Game 32: Richmond (A-10 Quarters)

Pierce9999 · Post by **Pierce9999** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:39 am

Where is 78? We are all optimistic....and he is nowhere to be found? SHOCKER!

Great effort...Richmond was too hot from 3 for us to overcome...I still dont get whey we cant defend the threes, it was a problem all year.

Ricky Harris...I wish we had 5 of him. The guy is classy, keeps his mouth shut, and plays. Hope he continues playing somewhere.

I thought DK coached well at the end of this season. You can tell he loves this job.

Roadtrip · Post by **Roadtrip** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:40 am

I hope that this game was an epiphany for Anthony, and that he sees that he has to play smart next year for this team to be successful. In a way it was the passing of the senior leadership torch. Another observation: this team did well in it's past 3 games without a "natural" PG starting at the point. Hopefully, Traynham can push both Gibbs and Correia to improve.

Carl Spackler · Post by **Carl Spackler** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:00 am

Roadtrip wrote:I hope that this game was an epiphany for Anthony, and that he sees that he has to play smart next year for this team to be successful. In a way it was the passing of the senior leadership torch. Another observation: this team did well in it's past 3 games without a "natural" PG starting at the point. Hopefully, Traynham can push both Gibbs and Correia to improve.

Agreed - We will need "good" Anthony on a very consistent basis, "good" Anthony is an explosive scorer who scores in traffic and from the perimeter, his alter ego "bad" Anthony is downright horrible and if allowed, can ruin your offense with a barrage of off balance running bricks and ill advised deep heaves. His goal has got to be consistency, everyone has good and bad nights but the discrepancy between his on and off nights is

He gets to the hole pretty well off the bounce, if he learned a good up fake and jumped in towards the basket he could live at the foul line on nights the shots aren't falling.

farkdogg · Post by **farkdogg** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:07 am

Pierce9999 wrote:Where is 78? We are all optimistic....and he is nowhere to be found? SHOCKER!

Great effort...Richmond was too hot from 3 for us to overcome...I still dont get whey we cant defend the threes, it was a problem all year.

Ricky Harris...I wish we had 5 of him. The guy is classy, keeps his mouth shut, and plays. Hope he continues playing somewhere.

I thought DK coached well at the end of this season. You can tell he loves this job.

Richmond was hot b/c they had so many good looks on our bad defense. I agree, DK loves his job, but that doesnt mean he's good at it!

Pierce9999 · Post by **Pierce9999** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:23 am

Hence why I said, "I still dont get why we cant defend the threes"..........................................................

I think it's too early to tell if DK is a good or bad coach...Let's see how they come together next year....if they dont correct their flaws both offensively and defensively, well, that's on him.

Carl Spackler · Post by **Carl Spackler** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:24 am

farkdogg wrote:
Pierce9999 wrote:Where is 78? We are all optimistic....and he is nowhere to be found? SHOCKER!

Great effort...Richmond was too hot from 3 for us to overcome...I still dont get whey we cant defend the threes, it was a problem all year.

Ricky Harris...I wish we had 5 of him. The guy is classy, keeps his mouth shut, and plays. Hope he continues playing somewhere.

I thought DK coached well at the end of this season. You can tell he loves this job.
Richmond was hot b/c they had so many good looks on our bad defense. I agree, DK loves his job, but that doesnt mean he's good at it!

UMass was dead last in the A14 this season in 3PT FG % Defense - this was a huge problem all season and it manifested itself BIGTIME in the first half - Richmond was 9 for 13, my memory isn't perfect but I can't recall any of their made 3's being closely guarded.
The good news is I would think this is a problem that can be remedied with coaching. Perimeter defense doesn't require landing 3 McDonald's All Americans.

harbo · Post by **harbo** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:29 am

The announcers kept talking about Richmond's seniors. The talent level of the A-10 (i.e. few, if any lottery picks) lends itself to having an abundance of upperclassmen as being a major key to success. I couldn't help but think that our current freshmen class (including Putney) won't be at least as good as the Spiders. I can be patient enough for a 13-3 record and an NCAA lock three seasons from now (and look forward to a strong showing two yeras from now).

Generally, I'll pull for the A-10 teams in the Big Dance. However, after the Xavier coach completely blew us off at halftime (yeah, he threw in the obligatory "granted this game isn't over" comment as an afterthought - but then immediately started talking again about Richmond), I'm all for them losing their next two games. Bite me

Floyd · Post by **Floyd** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:55 am

Great to see them come back and not quit, but you can't dig a hole like that first half against a top tier A-10 team. But give Richmond credit, they shot the ball extremely well, even if they were open looks.

I think the end to this season really showed these guys what it takes to win consistently in this league. I think they all see that if they continue to work, they can be there as well. A good off season to get stronger, play together, and condition their bodies for the rigors of D1 ball will have them looking even better for next year. It's tough for first year players to come in and be consistent and not make some mistakes, but I really think we have a good nucleus of players to be a very good team.

DK has taken a lot of shit on here for his abilities/inabilities, but at the end of this season I saw a different DK on the sidelines. This year was a work in progress for him too, but I think he's learning some things as well and will be improved next year too. He looked to be more in control, more confident is his players, and I think he has learned what he needs to do to get this team to perform like he wants them to. Now everyone has to be on the same page to take the next step.

Ricky Harris, nothing to be disappointed with. Never easy to lose your last college game, but you've shown nothing but class, worked your ass off, and been a great ambassador for UMass, and a great role model for the freshman on this team. UMass was lucky to have you

kd68 · Post by **kd68** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:56 am

We now know this team has some talent. It is up to the coach to mold this talent with the incoming freshman and turn this team into at least a 50/50 team and middle of the pack for the A-10.

sasso72 · Post by **sasso72** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:05 am

It's hard to get too excited after a loss but the kids did not quit and that's a positive. I also think a light has finally gone off in DK's head so he now sees what it takes to be competitive in the A-10.

shovelhd · Post by **shovelhd** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:16 am

Quann wrote:A little drunk to offfer

Classic!!!!

See you next year in Section U.

shovelhd · Post by **shovelhd** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:20 am

Carl Spackler wrote: Richmond was 9 for 13, my memory isn't perfect but I can't recall any of their made 3's being closely guarded.

They replayed all nine of them during the break just before the second half. That should be game film for next year. All of them were open looks.

sasso72 · Post by **sasso72** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:23 am

Also, I was just looking at the box score and saw Sean Carter had 1 shot. DK has to try to get him more involved in the offense next year if we are going to be succcessful.

Swampy · Post by **Swampy** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:35 am

Pierce9999 wrote:Where is 78? We are all optimistic....and he is nowhere to be found? SHOCKER!

Check the Hockey Section.

isithow? · Post by **isithow?** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:53 pm

URI might want to win this game, which looks like they have 0 shot of, if they want to keep any hope for a tourny bid alive. I mean Houston just took a bid and that will most likely screw URI and there's a chance more of that is to come... (for instance if NC St. continues to win/play well, also unlikely...ILL is more likely...)