MICHAELSPAPPY'S UALR BASKETBALL BLOG

DOESN'T CARRY WEIGHT WITH ME

2012-02-15T05:23:00.002-08:00

Some people argue in favor of the 3-point shot because it helps the little guys, who generally are unable to get top-level post talent, but can sometimes get shooters. That argument does not hold water with me. Sure, it helps the little guy, but if you have to invent a gimmick to level the playing field, what does it matter? If you can't do it legitimately, it does not count.

Overachievers

2012-02-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

This team really has over-achieved this year. Their surprising record in conference play may have lifted our expectations some, but I still have my doubts. We are absolutely terrible shooters, and with Neighbour hurting, we are woefully short-handed in the post. I love defense, but it can only carry you so far. For the season as a whole we are mediocre at rebounding, fair at FT shooting, and only OK at taking care of the ball. That is not much of a resume to make up for not being able to throw the ball in the ocean.

Make the season relevant

2012-02-09T05:13:00.001-08:00

One thing the NCAA badly needs to do is something to make relevant the regular season in college basketball. The tournament is their big draw, but they seemingly have put all their chips in that one basket. Drawing fans to regular season games is getting harder and harder - and no wonder, since those games mean very little. Hey, NCAA - give this some attention. It is not brain surgery. But probably they are so focused on football that nothing else matters.

Shooting - in the foot?

2012-02-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

This team's shooting is TERRIBLE. Perhaps the worst-shooting Trojan team on record. They have to do a bunch of other things well in order to succeed.

3-point defense

2012-02-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

3-point shooting totally dominates college basketball because it rewards bad shots. However, it is a fact of life. So, I would submit that the single most important statistic a coach can look at is 3-point percentage defense, or in other words, a team's opponents shooting percentage from the arc.

Polls?

2012-02-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

Just exactly what are the polls supposed to be measuring? Which team has had the better overall season? Which team would beat another at a given moment in time? Which team has been hot lately?

Our crowds are terrible!

2012-02-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

Our crowds at the Jack are depressing! Not talking about the number, but the fact that they don't cheer! They just sit there! Even when the team is in a close game and needs them. They just are not basketball fans!

Phew!

2012-02-06T14:31:00.000-08:00

We really stunk against Monroe. We will have to pick it up a bunch to finish strong. Not much to brag about at all!

Take care of business

2012-02-03T05:15:00.000-08:00

As far as winning the division, our situation is in our own hands. We are in the lead, we just have to keep the lead. Win the ones we ought to win, and we will be OK.

Bad scheduling?

2012-02-02T05:32:00.001-08:00

Richmond is one of the better FT shooting teams around. They hit 75.5% as a team. But their opponents shoot 76.9%. What did they do, only schedule teams that could hit their charity shots?

Win what we ought to

2012-02-02T05:06:00.000-08:00

If we will just win out the games that we should win, this will have been a fairly successful season given the number of new faces. And lots of optimism going forward. But we have to win them.

Try again next year

2012-02-01T05:12:00.001-08:00

I had high hopes for Northwestern this year, but they blew it. Just plain blew it! They have the skills; what they do not have is the toughness.

Dre

2012-01-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

D'Andre Williams has been amazingly durable this year to be as frail-looking as he is. Tough player.

"System" offenses

2012-01-31T04:56:00.000-08:00

Offenses such as the Princeton, which rely overly on the system itself and thus the team as a unit, rather than on individuals, work well usually. However, sometimes at "crunch time," when some individual has to rise above the situation and take things in hand, they fail to deliver.

One silent pressure factor

2012-01-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

Steve Shields (and others in similar situations) has one pressure on him that other basketball coaches do not have. Because Little Rock does not have football, basketball is the sole revenue sport. If anyone is going to make money, basketball has to do it.

Burn The Horse

2012-01-26T05:29:00.000-08:00

I highly recommend Jeff Slatton's excellent website Burn The Horse. He does a great job of getting all sorts of inside information about the Trojans program.

http://www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com/

Unclear prospects

2012-01-26T05:15:00.001-08:00

Until we know if Will Neighbour is going to be completely healthy before the end of the season, our prospects for the balance of the schedule are not clear. We are a different team without Will in the lineup.

Who will it be?

2012-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

If this is to be anything more than a very sub-par rebuilding year for this program, someone is going to have to step up big time. Who will it be? Will it be anyone?

