Quote from: bilsu on November 05, 2024, 04:26:39 AMGold did not have a good game. What bothered me right at the start is that he did not even jump when they tossed up the ball to start the game.

I think it's funny that you found something to complain about at the opening tip of the season.

There are always nits to pick.  And there is always going to be the player that seems to attract all the criticism. 

Quote from: bilsu on November 05, 2024, 04:26:39 AMGold did not have a good game. What bothered me right at the start is that he did not even jump when they tossed up the ball to start the game.

Quote from: willie warrior on November 05, 2024, 05:07:59 AMSame old GooolllldBrick

Still name calling at your age?

Fantastic!

Quote from: The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole on November 05, 2024, 05:09:32 AMI think it's funny that you found something to complain about at the opening tip of the season.

You have to admit it was a little strange.  My son and I both looked at each other and said I hope he's not hurt. 

Quote from: Shooter McGavin on November 05, 2024, 06:43:13 AMYou have to admit it was a little strange.  My son and I both looked at each other and said I hope he's not hurt. 

Or maybe his timing was just off. Regardless it was meaningless.

Quote from: The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole on November 05, 2024, 07:03:13 AMOr maybe his timing was just off. Regardless it was meaningless.

No doubt meaningless. Just odd. And was glad to see he wasn't hurt.

Quote from: MU82 on November 05, 2024, 01:11:28 AMAgree that Gold needs to play better, but it's not as if he hasn't had long stretches of good play - or at least good 3-point shooting. He shot .464 in 9 March games last season, and .455 in 7 December games.

We'll see. It was one game.

Yeah, but then he shot like 0.153 the rest of the season and is career 34% - not terrible, but not good enough for a stretch 5 who doesn't have any other real elite skills. It's one game but building on two seasons of what we've seen. Given that he's been working on the shot for a while, I'm not sure how much more it can/will improve - SB is one of the worst teams/D in the country and that we'll see this year - and BG was being D'd up by a 6'8" frosh who would be lucky to be a walk-on at a high major - it seems like development of the young'uns is the more likely path to March success this year. 

Shake Shaka BG

No injuries.

Covered.

Walk-ons got in.

Not much else you can ask for.

Quote from: Shooter McGavin on November 04, 2024, 10:35:19 PMAgree Junkie,

Ben was not good. But give him a few games in his new role as a starter before you give up on him.  The players were clearly looking to get him the ball.  They obviously have confidence in him.  They see it in practice daily.

He needs to get more confidence in himself.  He looked hesitant taking his threes and front rimmed them again.  He even front rimmed free throws.  Bens best shooting last year was when he had to put it up without hesitation. He looks like he is thinking too much out there.  Also when he starts his curl toward the basket with the ball it looks like he could drive with much more confidence and finish at the rim.  But he stops and passes the ball. Was hoping to see that today but he stopped twice.

Was hoping and still am hoping the light switch goes on because he has talent.  I think that will happen. Let's hope he has an alpha gene buried somewhere in there.

It looked to me like Ben came into the game positive and confident based on an offseason of knowing he is the guy in the middle. He was draining 3s in the pre-game warmup and looked very comfortable. Then the game started and they set him up for a wide open 3 right away and he missed, and then he left a lay-in at the rim short somehow. It seemed like after that all the confidence and positive vibes left him and he played tentative after that and was down on himself. Yes, the shot is still too flat so he has a small margin for error and has a ton of shots that look decent catch iron and go out. He will have his hot streaks based on his past though, and hopefully more consistency.

My bigger concern is not so much his play, but that a bit of a rough start got in his head so much that he shrunk from the moment. I have no doubt that things would have gone differently had he hit that first 3. To me, that is a red flag that needs to be improved upon quickly. This team needs him to play assertively and confident.

Quote from: StillWarriors on November 05, 2024, 08:09:03 AMIt looked to me like Ben came into the game positive and confident based on an offseason of knowing he is the guy in the middle. He was draining 3s in the pre-game warmup and looked very comfortable. Then the game started and they set him up for a wide open 3 right away and he missed, and then he left a lay-in at the rim short somehow. It seemed like after that all the confidence and positive vibes left him and he played tentative after that and was down on himself. Yes, the shot is still too flat so he has a small margin for error and has a ton of shots that look decent catch iron and go out. He will have his hot streaks based on his past though, and hopefully more consistency.

My bigger concern is not so much his play, but that a bit of a rough start got in his head so much that he shrunk from the moment. I have no doubt that things would have gone differently had he hit that first 3. To me, that is a red flag that needs to be improved upon quickly. This team needs him to play assertively and confident.

This may be true. Everybody says he drains threes at a great clip in practice but you need to make them with the lights on. To me it did not seem like any of his threes were even that close to going in. This is a concern because looking at that film from last night I would not worry about moving outside to guard him.

Instead of shorting a finger roll,.that ball needs to be dunked.  That is what disappointed me. 

