that matters. This is a very talented, young team and they are post-season bound. Mark my word.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

10 minutes ago, tombigbeetiger said:

even with all the warts and farts, i still like this team...hell guys, at one time there was 4 freshmen on the floor......the key piece has been added, wiley, now watch this team continue to grow......as soon as they realize HOW to rebound, this team will be fun to watch......they have to pay more attention to their positioning when they go for a rebound....still getting too far under the basket,both being pushed and just not realizing where they are on the court.....don't underestimate this bunch

To be honest about the rebounds they were shooting a lot of 3 pointers and when they missed our guys had good coverage underneath but the ball was bouncing back outside. They do need to get more aggressive underneath though. WDE

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

12 minutes ago, WarTiger said:

Since your mind is so made up that we will struggle all year, why do you bother to watch? Then complain when we don't play well.  It just seems counter productive to watch a game when you already expect us to struggle and probably lose.  

Thank you, thank you. I never understand these folks that just complain all the time. There is just know way do I truly believe that someone that constantly complains and can find nothing to cheer about, could possibly be anything but a troll. I don't like everything, but the fact that they have won as much as they have would be more than enough proof to most logical folks that they are doing something right. WDE

[OnthePlains 2,014]

To me it feels like a team just learning and trying to put it all together.   When they do they will be hard to beat.  Those games coming up against OU and UCONN should give our guys even more valuable experience whether they win or lose and perhaps they will find themselves along the way.  I still see good things coming and having Wiley changes the inside game big time! 

[FoundationEagle 637]

16 minutes ago, WarTiger said:

Since your mind is so made up that we will struggle all year, why do you bother to watch? Then complain when we don't play well.  It just seems counter productive to watch a game when you already expect us to struggle and probably lose.  

Completely ignored that last sentence I guess.  Also completely ignored that I said I expect to be near a top tier SEC team next year....  I will say this and I've said it all season. Something is not quite meshing in this coaching staff (it appears in my opinion). Very very basic fundamentals are not showing up on game day. Bruce may need to tweak his staff and bring in some bright scheming coaches.  He may just need more time with young players. I don't know what the fix is. Right now we play street ball very similar to Lebo ball (which was likely the worst coached teams I've ever seen at AU). The difference right now is talent. We are winning games almost solely on talent. We sure aren't winning because we play smarter than other teams, or run better plays than other teams (we don't even appear to run plays following time outs). I'll say it again...Wiley is the center piece of this team improving.  Without an inside presence, Bruce isn't changing the dribble drive offense that requires hot hands due to no actual plays being run. With an inside presence, he will likely be willing to adapt.  I'm happy we have the talent we have.  I think they need better direction, but that's a guess since I don't see practice.   I'd love to hear solid explanation as to why we hardly ever run an offense, or why we don't give effort in rebounding. Those things can't be blamed entirely on youth.  Messing up can be blamed on youth. Running no offense and an entire team lacking fundamentals can not IMO.  Not sure it can be blamed on height as we get out rebounded by teams similar in height.  I am excited that we are 8-2 as previous coaches couldn't get us near here. I just hate watching such talent be so under utilized. The talent alone on this team could be a sweet 16 team, however all the things we lack above may cost us any post season if we don't improve. 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

My opinion seems to be the same as many on the board- this looks like a team that is loaded with talent that is still looking for just how to put it all together. Heron had what many would consider an off night and I believe still had 19? Purifoy didn't score as much tonight but was certainly useful on defense and rebounding today. I thought TJ Lang played pretty well in his role Dunans played pretty well minus a few shots that he missed when we needed a bucket pretty bad. He sure made up for that in the end. Wiley with a line of 9 and 3 by the end and that's something to look forward to about a guy that has been learning the system for roughly a few hours. Just keep watching this team. They are going through growing pains and learning but they are doing so and still WINNING! 8-2 is pretty darn good considering the youth we've got on this team. Have we had some let down games? Sure, but so does every other basketball team ever. It's a momentum game, and sometimes you can't get the ball rolling. Hats off to us for playing a sloppy game and even giving ourselves a chance to win it at the end. Keep watching and being a fan, this team going to be good.

[AuburnArch13 185]

 Apparently our game thread wasn't the only place we were pronounced dead prematurely. My apologies for not know how to imbed an image.

 

http://imgur.com/Z7TmlNf

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Those that keep harping on is playing "street ball" and not running any offense, must have never played much pick-up and don't know what they are talking about. 

Every trip down the court is not designed to be a scripted play, designed for a pre-determined shot.