The end of big men

2012-01-24T05:18:00.000-08:00

I heard a commentator on the radio the other day (I assume he was a coach) say that big men were largely irrelevant in today's game. He said that all you needed was one big guy in the middle to do a little rebound and play defense, and four guards. I really hate to say it, but he is probably right. Any big guys who can walk and chew gum at the same time are in the NBA early entry, and the 3-point shot and ESPN have made everything but the 3-pointer and dunks obsolete. Everything is showtime now. Good basketball is a thing of the past, and that is the way fair-weather (off-season football) "fans" and television want it.

Blown opportunities

2012-01-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

Every possession that ends in a turnover before a shot is a blown opportunity. Blow too many of them and you blow yourself right out of an opportunity to win the game.

Another reason I like Taggart Lockhart

2012-01-19T07:37:00.001-08:00

He stayed with his own small-school alma mater instead of jumping to a high profile school that would have given him more visibility.

All the same

2012-01-17T07:50:00.000-08:00

A spectacular, rim-rattling dunk counts the same as a quiet layup.

Little Rock - home of the ugly wins

2012-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

I do not see how this team wins a lot of the time. Their numbers do not indicate they ought to be winning, but they are finding a way to get it done. Typical of Shields teams.

Northwestern gets an upset

2012-01-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

Just when I had written off Northwestern as "soft" and being unable to get the big wins, they upset the #6 ranked Michigan State team - always physical and tough. Who knows? I still think they have to be .500 in the Big Ten to stand a chance of an at-large berth.

Pet Peeve

2012-01-12T05:10:00.001-08:00

One of the things that irritates me the most in basketball is post men that won't post up. They want to sit out on the 3-point line and shoot the long ball. Having a big man who can shoot the 3 is a plus, but if the big buys aren't going to bang down low, who is? Sort of the moral equivalent of clean-uniform shotgun formation quarterbacks.

I saw it, but . . .

2012-01-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

If you showed me the box score from the FAU game, I would have said we got blown out. Our stats were HORRIBLE! How a team could have those numbers and still win is just amazing. Somehow, we did. So, we picked up an ugly win at home, and are one game closer to Will Neighbour returning. We'll take it.

Where's the coach?!

2012-01-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Fayetteville's Ricky Scott has attempted 29 three point shots and has made THREE of them. At some point, doesn't the coach say, "Don't shoot any more!"?

Losing Neighbour

2012-01-05T05:17:00.000-08:00

It is tough to lose your best player just when hope springs up that you might have a decent team in conference. Oh well, these things happen. If we still had Gus Leeper, it would not be nearly as big a deal, but with your two best big men out at the same time, it will be tough to bounce back. We'll see what happens.

Relatively speaking

2012-01-04T05:07:00.001-08:00

It is hard to understand why fans might be proud of a 22-point loss. But we went to Kentucky without our star post man, and already short another starting post man from late last season. We led them at the half, but they wore us down after that. Just too much talent. Our guys played hard and played well. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Shields' job

2011-12-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-24T06:15:00.001-08:00

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

More fun

2011-12-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-17T06:24:00.001-08:00

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?

2011-12-16T05:19:00.001-08:00

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?

2011-12-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-09T13:06:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-07T12:41:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

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.

Advertising

2011-11-30T10:37:00.000-08:00

I still say we need a billboard on one of the freeways around town that shows the Trojans and says in big letters, "LITTLE ROCK'S TEAM!"

Expectations

2011-11-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

We are about where I thought we would be at this point in the season. However, after seeing the team, I have hopes that we may finish stronger than I had originally hoped.

ULL's inside game

2011-11-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

ULL is somewhat of an oddity among teams at our level in that their front line is the strength of thier team. Their top three scorers are 6-5, 6-9, 6-7. The shoot from and defend well from inside the 3-point line, but they do not shoot nor defend from the arc very well.

Defensive stats

2011-11-23T05:29:00.001-08:00

I rarely look at scoring defense as an indication of a team's defensive ability, because that is more a function of the pace of the offense. What I mainly look for is opponents' shooting percentages, and to a lesser extent steals and blocks as compared with opponents' steals and blocks.

Neighbour so far

2011-11-23T05:19:00.001-08:00

The thing about Will Neighbour's play so far that has surprised me is his rebounding. I certainly did not expect him to be leading the team.

Patience

2011-11-21T10:49:00.000-08:00

We are going to have to temper our enthusiasm over the incoming talent with the reality that we are very young and inexperienced yet. It will come, but it will take time.

Freshmen

2011-11-18T09:20:00.000-08:00

I would love to get to that ideal situation where all freshmen redshirt - because you have too much talent ahead of them, and because the staff is able to teach well enough that everyone improves vastly over their years there - and because the program is good enough, incoming freshmen don't mind too much redshirting. But that is only a dream. In our situation this year, we REALLY need our freshmen to come through for us, and it appears they are going to contribute greatly. We have some "keepers."

