VinyVango

Was Berhalter any good as a MLS coach? ... what type of formation / strategies did he run there? ... I'm not seeing how he brings anything that resembles a FIFA level coaching resume'... I think even Bradley's old man would be better.

I'm liking what I'm seeing in Ramey, Liddell, AJ, and Coleman. I think Sims can do what he needs to in spurts. He's best when he is not having plays called for him and is reacting rather than thinking what's he is supposed to be doing. I''d like to see Cunninham, Williams, and Kai Jones get a real look in Febres' spot. Febres should not be on the court for more than 20 ish mins a game currently. Hepa and Baker need to use their size. If nothing else, post up and bang on a defender and pass it out to someone else when the defense collapses. I'd like to see more interior and baseline screening just to mix up the predictability a bit. Our 4 guard line-up helped in this past game with Ramey being able to muscle a small guy on the drives. It's going to kill us when we play a team with a couple decent guys over 6'8". They'll simply pull Sims or Hamm out on defense and have some kid muscling Febres and AJ in the paint all day. The number of threes and early shot clock 3's need to be significantly reduced. Our rebounding needs to improve (and it won't if we have Febres, AJ, and/or Ramey defending forwards in the paint). These two things are my biggest concerns. Baker (and his coaches) are still trying to figure out what he is. He needs to get his ass inside the 3 point line and throw his size around, even if he has no intention to shoot when he gets the ball. Kai Jones (unless he's redshirting) and Hamm need more time. Febres needs less time... He's clearly a coach favorite, but he's been soft on defense and lazy in his offense. He needs to add a pump fake and drive to his game. Our defense looks markedly better this year, but teams will figure out quickly how to get favorable match-ups in the paint if we insist on line-ups where Febres and AJ get stuck defending tall forwards. We sucked defending simple pick and rolls last year, and look much better overall at that so far. If we can grind out wins in ugly games against conference teams like we did against Cal Baptist, we can certainly make the NCAA tourney. In my opinion the coaches need to improve their in game line-up / substitution decisions and get more diverse on offense to do that. It's only game 3. Interesting to see how things evolve when we play G-town (after the Prairie View tune-up)

Febres needs some sit down time Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think all of his career shots have been 3 pointers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So Hepa got gased in 2 mins?.... he was playing well and got yanked Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nobody remotely interested in working on offense Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Give Kai Jones a look Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Time for febres to sit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Absolutely. We need to see the extent of what these guys have to contribute. Plus Baker, Kai, and Cunningham need to get some their shooting percentages and career points total above the goose egg.

I only caught the last 7 mins or so of the game, but liked what I saw.... just need to get a third big man consistently contributing defense and boards off the bench... still not sold on Febres getting almost 40 mins a game when he is shooting poorly and offers very little defense or rebounding ... be nice to try/see other options during the preconference games

I agree with your take. High budget with some great location scouts apparently, but with bad/lazy writing... Wants to be Homeland, but can't even compete with the lesser seasons of that series... a let down (for all the hype)

I liked this pub a lot (and others). https://www.tighneachtain.com/

or some close genetic kin of Garfunkel

Liddell was the guy out last night. He shows a lot of bounce and energy, and is more inclined than most of our team to crash the boards. He was woefully underused last year in favor of guys who like to stand at the 3 point line, almost like the plan was to redshirt him at times, but then got heavy minutes in the NIT and played very well. I think Liddell and Hamm deserve more than 10 mins a game. I'd like to see Shaka tighten up the reigns on the 3-point shot selection... Our forwards and centers were 1 for 13 on 3 pointers last night and most of them didn't even attempt to get a shot inside the 3 point line. Most of those shots were early in the shot clock. Many were fair to well defended. And, most were taken with nobody on our team near the basket, greatly reducing the risk of an offensive rebound/put-back. I can recall any of the three point shots being off a pass following a feed inside the paint to collapse the defense a bit. Though Sims was skittish and unable to catch the ball consistently last night, Baker wouldve been worth a shot for a post feed and kick out. That never happened. The defense looked improved...definitely the way we played the pick and roll/pop. All things to build on... just game one. But, there were some things seen on offense that looked like ingrained bad habits and lack of planning rather than first game jitters. I'm hoping for the best. Coleman, Febres, and Sims need to play like they've been on the court together before, or sit next to the walk-ons.

