Last nights loss to Louisiana Monroe sucked. No getting around it. All losses suck, and all wins are awesome. I dont care who we play. I dont care if we win by 1 win when are suppose to win by 20, or lose by 1 when we were suppose to lose by 30. Losses suck, and wins are awesome.
But
There were a few things I didnt like last night. For the first time all year, there were a few moments when a few players clearly were taking the opponent lightly. It hurt...but...you know me...always positive, so here are my thoughts.
1. Losses like this suck, but they suck more in March.
2. We went down to Queens, we lost. But we learned from it and won 9 straight. Things we learned in that game have helped us throughout the season.
3. One has to assume, based on this season, that will be the case after this loss as well.
4. Coach D'Antoni was not happy at all with the game last night, and it was noticeable. If people cant tell the knowledge this man has and how he has gotten better each year as the leader of this program, then I cant change your mind, so its pointless to go in to.
5. For the first time in his career, Kinsey took a game over. Took it over. His two missed foul shots killed us, but he took it over from about the three minute mark of the second half. Every play went through him, and he delivered time and again. He knows now that he has that in him. That will only help us later in the year. Kinsey used to be that guy that announcers would say, "at the end of the game you look up and he has 24." Well, last night, that wasnt the case, you saw his 28, all of them. He went out there and took them when we needed them. That is a BIG TIME moment for the future of this season.
6. Jacob Conner. YOu look at the shooting numbers, 3 - 11 and 1-8 from three. You assume, WOW, he must have sucked. He did struggle throughout the game defensively, guarding a larger guy. But, he played a season high 29 minutes. He had two turnovers. He kept shooting, only hesitating once. But after that hesitation, he still hit a three the next time down. It was a HUGE shot. The next possession he missed a three but got the rebound and a put back but stepped out of bound by an inch. That changed the game. He stepped in to each shot. Had three big steals, nearly all coming late. Snagged four rebounds against a couple bigger tougher guys. This was a HUGE game for him. This will be impactful over the next month.
7. David Early is starting to garner more trust from the staff. I hate that he is always looking over his shoulder to see if he messed up, and is coming out (reminds me of the way Joe Miles had to play back in the day) but he has the potential to go off at any time.
8. Fans and Obinna both, got to see how important he is last night. Sure his offense struggles, but we sorely missed him in those overtime periods.
9. Losing sucks, but if you are going to lose, get it out of your system now. And learn from it. This team has shown the ability to do that all year.
10. Kudos for the students for showing out, and staying until the bitter end.
17 - 5 through 22 games.
6 - 3 in the Sun Belt (same record as the "awful" team that got hot and beat us last night)
Saturday is huge, and the next two weekends are even bigger.
Still a long, fun way to go.
GO HERD!!!!
But
There were a few things I didnt like last night. For the first time all year, there were a few moments when a few players clearly were taking the opponent lightly. It hurt...but...you know me...always positive, so here are my thoughts.
1. Losses like this suck, but they suck more in March.
2. We went down to Queens, we lost. But we learned from it and won 9 straight. Things we learned in that game have helped us throughout the season.
3. One has to assume, based on this season, that will be the case after this loss as well.
4. Coach D'Antoni was not happy at all with the game last night, and it was noticeable. If people cant tell the knowledge this man has and how he has gotten better each year as the leader of this program, then I cant change your mind, so its pointless to go in to.
5. For the first time in his career, Kinsey took a game over. Took it over. His two missed foul shots killed us, but he took it over from about the three minute mark of the second half. Every play went through him, and he delivered time and again. He knows now that he has that in him. That will only help us later in the year. Kinsey used to be that guy that announcers would say, "at the end of the game you look up and he has 24." Well, last night, that wasnt the case, you saw his 28, all of them. He went out there and took them when we needed them. That is a BIG TIME moment for the future of this season.
6. Jacob Conner. YOu look at the shooting numbers, 3 - 11 and 1-8 from three. You assume, WOW, he must have sucked. He did struggle throughout the game defensively, guarding a larger guy. But, he played a season high 29 minutes. He had two turnovers. He kept shooting, only hesitating once. But after that hesitation, he still hit a three the next time down. It was a HUGE shot. The next possession he missed a three but got the rebound and a put back but stepped out of bound by an inch. That changed the game. He stepped in to each shot. Had three big steals, nearly all coming late. Snagged four rebounds against a couple bigger tougher guys. This was a HUGE game for him. This will be impactful over the next month.
7. David Early is starting to garner more trust from the staff. I hate that he is always looking over his shoulder to see if he messed up, and is coming out (reminds me of the way Joe Miles had to play back in the day) but he has the potential to go off at any time.
8. Fans and Obinna both, got to see how important he is last night. Sure his offense struggles, but we sorely missed him in those overtime periods.
9. Losing sucks, but if you are going to lose, get it out of your system now. And learn from it. This team has shown the ability to do that all year.
10. Kudos for the students for showing out, and staying until the bitter end.
17 - 5 through 22 games.
6 - 3 in the Sun Belt (same record as the "awful" team that got hot and beat us last night)
Saturday is huge, and the next two weekends are even bigger.
Still a long, fun way to go.
GO HERD!!!!
