Where is Kuba and where

BigBlueBlood · Post by **BigBlueBlood** » January 6th, 2020, 4:11 pm

did the shooting go? Kuba was important to a lot of our early success. SDSU is really good. Most teams don't have a No. 11. He's special and makes defenses look weak. However, we had shots. We danced around the 3 point line with iffy passing more than I'd like, and seem to be afraid of the post, but we had shots. Merrill had 26 pts at the end of the day, but only after shooting 8-21 FG's (.38) and 3-12 3PT'ers (.25), both lower than the overall team, but not by much. We aren't shooting well, at all. No one is shooting very well. to make matters worse, our defense is not great right now, either. UNLV and SDSU both shot over 50% against us.

It's the same team as last year, except that Queta is making a late start, but this year's team could not beat last year's team. I don't believe it's a function of "being figured out" by the opposition. We were not the constant subject of every MW team's off season preparation. Teams had plenty of opportunity to scout us during the year last year, and we still won and got better as time went on. There is something else going on. Maybe it's a slump, maybe injuries are making Merrill and a few others just a bit slower on defense and off the dribble to make a difference. Maybe coach implemented some new stuff to "advance" from last year and it's not working. Maybe other teams have gotten better and we stayed the same. Who knows? However, it is clear to me that we play softer. Trips to the hoop seem to be performed with the hope of getting a touch foul call instead of with the expectation of pounding it and finishing. The needle on the aggressive meter seems down a bit this year.

Regardless, we have a great coach and very talented players and a lot of basketball to play. Odds are that they get it figured out. I'm hoping so.

Aggie19 · Post by **Aggie19** » January 6th, 2020, 5:34 pm

Not sure we're going to see Kuba for a while. I was at the UNLV game, I'm not sure how much was caught on TV, but there was a bit of frustration from Coach Smith regarding Kuba. There were a couple of defensive series where Kuba got worked pretty good. Smith called a time out and before joining the huddle, got so far up Kuba's behind he was talking out his ear hole. Wasn't happy to say the least. I don't believe Kuba has seen the floor since. Don't think it's a question of talent, just needs more time to adjust his game and learn.

Btw, this was the same timeout that the team sat down on the chairs they bring out during timeouts and Coach Smith yelled at them to stand up. Like they hadn't earned the right to sit. He was not a happy camper.

brownjeans · Post by **brownjeans** » January 6th, 2020, 6:10 pm

Maybe last year we played beyond ourselves and now we're coming back to a more natural reflection of who we are.
Truth is we are the team who won the MWC last year. We are the team who lost to Washington. We are the team who came from 20 down to beat LSU. We are the team who lost to UNLV.
We are all of it. All the good, and the bad.

And it's mostly good.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » January 6th, 2020, 8:06 pm

Honest question Is the coaches leash to small on certain players? For those close to the program is coach Smith hard to play for in terms of letting people make mistakes but improve from them or once you make some mistakes it's hard to gain back his Trust? I love coach Smith I think he's great these are just some things I observe from afar but I'm not close to the situation at all I'm just a fan.

GUS · Post by **GUS** » January 6th, 2020, 8:20 pm

Smith's leash is much longer than Stew's. You could see Stew's players looking over their shoulders on certain plays. Stew was very quick to pull a player after a mistake. Smith lets players play through them. Don't see it as a problem at all under this coaching staff.

bpd · Post by **bpd** » January 6th, 2020, 8:20 pm

Aggie19 wrote: ↑
January 6th, 2020, 5:34 pm
Not sure we're going to see Kuba for a while. I was at the UNLV game, I'm not sure how much was caught on TV, but there was a bit of frustration from Coach Smith regarding Kuba. There were a couple of defensive series where Kuba got worked pretty good. Smith called a time out and before joining the huddle, got so far up Kuba's behind he was talking out his ear hole. Wasn't happy to say the least. I don't believe Kuba has seen the floor since. Don't think it's a question of talent, just needs more time to adjust his game and learn.

Btw, this was the same timeout that the team sat down on the chairs they bring out during timeouts and Coach Smith yelled at them to stand up. Like they hadn't earned the right to sit. He was not a happy camper.

I agree with this. Against Unlv, Kuba caught the ball on the block, exactly where you would want a big man to catch it, make a quick move and score. Kuba didn’t even look to score, just passed the ball. Another time on D, he didn’t even attempt to block out his man and his man got the rebound and put back. He is tall and athletic, but he doesn’t know how to play the game.
From what Coach Smith said on the pregame the other day, Roche has passed him on the depth chart.

brownjeans · Post by **brownjeans** » January 6th, 2020, 10:14 pm

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑
January 6th, 2020, 8:06 pm
Honest question Is the coaches leash to small on certain players? For those close to the program is coach Smith hard to play for in terms of letting people make mistakes but improve from them or once you make some mistakes it's hard to gain back his Trust? I love coach Smith I think he's great these are just some things I observe from afar but I'm not close to the situation at all I'm just a fan.