Word was that Cunningham had played great in the scrimmages and practices. Under the bright lights, he was rushing things and a bit skittish, like Coleman. Baker and Cunningham both looked like freshman stepping up in competition. Baker (and/or coach) was intent just setting a high pick and standing outside for the 3 point shot on offense. I recall only one time when he set up to receive the ball in the paint. Cunningham showed a glimpse of being able to bring sine fire and energy that only Ramey currently offers. If he can harness it and make an outside shot or two without turning the ball over, he has something to offer this team. Baker is a large, plodding kid. He showed he has good hands, can go after a defense rebound, and is confident passing without hesitation. He just needs to get his ass in the paint on offense occasionally to make the opposing defenders work and respect him. Shaka had them both on fairly short leashes. They both need more minutes to show what they have to offer and how they react to adversity.

Ramey outplayed Coleman at PG. Coleman dribbled too much and was a bit panicked and tunnel visioned at times. That said, he was not bad. Ramey was more poised and just outplayed him. Jones earned a starter spot unless he wants to come off the bench. Febres was out of sync. Cunningham looked like he's not played in a year. Give Liddell or Williams a start over Febres and Cunningham. Hamm or Kai Jones deserve a shot a starting PF. They both need more time, as they play aggressive on the boards. Hepa is still playing like a soft SG. I'd say he was one dimensional if he did one thing remarkable. Simms can't get out of his own head at times. He should be okay in short spurts if we don't run too many specific plays with him as option 1 on offense. Baker played like Febres and Hepa on offense, but showed he could can use his size at times on defense. The defense will be fine. The offense looked rough until Ramey and Jones had the ball more. Hamm and Ramey showed some nice chemistry on the pick and roll. I think we were out rebounded overall by a shorter, skinnier team. A lot of that is on the personnel used (we had several minutes with Febres or Williams as our 2nd defender in the paint) and our offense set (all of our bigs standing out waiting for a 3 point shot). That 4 guard line-up will be the death of us come conference when Big-12 coaches draw our one big man out of the paint (like the N Colorado coach did very successfully at times). Overall for a 1st game, it was fine. We have enough depth that we don't have to ride a cold or shellshocked player (Febres, Simms, Cunningham, Hepa) after he makes 1 or 2 bad plays. And, we need to play a lot less of the 4 corner, contested 3-point offense and more of the moving and screening sets to make the opponent work a bit on defense. Purdue game will be a huge measuring stick. They will beat us to death on the offensive boards with that stick if we run the line-up with Simms or Hamm as the only big man on the floor.

Can we send Lowell back w N Colorado to be their Dave South? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Several were rushed and with a hand in the face Still suspect offensive sets ... lots of standing around until Ramey and Hamm were on the floor together Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not a bad start ... not a fan of the 4 guard lineup especially if we dont get a 3 point shooting boost ... makes our weak rebounding much worse on both ends ... it’s okay to good so far overall for a game one though Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Better w Coleman off floor right now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You might want to reach out to the US Consulate in Naples for its assistance in reporting the crime. In the very least, I'd think they could help point you to the ideal sources (even for medical / optical treatment if you need it) to save you some time... that's optional, since it doesn't sound like you lost anything that would have value if located and returned.

In these non-conference games against directional and Baptist colleges, I hope Shaka plays Coleman just long enough to establish he's conditioned and has his timing and court sense attuned... let him get his "40 mins" against schools that might sniff a postseason game of some sort when we need him on the court to win. We lose him to an high ankle sprain when we are up 18 to some shit school and we'll be in a world of hurt for PG depth when we really need it. As for everyone else, there are a lot of interchangeable parts and there shouldn't be any favorites or guaranteed minutes. It will be interesting to see who wants playing time the most. And, if Coleman plays shitty, his starting spot should be up for grabs to Ramey (do we have a 3rd guy who can play PG?). If guys like Febres or Hepa are gonna stand in the corner on offense waiting to heft a 3, they better make better than 33% and show something more than last year's turnstile level defense to get more minutes than the rest of the pack.

I'm somewhat interested in seeing Baker and Cunningham on the court together... they played together in high school and should have some sort of familiarity with and confidence in each other... add in an improved Hepa and a significantly recovered Jones and that could make for an excellent spread-the-floor 2nd unit (assuming Jones is not a starter). I'm interested to see what our new assistant coach (Yak) can do to make Hepa and Febres defend better than last year and what the new strength/conditioning coach can do to build Jones back from his chemo-related weight and strength loss.

So nobody nutted up even enough to ask a soft-serve, "what was the dialog with Coach Orlando this week?"... nice reporting.

The Missy Elliott repeated rap tune EVERY dead-ball break during a game has reached the Baby Shark level of blood boiling... It's unfortunate, she's not bad, but LHN has done a great job conditioning a break something response every time I hear her now. The lack of content/creativity/motivation/whatever at LHN has turned poor Missy into a pariah to the ears. Can we send Lowell with that Missy song to someplace like UTEP, Lamar University or Sul Ross to be their Dave South?