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[CrimsonForce]

Missing the point about Riley. It's not about his stats. It's about his presence on the floor. His experience of three years on the court would drastically help when times get rough. He would be able to calm guys down. In basic terms - help right the ship.

This isn't our issue. We didn't lose to UCF, Ole Miss or Missouri because our guys weren't calm. We lost for the same reasons we've been losing - inconsistent effort, lack of focus and poor fundamentals. BTW, you didn't really respond to the other part of my post and I'm curious about what you think. Isn't is disappointing that Texas is in essentially the same place as us, experience wise, and they beat us handily? I like CAJ and he's brought a lot of hype to our program but very little substance. I'm not saying it's time to move on from him yet but what's the path for the program to improve?

 

[TideEngineer08]

That's about what I expected. Texas, Duke and Kentucky are all better teams than us but have the same youth as we do. I understand that Duke and Kentucky have far better programs than we do so maybe that's not a fair comparison. Texas is probably the best comparison and they beat us, in what was basically a home game for Alabama, by a score of 66-50. I just don't buy the youth argument as the main reason for our loses. A good basketball program will always have a decent amount of youth because players are leaving for the NBA or transferring out if they can't cut it. It's also puzzling to me that some have suggested if only we had Riley Norris this year the team would be so much better. He's a complimentary player at best. I like Riley but he wouldn't have made a difference in our W/L record. It's just funny that we've turned to the youth excuse because under Grant the logic was that we had experience but not enough talent. Now we've spun it the other way that we have talent but not enough experience..

With Riley present, I have to think we beat Vandy and probably fare a lot better in last night's game. We'd be 16-6 and the outlook would be much different.

 

[RTR91]

This isn't our issue. We didn't lose to UCF, Ole Miss or Missouri because our guys weren't calm. We lost for the same reasons we've been losing - inconsistent effort, lack of focus and poor fundamentals.

Going to agree to disagree. Senior leadership can make a big difference.

BTW, you didn't really respond to the other part of my post and I'm curious about what you think. Isn't is disappointing that Texas is in essentially the same place as us, experience wise, and they beat us handily? I like CAJ and he's brought a lot of hype to our program but very little substance. I'm not saying it's time to move on from him yet but what's the path for the program to improve?

The Texas game? We lost because we don't have a big guy in the middle to combat Mo Bamba. By him clogging the lane, they were able to stand on the 3 point line to guard Alabama shooters. He got away with plenty of fouls, too, but whatever on that.

And if there' so far ahead like you say, why do they have the same record as Alabama?

 

[CrimsonForce]

With Riley present, I have to think we beat Vandy and probably fare a lot better in last night's game. We'd be 16-6 and the outlook would be much different.

I appreciate you stating your opinion but I respectfully disagree. Riley's been in the program for 4 years now and he doesn't have that kind of impact on a game from a production standpoint or leadership standpoint. What you're describing hasn't happened in the previous 3 years he's been playing so I don't know how one can assume his impact would've been greater this year. I'm not putting down Riley but just being realistic about his impact on the game. He's a complementary player, and I get the leadership / intangible angle, but at the end of the day we're losing games we shouldn't because the entire team is lacking focus, fundamentals and making shots..

 

[RTR91]

I appreciate you stating your opinion but I respectfully disagree. Riley's been in the program for 4 years now and he doesn't have that kind of impact on a game from a production standpoint or leadership standpoint. What you're describing hasn't happened in the previous 3 years he's been playing so I don't know how one can assume his impact would've been greater this year. I'm not putting down Riley but just being realistic about his impact on the game. He's a complementary player, and I get the leadership / intangible angle, but at the end of the day we're losing games we shouldn't because the entire team islacking focus, fundamentals and making shots..

And a senior leader would do nothing with at least one of these things?

 

[CrimsonForce]

Going to agree to disagree. Senior leadership can make a big difference.

Such a big difference that he might not even have a spot on the team next year if he gets an additional year?

The Texas game? We lost because we don't have a big guy in the middle to combat Mo Bamba. By him clogging the lane, they were able to stand on the 3 point line to guard Alabama shooters. He got away with plenty of fouls, too, but whatever on that.

And if there' so far ahead like you say, why do they have the same record as Alabama?

I didn't say Texas is so far ahead of us but that they're a better team with the same experience level. They have the same record as us, better RPI and beat us handily. The point is that 3 of the 4 teams around Alabama in the experience rankings are better than we are so I don't see how one can look at our results objectively and place the underperformance on being young..