Quote from: tower912 on November 05, 2024, 08:22:55 AMInstead of shorting a finger roll,.that ball needs to be dunked.  That is what disappointed me.

Totally agree. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he was a bit off balance going into it and couldn't get there, though at his size he doesn't need to elevate much.

Several things the coaches can easily point to on the film to be rectified. He has the ability to at a minimum be serviceable, and potentially a difference maker. I believed coming in that MU's ceiling may be most influenced by how Ben plays. Last night was a clunker for him for sure, but I have little doubt he will pick it up soon. First game in a new role.

Quote from: The Thing on November 05, 2024, 08:19:41 AMThis may be true. Everybody says he drains threes at a great clip in practice but you need to make them with the lights on. To me it did not seem like any of his threes were even that close to going in. This is a concern because looking at that film from last night I would not worry about moving outside to guard him.

Really surprised the shot is still flat. Thought he'd have about 5 ft more arc on his shot after the offseason. His release looks pretty good, but line drives have to be perfect to go in.

Quote from: tower912 on November 05, 2024, 08:22:55 AMInstead of shorting a finger roll,.that ball needs to be dunked.  That is what disappointed me.

Yep.

Y'all need to chill on the Ben hate, it was one game... the first one.

Quote from: StillWarriors on November 05, 2024, 08:30:36 AMTotally agree. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he was a bit off balance going into it and couldn't get there, though at his size he doesn't need to elevate much.

Several things the coaches can easily point to on the film to be rectified. He has the ability to at a minimum be serviceable, and potentially a difference maker. I believed coming in that MU's ceiling may be most influenced by how Ben plays. Last night was a clunker for him for sure, but I have little doubt he will pick it up soon. First game in a new role.

I am in Ben's corner.  I think he is as skilled as Henry.  Missed 3's don't bother me.  Check the % from those not named Ross or Jones. 
   We all want the flashes of really good play he has shown to become the norm.  Dunking would have been a step in that direction and helped reset his brain after the early 3 pt misses.  A slumpbuster, if you will.

Parham had some good plays no doubt. He also looked lost and confused on both defense and offense at times. An encouraging start for sure as those moments should lessen the more play time he gets.

Quote from: tower912 on November 05, 2024, 08:22:55 AMInstead of shorting a finger roll,.that ball needs to be dunked.  That is what disappointed me.

Shades of Luc Longley tbh.

Quote from: Shooter McGavin on November 05, 2024, 06:43:13 AMYou have to admit it was a little strange.

I noticed it too, and it was strange. We'll have to see what he does on Friday night.

I get we all like a hugfest, but BG isn't a BE-caliber center - and it wasn't like this was his first game, it was his 74th - against a team that the MU Intramural Champs probably could've hung with. He's Steve Novak with an ugly shot. But he's who we have so I wish him the best and hope that the young cast can make some major strides this season.

Quote from: 1SE on November 05, 2024, 08:53:02 AMI get we all like a hugfest, but BG isn't a BE-caliber center - and it wasn't like this was his first game, it was his 74th - against a team that the MU Intramural Champs probably could've hung with. He's Steve Novak with an ugly shot. But he's who we have so I wish him the best and hope that the young cast can make some major strides this season.

Steve Novak wishes he could move like Ben.  lmao

I, for one, am proud of our fan base for not overreacting to one poor performance after half a year.  Well done, guys!

Quote from: Hards Alumni on November 05, 2024, 09:08:26 AMSteve Novak wishes he could move like Ben.  lmao

I, for one, am proud of our fan base for not overreacting to one poor performance after half a year.  Well done, guys!

Right, cause Novak's 43 now.

And I, for one, am proud of being able to look at multiple data points over multiple seasons.

Quote from: tower912 on November 05, 2024, 08:38:04 AMI am in Ben's corner.  I think he is as skilled as Henry.  Missed 3's don't bother me.  Check the % from those not named Ross or Jones. 
   We all want the flashes of really good play he has shown to become the norm.  Dunking would have been a step in that direction and helped reset his brain after the early 3 pt misses.  A slumpbuster, if you will.

I am also in Ben's corner. His shot was off last night but he is skilled. Interesting comparison to Henry. Ben is actually a better shooter. Otherwise their skill sets are very similar. But Henry was much, much stronger.

Quote from: Lennys Tap on November 05, 2024, 09:29:06 AMI am also in Ben's corner. His shot was off last night but he is skilled. Interesting comparison to Henry. Ben is actually a better shooter. Otherwise their skill sets are very similar. But Henry was much, much stronger.

Like I said in my first post, seems like a nice kid. I hope he makes me eat crow and shoots 40% from the arc while doing a serviceable job on D and Boards. That would be awesome - we'd probably be competing for the BE title in that scenario. I just don't think any of the evidence we have to date suggests that's likely and last night didn't change my mind.