67 BU - 68 WCU Final

[Da Coach]

...
and the matchup down low - King vs. Prosser - we should have exploited!
Prosser just didn't get the ball enough -- of his 9 shots only 4 or 5 actually came off passes to him and the rest were putbacks and a fast break.

I say get the ball to Prosser more - and of course we gotta do better on FT's..
This is the fourth loss that we could have won with a tiny bit better FT shooting

Taylor Brown only attempted 7 shots all night. He had been averaging almost 13 shots a game. For your leading scorer to only get 7 shots in 33 minutes in a fast paced game with over 50 shots total is unacceptable. Taylor is also our best and most reliable free throw shooter (81%), so shouldn't we want to get the ball in his hands late, especially when we have a lead?

[ph]

agree...but a few more comments...

we played in a funk - I often looked out over the floor and thought that we have the five best players out there -- I couldn't say I really would have traded any of our starters for one of theirs...
and yet we allowed open shots, didn't box out at times, and made very bad passes - several that went right to someone in purple and nowhere close to anyone in white.

Also -- coming into the game we KNEW they were weak down low -- they don't have any size and their big guys are not rebounders
(their two biggest starters King & Hollis average 3 & 2 rebs..while their THREE best/leading rebounders are all guards)

and the matchup down low - King vs. Prosser - we should have exploited!
Prosser just didn't get the ball enough -- of his 9 shots only 4 or 5 actually came off passes to him and the rest were putbacks and a fast break.

I say get the ball to Prosser more - and of course we gotta do better on FT's..
This is the fourth loss that we could have won with a tiny bit better FT shooting

It seemed like half our turnovers were attempts to get the ball into Prosser. Now several of those were attempts were passes that even Randy Moss would not of caught

I love Prosser's effort, which frustrated me about TB's overall game. Late in the game there was a pass behind TB streaking to the basket. To most
players that's a throw out of bounds. But in one silky smooth movement, TB reaches back with one hand, controls the ball and makes a layup (attempt). A player that can do that should be dominating the game..

[tornado]

ph - if those passes were to JP - you coulda fooled me

[bu fan 9]

I don't unstand why DS didn't play at all he would take care of the ball. His defense can't be any worse than the rest of the team.

[it's boogie time]

entertaining...frustrating....entertaining...frust rating...enter...etc etc...

That's how I felt during the game.

There's lots of problems (free throws, lazy passes, rebounding, etc...). BU need some bench play so the majority of the guys playing at the end aren't playing their 30+ minute. Some guards can do it effectively, but rarely can post players.

[LittleBrave]

If wins and losses are not a big deal anyways this season - maybe the best we could hope for is an EIEIO tourney, then maybe this loss will actually help light a fire in our guys so they don't have a repeat performance of a blown lead like this.

Our defense has improved I believe (except the last 5 possessions from what I heard), individuals are getting better (JE, SS), and our assists are rising.
Once again, as in the past few seasons, we kind of lack that toughness & confidence that makes a difference in wins and losses. Toughness down the stretch to get stops, and confidence to make free throws and select good shots.

I think I'm over the loss from yesterday already. Let's put in a valiant effort in Ann Arbor tomorrow night and play smarter & tougher.
This is a big test for Geno to get his guys ready to compete. I think he'll be successful at that.

Really need TB to step up his game, as an underachieving TB causes us struggle. I really want DSE to have a great game too because he's struggled to score vs. the good teams.
Sooner or later we'll see a game in which we have 3 guys play really well.

The real season starts tomorrow!

[tornado]

LittleBrave you are an optimist....and if BU gets a bid to any post-season tourney it will be purely on the basis of the strong and loyal fans base...
but it's looking like it won't be on the basis of RPI.
I am still optimistic that we can work out the issues and compete...I feel we have the talent to do better

[Braveman]

As I said in another thread, there were some coaching decisions that might be questioned, but I'll let that go. However, one that cannot be ignored was the situation just before halftime. Bradley had a 3 point lead, but WCU had the final possession of the 1st half. We only had 4 team fouls, which means we had 2 "fouls to give". Yet we never even attempted to foul WCU as they drained the 35 second clock and started their offense with 4-5 seconds left, and got a three point shot from the corner that tied the game at halftime.
A simple foul as they started the offense would have prevented that shot.

Wow, I guess the honeymoon is over? It seems it used to be no criticism of the coaches was allowed... I guess things are different now?

