Herd Women outlast ULM 99-90; return home for 2

[HerdGradinFL]

Just checked The Net which replaces RPI used by the NCAA to rank the 362 DI programs. As of 1/11/24 the SBC rankings are as follows. JMU #59; #91 Appy; #156 LA; #184 Troy; #188 MU; #195 GSU; #235 Southern MS; #241 South Bama; #248 TSU; #277 ODU; #315 CCU; #322 GA Southern and #329 ULM.

Only three SBC teams are the top half of the standings and the rest are in the bottom half. Six of the SBC teams are in the bottom third of the college team rankings.

I bring up this up for the seeding in The Big Dance. If JMU doesn't win the tournament, the SBC will probably be in the 14-16 seed range. If one of the bottom SBC teams wins the tournament they might be picked for the play in spot for a #16 seed.

This means that JMU, if they don't win the tournament, will not be given an at large bid since it nearly impossible to make it in unless you are under a 50 NET. It will be a good possibility that if JMU loses the SBC the winner be playing a three seed or higher. Those teams usually get killed in the first round and embarrassed like MU did against UK. Remember UK beat MU by 38 points and it could happen again to the SBC team in The Big Dance.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Just checked The Net which replaces RPI used by the NCAA to rank the 362 DI programs. As of 1/11/24 the SBC rankings are as follows. JMU #59; #91 Appy; #156 LA; #184 Troy; #188 MU; #195 GSU; #235 Southern MS; #241 South Bama; #248 TSU; #277 ODU; #315 CCU; #322 GA Southern and #329 ULM.

Only three SBC teams are the top half of the standings and the rest are in the bottom half. Six of the SBC teams are in the bottom third of the college team rankings.

I bring up this up for the seeding in The Big Dance. If JMU doesn't win the tournament, the SBC will probably be in the 14-16 seed range. If one of the bottom SBC teams wins the tournament they might be picked for the play in spot for a #16 seed.

So what?

 

[RhinoD]

I don’t think we are missing any bigs. That would slow us down.

Yes we are... You can't consistently beat good teams getting out rebounded by a mile... There is a reason teams don't play 5 guards.

 

[Aaron Perkins]

Yes we are... You can't consistently beat good teams getting out rebounded by a mile... There is a reason teams don't play 5 guards.

I have always found that reasoning a little backward.

Why cant you play five guards. Maybe we lose out on a few rebounds, but how are their bigs going to guard our guards for 94 feet.

Playing five guards has allowed us to outscore opponents by 13.3 points per game, and we have been out rebounded by 2.2 rebounds, and thats it.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

I won’t take the time to go back farther than last night, but we were +7 on the boards.
Sorry! Wrong team!
Girls are gonna whoop up on Ga St this morning!

 

[RhinoD]

I have always found that reasoning a little backward.

Why cant you play five guards. Maybe we lose out on a few rebounds, but how are their bigs going to guard our guards for 94 feet.

Playing five guards has allowed us to outscore opponents by 13.3 points per game, and we have been out rebounded by 2.2 rebounds, and thats it.

This is where you show that you dont know what you are talking about.

Our girls were +13 against Point Park College and +11 against Salem (DII) in rebounding... Which skews the season -2.2 rebounds per game stat you use to back up a nonsensical argument.

Against teams with a pulse...

George Mason (-9)
Arkansas State (-10)
Wake Forest (-16)
Southern Miss (-9)
Florida (-6)
Northern Kentucky (-12)

The rest of the games we have been anywhere from (-2) to (+4), which most people realize is even for all intents and purposes. Some nights you just don't get a bounce, other nights you get a few extra.

If you could play 5 guards and consistently win, teams with a lot more talent than ours would have figured it out... The closest we've ever seen in modern basketball was the Golden State Warriors in the Splash Brothers prime, when they played a lot of minutes with 4 guards and a C... With two of the best shooters of modern basketball, they made 4 guards work. Our girls can shoot, but not like that.