Impressed with the team

2011-11-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

I liked what I saw in my first glimpse of the 11-12 version of the Trojans. The incoming talent is very impressive. They are raw yet in some instances, but the potential is considerable. They will win some games I did not think they would. Michael Javes is an outstanding prospect at center. He will be the best big man in the SBC before he is through. Will Neighbour has a great shot, although he needs to gain a lot of strength and stamina. Chuck Guy has picked up the "go to" role from Solomon Bozeman, and he makes his free throws. The only thing about the team that is a cause for immediate concern is ther 3-point shooting and defense, but those probably will come on as the season goes.

I get to see our new Neighbour

2011-11-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

Finally, after 2 1/2 years of waiting, I get to see Will Neighbour play tonight. Can't wait! If he is even nearly as good as we have hoped he is, he will be a huge plus for this program.

Finally

2011-11-11T10:30:00.001-08:00

Tonight we will get at least an idea of how good our incoming players are. Tulsa will be a pretty good test, especially on the road. Here's hoping.

Investment

2011-11-09T05:29:00.001-08:00

We use the word "project" to describe a big man who will not be able to contribute immediately, but might be on down the line. "Investment" might be the better term (at least on that is more optimistic). It is a risk, but at our level, big men who are ready to contribute right off the bat are rare, and having a couple of projects in the pipeline is a good practice.

FAU early

2011-11-09T05:02:00.000-08:00

The incoming talent of the other teams may allow them to catch up somewhat by conference time, but there is no doubt that in the early going, at least, FAU is going to be the class of the SBC. Maybe they can get some big non-conference wins for us.

At last!!

2011-11-07T05:15:00.001-08:00

College basketball officially begins today. At long last!

European style?

2011-11-03T04:55:00.000-07:00

I have long been a fan of the physical style of post play - some call it Big 10 style. I may have to get used to another style this year, though, with Will Neighbour on the roster. Not only is the actually European, but his physical characteristics probably will not allow him to do much banging inside. What frustrates me about the European style is that those post players just are not willing to "get their hands dirty" inside. They do not seem willing to take the pounding, but want to launch away from the perimeter. But someone has to do the dirty work, and I still like the Big 10 better.

Tradition

2011-11-02T09:41:00.001-07:00

We badly need some traditions at UALR. Just something we can sink our teeth into as fans and make us feel more a part of the program.

Stan Heath

2011-11-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

Head coach Stan Heath of South Florida is listed as the "coach on the hot seat" in pre-season magazines. I hope he makes it. He seems like a class act, at least compared with a lot of the sleeze in college basketball. If he can surprise this year and survive, he might be able to move the program forward after the looming shake-up in the Big East.

Strike outs

2011-10-26T08:56:00.001-07:00

I don't mind cheering a slugger when he hits a home run, but when he fails to cut back on his swing with two strikes and as a result strikes out, I think he ought to be booed.

What makes Wisconsin consistently good?

2011-10-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

from Rivals:

Look at all the little things. The Badgers led the nation in Free-throw shooting and assist-to-turnover radio last season, and had the fewest turnovers per game by a wide margin.

Post health

2011-10-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

The health of our post men may be the make-or-break factor for this year. With Gus out and Courtney hurting, we have no room to spare. The talent seems to be there, but if they are on the bench in bandages, they cannot help us.

Starters

2011-10-18T05:23:00.001-07:00

Who starts a game means absolutely nothing to me. In fact, when I track starters from a stat sheet, I always do so in terms of minutes played, not who was in the line-up at the tip-off. However, because of the hype that accompanies the introduction of the starters, I can see why it is important to the players. A moment in the spotlight.

Again, watch the SBC next season

2011-10-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

I expect the SBC to move upward in the conference rankings this year, but next season I expect us to take a giant step forward. There is a LOT of talent coming into the league this year that will need a year to get D1 acclimated, and a more-than-usual percentage of that talent is made up of big men. When lower-ranked conferences get several talented big men coming in, usually the difference is easy to see.

Recruiting class

2011-10-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

We definitely are heading in a different direction with our last two recruiting classes. FAR less bulk. We are downsizing in weight and upsizing in height. And we will be among the national leaders in cool recruit names with Stetson Billings.

Good time of year

2011-10-11T05:19:00.000-07:00

The basketball preseason magazines are out, the websites are coming out with their predictions. It is a good time of the year. Basketball is right around the corner.

