Venting Thread For During and After Games - For remainder of season

[CajunCrimson]

Hey Everyone.

In some ways, I guess the sudden surge in negative posts is a good sign that the basketball team has arrived

Yet the traffic here is not quite large enough for us to have a complaint thread for games like we do in football

I would like to keep the game threads clean from the negative posts. Frustration posts are allowed. Player bashing, and coach bashing is never allowed.

There is a fine line, I realize that. I also know that some of you will try to find the line for whatever reason.

So we will keep this thread open for people who want to do more than just express frustrations during the game. But even here, anything that escalates to bashing will be deleted, and you will be warned or suspended, depending on your history or the severity of the post.

We will allow player and coach frustrations on this thread But please keep them out of the game posts

So think of this as an ongoing complaint thread for the remainder of the season

We will practice during the Auburn game and see how we do. If some of you start to get too close to the line, we will nudge you here.

And then once you have relaxed, you can come back. Or you can sit out. But we want to keep the game threads clean from excessive negative posts

Sometimes we lose sight of the reason we have game threads. Hopefully this helps us to get back on track.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Also, let’s have a quick chat about “expectations”. Expectations are personal. They are yours. If your expectations aren’t met, you can’t put that on others. I know people do. But inherently it’s unfair.

When people sling some of the negativity I’ve seen lately, it’s because their personal expectations have not been met.

If your expectations were to go undefeated this year, you are likely very disappointed. If your goal this year was to win the SEC regular season, you are also likely very disappointed. If your expectations this year were to only beat Auburn and Tennessee, you are likely disappointed so far.

Any other expectations you had for this team, are still ahead of us.

Personally, as I’ve said in the past, I just want to be a perennial sweet 16 team. If we can do that, similar to the way Coach Sanderson‘s teams were achieving in the late 80s and early 90s, I’m very happy

To me an elite eight this year is where I’ll be ecstatic. Everything else is gravy.

Even the best college basketball teams historically won’t be primed to win a championship every year. So to be in the Sweet 16, every year, would be amazing

 

[BamaMoon]

I stay out of the "live" B-ball game threads for two reasons:

1. I can't type fast enough to discuss plays because by the time I'm done there have been 2 or 3 changes of possession. Instead, I usually come along after the game and post some thoughts.

2. It seems the few times I've tried to be involved, more than 50% of the post are about the officiating. It's not that I don't sometimes agree, but a discussion of the officiating is often just an excuse for our poor play. And many people think officials are anti-Bama and I just don't buy it (especially in basketball).

So y'all can have the game threads.

 

[CajunCrimson]

I stay out of the "live" B-ball game threads for two reasons:

1. I can't type fast enough to discuss plays because by the time I'm done there have been 2 or 3 changes of possession. Instead, I usually come along after the game and post some thoughts.

2. It seems the few times I've tried to be involved, more than 50% of the post are about the officiating. It's not that I don't sometimes agree, but a discussion of the officiating is often just an excuse for our poor play. And many people think officials are anti-Bama and I just don't buy it (especially in basketball).

So y'all can have the game threads.

A couple of notes. We don’t have post game threads either. So the post game post in the game threads, will follow the same rules.

With regards to the officiating… I don’t feel like the officials have it in for Bama. I do feel like there is a movement for rugby basketball. Basketball was not meant to be played wearing each other’s jersey without a penalty.

30 years ago if you even touched the offensive player, you were called for a foul. To be honest, I don’t know how Sears isn’t one walking bruise at this point of the year.

I also feel that certain players get more respect than others. And some players get zero (Grant)

The inconsistency of officiating is infuriating. The fact that we are a finesse team is what makes it look out of balance. We are not built for rugby basketball.

 

[BamaMoon]

Why not have a live thread that is shut down and then a post game thread?

Post game is when we can dive into the nuts and bolts of the game to try to dissect why we won/lost.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Why not have a live thread that is shut down and then a post game thread?

Post game is when we can dive into the nuts and bolts of the game to try to dissect why we won/lost.

Again we can dive into the game. But we can’t do is have excessively negative posts in the thread. Post that excessively criticize players and coaches isn’t allowed. Game analysis is totally fine.

We will let this thread, be a catch all for that type of conversation.

We have an omnibus SEC thread that has functioned as a catch all all season long and worked fine. We will use this for anyone that wants to be excessively frustrated for Bama games

 

[dtgreg]

Expectations have not been met. The frustration may not be based in reality but we were expected to compete for and probably win the National Championship this year. We are not even competing for the championship of our own conference.

The injury bug has taken some great pieces of the puzzle away but we still have a lot of great pieces, they just haven't played together or individually well enough. There are probably some walking wounded but every team has that at this time of year and we have greater depth than most teams we face.

