Evansville @ Bradley Post Game 77-76 BU!

[shaunguth]

We all know that TCS playing 5-10 minutes a game hasn't been the reason we've lost. One doesn't even need to watch the games to know that. Look at a box score and you'll figure out real quick why we're 2-5 in league play, and it has little to do with Dan Ruffin's absence or any of his replacements.

5-10 ? TCS is averaging 15 minutes a game starting with VCU. It's been stated by others here that TCS' minutes are a direct result of Ruffin's injury. He is shooting 29% from the field, has taken more shots than Salley, shooting 21% from 3-pt., is averaging under 4 points and 1 rebound per game. Again, TCS has done NOTHING to show he deserves playing time, other than having Ruffin on the bench.

[BradleyBrave]

5-10 ? TCS is averaging 15 minutes a game starting with VCU. It's been stated by others here that TCS' minutes are a direct result of Ruffin's injury. He is shooting 29% from the field, has taken more shots than Salley, shooting 21% from 3-pt., is averaging under 4 points and 1 rebound per game. Again, TCS has done NOTHING to show he deserves playing time, other than having Ruffin on the bench.

Well, unless you're looking to give Ryan Phillips some time on the perimeter, we don't have any other options at the guard position. Sam, Andrew, and Jeremy can't play all 40 minutes of every game.

[shaunguth]

Well, unless you're looking to give Ryan Phillips some time on the perimeter, we don't have any other options at the guard position. Sam, Andrew, and Jeremy can't play all 40 minutes of every game.

I understand that. I'm simply stating that TCS' minutes have grown while his game has not and yet there are people that say Ruffins' injury has not cost us any games. I beg to differ when TCS is on the floor and Ruffin is on the bench! I personally believe Ruffin would probably be a little more productive than TCS! Maybe I'm wrong?

[BradleyBrave]

I understand that. I'm simply stating that TCS' minutes have grown while his game has not and yet there are people that say Ruffins' injury has not cost us any games. I beg to differ when TCS is on the floor and Ruffin is on the bench! I personally believe Ruffin would probably be a little more productive than TCS! Maybe I'm wrong?

Ruff would be much more productive than TCS, but Sam would then be less productive because his minutes would be nearly cut in half. But you know as well as I do that we've lost 4 league games because we didn't rebound, 3 of those at home. In the 8 games (VCU included) that Ruffin has missed, we should have won at leat 5 of them, Ruff or no Ruff, TCS or no TCS.

[BradleyBrave]

Shaunguth,

Ruffins' injury, without a doubt, has cost us games. He's our best player.

Rick

It's cost us 2, maybe 3, out of 8 games. The rest have been lost because of terrible defense and even worse rebounding. Drake is 3-0 without their best player, who's also the league's leading scorer. I'm sick of hearing the excuses.

[basketball nut]

Ruff would be much more productive than TCS, but Sam would then be less productive because his minutes would be nearly cut in half. But you know as well as I do that we've lost 4 league games because we didn't rebound, 3 of those at home. In the 8 games (VCU included) that Ruffin has missed, we should have won at leat 5 of them, Ruff or no Ruff, TCS or no TCS.

SM would be less productive but not to the extent that TCS has been. The other thing you get w/ DR is another ball handler at the end of a game like Drake. As I said before JC would have been inbounding to SM & DR and we would have not had the 2 crucial turnovers that cost us that game. It was simply a case of in experience on the part of TW. I may be wrong but at this time next year he wouldn't make that same mistake. I was very impressed w/ the way he bounced back against EU Sat. night especially his intensity not to mention his shooting wasn't to bad either.

[Da Coach]

It is absurd to think that Bradley should play as well without Ruffin as they would with him. I agree that Bradley would have won at least 5 or 6 more games with Ruffin, but no team will be a good or as competetive without their senior leader and leading scorer. Ruffin would have been, IMO, the Player of the Year in the MVC if he hadn't been injured.
No team, especially a midmajor team that doesn't have 4 and 5 star players waiting on the bench to get into the game, will be nearly as good without a player the caliber of Ruffin.

