Thursday
Nov192009
Break Out the Umbrella Drinks!
November 19, 2009 Oliver No doubt James Naismith is turning in his grave. That was one of the uglier affairs I've ever witnessed. 47 turnovers, 34 fouls, putrid free throw shooting, and yet, this is the happiest I've been since I last bought a hooker.
Since I'm short on time and brain power, we'll do this up bullet-style.
- If I told you Marcus and Wright would combine for 9 pts on 3-13 shooting, with a puny 5 boards, and 11 turnovers, how many points would you have guessed we lost by? 15? 25? The most disconcerting aspect of the Flyer's first two games, the play of Marcus Johnson. He's now 0-8 from 3 and often looks bewildered which is perplexing for a senior. I'm confident by
That's King Paul. If Blackburn were in town, we'd have nifty Photoshop of PW wearing a crown.the time the year ends he'll have chalked up another solid season, but the early returns haven't been pretty. - The kids are alright. Dayton's 3 best players on the afternoon happened to be the three sophomores. Paul Willy was an icy assassin, knocking down the 4 game-clinching free throws as well as the three to put us in the lead. He might of put on my favorite performance of the game. Nothing beats having a player who thrives in the clutch, and hopefully we were introduced to that player today. Chris Johnson continues to make his case for being the best player on the team. Absolutely carrying us in the first half and pushing us out to a big lead when he sandwiched 8 points around the first media timeout. And Luke was Luke, up to his old Pop-A-Shot ways. It's hard to complain when he hits 4-7. But he managed no rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, or any other positive stat. He's a shooter, folks; and when he shoots like he did today, also a huge asset to the team.
- Somebody on campus, find Rob Lowery and start massaging his knee. Man, have I seen enough of Mickey Perry. He seems like a fine, upstanding young gentleman, but he looks absolutely lost on the court right now. His late season rally last season is almost certainly an aberration as he's done nothing more than shoot poorly and turn the ball over regularly. I'm on eBay bidding on a used hyperbaric chamber that I'm going to send direct to Rob's Gardens Apartment. Get well soon, buddy.
- I'm not convinced Georgia Tech is, or will be, a very good team. They were sloppier than thirds on a Chi-O and really showed no definitive character. They came out in the second half determined to bang away down low, but to little effect. Lawal looks like a blue collar big man who isn't going to create much of his own offense. Schumpert is still shaky with the ball and looks like he'll be a hot and cold player. And Favors has got a ways
BG's halftime reading material. This week Chapters 3-5. to go before he'll be punishing the ACC. They've certainly got some talent, but they look poorly coached. Paul, it may be time to clean up the resume. - Big man depth may be a concern down the road for us. Behind Searcy and Huelsman, it's a battle of the freshman. And both have room for improvement. When Benson came in with the first group of subs against Creighton, I was pleasantly surprised thinking if BG had this much confidence in him he had to be a player. Then Runnells had his way with him like a sex doll and he's yet to venture from his cushy seat since. And Donoher's favorite piñata, Kavanaugh, hasn't exactly inspired hope. I don't mind seeing Wright play the 4; in fact, NBA aspirations aside, that's where he should be playing. Fabrizius may as well cherry pick because he ain't stopping anybody. He's hoping to trade 3 for 2.
- Again. we look to have a comfortable lead and midway through the second half, we go all Three Mile Island. I'm not sure what BG does at halftime, but we always seem to lock up for a stretch in the second half. This weeks adventure, a 14-2 Georgia Tech run that turned our lead into a 3 point deficit.
Though it was a sloppy and uninspiring game, this is a huge win for the Flyers. The SOS and RPI will receive a serious boost even if Tech's only a middling ACC team. As I type, Mason and Nova are tied. Hopefully we get the opportunity to bump those SOS and RPI numbers with a game against Nova, who looks eminently beatable right now. All told, a great day to be a Flyer.
Reader Comments (31)
We are a minute away from the disappointment of playing GMU
I think today shows that the depth of this team is legit. CJ, Paul, and Luke will be major keys to this team. If they can provide what they have done so far in 2 games all year, this team can be really, really good. I like Luke's improvement so far. He got matched up on Favors for a while and call it blind luck or whatever, but he held him scoreless on about 5 touches. Kept him in front and made him shoot over the top. It was good defense, and against the average guy he'll go against he may just be a capable defender. And it's been said a million times, if he can shoot 40% (or better) he'll be a valuable weapon.
Don't worry about Benson. He's not strong enough to play against GT. My guess is that he's in the first wave of subs tomorrow.
Liked what little I saw of Kav today, too. Had a block, a couple boards, and provided a few minutes of relief.
Couldn't have asked for a better opening day of the tournament. Take care of Georgia Tech, Nova wins, and Mason looks good. All those who bitched about the weak OOC schedule have less ground to stand on. Georgia Tech and Villanova on a neutral floor, Creighton, Old Dominion, and Boston U at home and at Mason and New Mexico at the Pit amounts to a respectable OOC schedule.