Mark Sears had gotten an order of magnitude better every year he has played since High School until this year. I guess I expected/hoped this would continue. This year, he has leveled off or even gone backwards a bit, for whatever reason. Last year we got a great draw and with some luck and a lot of grit, made the Final Four with Grant playing the 5. This year we added some size plus the big man we were targeting in Cliff but he has performed below hopes. Grant has, as well, even though he's not playing out of position this year.

We might still get hot in the tournament(s) but our team looks tired, uninspired and ready to mail in the end of the season. It's truly baffling. I know we have the toughest stretch in the nation but it ain't getting easier come post season.

I'm still beyond thrilled with Coach Oats and the job he's doing. Hope he'll stay forever. He'll figure things out. Maybe not this year, which would be a real shame.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

2. It seems the few times I've tried to be involved, more than 50% of the post are about the officiating. It's not that I don't sometimes agree, but a discussion of the officiating is often just an excuse for our poor play. And many people think officials are anti-Bama and I just don't buy it (especially in basketball).

I don't think they are anit-Bama but, I do think there is a huge problem with officiating in college basketball, at least in the SEC since that is mostly what I watch.

The teams that play thug ball are given far more leniency than teams that don't, even in the same freaking game! The Tenn games seem to be the worst, but it is any thug ball team. They all but tackle people under the rim and whistles are swallowed. Yet 10 seconds later on the other end, the finesse (or normal) team barley swipes a wrist and the whistle is immediately blown.

It's not just an against Bama thing, it's all the games these thug ball teams play. They are allowed far more contact under the rim than normal teams. Quite frankly, the SEC, or whoever manages the officials, need to get this under control. They need to be forced to be more consistent and actually call the fouls. Thug ball should not even be a thing because it is technically against the rules. Call the game correctly and force the teams to play real basketball.

It just sucks knowing when you play teams like Tenn. that you are going to be at a disadvantage because of the style game they play. When one team is allowed so much freedom under the rim, and the other is not, it is an advantage and has nothing to do with basketball skills.

And for the love of all that is holy, please call traveling on that one kid from UF who walks all the freaking time!!!!!

 

[CrimsonNagus]

Expectations have not been met. The frustration may not be based in reality but we were expected to compete for and probably win the National Championship this year. We are not even competing for the championship of our own conference.

100% this. I didn't have national title hopes until coach started talking it up pre-season. I didn't set these expectations, I just followed them.

 

[NoNC4Tubs]

A couple of notes. We don’t have post game threads either. So the post game post in the game threads, will follow the same rules.

With regards to the officiating… I don’t feel like the officials have it in for Bama. I do feel like there is a movement for rugby basketball. Basketball was not meant to be played wearing each other’s jersey without a penalty.

30 years ago if you even touched the offensive player, you were called for a foul. To be honest, I don’t know how Sears isn’t one walking bruise at this point of the year.

I also feel that certain players get more respect than others. And some players get zero (Grant)

The inconsistency of officiating is infuriating. The fact that we are a finesse team is what makes it look out of balance. We are not built for rugby basketball.

Yeah, my father told me that when he played basketball, it was a "non-contact" sport...🤔

 

[BamaMoon]

Expectations have not been met. The frustration may not be based in reality but we were expected to compete for and probably win the National Championship this year. We are not even competing for the championship of our own conference.

The injury bug has taken some great pieces of the puzzle away but we still have a lot of great pieces, they just haven't played together or individually well enough. There are probably some walking wounded but every team has that at this time of year and we have greater depth than most teams we face.

Mark Sears had gotten an order of magnitude better every year he has played since High School until this year. I guess I expected/hoped this would continue. This year, he has leveled off or even gone backwards a bit, for whatever reason. Last year we got a great draw and with some luck and a lot of grit, made the Final Four with Grant playing the 5. This year we added some size plus the big man we were targeting in Cliff but he has performed below hopes. Grant has, as well, even though he's not playing out of position this year.

We might still get hot in the tournament(s) but our team looks tired, uninspired and ready to mail in the end of the season. It's truly baffling. I know we have the toughest stretch in the nation but it ain't getting easier come post season.

I'm still beyond thrilled with Coach Oats and the job he's doing. Hope he'll stay forever. He'll figure things out. Maybe not this year, which would be a real shame.

What appeared to be a strength has become a mystery. The depth has either eroded because of injuries or failed chemistry.

I underestimated the impact of losing Wrightsell. Reids inury hurt us too, but we never figured out how to best use him (chemistry) when he was healthy. I think we missed Mallettes size and shooting too, but when the decision to redshirt him happened early it was because we thought we were so "deep."

