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Post by thetulsawarrior on Mar 9, 2014 8:48:36 GMT -6
Sykes and Brown deserve our respect for what they have done over the years and for playing through injuries last night.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2014 11:21:04 GMT -6
Scott Venci put it best on Twitter:
@scottvenci There is no other way to say it. This is a failure of a season if Phoenix loses this. Nobody signed up for the NIT
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truth
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Post by truth on Mar 9, 2014 12:04:49 GMT -6
All the show off dunking in the pregame layup line had the crowd cheering. Made me think the nix were really loose. But the guy who said they crapped their pants had it right. They played good d but once the first few shots didn't fall on o they played and shot extremely tight.
That didn't lose the game, and a lot of heart coming back and the Phoenix really showed their quality but if you had a fast start maybe Milwaukee would have played tight themselves.
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truth
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Post by truth on Mar 9, 2014 15:04:51 GMT -6
One final thought:
My prediction is that Jordan Aaron does not score 25, 30 points against Wright State on Tuesday night. Like he did THREE games against us.
WSU plays a slower style, so he won't have as many opportunities. But somehow I think they will have his number.
I think he is a spectacular player, throws in a lot of circus shots but he's not necessarily a great player at least in terms of consistency. Can force things and be wild. As unstoppable as he looked at some times, over 30 games he only averaged 14 points a game, and didn't shoot a great percentage.
Maybe our strategy was not to do anything special to limit him and let the other guys beat you. But he averaged 28 ppg against you this year and Saturday down the stretch singlehandedly beat you in the biggest games in the last 15 years of GB basketball. That 25-foot 3 to tie it late was unbelievable, hard to defense, I admit. Maybe it's all him, he elevated his game in the clutch against the No. 1 seed, but I wonder how other teams stopped him and we didn't.
Like I say, lets see how Wright State deals with him.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Mar 9, 2014 16:13:13 GMT -6
Like most Phoenix fans I am gutted by this loss. I certainly didn't think it would be easy but I never really allowed myself to think this season would hinge on a miracle from the selection committee. I know Middle Tenn St was brought up from last year, not sure how good LaSalle's numbers were but they got a play in game last year as well. As a loyal fan I will feel empty if this ends up just being an NIT year.
As for this game I really thought GB did a good job to limit the rebounding and offensive rebounding in particular of Milwaukee. Certainly Milwaukee grabbed boards but not like they did against Valpo. I also thought GB did a good job at the start of the game getting loose balls, again taking away what Milwaukee did to Valpo. While all of that was happening Brown and Sykes couldn't get a shot down. Fouse took two jumpers he shouldn't have. Mays and Love were saddled with two fouls each and had to sit. I said to my friends at halftime with all things considered I think GB is in position for a comeback. As it turns out they were but down the stretch couldn't close it out. Brown missed a 3 that I thought was down, Jordan Aaron broke down the defense again for a layup and GB didn't get a finish or foul on the last drive to put the game away.
With Sykes being hurt, Love having 4 fouls and Findlay/Fulton not playing well it left Wardle in a tough spot. I thought Jordan Aaron really showed his quickness with Fouse guarding him in the second half. He really struggled to stop him at the point of attack. A few times that he did recover Aaron made tough shots. I really wanted Wardle to try someone else on Aaron or keep trapping him because that forced him to give up the ball.
Sykes showed how tough he is, he was hobbling around most of the game. Add in a banged up Brown and McKinnie, suddenly it was an uphill climb. GB looked the team playing its third game in 5 days. Credit to Milwaukee for having their guys ready to go.
It was a good and lively crowd, I hope they come back. It was a great glimpse of what GB basketball could look like. I see it with Wichita St or St Louis on TV now. It wasn't that long ago that both programs were down and playing in front of smaller crowds. Now they are packing 10k seat arenas and ranked in the top 25. I really don't think that is out of the realm of possibility for GB or for most HL teams for that matter. GB, like those schools and other mids before them have to find away to keep investing in their coaches and their program. It can't just be about a magical set of players every 20 years. Give Wardle the tools he needs to get great players all of the time.
