Lamb to UMass.......Lowell

Post by jj » Thu Apr 24, 2003 1:57 pm

With what little time I have to surf these boards lately, I really don't want to devote it to piss-fests, but I would have to argue that the motion and transition ball worked very well in that IU game.

Yes, I do believe that Raheim was operating in the capacity that Lappas wanted him to in that game. It could be argued that the only thing Raheim may not do very well is shoot the mid-range jumper, and I'm sure Lappas wanted him to improve on that. But not instead of taking an open basket that the motion provided when Raheim was 4 or 6 feet from the basket. Raheim STOPPED being aggressive and passed up WIDE OPEN opportunities to score inside.

Motion offense doesn't dictate that you pass up an open f'ing layup, and dish the ball to someone who is covered. Raheim did a hell of a lot of that throughout the season, and started to see his minutes decline. That's really all there is to it.

MrMiagi · Post by **MrMiagi** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 1:58 pm

You are blinded by one offensive output. What about the other games where he played a ton of minutes and scored almost no points. The kid had a limited offensive game. He wasn't a good outside shooter, he wasn't great at putting the ball on the floor, and he was too small to be posting people up.

Every guy that has left here according to the "EXPERTS" should have been a double digit scorer if used properly.

Bottom Line,

If Lamb had continued to play extensive minutes at the expense of Viggiano, people would have ripped Lappas for not playing Viggiano.

People always think the other option is better when the truth is neither option is good enough to get the job done. Viggiano however had a more complete game as a freshman despite his struggles from deep and should have been getting the bulk of the minutes in a program that didn't have the players to win anything meaningful last year.

As far as bashing players. How am I bashing Lamb? The kid wasn't good enough. If he was good enough, he would have been playing or attending another big school next year.

Kosty · Post by **Kosty** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:02 pm

Hey Nova Boy.....the reason why Lamb is not attending another big school next year is because he would have to sit out a year AND lose a year of eligiblity and thus would only be allowed to play one more year. I don't know of any college player that would transfer just so he could only have 1 year left after sitting out a year. That's just dumb.

Get the facts straight before you pull another "I think it, therefore it is true".

MrMiagi · Post by **MrMiagi** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:09 pm

Actually, Roderick Rhodes left Kentucky to play one year at USC, Penn State's leading scorer Sharif Chamblis is leaving to play one year at Wisconsin, Danny Miller left Marlyand to play 1 year at Notre Dame.

Those are just examples that I can think of off the top of my head. A good player will do it, try again tough guy.

Actually, those guys had just one year left, my bad.

However, if you really think you're a good player, why settle?

kdogg8173 · Post by **kdogg8173** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:42 pm

i really just think that this kid left because he wants to play. He doesnt want to sit another year. I think if you ask him he knows hes not the best player and it would be pointless for him to play at another d-1 school. He wants to play at a place where he can get time, you can't fault him for that. And yes his skills arent that great but if this team had a little more depth he wouldnt play as much and i would take him as a 7th or 8th player.

Floyd · Post by **Floyd** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:56 pm

I agree with kdogg, I think he realized he wasn't going to get the minutes because of Vigg and wanted to play. It looked as though he lost a little confidence during the year & this may have accounted for his being less aggressive. The kid still has some skills. Confidence is a big part of playing well, & maybe he felt Lap had more confidence in Jeff. Time to move on...... Go Minutemen

Mother Teresa · Post by **Mother Teresa** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 4:02 pm

Guys, let's Not bash Raheim Lamb. His minutes fell during the course of the year, UMass will have a plethora of talented players at his position, and he wanted more minutes. I don't blame Lamb for wanting more minutes, nor do I blame Lappas for playing guys who he thinks will benefit the team more in the long run. Obviously Lamb felt there was too much competition at his position. Lasme had a similar thing happen, although with a little more delusional thinking.