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Post by shooting the J on Mar 1, 2015 15:42:29 GMT -6
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Post by fansincebuss on Mar 1, 2015 20:06:46 GMT -6
When it comes down to it Wardle wins games and that's all I care about. JUST WIN. He has been the closest to getting us back to the tournament since Bennett and I think he can get us there. If he doesn't, so be it, we move on in a few years. Also, it's not easy getting a top end coach to come/stay in Green Bay, so I'm not sure what you want/expect. We have the worst location and the 2nd lowest basketball budget in the conference. www.bbstate.com/info/teams-hoopsbudget/_/HL I had no problem with how Wardle handled Humphrey, and I also think he has done an excellent job with the resources he has available to him. He is far from the uncaring coach some (one) have portrayed as. I do not think Bo Ryan got all his seniors in today at the end. Next year will determine how good a coach Wardle is. He will be losing a lot of talent . Note I also like that he has been able to produce student athletes that graduate, I hope that holds true with this years seniors.
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Post by stillaphoenixphan on Mar 1, 2015 20:56:52 GMT -6
When it comes down to it Wardle wins games and that's all I care about. JUST WIN. He has been the closest to getting us back to the tournament since Bennett and I think he can get us there. If he doesn't, so be it, we move on in a few years. Also, it's not easy getting a top end coach to come/stay in Green Bay, so I'm not sure what you want/expect. We have the worst location and the 2nd lowest basketball budget in the conference. www.bbstate.com/info/teams-hoopsbudget/_/HL Everyone in our group thought it was really classy for Coach to start all his Seniors in a big game. If GB had lost because of a slow start Coach would have had a lot of fingers pointed at him for doing it! Also classy was Keifer and Greg came to our area and was high 5ing everyone and thanking them for the support. I'm sure Amack and Josh were doing the same in another spot. Nice that we had just over 6K attendance.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Mar 1, 2015 21:35:13 GMT -6
First, thanks to Keifer, Greg, Al and Josh. Those are big shoes that need to be filled.
As noted in the post before mine, great to see 6000 people show up. The Sykes bobble heads were sweet. I would love to see GB build this up to 6k being a regular thing.
Congrats in advance to Keifer Sykes, he has got to be the HL PoW one last time! 2-0 this week and he averaged 30 points per game.
Free throw shooting...where have you been all season...it was so great to see you! Jordan went 6-6 and added in 2 deep jumpers. His form was really good on those FT's. Daeshon also looked good on his throws.
Starting Josh was a nice touch. He didn't play very well but Wardle gave him minutes in his home town on Thursday and started him in a must have game on Saturday. I would have liked to see GB sub out earlier at the end but Oakland had 4 starters playing including Petros and Felder until the end. GB played their best free throw shooters, best ball handler and guys who were hot. In a must have game they made sure they didn't get shaky down the stretch.
Lowe had one of his best games. He grabbed 7 boards, he scored on a nice post move again and played good defense on Petros. He slowed down the high low game that worked early and he deflected a few balls when he was fronting that tried to go over the top.
Finally this game showed me why Sykes is the HL PoY this year. I think Felder is a great player but he spent much of his time playing defense against someone other than Sykes. Sykes was on Felder for most of the game. Sykes is tasked with being a big time player on both sides of the ball and more often than not he delivers. None of the other big time players in this league are tasked with playing defense like Sykes is. Other teams play good defense but don't play straight up like GB tries to play. Sykes is one of the top offensive players who is really bringing it on defense against the top guards in the HL.
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Post by gbbrl97 on Mar 2, 2015 8:54:16 GMT -6
The HL tourney will be wild. Hopefully CSU can upset Valpo and GB can get an other shot at CSU.....It's hard to beat the same team 3 times in a season. I don't like GB's chances playing in Valpo in the championship game. First things first however.....(presumably) beat Oakland again (unless they get upset).
Again this team puzzles me at times. If GB plays to their strengths they can win the HL, but if they think for one minute they are a jump shooting team (at this point in the year, you are what you are), the 20 point win versus Oakland could be fools gold. It's good that they had the success on the FT line, but we will see when you factor in tourney nerves.....As far as the HL tourney is concerned, avoid the long defensive lapses, and keep driving the basket top the rim, and make your FTs, and GB should win.