I was pretty annoyed with the crowd warning against GB. The guy who threw something on the court was a Milwaukee fan, the security took him out of the seats. The call just went against Milwaukee in favor of GB and the GB crowd gets warned! Pretty lame. What do you expect from Juzenas and Ingram? I noticed that John Higgins and Kipp Kissinger worked the MVC championship game today. Just a good example of where the HL needs to step up. The quality of the game would improve with the quality of the officials. As a fan I shouldn't know who these guys are and yet I do because it is a noticeable difference from the good to average to bad guys that work the league.
Lastly, I was not bothered by the pregame dunk routine. They do that all time, it is just most fans are not there early enough to see it. It goes to the core of who this team is. They play fast and they play aggressive, dunks are part of the deal. Plus they didn't do something they normally do which is have Barone throw lobs off the backboard and then each player taking a turn to dunk it.
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Post by can opener man on Mar 9, 2014 17:58:37 GMT -6
To put a positive spin on this if there is not an at large bid next week a good showing in the nit can help recruiting in the future.
I remember John calipari in his early years at Memphis throwing a parade for the team when they won the nit. Can't hang ur head if you don't get the results we want next Sunday, as fans take the opportunity and cheer for the team and making it to Madison square garden can be a big deal for a mid major.
I think the immediate future is bright. Out of our rotation we lose a great player in Alec brown, everyone else comes back, i think the combination of everyone working hard and improving will lead to next years team being better than this years team. Plus more senior leadership.
Love and fouse as sophomore and Lowe and findlay as freshman already have a lot of big game experience on a championship caliber team
Sometimes you need a season like this to lay the foundation of building a championship program
Butler wasn't going to te sweet sixteen right out the gate.
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Post by gbbrl97 on Mar 9, 2014 18:42:59 GMT -6
This is an example where our lack of depth/experience at shooting guard hurt us. Face it, Carrington Love has had some good game this season, and kept GB in the game last night, but he wasn't the guy some of us thought who would be a starting SG next to Keif. Vince Garrett has disappeared since mid-season, and Lamin Fulton can't hit the broad side of a barn despite the reputation he was a 3-pt shooter. Findlay has promise, but he will need to add a jump shot for next season.....If Keif and Alec, were hurt or struggling offensively, we never really had a consistent scorer on the perimeter who can complement those guys.
Tuesday night, I see WSU slowing down UWM and keeping Aaron in check. They may have a puncher's chance as a #15 or #14 in the NCAA's based on their defense. They will need to keep knocking down 3's if they hope to stay competitive. If UWM gets in somehow, I see them as a #15 or #16 possibly, and they will get hammered by whoever they play. I don't see Bruce Pearl, Joah Tucker, Boo Davis, or Ed McCants coming through that door in the next few days.
Hopefully, this loss will motivate the players that are returning to work on their games and to learn how to finish. We will be quicker overall next season, but we need shooters in a big way. When you have a couple of good perimeter shooters, it makes it a LOT easier to comeback from large deficits. Although GB did come back and had a 4 pt lead with a minute left in regulation, it almost took too much time and energy to do so based on the offensive skill-set we had coupled with the injuries to key players as well.
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Post by can opener man on Mar 9, 2014 20:57:26 GMT -6
From a three point shooting perspective we shot 36 percent as a team i don't think that was that bad.
As for carrington love he did a good job playing the role he was asked to play and when he was asked to do more he showed flashes. I think he has a bright future and will step up next year when asked to take on a larger role.
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Post by fightphoe93 on Mar 9, 2014 21:12:17 GMT -6
Totally agree that a true shooting guard to complement Sykes was one of a few holes this year. Love is actually a pretty good young player but not the ideal complement to Sykes, at least not quite yet. Both Sykes and Love will need to get their 3 pt. shooting pcts. closer to .400 to create better spacing and ball movement.
McKinnie must stay healthy next year. That guy might have been the 3rd most gifted offensive player on the team this year had he stayed healthy. He's got a beautiful pure shooting stroke and good athleticism to go with it. His health is critical next year.
Mays really played well this year. Get stronger and develop some better post moves and he's going to be one of the better forwards in the league. He's already very solid with that nice 15 ft. jumper he developed.
Fouse needs ALOT of skill work on offense. He's a tremendous defender and rebounder but could be a liability at times on offense. Needs to get stronger physically, clean up the ball handling, work on some post moves and hopefully a 10 ft. jump shot to keep people honest. Fine player but needs to help more on offense for the team overall to improve offensively. Hopefully he can take a step like Mays did.