Injuries happen, but the failed chemistry is the more puzzling thing. At times, we have 5 guys on the court and only 1 or 2 scorers. For example, when we have Cliff, Stephenson, Mo D. in together, there's not much offense to go with the defense they offer.

 

[BamaMoon]

BTW, I don't disagree about where the game has gone to a more rugby style.

Jay Bilas has mentioned it's gotten out of hand a time or two and it's true.

But I don't know how you start to correct that without calling 100 fouls a game to get it under control. When basketball players started looking like football players what did we expect?

 

[CrimsonNagus]

BTW, I don't disagree about where the game has gone to a more rugby style.

Jay Bilas has mentioned it's gotten out of hand a time or two and it's true.

But I don't know how you start to correct that without calling 100 fouls a game to get it under control. When basketball players started looking like football players what did we expect?

Just start calling it, end of story. It will not take long for these teams to change their style after watching their stars foul out early in a few games.

 

[BhamToTexas]

I hate complaining about the refs too, but they make it too easy sometimes.

 

[CrimsonTitles]

100% this. I didn't have national title hopes until coach started talking it up pre-season. I didn't set these expectations, I just followed them.

It's not like those title hopes have been dashed. That goal is still very much in front of us. We are still one of 7 or 8 teams that have a legit shot at a national title. We've stumbled a few times, but keep in mind that this year's SEC is the toughest conference in the history of basketball, and we still hit 12 wins with one game remaining. That's impressive, no matter who you are. I'm just not seeing a reason to be down, because the season is far from over. Last year we had a worse slump than this, and still made the Final 4. It's basically a new season when the dance starts, and anything can happen.

 

[BamaMoon]

It's not like those title hopes have been dashed. That goal is still very much in front of us. We are still one of 7 or 8 teams that have a legit shot at a national title. We've stumbled a few times, but keep in mind that this year's SEC is the toughest conference in the history of basketball, and we still hit 12 wins with one game remaining. That's impressive, no matter who you are. I'm just not seeing a reason to be down, because the season is far from over. Last year we had a worse slump than this, and still made the Final 4. It's basically a new season when the dance starts, and anything can happen.

No question. It's very likely if we make it too the Sweet 16 that we have beaten two teams that might not win 4 or 5 SEC league games.

IF we are still in after the 1st two rounds, we need to get hot again from 3, play smart and get some luck in our backet to avoid the teams that give us the most trouble.

To win a NC we'll likely have to beat a couple of teams like that (likely an SEC team or two or a Houston team) but if we get to the final four we've got a shot.

To have a chance at that "shot" we've got to clean some things up:

1. Free throw - it's been bad. Would have beat UT and UF both if this was better.
2. Senseless TOs - we'll have our share because we play so fast, but have got to clean that up.
3. Little things like taking critical time outs when needed and being sharp on inbound plays.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I feel disappointed with how we have closed out the year (but we do have one last opportunity tomorrow).

When we started this 7 game stretch, I thought 2-5 was our worst case scenario. I felt confident we would handle UK and MSU at home, since we'd already beaten them on the road. But I thought surely we would win at least 2 of the other 5 games. So, IMO, we are not elite. We could have been but something derailed us.

But I always come back to the great news that we are still in great position going into the postseason. Lunardi has us on the 2 line again today. We can still have a great finish to this year. I agree, if we get to the Sweet 16, we have to say this has been another good season. But I do think CNO will have to adjust a bit, if he can, with what the SEC has become.

And that is the crazy thing. We may not be among the very best of this conference, but if the cards fall right, we could win the NC and not face a single other SEC team in the NCAAT. Then again, we were in a similar (I would say worse) boat going into the postseason last year and went all the way to the Final 4.

There is much to still be optimistic about. I think Florida and AU are the 2 best teams in the country. I think we got screwed at UT and would have beaten them at home. Mizzou was a buzzsaw on the road. All that taken into consideration, let's get it done tomorrow and then make a run in the postseason.

 

[Cruiser]

I guess ref bashing is O.K.?? Too much of that; IMO.

 

[CajunCrimson]

I guess ref bashing is O.K.?? Too much of that; IMO.

If they aren’t wearing a Crimson A, then yes, fair game.

 

[BamaNation]

true @CrimsonNagus !

The inability, unwillingness, and complete incoherence in not calling obvious traveling, carrying the ball, and the increased physicality is inane. Then, at the end of the game, what is called changes. Most games devolve into an AAU/travel ball/street game that so many of these guys grew up playing. I guess it's what the masses want and the officials have been told to allow. But IMHO it's not basketball. Hoops, yes. Basketball, no.

I will say that when we're on, it is a delight to watch. When we're not, it's demoralizing.

Today I would like our guys to make Burce Pearl's team look like he has coached a bunch of 6th graders.