[Braves4Life]

It is absurd to think that Bradley should play as well without Ruffin as they would with him. I agree that Bradley would have won at least 5 or 6 more games with Ruffin, but no team will be a good or as competetive without their senior leader and leading scorer. Ruffin would have been, IMO, the Player of the Year in the MVC if he hadn't been injured.
No team, especially a midmajor team that doesn't have 4 and 5 star players waiting on the bench to get into the game, will be nearly as good without a player the caliber of Ruffin.

Agreed! Every team needs their starting "quarterback" to be effective and successful. Would the Patriots be in the Super Bowl without their MVP? Would the Chargers have been as competitive against the Pats if Rivers sat out? Would any successful NFL team have been as successful without ther starting QB? How would the Bears have fared without Rex Gr...........................(Oh, I won't go there )

[shaunguth]

SM would be less productive but not to the extent that TCS has been.

I hope not! That would certainly be a tall order. In fact, I would like to see SM continue to start and have AW come off the bench once Ruff comes back.

[ER3]

It is absurd to think that Bradley should play as well without Ruffin as they would with him.
No team, especially a midmajor team that doesn't have 4 and 5 star players waiting on the bench to get into the game, will be nearly as good without a player the caliber of Ruffin.

Yes, it is absurd to think that BU would be as good without Ruffin as they would have been with him. I don't think anyone seriously believes that...
However, it is more absurd that this BU team lost one player and went from a supposed NCAA-caliber team to one of the two worst teams in the Valley instantly...and it is equally absurd that some of you just continue to throw up the Ruffin excuse and accept this mess as if there is no way that this team could be expected to do anything except lose games until Ruffin comes back...
I'm tired of the Ruffin excuse...every year good players get hurt all over college basketball...and good teams just don't automatically go into the tank because of it.
You made the statement a while back in one of your 'no team can win without their best player rants'...something to the effect of "of course we are losing games...how do you think SIU would be without Falker or Drake would be without Josh Young?"
Well, Drake lost their best player...they certainly don't have any 4-star recruits sitting on the bench...and they are now 3-0 without him. so much for that theory...And we've all seen the Creighton example when they lost Funk for the entire season and still managed to win 18 or 19 games and make it to the NIT.
NCAA-caliber teams that are well-coached make adjustments and find a way to win games when they lose a key player...Unfortunately, as this season plays itself out, I am growing more convinced that we were never truly an NCAA-caliber team and that we are certainly not getting a very good performance out of our coaching staff this year.
There is still time for the coaching staff to redeem themselves this year, but it has to start tomorrow night...not next week, not when/if Ruff comes back.

[shaunguth]

Yes, it is absurd to think that BU would be as good without Ruffin as they would have been with him. I don't think anyone seriously believes that...
However, it is more absurd that this BU team lost one player and went from a supposed NCAA-caliber team to one of the two worst teams in the Valley instantly...and it is equally absurd that some of you just continue to throw up the Ruffin excuse and accept this mess as if there is no way that this team could be expected to do anything except lose games until Ruffin comes back...
I'm tired of the Ruffin excuse...every year good players get hurt all over college basketball...and good teams just don't automatically go into the tank because of it.
You made the statement a while back in one of your 'no team can win without their best player rants'...something to the effect of "of course we are losing games...how do you think SIU would be without Falker or Drake would be without Josh Young?"
Well, Drake lost their best player...they certainly don't have any 4-star recruits sitting on the bench...and they are now 3-0 without him. so much for that theory...And we've all seen the Creighton example when they lost Funk for the entire season and still managed to win 18 or 19 games and make it to the NIT.
NCAA-caliber teams that are well-coached make adjustments and find a way to win games when they lose a key player...Unfortunately, as this season plays itself out, I am growing more convinced that we were never truly an NCAA-caliber team and that we are certainly not getting a very good performance out of our coaching staff this year.
There is still time for the coaching staff to redeem themselves this year, but it has to start tomorrow night...not next week, not when/if Ruff comes back.