Better Belt

2011-10-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

The Sun Belt will struggle again this year, but I expect us to take a big step upward a year from now. There is a lot of talent coming into the league this season, and when they have a year of experience under their belts (no pun intended), I expect a lot of good things to happen. Stand by.

"Decent" height

2011-10-05T14:20:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of factors that go into the discussion of what constitutes adequate height for a basketball roster. Bulk and reach and foot speed to go along with the height are probably more important than what is shown on the roster. After all, the player does nothing with the top of his head during a game. Still, when we scan a roster, there are rules of thumb that we go by to see if this team is undersized or not. What is my yardstick? Generally, I look for two players 6-9 or taller on the roster, especially at our level. That usually will not get the job done at the Big Six level, but Sun Belt teams do well to maintain that standard year in and year out.

More running

2011-10-04T05:17:00.001-07:00

I think it is inevitable that this team will run more next season than we have in the past. The talent will demand it. We do not have a big man whose strength is the post-up game, and the bulk of the team is down considerable. We are built to run. Eric Lawton is one of our best incoming players, and his strength is in the open court.

Pittsburgh to the ACC

2011-09-29T05:27:00.001-07:00

I predict that Pittsburgh's blue collar style will give them fits in the blue blood ACC.

Senior posts

2011-09-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Our senior post guys need to have strong seasons this year for us to have a chance. Marlo and Courtney need to step up. No tomorrow.

Injuries

2011-09-27T05:02:00.001-07:00

This team might have the possibility of being pretty good, but a few key injuries will kill off our hopes pretty quickly. We have some depth (maybe), but there are a few players we would be hard pressed to do without. That is the story on every team, but most teams do not have as many new players as we do this year.

Defective system

2011-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Was UConn really the national champion last year? They lost 9 games, and were only 9-9 in their own conference. Not logical.

Greed

2011-09-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

It is going to ruin college athletics. Perhaps it already has.

"Junk" players

2011-09-14T09:20:00.001-07:00

Even if you make your living from put-back shots and free throws, that can be a pretty good living if you are good enough at it.

Task for the NCAA

2011-09-06T10:06:00.001-07:00

One thing the NCAA really needs to do for basketball is to make the regular season mean more. Right now it means virtually nothing, especially the non-conference season, and especially for teams that have no realistic at-large chances.

sleeper

2011-09-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

There will be a sleeper in this incoming class. Just a question of who it will be. Fondren, Lockhart, White? Who knows. But there will be one.

SBC

2011-09-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

We badly need for the SBC to take a step forward in quality this year. We have sunk below the level of "mid"-major.

Good seasons

2011-08-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Good coaches ought to be able to manage "good" seasons most of the time. There are enough factors under their control that they should be able to do that. However, "great" seasons are often the result of factors beyond the coach's control, most notably avoiding the injury bug.

Coaching choices

2011-08-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

It is always interesting to observe coaching hires and wonder to what extent they reflect the character of the institution. Single exceptions will happen, of course, but over time, if the coaches at a school are always in the news for the wrong reasons, you wonder about the school.

Finally - Javes

2011-08-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Now that Michael Javes is finally officially on the team, I feel much better about our prospects. We have that legit big man that can alternate (or maybe play at the same time as) Will Neighbour. I like our chances.

Coach gets the blame

2011-08-25T04:49:00.000-07:00

A good manager gives his subordinates the credit when things go well, and takes the blame when things go wrong - and that should be a coach's attitude as well. However, as fans we need to give credit and blame where they are due. Players sometimes mess up, sometimes do not or will not carry out the game plan.

Interesting question

2011-08-23T05:20:00.000-07:00

Why do we say "He won the game" when someone makes the winning shot; but we NEVER say "He won the game" when a player prevents what might have been the winning shot?

military academies

2011-08-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

There are pluses and minuses to recruiting to a military academy. They can appeal to patriotism, can provide an unparalleled education at taxpayer expense, can offer the sort of discipline that will turn a boy into a man. On the other hand, the sad fact is that a lot of athletes do not possess the sort of discipline that the academies require, and do not wish to get it. Plus, the better players usually have at least a hope of going pro, and if they attend the academies they will have to serve their military committment first. I am sure the academy coaches put the best face on their recruiting, but it does have some limitations.

from ESPN about UCLA

2011-08-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

Howland's style has always been rugged. His teams thrive on slow tempo, defensive brilliance and physicality. Things aren't pretty on the offensive end, but they don't have to be. They just have to be effective. In this case, "effective" means "good enough to score more points than your opponent, who probably won't score that many, because you're UCLA and your defense is usually pretty awesome."
(Remind you of anyone?)