As far as knocking BW, he's put this team in positions that TK could not. This is because the emphasis on defense and rebounding, and at times, they can be VERY good. I think some on this board wanted to see BW fry with the Ryan Bross/Brennan Cougill coaching abuse accusations. This was orchestrated by helicopter parents who's kids were never coached hard before they got to a D1 program. In this day and age of over-entitlement of youth sports and the 'everyone-wins-a-trophy' culture that was developed with this current generation of athletes, you will see more complaints of this kind, when a kid gets a coach who may be a bit 'old-school'. As long as a coach does not lay a hand on a player, I don't mind the hard coaching. BW is no saint, but there are coaches who are a lot harder on their players. BW was cleared and was given an extension by the new AD. I'm sure MEG did her due diligence on this when she took the AD job.
BW also has galvanized the recruiting base.....Instead of the haphazard recruiting pipeline of the TK-era, where it seemed he pulled talent from everywhere, BW has contracted the base somewhat, as most of the players hail from WI, the Chicago area as well as the rest of IL, and IN. BW also pulled JC talent from the Iowa JC's. He has also opened doors at some of the prep schools (IMG academy being one of them).
Also, as my avatar states ".....Dick Bennett isn't coming through that door."......It has been 20 years since the end of the Bennett-era. Move on for those who still cling to that era like a toddler with his/her favorite toy.
However, I think offensively they have taken a step back, even when Alec Brown was still here. This team is more athletic and can drive to the rim. However, this team does not shoot the ball well for a team vying for an NCAA bid. If they can at least get their FT % up, their chances will increase. I don't think they will suddenly find their 3-pt. shooting groove however. The lack of consistent production from the 2-guard spot (C-Love is NOT a 2 guard) has held this team back. I think we are in need of a shot doctor.
.....Here's a thought. If GB does make a run in the HL tourney and has a good showing in the NCAA's, what are the chances that BW gets a look from some struggling programs possibly looking for a new coach? One program in particular: DePaul; They are building a new area next to McCormack Place which will be closer to campus and just off the CTA. DePaul has been a bottom feeder in the Big East since Oliver Purnell has taken over, and BW and his staff have strong connections with the Chicago-area schools. This could be a possibility if BW can get GB over the top.
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Post by gbalum2007 on Mar 2, 2015 10:11:50 GMT -6
I was watching the bench towards the end of the game to see if Wardle would go to Humphrey. It did look like Humphrey was asked if he wanted to go back in and he shook his head. Wardle shook his hand and said something in his ear before calling on Findlay and Kanter. It was nice that he got the start and a solid send-off. In my interactions with Josh off the court (he was actually the teller at the Associated Bank that I frequent) he was always friendly and cordial, willing to talk basketball. You could tell from talking to him that he loved being part of the team and was taking full advantage of the opportunities that basketball afforded him. While players like Sykes and Mays will always go out to much more fanfare, every program needs student-athletes like Josh Humphrey.
As for the game itself, all season this has been a team designed to play from the inside-out. Attack the rim in the early going in order to open up jumpers, because they don't have the types of shooters that can consistently knock them down with a hand in their faces. It looked like that's what they did for the first couple of minutes, got away from it as Oakland built a small lead, and then got back to it for the rest of the game. Once jumpers started falling in the second half it was lights out for Oakland. Interior defense was lacking in the first half as Petros had his way, but I thought the perimeter D was solid and did a nice job of containing Felder for the most part. He makes some shots that you can't even figure out how he gets them off.
On a personal note, my wife and I achieved a lifelong dream of participating in the Festival Foods Chicken Launch. Three out of five wasn't too shabby, but I'll admit that it should've been four. Those chickens move like knuckleballs. Of course, right before we stepped on the court she felt the need to mention that it was the largest crowd of the year. No pressure...
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Post by fightphoe93 on Mar 2, 2015 20:28:10 GMT -6
Gbalum2007 that is too funny. You guys were so good at that Chicken launch thing it almost looked like you had practiced it. Thanks for giving us a little bit of entertainment there during a break.
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