Pretty cool new official UD bball website:
http://godaytonhoops.com/
Also Oliver, by beating Tech we should see either Kansas State or Ole Miss on Sunday, regardless of the outcome tomorrow. Lose Tech and we'd have gotten Indiana or a second game against Boston U.
At this point, I'd trade Luke for Kurtis in a heartbeat. I really think Kurt has qualified for the Most Useless White Man award for the end-of-the-season banquet.
And I'm really liking the looks of the OOC now. GMU played 'Nova hard, but a game against 'Nova looks better. And we already play GMU - it wouldn't be very fun if we played them twice, now would it? I'm excited about tomorrow. Keep Kurtis on the bench and give some other players a chance to be productive, and I think we can pull off another huge win.
And I'm really looking forward to Rob coming back. It's gonna be a lot of fun when he does.
I actually agree with DiSab. Entirely. Excuse me while I go have a few beers to console myself.
Clearly 'Nova is overrated. But if we play like we did today, we have no chance.
Kurtis needs to sit. Play Paulie and CJ more.
DAYTON 63
GA TECH 59
From my preview: "Regardless, I think the Flyers win a close one. The defense steps it up and holds Georgia Tech to under 60 points. Dayton wins this one 63-60..."
Christ, you guys are lucky to have me. Currently losing my ass at blackjack.
Headline from Yahoo sports:
"Flying high: Chris Wright and No. 18 Dayton hung on to beat No. 21 Georgia Tech, 63-59."
??? CW should be trying to sneak out the back door in a wig before any more scouts see him. On the bright side next year's starting lineup of Staton, PW, CJ, CW and Benson looks awefully good.
@ Adam: That's a great point.
Though, I'm not 100% clear, I'm pretty sure doubling down on a team depends on their performance, and can even be beneficial. Hypothetically, let's say we somehow run into BU Sunday. If we were to play BU twice this season, their success or failure would count twice in our SOS. So, to say we'd prefer one team over another at this point is suggesting we know who the better team will be. That said, teams playing in BCS conferences are much more likely to encounter a stronger SOS which in turn influences our SOS. Now, here's where we need the math majors: is it more valuable to play a middling BCS team or a top 2 finisher in a mid-major conference?
@DiSab: Blah blah blah, Kurt sucks, blah blah blah. He is the whipping boy of Flyer basketball. I just don't understand why some hate him so much. Its not like he has the tools to be a 15 and 10 guy every night but just doesn't bring it. One thing I love about this team is that guys aren't trying to be who they aren't. London is London. Maybe 4 points, crazy defense, and won't shoot it outside of 2 feet. Perfect. That is his role. He understands it better than Donoher understands a frat paddle.
Same with Kurt. he knows his role and doesn't try to be anything that he isn't. Both Favors and Lawal were at 10 points or less. Neither of them killed us on the boards. Job accomplished in my book. If you are going to rip on him for offense, which is sometimes warranted, at least give him credit where credit is due.
If anything, wouldn't you be pissed at Chris Wright? Our supposed All-A10 player came up just as many turnovers and sloppy plays as he did rebounds or points. Marcus Johnson scored....two less points than Kurt....0!!! Plus, what the hell is he shooting all these threes for all of a sudden?
Oliver ... please explain what exactly you want from Luke ... he played 6 minutes ... he stood up Favors twice making him miss jumpers ... in 6 minutes there are no or little opportunities for rebounds or assists ... he had 12 huge fucking points, good for him. He is a one trick pony, but today that pony did his job.
Disab ... I am not sure if I agree with you assment of Kurt today. Last Saturday, my shit could have produced his stat line, period. But today I thought he was one reason we won. Lawal and Favors had 13 turnovers combined and only 19 points from the two of them. He also had 4 blocks ... two on one possession and five rebounds. I will take that from him, especially against the best big men duo we will face all year. Points mean nothing to me from him ... because well, he sucks at that.
Otherwise, Marcus, Mickey and Wright should have stayed in bed, they were fucking awful and if they didn't play UD wins by 9-10. London another quality game and I can't say enough about Paul and CJ ... let's hope Paul stays healthy.
Wright and MJ played like shit meaning they are due tomorrow ... tomorrow is a later start and Nova had to dogfight and is short down low ... this is our chance to make a major impact on the national scene.
Who wants to be a top 12 team? I do!
just went to that godaytonhoops.com site, and yes, i did waste a good 5 minutes scrolling over each player to see what they would do with the basketball. almost worth it after seeing Josh Benson doing his rendition of the Gem City two-step.
other than that, the website seems pretty worthless right now. i'm sure they're gonna add more stuff in the future. or else they're dumb
For anyone wanting more offense out of Kurt (myself included) this requires actually passing the ball to him when he is open down low. They rarely looked to get Kurt the ball today inside and the one time they did he scored a nice bucket. Now if Kurt had missed some easy layups and turned the ball over maybe I would share your views.
But, how scary is this Flyers team when it can win big time games with the lackluster performance that CW and MJ turned in today? Just imagine that lineup once we can bring Rob in.
No Villanova preview post yet? You guys are slacking....
Time for an update on BR Conspiracy Theories:
-- Staten will never sign his LOI in the fall. Check.
--Paul Willimas is the prime candidate to transfer. Check.