 

[Aaron Perkins]

No one has done it because no one has really had a situation where their five best players were guards.

This sport is evolving. Now, maybe teams arent playing five guards that are all small, but they are all playing four, and sometimes five guard type players that can run for 40 minutes.

Her substitution patters are incredible and fun to watch.

We are going to get beat on the boards more often than not because we shoot a ton of shots, and are going to have a bunch of misses. We are offsetting those misses with incredible defense and the ability, with five guard or guard type players, to turn the other teams over, and turn them over a lot.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

MU up 40-34 at the half. I think it was 14-1 before Beeman made a pretty reverse layup!

 

[goherd73]

Herd wins 90-78.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Coach “K” will not be happy with either the start or the finish, but the ladies did enough in the middle to earn the victory…

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Both teams now 4-0 and in 1st place.
Which one will blink first?

 

[RhinoD]

Both teams now 4-0 and in 1st place.
Which one will blink first?

The girls have a big one against Old Dominion a week from today... The boys play JMU on Jan. 20... My guess is one of our squads loses one of those games.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Caldwell is the real deal. Glad we brought her on staff. Hope to keep her 5-6 years or so. She has a 7 year deal, her husband in on Dans staff and her parents live on Parkersburg.

 

[HerdBy100]

Caldwell is the real deal. Glad we brought her on staff. Hope to keep her 5-6 years or so. She has a 7 year deal, her husband in on Dans staff and her parents live on Parkersburg.

Kim talks about always wanting to coach in WV. I understand money talks but good for us because there is only one school in WV that could pay more and they have a very good coach as well.

Not saying because she said that she’ll never leave but I bet we can keep her around a good bit which will be very good for this program.

Ladies are fun to watch. You could see how gassed our defense makes opposing teams. This will also be a very good advantage come tournament time. Teams don’t have long time to prep for us and we are more used to a harder style of play which is needed for those three games in a row.

 

[imherdfan]

Caldwell is the real deal. Glad we brought her on staff. Hope to keep her 5-6 years or so. She has a 7 year deal, her husband in on Dans staff and her parents live on Parkersburg.

Its just her mom, her dad passed away a couple of years ago, he was on her staff at Glenville I believe.

 

[Jbabbington]

Its just her mom, her dad passed away a couple of years ago, he was on her staff at Glenville I believe.

I want to say that she talked about how big of a Marshall fan her dad was. If I remember correctly, she followed that up with saying that Marshall was her "dream job".

As long as we pay her what she deserves, I think we can keep her in Huntington for quite a while.

 

[Weirgreen]

What would you have me do? Join the eyore chorus and trash Dan & the team when we win, and crucify him & them when we lose?
I would rather celebrate being able to watch them compete. They are entertaining to watch. Obina is having a season. Martin is, as Danny says, a warrior. Connor is getting more comfortable at pg, and it’s obvious that that opens up Kam for shooting opportunities. Kevon is getting more comfortable in the system & steadies them on the floor. Getting production from Wyatt, Nutter & Pruett. Dan said today in his presser that Cam Crawford is still trying to earn pt, but has some work left to do to earn pt.
Bottom line: Huntington loves to support Herd basketball. Marshall is known as a football school today, but that hasn’t always been the case. For most of the 20th century, basketball was markedly more popular than football.

As this team keeps winning, you will see the attendance continue to improve. The double header with the women’s game on Feb 3rd might see a record crowd for the gals & a strong number for the guys. All Dan asks is that the fans show up & support, because the team is doing its best to win.

Could not have said it better. People want to hate for hate’s sake.

 

[Weirgreen]

Let me go on record as saying Kim Caldwell will be the next coach to win a conference championship and an NCAA appearance. After this year, recruiting will not be a problem.

 

[HerdBy100]

Everyone keeps saying size will be a problem and while I get that but Mahogany Matthew’s is leading the SBC in blocks. She had 7 against Arkansas State and 4 against Georgia State with 7 rebounds. This Georgia state team also took down Clemson.

