Anyone who expected a win last night with Grim at 60%, Reed at 75%, and no Brady needs to rein in their expectations some more. We didn't have much of a chance last night at all. Now if this game had been at home, and had the crowd shown up to rally the team I think we could win. The fact is young and inexperienced players/teams play better at home. So as Faf said in his Sagebrush Spot blog we need to pack the place on Tuesday and help this team out.

It sure would be nice to have Newbold this year on the wing. I think one of the biggest reasons we've struggled this year has been our execution. The most glaring problem being our inability to pass the ball inside to the post within the offensive scheme. Those that claim our posts aren't good enough with their back to the back have been spoiled by 4 years of Tai Wesley. We've forgotten than in Stew's system you don't necessarily need a Tai, although its great to have. Stew has an endless supply of plays that will open up layups as long as the team executes them correctly. I think we're seeing a bad combo of so many new players that are struggling to understand the system and uncertainty in their roles within that system. These will get better with time.

We see the talent in glimpses and spurts. We've seen good performances from every player that saw the floor last night. The problem is the inconsistency. Nobody is going to be hitting at a high level every game, but you need more than 2-3 players each game doing it. If we can get that number up to least 6 we'll see more of the type of ball we're used to.

The silver lining last night:
Reed is starting to understand his role and where he can be a factor. This is great and right on schedule for the talented jucos we've had in the past. The most important thing right now is for him to put two games back to back together with numbers like those from last night. But you can see his confidence in himself and the system are coming around.

Jordan Stone: 23 minutes, 7 pts and 7 boards and the guy was active on the floor. Last night was a great step forward for Jordan and lets hope he's earned some more minutes even though that would mean Grim going to the bench some more. (with his ankle and sickness that might be out of our hands anyway)

Preston Medlin: As much as some might say he had a bad game and shot well below his expected shooting percentage there's a reason I list him as a positive from last night. He stayed aggressive! He was looking to shoot. We have to get that from Medlin night in and night out. He needs that scoring drive that Jaycee had for this team to be successful. With the merry go round at that the 3 spot that we have we need some stable force on the wing and a consistent threat from outside. We can't have the Medlin of T&M CC that shoots it twice. So I take last night's 14 shot attempts as a sign that he's starting to realize his role as the scorer out on the court. Last night was his highest shot total of the season.

Oh I certainly didn't expect us to win last night. I don't really expect us to win very much this year.

I will enjoy the growth and improvement of the players over the course of the season though. Rebuilding years happen. We have had 12 straight 23 win seasons. We were due for a year like this. We won't be down long.

I just want to see Pane execute Stew's system more often. If he is going to play the point, I want to see him orchestrate the movement and pass the ball. If I was scouting the Aggies I would have my players go to the paint when he has the ball because more than likely he will drive in and try to force a shot.

If Pane kicked the ball back out, we would have players with open shots on the outside, then the other team would have to keep a presence on the outside allowing a better chance for his shots to fall.

Also if I was stew I would spend a practice entirely on shooting/defending layups and free throw shooting.

I'm not seeing the "talent"...that's my biggest fear. I'm sure of Stew's system, but I think this could be one of the least talented USU teams in Stew's tenure. It reminds me of the Kohn Smith teams where we had one or two talented players (Youngblood/Gordon) and seven guys who were glorified JC players.

Does anyone remember Stew's first year at USU. The team struggled mightlly but by the end of the season the team started clicking. We would have won the Big West tourney had Gary Payton's little brother had not hit a last second half court shot to beat us. This team reminds me of that in that everyone is new.

The biggest problem with this team right now is 1) 3 key injuries 2) The passing in the system is late. This means that people are open for lay ups, but the the gaurds are not seeing the flashes of when people are open. This means that they are not used to the sytstem. 3) We are missing too many defensive assignments. 4) we need the other wing to step up to take pressure off Medlin.

Something is going to happen and the team is going to click. All We need is a lttle Spectrum Magic.

hipsterdoofus21 wrote:Anyone who expected a win last night with Grim at 60%, Reed at 75%, and no Brady needs to rein in their expectations some more. We didn't have much of a chance last night at all.

Whoa, easy there tiger! Your optimism startled me.

Seldomseensmith wrote:Gird up your loins, boys. This is going to be a hard year. I'm optimistic for next year. I think Davis is the true PG we need. He has that ability to get everyone else involved. In time, Bair is going to be a very good 3. Bradshaw is a kid who looks to score, and can. Another Brian Green, IMO. But, honestly, it looks to me like some of the players on this years roster are soft. I love watching Marquette play on TV. They play hard the entire game. They have a certain toughness about them that we don't have. They move constantly, play tough defense. I think most Aggie fans will agree that they were amazed at how Jaycee moved throughout the entire game. How he wore down his defender. We don't have that. We don't have that toughness. Are we going to get players that Marquette gets? No. But players like that are out there. An old dog can learn new tricks. Maybe Stew should evaluate his recruiting and instead of going after nice kids with limited skills, go after tough kids with limited skills. Then get a few tough kids with good skills. And no, James Walker isn't one of them.

If we are girding up our loins until Davis gets here....then we have a lot of "girding" to do. Guys like that need a year to mature and learn to work the system. Pane is not as good this year because he doesn't have the talent to take over. He does not have a strong cast around him. Sigh.

mcaggie1 wrote:

Seldomseensmith wrote:Gird up your loins, boys. This is going to be a hard year. I'm optimistic for next year. I think Davis is the true PG we need. He has that ability to get everyone else involved. In time, Bair is going to be a very good 3. Bradshaw is a kid who looks to score, and can. Another Brian Green, IMO. But, honestly, it looks to me like some of the players on this years roster are soft. I love watching Marquette play on TV. They play hard the entire game. They have a certain toughness about them that we don't have. They move constantly, play tough defense. I think most Aggie fans will agree that they were amazed at how Jaycee moved throughout the entire game. How he wore down his defender. We don't have that. We don't have that toughness. Are we going to get players that Marquette gets? No. But players like that are out there. An old dog can learn new tricks. Maybe Stew should evaluate his recruiting and instead of going after nice kids with limited skills, go after tough kids with limited skills. Then get a few tough kids with good skills. And no, James Walker isn't one of them.

If we are girding up our loins until Davis gets here....then we have a lot of "girding" to do. Guys like that need a year to mature and learn to work the system. Pane is not as good this year because he doesn't have the talent to take over. He does not have a strong cast around him. Sigh.

+1.
When Reed is able to get going, Pane will be able to do his thing and Get Preston some good looks.