 

[CrimsonForce]

And a senior leader would do nothing with at least one of these things?

Doubt it. Riley wasn't really strong in any of those areas. He was a streaky shooter, decent rebounder but made his share of mental lapses with lazy passes and box outs. Again, I'm not bagging on him because I'd rather have him healthy this year from a depth perspective but to act like we're not winning games because he's injured is taking it to far. That's just diverting the blame from the real issue that we're not a better team fundamentally this year than we were in year 1 under CAJ..

 

[beatthemtigers]

Doubt it. Riley wasn't really strong in any of those areas. He was a streaky shooter, decent rebounder but made his share of mental lapses with lazy passes and box outs. Again, I'm not bagging on him because I'd rather have him healthy this year from a depth perspective but to act like we're not winning games because he's injured is taking it to far. That's just diverting the blame from the real issue that we're not a better team fundamentally this year than we were in year 1 under CAJ..

Fundamentals usually go hand in hand with experience, and obviously practicing the right way consistently. But to be fair he basically has a whole new group to work in so that’s not going to come right away. If this class doesn’t improve then I’ll start putting more blame in the coach but right now I understand why we’re so inconsistent, it sucks but that’s the downfall of a young team. Norris wasn’t a 5 star prospect but it was pretty obvious to me what he meant to the team, it hurts no doubt.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I appreciate you stating your opinion but I respectfully disagree. Riley's been in the program for 4 years now and he doesn't have that kind of impact on a game from a production standpoint or leadership standpoint. What you're describing hasn't happened in the previous 3 years he's been playing so I don't know how one can assume his impact would've been greater this year. I'm not putting down Riley but just being realistic about his impact on the game. He's a complementary player, and I get the leadership / intangible angle, but at the end of the day we're losing games we shouldn't because the entire team is lacking focus, fundamentals and making shots..

All we needed was one more shot vs. Vandy. Maybe he doesn't make the difference last night.

 

[BamaFlum]

Missing the point about Riley. It's not about his stats. It's about his presence on the floor. His experience of three years on the court would drastically help when times get rough. He would be able to calm guys down. In basic terms - help right the ship.

Lunch pail. He may not score the most; may not get the most rebounds; may not get steals or assists: however, he makes the guys around him better.


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[CrimsonForce]

All we needed was one more shot vs. Vandy. Maybe he doesn't make the difference last night.

The fact that game was even close is just confirmation of what I've been saying. We're in year 3 with CAJ with the most talent we've had in a long time. Vanderbilt is the sorriest team in the SEC and their best player is out for the year. That game shouldn't have been close. I love Bama hoops but we've been on the same song and dance for the last 10 years. Preseason hype, beat somebody we shouldn't, then end the season with a whimper. I don't think firing CAJ is a good move at this point but I just don't see any improvement from year 1. We have 9 games left and I'd guess we go 3-6 over that stretch to end up 17-14..

 

[BAMAVILLE]

I went to the game last night ... you can tell this was just one of those nights where they didn't have it. Everyone except Reese and Smith played like they were suffering from the flu just an overall poor performance and yet, THEY STILL COULD HAVE WON THE GAME lol the score was 69-60 and we missed 11 free throws ... 11 free throws. The more they missed the more the crowd got upset. Just an all around poor performance unfortunately as a team.

 

[gamersfuel]

i think we will be fine. We are in much better shape than with Grant and much better shape than year 1 of the CAJ tenure. heck, we are a tourney team right now. temper those expectations just a little

 

[BamaMike05]

The fact that game was even close is just confirmation of what I've been saying. We're in year 3 with CAJ with the most talent we've had in a long time. Vanderbilt is the sorriest team in the SEC and their best player is out for the year. That game shouldn't have been close. I love Bama hoops but we've been on the same song and dance for the last 10 years. Preseason hype, beat somebody we shouldn't, then end the season with a whimper. I don't think firing CAJ is a good move at this point but I just don't see any improvement from year 1. We have 9 games left and I'd guess we go 3-6 over that stretch to end up 17-14..

So he shouldn’t get any credit for the 3 top 10 RPI wins this season? With your logic Jamie Dixon has no clue what he is doing either... Vandy just beat TCU Saturday. Vandy is a tough place to play. How can you not see improvement from year 1. We are a projected tournament team without a single senior on the roster. If you want to talk about improvement simply look at Donta Hall’s development. You are acting like we are 8-14 and not 14-8. Is this where I want us to be? Absolutely not, but I understand that with starting 2 freshman and 2 sophomores there are going to be some growing pains. I also understand that in basketball there are bad matchups for teams in more than any other sport. Missouri is one of those teams, just like Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and then even UCF to an extent (7’5 C to clog the paint) that we don’t matchup well with at all. Just like it wouldn’t surprise me if we beat Auburn at their place because we matchup with them well. We have perimeter length to slow down their 3 point shooting.