I believe next year we can recruit a “bigger” player, but when we were playing some of those teams early on, this team was still learning this system and it definitely takes a lot of reps and practice to perfect it. I also bring up this point because we’re averaging 24.5 turnovers a game which is 4th best in the nation. For the aspect of rebounding, I get it we will lose several rebounds in the stat category, but if this trend keeps up, we don’t necessarily need these “bigs” down low because we’re not even allowing them to get to the rim and should be able to capitalize of points this way, instead of the traditional rebounding way. Just my IMO but nonetheless we’re still dominating these teams early on in SBC play

 

[W-S HerdFan]

I want to say that she talked about how big of a Marshall fan her dad was. If I remember correctly, she followed that up with saying that Marshall was her "dream job".

As long as we pay her what she deserves, I think we can keep her in Huntington for quite a while.

She’s gonna become a highly sought after hire…..

 

[Jbabbington]

She’s gonna become a highly sought after hire…..

No doubt about that, and I'm not under the impression that she'll retire here.

But, I think we might be able to withstand the first wave of other programs coming after her.

Anyhow, this is all assuming that she ends up being the star that we all think she will be. I personally think she will be that star, already seeing it now.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

No doubt about that, and I'm not under the impression that she'll retire here.

But, I think we might be able to withstand the first wave of other programs coming after her.

Anyhow, this is all assuming that she ends up being the star that we all think she will be. I personally think she will be that star, already seeing it now.

She’s got the resume’ already. If she keeps rolling up the conference, lookout. Very appealing person to boot….

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

We just can't have nice things!

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Here’s a thought:
What’s happening with Coach Caldwell, moving up from a lower division, where she achieved great success, into the top division, where she & the team are blitzing veteran coaches with a up tempo, full court pressure, 5 player sub outs & 3 point shooting, spread the floor drive to the hoop style……..
Remind anyone of another Marshall team from 27 years ago?

 

[Rock98Dog]

No one has done it because no one has really had a situation where their five best players were guards.

This sport is evolving. Now, maybe teams arent playing five guards that are all small, but they are all playing four, and sometimes five guard type players that can run for 40 minutes.

Her substitution patters are incredible and fun to watch.

We are going to get beat on the boards more often than not because we shoot a ton of shots, and are going to have a bunch of misses. We are offsetting those misses with incredible defense and the ability, with five guard or guard type players, to turn the other teams over, and turn them over a lot.

Okay, we’re short a couple of 6’4” guards on the women’s team, how’s that?

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Girls gutted one out vs Coastal. Several players trading around flu-like symptoms. I am sure they are glad to be back home.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

While I appreciate what Jacob Connor brings to the table, I think DD needs to shelve the 6’10” PG experiment. Start Crawford and bring Connor off the bench. Sacrifice height for offense I say….

 

[jdonaccbus]

The constant switching on every screen is causing serious mismatches on defense. Yesterday our bigs aren't comfortable off a switch and don't go out and cover the shooter. They sit back and South Alabama drains the three ball. When they did finally go out, USA uses dribble penetration to take it to the rack or to drive and dish to an open shooter. Several times we got caught with a 6'1" guard on a South Alabama big with bad help rotation. 2 points.

We also have too many older players sitting constantly on the bench and not contributing to the team. I can name five players that have been with this program for three, four or five years that never move off the bench in a game. That is not a formula for winning when older players don't contribute in games.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Crawford makes splash after four games on the bench

HUNTINGTON — It was about an hour before tipoff Saturday that Marshall men’s basketball coach Dan D’Antoni decided to end Cam Crawford’s four-game stay on the bench.

www.herald-dispatch.com

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

While I appreciate what Jacob Connor brings to the table, I think DD needs to shelve the 6’10” PG experiment. Start Crawford and bring Connor off the bench. Sacrifice height for offense I say….