I am personally not throwing up the Ruffin excuse as the sole reason we are losing these games. But it is absolutely absurd to say his absence has not cost us games when one of the statistically worst players on the roster is on the floor more than ever because of Ruffin's absence.

[Da Coach]

Please, stop the silliness. All the loss of Josh Young shows at Drake is that he wasn't so important to the success they were having. He got his points from the offense they run, and without him, they have other players capable of doing the same.

If you think it makes Jim Les a terrible coach because he can't replace the potential Valley Player of the Year, then nothing will change your mind.
We miss Ruffin on offense, but we probably miss him more on defense.

Sorry if you and a couple others are sick of hearing the Ruffin excuse. It is ridiculous to dismiss it when you assess how the team is playing. I am tired of the constant unjustified ripping of the team and coaches.
If a couple losses with our MVP injured are enough for some fans to bail out on this team, so be it. There are other forums that would love to comissurate with you.

[BradleyBrave]

It is absurd to think that Bradley should play as well without Ruffin as they would with him. I agree that Bradley would have won at least 5 or 6 more games with Ruffin, but no team will be a good or as competetive without their senior leader and leading scorer. Ruffin would have been, IMO, the Player of the Year in the MVC if he hadn't been injured.
No team, especially a midmajor team that doesn't have 4 and 5 star players waiting on the bench to get into the game, will be nearly as good without a player the caliber of Ruffin.

I don't think it is absurd to expect BU to beat two Valley play-in caliber teams AT HOME even without their best player. This is a team that was expected to contend for a league title. Other BU teams have weathered injuries to better players, other MVC teams have weathered injuries to better players. I didn't expect to win every game he was out for, but I certainly didn't expect to lose 5 straight at home, 2 of which were to teams that will likely be bottom 4 teams in this league. If you honestly can tell me those losses are acceptable than you must not have had very high hopes for this team.

Sorry if you and a couple others are sick of hearing the Ruffin excuse. It is ridiculous to dismiss it when you assess how the team is playing. I am tired of the constant unjustified ripping of the team and coaches. If a couple losses with our MVP injured are enough for some fans to bail out on this team, so be it. There are other forums that would love to comissurate with you.

I don't think anyone 'bailed' on this team after just a few losses. I certainly didn't. I think even after the UNI loss, people looked at the schedule and thought that it was in our favor to at least tread water until Daniel returns, contend for a top 4 seed, and be able to make some noise in St. Louis. At the very least, I think most people expected us to still be a very good home team. Teams that are expected to contend for a title should be able to at least weather the storm at home. At this point, it's going to be difficult to stay out of Thursday, let alone get a top 4 seed.

So what if we don't have 4- and 5- star players to replace Ruffin. Neither does any other Valley team, and that's who we're playing. Dana is winning with 9 newcomers, and Keno is winning with walk-on's. Sam's production has been nearly equal to that of Ruffin in league play. Ruffin's presence would have had little to no effect on the rebounding, and we all know that is why we lost our first 3 league games, 2 of which were to teams who have a combined league record of 4-10. I'm not going to apologize for having high expectations for this team, BELIEVING IN THEM that despite the injury they could weather the storm and still contend, and being extremely disappointed at how poorly they've played since the injury for reasons largely unrelated to his absence. I want BU to win as badly as anyone, I think that's been pretty obvious over the years.

[bu fan 9]

I did not have high hopes for this team.

[ph]

Ruff would be much more productive than TCS, but Sam would then be less productive because his minutes would be nearly cut in half. But you know as well as I do that we've lost 4 league games because we didn't rebound, 3 of those at home. In the 8 games (VCU included) that Ruffin has missed, we should have won at leat 5 of them, Ruff or no Ruff, TCS or no TCS.

With the return of Ruff, Sam's minutes would not have to be cut anywhere near in half. (Unless you are talking about minutes as the primary point guard vs total playing minutes)

With a 4 guard rotation that means there are 160 minutes split up. Divided among 5 quality guards + TCS (15) would still = 29 minutes per game for DR SM JC AW TW, (plus 15 for TCS)