I think it depends on the expectations of the team, and how a team is doing. A team competing for a title has less room for developing guys during a game.
If we were .500 right now and had a bunch of young players, it would be different.

TheAKAggie · Post by **TheAKAggie** » January 6th, 2020, 10:18 pm

GUS wrote:Smith's leash is much longer than Stew's. You could see Stew's players looking over their shoulders on certain plays. Stew was very quick to pull a player after a mistake. Smith lets players play through them. Don't see it as a problem at all under this coaching staff.

Smith seems like a “if you make a mistake make it full speed” kind of coach. My guess if you have half (I can't express myself without swearing) a mistake you whole (I can't express myself without swearing) it on the bench.

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bullshot · Post by **bullshot** » January 7th, 2020, 7:56 am

TheAKAggie wrote:
January 6th, 2020, 10:18 pm

GUS wrote:Smith's leash is much longer than Stew's. You could see Stew's players looking over their shoulders on certain plays. Stew was very quick to pull a player after a mistake. Smith lets players play through them. Don't see it as a problem at all under this coaching staff.
Smith seems like a “if you make a mistake make it full speed” kind of coach. My guess if you have half (I can't express myself without swearing) a mistake you whole (I can't express myself without swearing) it on the bench.

But we know what you’re thinking. Is not that just the same? Swearing on this board, you are exempt from ecclesiastical recrimination. So let them rip. Or if you prefer, go with the whole missionary jargon......”Oh my flipping heck”.
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ChicAggie · Post by **ChicAggie** » January 7th, 2020, 8:35 am

Raw or not, Kuba and his length were critical to the Aggies' early success. I also think we miss Taylor more than we thought we might, and Queta is not yet quite playing up to his very highest level from last season. Team-wide shooting woes have also been problematic. I will address this in a separate thread.

BigBlueDart · Post by **BigBlueDart** » January 7th, 2020, 8:42 am

bullshot wrote: ↑
January 7th, 2020, 7:56 am
But we know what you’re thinking. Is not that just the same? Swearing on this board, you are exempt from ecclesiastical recrimination. So let them rip. Or if you prefer, go with the whole missionary jargon......”Oh my flipping heck”.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh, he did. The board has a language filter that is activated by default. If you prefer seeing the saltier language choices of board members you can change it by going to your User Control Panel > Board Preferences tab > Edit display options, and then change the selection for "Enable word censoring" to "No".

JonnyCienPesos · Post by **JonnyCienPesos** » January 7th, 2020, 9:06 am

It’s easier to be patient when expectations are low

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Usu0505 · Post by **Usu0505** » January 7th, 2020, 9:26 am

BigBlueDart wrote:
bullshot wrote: ↑
January 7th, 2020, 7:56 am
But we know what you’re thinking. Is not that just the same? Swearing on this board, you are exempt from ecclesiastical recrimination. So let them rip. Or if you prefer, go with the whole missionary jargon......”Oh my flipping heck”.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oh, he did. The board has a language filter that is activated by default. If you prefer seeing the saltier language choices of board members you can change it by going to your User Control Panel > Board Preferences tab > Edit display options, and then change the selection for "Enable word censoring" to "No".

Horse (I can't express myself without swearing)

Hey it does work I thought it was just a new thing everyone was doing .

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flying_scotsman2.0 · Post by **flying_scotsman2.0** » January 7th, 2020, 10:19 am

Damn son

flying_scotsman2.0 · Post by **flying_scotsman2.0** » January 7th, 2020, 10:20 am

(I can't express myself without swearing)

Real Life Aggie · Post by **Real Life Aggie** » January 7th, 2020, 10:53 am

Usu0505 wrote: ↑
January 7th, 2020, 9:26 am

BigBlueDart wrote:
bullshot wrote: ↑
January 7th, 2020, 7:56 am
But we know what you’re thinking. Is not that just the same? Swearing on this board, you are exempt from ecclesiastical recrimination. So let them rip. Or if you prefer, go with the whole missionary jargon......”Oh my flipping heck”.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oh, he did. The board has a language filter that is activated by default. If you prefer seeing the saltier language choices of board members you can change it by going to your User Control Panel > Board Preferences tab > Edit display options, and then change the selection for "Enable word censoring" to "No".
Horse (I can't express myself without swearing)

Hey it does work I thought it was just a new thing everyone was doing .

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent.

Asking for a friend... Could this be used to substitute "BYU-Provo" for every instance where "BYU" was used? Obviously, it would only work for those who use the filter... and I'm now realizing there are many situations where it wouldn't be ideal. Too bad.

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