Conner gets killed guarding smaller guys, his lateral quickness is not conducive to that.

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Back to Coach Kim & the Herd:
Interesting tid bit from ODU’s game at Ga So. last Saturday:

Any fallout from the melee that erupted near end of the ODU-Ga Southern game. 12 technicals assessed, 1 coach ejected, 3 players ejected. Fans came onto court and attacked ODU bench. Gotta be some sanctions, right?

and:

You can't tell much. A lot of jawing, something bad was said to get the coach and team that riled up. On FB a Georgia Southern fan who claimed to have been a few rows up said that ODU fans were chirping all game and then some GS fans started firing back and even going over to that section. I imagine that's half the story though because for the team to get involved in fan disputes they must have heard something. But those fans were likely mostly family of the players to travel to South Georgia for a WBB game, so it could just be the players taking exception to something said to their family. Not a good look for either team or fanbase really but sports are competitive and emotions will run high.

Finally:
Yeah, I don’t view this as a negative, but the ODU HC has shown she’s gonna be fiery and emotional when things get intense. She’s also shown the complete opposite at pretty much every press conference I’ve seen. Calm & pleasant. She’s definitely got her media persona and her sideline persona.


Might be worth the price of a ticket ($5!!)
to see how the Herd deals with her!

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Women blast ODU by 30! This is how Marshall basketball is supposed to work!

 

[W-S HerdFan]

Just amazing to watch Kim coach these young women! They wore JMU out tonite.
Also:
Kim had the chance to do a quick on-court interview (I thought that was nice touch by the JMU telecast) Reporter: (not exact quote)
“So, who’s the team to beat (in the SBC)”
KC: ..Georgia Southern, because that’s who we play next.”
Reporter: “Good answer.”

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Just amazing to watch Kim coach these young women! They wore JMU out tonite.
Also:
Kim had the chance to do a quick on-court interview (I thought that was nice touch by the JMU telecast) Reporter: (not exact quote)
“So, who’s the team to beat (in the SBC)”
KC: ..Georgia Southern, because that’s who we play next.”
Reporter: “Good answer.”

I am ready to give her a raise and extension right now.
Hope to make a game soon.

 

[HerdGradinFL]

Coach says they would have a long trip home after the game. MU needs to find the money for air charters for the Women's team even if they have to take it from Dan.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

View embedded media

Coach says they would have a long trip home after the game. MU needs to find the money for air charters for the Women's team even if they have to take it from Dan.

They deserve it more for sure.

 

[Aaron Perkins]

So....let me see if I get this straight....

Remove money from a program that makes money
Give that money to a program that doesnt make money

Then

Expect both programs to flourish equally?

 

[HerdGradinFL]

Invest your resources in programs that are successful and they will bring in revenue. Think of the revenue MBB could generate if MU would hire a good head basketball coach and the program was successful? I think paying Dan $750,000 per year is a waste and we can do better if we hire a real college coach and not a high school coach.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

So....let me see if I get this straight....

Remove money from a program that makes money
Give that money to a program that doesnt make money

Then

Expect both programs to flourish equally?

Bad take.

 

[HerdBy100]

View embedded media

Coach says they would have a long trip home after the game. MU needs to find the money for air charters for the Women's team even if they have to take it from Dan.

This is not true. The cutoff period is about 300 miles for driving or about 4 hours for all sports.

Men’s basketball would travel by bus to WKU. Even football drove to WKU, I believe we flew to JMU last year but in the past for some reason but again we have hundreds of pounds of equipment and about 7 times as many people to travel with, but Marshall is not trying to be cheap when it comes to women’s basketball. It makes no sense when it’s that close to charter a plane for a 30 minute plane ride. I’m sure it would be nice but this is not a women’s vs mens issue. They are also chartering on brand new custom Marshall bus. I personally wish they could fly and they deserve to have the best, but this is very common in all sports with close games.