You guys have any more Commie plots you want to share with us?
@Swampy: only Donoher said Staten wouldn't sign in the fall. Not the rest of us.
No one ever said that PW would ever transfer, just that he had the most potential to transfer. We already covered why. You are essentially arguing about opinions--an argument, by definition, you can't win.
You can argue over facts. Like for instance, if one was to say that Adreian Payne would sign with Dayton in September and he didn't--you would be completely wrong. Fact vs. opinion. Email me in private if you need me to explain it in detail.
You guys need to see the games in person to see what Kurt brings to the team. I'm not saying it's a ton, but it is "tangible." He plays a lot of D and really did a nice job denying the ball to GT's big men today. They had a ton of entry passes that UD either picked off or went sailing over the top and out of bounds. He has to play 20 mins/game for this team.
@John: I'm ecstatic with what Luke did. I really like him as a player. He can be frustrating and I think everyone can agree with that. He's the epitome of the "No, no, no...YES!" player. Unfortunately, I was only capable of listening to the radio broadcast so I wasn't aware of his solid D. Sounds encouraging. Any bile I spew about Luke is simply a result of my terrible bourbon problem and self-esteem issues.
@Vance Wilson: Why do you think O'Brien's been so quiet? He's actually in Philadelphia right now shuffling through Jay Wright's office like it's the Watergate Hotel.
@Swampy: 3 of 4 us were confident Staten would sign. We have been a bit bullish on Williams, but when you post enough off season filler you're bound to look like an idiot at some point (or all the time). Anyways, if you're coming to this site for hard-hitting facts, you got the wrong fucking site.
@Secaur: I totally agree with the assessment of Kurt. There was a quintessential Kurt possession in the Creighton game: he stepped out to help on a driving guard, and, though, he was a yardstick away from blocking the shot, he, first stopped penetration, and, second altered his shot. Then Kurt immediately boxed his man out to near the 3 point line. The ball fell to the floor and someone else scooped it up. Why he doesn't chase boards? Who knows, perhaps BG prefers him to clear space and let some of the athletes go get it? But for those who want more out of Kurt, take note each and every game this year of other Centers you'd rather have. There just aren't that many in college basketball.
BTW, while I'm still somewhat functional, just want to thank the 300+ people that turned out for the live blog this morning. That's a huge number, something we didn't expect. Thanks again.
The animosity between the BR and UDPride is like that of Cuban-Americans v. Castro, intense.
@John: You are exactly right. If that one trick pony is strutting its stuff, you ride it until pregnancy...does that even make sense? No, okay, read John's post then. Luke Fab was huge today. Will he be huge tomorrow? Who knows. He could go 1-6 to start the game and serves no purpose. But today, he did. If today can be a semi-constant occasion, my opinion changes completely of him.
Line of the night: Sitting next to a Nova fan at a table, we start talking about Nova/UD tomorrow. He asked me what part of Indiana was Dayton located in . A line only Kyle Whelliston could enjoy.
Secaur is preaching to the choir regarding Kurt. If you take a step back and see him for what he is, he's an asset to the team. Not a star, but an asset. The entire Creighton game was a clue into Kurt's world. Creighton's bigs took over that game with him on the bench with two fouls in the first half. Right after half Kurt starts and UD goes on a 17-6 run, thanks in large part to their bigs being slowed. He's the only big we have that rarely needs help on defense. Opens it up for tighter defense outside, more turnovers, and a pace more to our liking.
@Blackburn - That's hilarious, but sad. Indiana is more boring than Ohio.
@Swampy: I wrote a huge post about how I love Paul Williams!!! WE'RE NOT ALL THE SAME!!!
@Readers: Nova interview coming... preview...shit fine.
I swear Luke has got to be the real life equivalent of a 9 year old kid playing NBA Live.
However if Eazy Fabreezy can say some what consistent, could he possibly average double figures?
@O'Brien: Can we nominate Swampy for the most random comment of the young season? Also, no Nova preview? I leave and the site turns to shit.
@Tron Paul: That's what I was wondering today. But, at some point he has to cool down a bit you would think--and eventually teams will start playing him tight.
@juliaflyer
So have you and Uthe broken the bed yet?
@Tron: That statement is absurd! But also may be true.
@Blackburn: On it boss
Can we go through and mark Swampy's predictions now?
Paul Williams will be an All-American his freshman year. Check.
Redford isn't a D1 player but Fabrizius is the next coming of basketball Jesus. Check.
Payne will be a Naismith winner if he signs with UD, if not he wouldn't have gotten off the bench if he played for UD.
Don't you have some HS recruits you should be slurping on instead of pointing out bloggers wrong predictions Swampy?
@Mo: the worst part--they weren't even predictions. 3/4 of us thought Staten would sign and the Paul Willie transfer article was a tongue-in-cheek post written during the doldrums of the offseason. The PW post merely said that hewas the MOST LIKELY guy to transfer, not that he would. It was in no way, shape or form a prediction.
The funny thing is there is no logical connection between Paul Willie having a good game against Tech and him being less likely to transfer. Someone has to explain that one to me...