Comments on: The Morning After: Chattanooga

By: L. Rubes

L. Rubes — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:36:32 +0000

I think Lance gives us quality minutes during Big Ten play. CHATT was just to quick and athletic for him. Then again he also didn’t rebound, dish out any assists, or any intangibles that game but I truly believe he tries his hardest out there. Im going to give him a pass for that game.

By: PB

PB — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:33:58 +0000

We had a rough first half against a team with a collective hot shooting hand. The second half was much better. Eric Gordon looks like a shutdown defender out there, and we put more pressure on their shots as a whole. The defensive rebounding is the only thing that worries me after game 1. No more second and third chances!

I do think fatigue is an issue with Thomas, but understandably so. He will be in much better shape by the end of the year. The freshman were probably fatigued as well. That will all get better as they get used to the college game.

By: chris

chris — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:40:25 +0000

The one thing I disagree with you on is your assessment of our defense last year and last night. Last year i thought we were an excellent defensive team, we barely scored 60 points against UCLA in the tournament yet took them down to the wire with our defensive play. Last night we looked slow and sloppy when switching to the open shooter but once we get AJ back in about a month, I think our perimeter defense will imporve remarkably. For that very reason I think AJ will get more minutes than some expect where he will typically use his long arms to defend the other team’s best shooter. Once we get some games under our belt I fully expect this team to approach the defensive prowess of last years team, and with the increased scoring this year overall we will be a much more difficult team to beat. Thats my two cents.

By: PMK

PMK — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:55:17 +0000

Also for the record and in the interest of full disclosure: PostmanE enjoys Jack Russell Terriers, movies no one else likes or understands, brownies, and tractor rides to find the perfect pumpkin or Christmas tree. Thank you.

By: PostmanE

PostmanE — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:24:40 +0000

Zappa:

Not much choice man, it was 12 dollar buckets of any Bud bottle, but they were out of Budweiser and Bud Light. What’s a guy to do?

For the record (and as those who know me well would attest) my favorite beer is Guiness, my favorite drink is a black-and-tan, and I usually enjoy dark beers. But it’s not always the most cost-effective route.

By: kelin

kelin — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:25:11 +0000

PMK…the other problem with lance is it is difficult to make a chant for his name due to the one syllable in Lance….I think those chants help the kids.

By: kelin

kelin — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:24:09 +0000

PMK-I just think Lance had a bad game thats it. I am not making excuses for him last night…(ofcourse I didn’t see 1 second of it thanks to the BTN and Comcast) but according to some other posters..even EJ and Jordan looked lost at times on defense because of some of the rotations. I like Lances toughness and his hustle. I think he will be ok…he looked good int he exhibition season. I don’t discount the need for that good ol’ senior leadership…..Lets not forget how well he played in the NCAA tourney doing all the little things…..

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:20:33 +0000

in defense of lance, he stunk last year, too.

By: PMK

PMK — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:56:52 +0000

Thanks for the shout out in your original post. I was so happy to see Lance benched (hopefully for good) last night. Enough with the excuses about the concussions, bad ankles, etc, the kid has flat out stunk. I hate to bash our own players, but the facts are that Lance has done so very little in his time here.

Kelin- it seems like you usually have some valuable input for the site here, but the excuses of “first game of the year against a good, athletic team” is just not it my man. However, I will compromise with you. We will just sit Lance for the games in which we play good and athletic teams for the rest of the year. Deal? Lance, please take your seat next to AJ at the end of the bench.

I was most impressed by Gordon’s on the ball defense. He was absolutely hawking the ball handler, I hope he has the stamina to keep making shots late in the second half if he is going to be pressuring the ball like that. Something to keep an eye on as the season progresses and the legs get a little rubbery.

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:36:54 +0000

After the first half which saw Kevin Bridgewaters score in double digits (12?), Kelvin Sampson assigned Gordon to defend him. The second half was very different than the first for Bridgewaters. Gordon played almost flawlessly, and I wouldn’t make a point of criticizing his defense.