[tornado]

this is hardly the personal criticism that is the issue - this is the analysis of the way the team plays...
Da Coach is a loyal fan and supporter home and away -- BU needs more fans like him instead of those who criticize yet don't even go to games or support the university
...or worse yet - openly criticize and brag about boycotting

[Air Petey]

........I think I'm over the loss from yesterday already. Let's put in a valiant effort in Ann Arbor tomorrow night and play smarter & tougher. This is a big test for Geno to get his guys ready to compete. I think he'll be successful at that.......The real season starts tomorrow!

You sound like Lovie Smith before the Seattle game..... "We need to get better and we will" then they played Seattle (Was that better?). Good athletes don't say "I will get better" publicly. They go practice hard (Are we talkin bout PRACTICE) and have a solid game plan.

POINT...... postive thought only goes so far. Better athletes on the other team WILL win on the road and last night shows sometimes a worse team can win on the road.

FACTS: The Valley is good this year and we are not. Positive thinking will not get us any more wins!! Anybody want to question my prediction of a 1-9 over the next 10 games? Over/under remains at 2 wins!

[SFP]

Really? look at the stat line tb and wl were both fine better than fine cept at the free throw line, defensively not tight enough down the stretch. I'm at a loss but sadly weve been here before and we will respond how bout we beat big blue and put this behind us shall we yes we shall!

Did you watch the game or are you going by the stats only. WL is a fine player but not a point guard. His ball handling and assist skills are just not D1 PG material as of yet. TB was not as explosive as I have seen him in the past. How many boards did he get? Dunks?

If we limited our TO and get a few more assists we win non-withstanding our pathetic FT shooting.

Taylor Brown only attempted 7 shots all night. He had been averaging almost 13 shots a game. For your leading scorer to only get 7 shots in 33 minutes in a fast paced game with over 50 shots total is unacceptable. Taylor is also our best and most reliable free throw shooter (81%), so shouldn't we want to get the ball in his hands late, especially when we have a lead?

I agree but he also was forcing his shot when he did get the ball. I'd like to see him try and be a bit more aggressive on the offensive board.

I don't unstand why DS didn't play at all he would take care of the ball. His defense can't be any worse than the rest of the team.

We have to have someone else on this team with natural PG skills. Also sometimes there are players that play much better during game time then practice and it goes the other way. In HS we had a player that was all world during practice but for some reason during the game he became very average.

[Da Coach]

Wow, I guess the honeymoon is over? It seems it used to be no criticism of the coaches was allowed... I guess things are different now?

Please Braveman, you are wrong. You sound like you've never read this board before. This forum has always allowed fans to express their opinions, and even criticism, as long as it's not personal and over-the-top. Fans here filled threads with viscious criticism of every aspect of the coaching for the past 6 years. including his foot stomps, his sideline demeanor, his character, how he related to officials, and many more ridiculous ad hominum attacks I won't list. So now suddenly you seem offended by one mild comment about a difference in coaching philosophy? Unbelieveable.

[Braveman]

Please Braveman, you are wrong. You sound like you've never read this board before. This forum has always allowed fans to express their opinions, and even criticism, as long as it's not personal and over-the-top. Fans here filled threads with viscious criticism of every aspect of the coaching for the past 6 years. including his foot stomps, his sideline demeanor, his character, how he related to officials, and many more ridiculous ad hominum attacks I won't list. So now suddenly you seem offended by one mild comment about a difference in coaching philosophy? Unbelieveable.

Not offended at all... just making an observation... And I thought message boards were about sharing opinions...

I would never presume to tell someone they are wrong about their opinion, either. To each their own....

[Chibearsfan10125]

Anybody want to question my prediction of a 1-9 over the next 10 games? Over/under remains at 2 wins!

I say we get 3 or 4 wins in the next 10 games. Yes, the Valley is very good this year, but I don't see why we shouldn't get at least 2 wins. SIU at home and at Drake are two games we should win. At Evansville and Missouri State at home are both winnable games as well.

Every team we face the next ten games are good teams, but we are not THAT bad. They play hard every game and are in every game. We've only had 2 games that we weren't in at the end (Wisconsin and Wyoming). The rest we were in right until the end. We've lost some games we should have won, but we are a better team than we were a year ago. Maybe I'm an optimist, but I think being an optimist is part of what being a fan is all about.

[TheAsianSensation]

Fans here filled threads with viscious criticism of every aspect of the coaching for the past 6 years. including his foot stomps, his sideline demeanor, his character, how he related to officials, and many more ridiculous ad hominum attacks I won't list.

Now I agree that viscious attacks have no place and I've seen them on this board dealt with swiftly and fairly. But foot stomps, sideline demeanor, character, how he related to officials.....those are definitely things we should be able to criticize respectfully.