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[RTR91]

So he shouldn’t get any credit for the 3 top 10 RPI wins this season? With your logic Jamie Dixon has no clue what he is doing either... Vandy just beat TCU Saturday. Vandy is a tough place to play. If you can’t see improvement from Year one then you know nothing about basketball.


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Not to mention how Kentucky barely beat them in Rupp and was two seconds away from losing the game until a Vandy player got over anxious and committed a foul to send UK to the line to shoot 2.

 

[Rama Jama]

I do wish we'd stop the Jekyll and Hyde act. It is driving me nuts.. One game we look like we could beat Duke, the next we could not beat central high school. There is no doubt coach has us in much better shape than we were with Grant. Players are actually visibly improving. You could not say that under Grant. Coach Johnson's approach with the players seems to be to be positive, but with kids sometimes you have give them tough love to make them understand.
I think right now, they need a serious butt chewing. The effort defensively simply was not there. They came out with a very physical game plan and we folded like a cheap suit.

 

[CrimsonForce]

So he shouldn’t get any credit for the 3 top 10 RPI wins this season? With your logic Jamie Dixon has no clue what he is doing either... Vandy just beat TCU Saturday. Vandy is a tough place to play. How can you not see improvement from year 1. We are a projected tournament team without a single senior on the roster. If you want to talk about improvement simply look at Donta Hall’s development. You are acting like we are 8-14 and not 14-8. Is this where I want us to be? Absolutely not, but I understand that with starting 2 freshman and 2 sophomores there are going to be some growing pains. I also understand that in basketball there are bad matchups for teams in more than any other sport. Missouri is one of those teams, just like Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and then even UCF to an extent (7’5 C to clog the paint) that we don’t matchup well with at all. Just like it wouldn’t surprise me if we beat Auburn at their place because we matchup with them well. We have perimeter length to slow down their 3 point shooting.


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The improvement I see from year 1 is that we have more talent but we don't play better basketball IMO. Yea, we're 14-8 but anyone who watched the games know we're a few plays from being 12-10 or worse. We had 4 or 5 one possession wins that could have easily been losses. Sure, give credit to CAJ and the players for winning those close games but this team has underperformed all year. It's fair to let the rest of this year play out by I see us going 3-6 over the last 9 games. We'll see if you and others still have the same opinion about the program then..

 

[Rama Jama]

People seem to forget we are the 4th youngest team in college basketball. We are playing like young teams play, inconsistently. Next year may be the "breakout year". When you have times when there are freshman on the floor at the same time, it tells you about our talent level.
I Do think coach Johnson tends to try to run a more of a NBA system and that doesn't nessarily translate to the college game well.

 

[CrimsonForce]

People seem to forget we are the 4th youngest team in college basketball. We are playing like young teams play, inconsistently. Next year may be the "breakout year". When you have times when there are freshman on the floor at the same time, it tells you about our talent level.
I Do think coach Johnson tends to try to run a more of a NBA system and that doesn't nessarily translate to the college game well.

This is a good point that hasn't really been discussed. We predominantly run the pick and roll on offense. This is exactly what you see in the NBA. The problem is every player in the NBA can finish at the rim and most can make open shots. That's why the pick and roll is a standard in the league. The problem with running this offense in college is most teams only have 1 or 2 players who can make a defense pay, consistently, for not playing the pick and roll correctly. We really only have 1 player - Sexton - who can finish at the rim on a regular basis. We don't have a big man who can roll, catch the ball, gather himself and finish in the paint area / rim consistently..

 

[Rama Jama]

Part of the problem right now is we are not confident enough in our shooting to take open shots. Everyone except Collin was turning down open looks Saturday and we are no passing fast enough. IOW, we get the ball in our players hands and we hesitate rather than make a snap decision. You have to immediately pass, drive, or shoot or it gives the defense time to catch up. If you look at our wins, we played solid defensively and that led to good offense. Mizzou came out and "punked us" physically and we backed down rather than compete. If you look at our losses, our defense was mostly to blame. Poor effort and communication have caused us to give our opponent open shots. Coach Johnson has to get these kids to understand that if the play sound defense, the offense will come. I wonder if some of these players are more concerned about their stats than winning.