Why I follow the teams I do

2011-08-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

I follow 53 teams closely enough to keep up with their recruiting and study their stats in the off season. Why those particular teams? Well . . . I am glad you asked.

1. Some because they are Arkansas teams that have no connection with Fayetteville.
2. Some because they are academically-strong schools who do not bow to athletics (e.g. Northwestern)
3. Some because they are "at" teams (such as University of Missouri AT Kansas City)
4. Some because I like the coaches (e.g., Bowling Green)
5. Some because they play the style of ball that I like (e.g., Drexel)
6. Some because they are historically intersting (e.g., William and Mary)
7. Some just because they intrigue me (e.g., Maine)

And perhaps a few other reasons, but those are the main ones.

Incoming class

2011-08-11T11:00:00.003-07:00

It is hard not to feel very good about the incoming recruiting class. They may not all pan out, of course, but on paper this is the best group since I have been a fan.

Early NCAA candidate?

2011-08-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

Take a look at Drexel. They return four starters, including their two leading scorers. They play smothering defense and are a dominant rebounding team.

Not there yet

2011-08-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Shields has averaged 17.5 wins over the last four years. Not awful, but no where near where it needs to be. Take out that one horrible year, and it isn't so bad, but those years do get averaged in.

Prediction

2011-07-26T05:23:00.003-07:00

If this team keeps everyone else healthy and gets everyone eligible, then I think we win more regular season games than last year.

ASU up front

2011-07-26T05:20:00.001-07:00

ASU is going to be tough up front this year, with Adams, Peterson and Kirkland. I hope we are able to handle them.

3-point shooting

2011-07-19T05:09:00.000-07:00

We lost a huge amount of scoring power from the arc after this last season. The best 3-point shooting team in my experience. We will be down in that area, but not necessarily too far. I think our post crew is going to have a lot more ability from the arc than any Trojan team I have seen. Marlo and Neighbour both can shoot the 3, and having a new threat from the post may sufficiently offset what we lost from the guards.

Jake and Too Tall

2011-07-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

Jake Yancey and Darius "Too Tall" Eason were two of the better centers to have played at Little Rock in my term as a fan. How good were they?

His last season (he did not play his final year), Jake averaged 6.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg and shot 55.4% from the field. In Too Tall's final year, he averaged 9.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg and shot 48.1% from the field, while blocking 48 shots.

In both cases, those are good, solid numbers, but certainly not All-Star stats. Their strength was in their consistency, and their consistent improvement over their careers.

Adams

2011-07-05T10:09:00.001-07:00

If we are going to beat ASU this season, we are going to have to get someone who can handle Martavius Adams. We did not have that last year.

Summer of wishful thinking

2011-06-30T05:18:00.001-07:00

With possibly the best recruiting class since I have been following coming in, it is very hard not to engage in wishful thinking this summer. The loss of Gus Leeper to an injury put a big damper on expectations, but the signing of Michael Javes put the cap on the class, and stirred up the optimism again. Of course, we have to get him cleared by the NCAA, which is always iffy with a foreign player. (We have struck out there before.) Since we have only five healthy players coming back, our success is going to depend heavily upon the newcomers. I think they are very good. Here's hoping that my thinking is correct.

Not long

2011-06-29T07:51:00.001-07:00

Only about two and a half months until the pre-season magazines come out.

Not much experience

2011-06-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

Only six players on the returning roster, and one of them (Gus Leeper) evidently will not play next season. Of the five who will be playing, four of them have only one year of D1 experience. The incoming class looks to be good, and they had better be, because we do not have the experience to bolster lack of talent this year.

Players' minutes

2011-06-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Shields' players do not average a lot of minutes, comparatively speaking. I picked ten teams at random to compare with ours. The average minutes of the five most-used players was 27.6, with the range of 23.7 through 30.5. Only one team was below our average of 24.4. I am not sure why this is, or at least was last season.

Beating the press

2011-06-23T08:55:00.001-07:00

I am no expert, but I suspect that a point guard cannot consistently beat the press by himself. It takes a team effort. I also suspect that when a team works together as it should, they should be able to beat the press consistently.

Another example

2011-06-14T05:07:00.000-07:00

Cody Ellis of Saint Louis is 6-8. He shot 83 shots from the arc this past season, but made only 28.9% of them. Why would a coach allow a bad-shooting post player to blast away from the arc on a team that was getting beaten on the boards?

Overseas

2011-06-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

It seems like more and more lower-level schools are going to foreign countries for talent, and that may be a very good strategy. Big schools don't have to look hard. Players come to them. Getting talent from overseas takes a little more work.