They're not going to be as good defensively next year without big Alec, but I could see them being much better offensively if Sykes and Love improve their outside game, Fouse and Mays get stronger, and McKinnie becomes the guy I think he can be. Kiefer Sykes alone will give this team a dynamic player to build around.
Use this NIT opportunity as a learning experience and a springboard for next year which can still be a strong year even without the talents of Alec Brown.
Guys like Findlay, Lowe, and maybe even Botz can step up their game and we'll need them to. Next year starts right now and hopefully this NIT bid will be a springboard for better things.
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Post by can opener man on Mar 9, 2014 21:48:15 GMT -6
When someone asked if Green Bay has a shot at an at large bid i gave a different answer than Venci. I said about ten percent shot.
We need the right teams to lose. Providence, Arkansas, Dayton, xaiver, Pitt, Tennessee, Minnesota, California, Georgetown, St. John's, Missouri.
When the committee discusses Green Bay you have to hope for an over emphasis on the eye test for the wisconsin and Virginia game. Also with a little luck some of the treatment middle Tennessee state got last year with the benefit of having a great record. Plus we need the committee to throw out the loss to valpo since our co-top player was out that game.
Not going to get my hopes up, but its not done til the selection is announced next Sunday.
Wasn't VCU put in the first four game one year too? And they complained they were the most undeserving team ever to get in. It's almost as if ever since the play ins for the at large bids started one under deserving mid major program gets slid in. Last year it was mid ten state.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2014 22:04:12 GMT -6
Your fans were absolutely fantastic tonight. I sure hope this is a turning point and gets the Brown County area jazzed about the program. Sykes getting hobbled was huge and probably turned the game. Sometimes the basketball gods have different plans. I hope the Nix get in the tournament. Alec Brown certainly deserves that stage. Sent from my SCH-R970 using proboards
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2014 22:20:09 GMT -6
Shooting the J!
You have disappeared.....maybe your coach let you down? Why have you not given us your breakdown of this loss? I know there where injury issues....have you ever thought that maybe the staff hasn't handled injuries or the physical preparation very well? How long did it take Al M. to recover? This team Was dominant early in the season and ran out of gas. Just another example of poor management. You can play your 5' 8" 150 lb. point guard for so long until he breaks down at some point. What happened to Josh? Where is Vince? Even big Alec got beat up and couldn't produce....he should have dominated. He dominated during the season. With all the talent on this team, top to bottom, this should have never happened. Sorry to pop up when the true colors where presented. I just find it interesting that when the coaches let you down nothing is said. These kids all played their butts off, all season!!!!! It will be interesting to see how they do in the post season and how this staff reacts also.......I would assume the locker room after this loss was very interesting to say the least! Sad ending to a possible great season.
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Post by PantherU on Mar 9, 2014 22:29:50 GMT -6
Look at mid-majors in recent NIT's having success, look what they do the next year and you'll feel better about being in it. Honest to god tournament experience.
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Post by thetulsawarrior on Mar 10, 2014 6:28:15 GMT -6
What a lack of grace and class for that new poster bigv.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Mar 10, 2014 6:40:40 GMT -6
I am not trying to defend the coaching staff but there is no way they should have had more minutes from Josh or Vince. Those guys aren't that good. Josh is giant liability on offense and isn't big enough to rebound his position. As it turned out Vince makes more mistakes than positive plays. Playing those guys more would have resulted in less wins and therefore it wouldn't have been a great season.
I would have to say it doesn't look good for GB right now. I agree that they need the right teams to win (NDSU and Toledo for example) and the right teams to lose (the ones previously mentioned). I went through all the bubble teams and I would have them in the group of the last 10 or so right now. Yesterday was a bad day for Virginia and Wisconsin to lose though.
As for the NIT as a team I am sure they will regroup and as a fan I know I will be ready. We only have so many opportunities to enjoy GB basketball. I am pretty sure a few years ago Wichita State won that. Winning breads a culture of winning. Tournament game experience of any sort will be good for Findlay and Lowe. Having been close to achieving the big goal should make the returning guys that much more hungry for next year.
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