Shields' job

Is Steve Shields' job in jeopardy - again? I doubt it is right at the moment. But a 20-loss season is really ugly. It gets all sorts of the wrong sort of attention, and that is where we are headed unless we get things turned around. This team has the talent, and we need to begin showing the results of that talent - soon.

Ouch for Pitt

Wagner beats Pitt. Ouch! If Pitt had to lose, I am glad it was to a little guy.

More fun

Several of us went to a game in Fayetteville this week. The place, of course, just reeks of money and privilege. It is a nice place to visit and to watch a game, if you can get in and out. However, it is so much more fun to root for a team that doesn't get everything handed to them on a silver platter. They may not win as much, but when they do, it means so much more.

Disgusted by Vandy

What is it about Princeton offense teams that says they have to be mentally soft? Best chance Vandy has had to make a national statement in years and they are letting their guts come up on them against teams they ought to be beating easily - especially at home.

A little disappointed

I did not have any reasonable expectation that our record would be much better than it is at this point in the year, but you always have hopes. We came close a few times, so we could have had a few more W's

Improvement?

In the sort of year we are having, the only real question is, "Are we improving?" I cannot answer that, not getting to see them play regularly. We are not to the point of challenging the better teams in the SBC yet, but we could get there by the end of the year - but several things will have to happen, and they are not happening yet.

Pine Bluff uptempo?

The AD at Pine Bluff fired his old coach and hired the current one because he was looking for up-tempo basketball. After seeing their stats over a couple of years, and seeing them play last night, I don't think he got what he was after. Not that I am complaining.

Not a disappointment

Considering that he is leading the team in scoring, rebounding and 3-poing percentage only nine games into his D1 career, Will Neighbour certainly has not been a disappointment. And I think we can expect that he will continue to improve.

Drexel - again

Drexel is at it again. They cannot shoot for sour apples, but they hold their opponents to an ridiculously low 24.1% from the arc. The trouble is that living by defense is not translating into wins this year as it did last year. So far they are 2-4.

Not yet

This team may be pretty good by the time conference season comes around, but we are definitely not there yet. Just too many holes to patch up - most notably the lack of 3-point offense and defense.

NEWCOMERS

We have several newcomers this season with real promise; the future looks bright. However, the only one that I would say has already "arrived" is Will Neighbour.

Small 3's

For the last three years Steve Shields has had a series of small-sized small forwards who were defensive specialists. They were tough, hard-nosed, and played good basketball. One other thing they did well was to get more than their share of offensive rebounds. I do not know why that particular type of player seems to be good at that particular thing, but they have been.

Freshmen

One bright spot in what has been a pretty dismal year so far has been the play of our freshmen. Ben Dillard is a definite "keeper." He should be an All-SBC player before he is through. He has a strong basketball bloodline, and it shows. Michael Javes is still somewhat of a project, but the potential is there, and he will contribute this year and more than that in years ahead.