LA Monroe Game Thread
- Thread starter alaskaguy
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I'm out of state and haven't seen either regular season game, so I'm just curious about Dodie Dunson. He looked good in the exhibition games, and I knew he's get less playing time once Taylor started playing, but I thought he'd get more minutes than he has. How has he looked? Is there a reason he's not getting more minutes other than Taylor's playing now?
It really seems like that's the reason, CloneFan. Occasionally they'll bring him in at the same time as Taylor, but I think Taylor's just more of a scoring threat. I really like Dodie, though - I hope he gets in there more, too! I also *heart* Wesley Johnson.
I love Wesley Johnson!!! I was in the first row of Cyclone Alley tonight and the team came out before the game and they did a lap around the court. When Wesley ran where I was I said, "Wesley Johnson, your my hero!!!" Then he gave me a thumbs up and a finger point directly at me.
Corey Johnson is such a beast. He does all of the dirty work. If anyone used to watch Illinois basketball, he reminds alot of Lucas Johnson.
While Taylor sometimes plays a little out of control as did McIntosh at times, they still played with more basketball sense than Stinson did at any time last year.
Thought Gray played pretty well. Marsden still looks lost. The Johnson boys looked very good. Brock Jacobsen is not a Big XII player. Clark was average but still played within himself which is good.
All in all we played okay against a very poor team. Defense and the effort were both pretty good.
Thought Gray played pretty well. Marsden still looks lost. The Johnson boys looked very good. Brock Jacobsen is not a Big XII player. Clark was average but still played within himself which is good.
All in all we played okay against a very poor team. Defense and the effort were both pretty good.
Big win. McDermott was talking about how the players will now buy in to what he says about how important defending and rebounding are. This could be the start of something really nice.
That was more entertaining than anything we saw on the floor last year. It's so nice to see a team on the floor again. Granted, there were still mistakes on the floor, namely some poor shot selection, but I really liked the improvement from the night before. Doesn't seem to be much of a drop off when replacements come in.
I don't know how many games we win this year, but I don't think the losses will be so hard to stomach...
I don't know how many games we win this year, but I don't think the losses will be so hard to stomach...
Known Coach Mac for almost 18 years, Losses will happen but not from lack of effort, or playing the game the right way, some teams will just have more talent......for a while, then he will fix that too.
Hey now...Ross is leading the nation in 3pt % (or at least tied for the lead)...
And like GMac said in his press conference, it will probably stay that way..
I wouldn't get too carried away with this. I think if Stinson would have been in G-Mac's system this year he would have appeared more in control than in the playground game we saw last year. Also, Stinson was an excellent scorer on the drive in the lane, which is something Taylor is trying to do but I wouldn't say he has been very good at so far. Stinson also did quite well on the fast break, while Taylor has been a bit too out of control so far.
I think this was a much needed win for the team. They've been involved in mainly close games up to this point, so it's nice to give them a taste of a pure and dominate winning style. Defense looked great, and didn't give LA-Monroe much of a chance to shoot the ball by coming up with a lot of great steals.
One thing I noticed were the FG% stats displayed during the game. Mostly, we've been letting the opposing team get off more shots than we have been, but this game, that number got switched around. We didn't wow anyone with FG%, but we had plenty more opportunities on offense to get a shot in the basket. I loved the hustle on offense to recover missed shots, which I believe led to the (relatively) high score.
I had a blast with the kids' game during halftime. They probably need to get a different ref for them though, because those kids were getting away with carries and travels right and left. :no6xn:
I think Mike Taylor's family was sitting on the northeast corner of the lower tier right by where I was in CA. Is this where they usually seat players' families? They went ballistic everytime Taylor made a big play.
One thing I noticed were the FG% stats displayed during the game. Mostly, we've been letting the opposing team get off more shots than we have been, but this game, that number got switched around. We didn't wow anyone with FG%, but we had plenty more opportunities on offense to get a shot in the basket. I loved the hustle on offense to recover missed shots, which I believe led to the (relatively) high score.
I had a blast with the kids' game during halftime. They probably need to get a different ref for them though, because those kids were getting away with carries and travels right and left. :no6xn:
I think Mike Taylor's family was sitting on the northeast corner of the lower tier right by where I was in CA. Is this where they usually seat players' families? They went ballistic everytime Taylor made a big play.
Perhaps if Stinson had been under G-Mac, things would have been different. But from what I saw last year, Stinson might as well have been playing for the opposing teams as much as he gave them the basketball. Taylor will come around. He settled down a lot between last night and tonight, and I only see it getting better from here.
I've been seeing a lot of this, and honestly it's starting to **** me off. Why the recurring ripping on Stinson in favor of Taylor? I'm excited about Taylor too... but let's get real here.
Taylor has 4 assists to 12 turnovers. That's a ratio of .333. Stinson had a assist/to ratio last year of 1.6.
Taylor is on pace for an astonishing 180 turnovers this year. He already has 12, and Stinson, at no point last year ever had 12 in a two game span.
He's shooting 35.4% from the floor, and Stinson shot 45.5% last year.
Statistically, and from what I've seen on the court, he is playing more selfishly, more out of control, and just plain more boneheaded than I ever saw Stinson. I understand it's his responsibility to create because I don't think we have any penetrators on the team with his ability.
He is a much better defender than Stinson though and that doesn't translate well into numbers.
But what I'm saying is, let's not start the "Stinson was careless with the ball/a bad shooter/selfish because we've seen ALL OF THAT with Taylor.
Stinson was a really good college player playing for a poor coach. No way you can compare Taylor to him. I think Stinson felt the pressure to do alot of things for that team last year, since our D was so bad and we were lacking a post presence and a 3-point threat. He made some turnovers in the process.....but please don't compare Taylor to him.
The thing I didn't like about Stinson was there were times when we should be holding the ball and he would force the issue. Like being up by 5 with 30 seconds left and he is trying to score.
Taylor is making a lot of mistakes and forcing things but it is still within the flow of the game. Taylor is definitely going to be our "go to guy" if we need a bucket. Stinson had that great "tear drop shot" in the lane and could get stuffed. Taylor plays at a much higher altitude. If he gets his moves down and continues to improve on his shooting he will be an unstoppable weapon. Wesley Johnson is another guy with an amazing upside. Clark is still finding his niche on this team but I am "impressed" how he has bought into G-Mac's system and is NOT forcing things. He is definitely playing team basketball. This team is pretty athletic and can really elevate and has some speed.
Taylor is making a lot of mistakes and forcing things but it is still within the flow of the game. Taylor is definitely going to be our "go to guy" if we need a bucket. Stinson had that great "tear drop shot" in the lane and could get stuffed. Taylor plays at a much higher altitude. If he gets his moves down and continues to improve on his shooting he will be an unstoppable weapon. Wesley Johnson is another guy with an amazing upside. Clark is still finding his niche on this team but I am "impressed" how he has bought into G-Mac's system and is NOT forcing things. He is definitely playing team basketball. This team is pretty athletic and can really elevate and has some speed.
One thing we should all remember, the three teams playing ISU this weekend were all picked to finish last in their respective conferences. And those conferences are among the poorest in the country. I think it was a good job of scheduling by the staff, just what a young team needs to gain experience and confidence. But sweeping this weekend does not automatically put the Cyclones into the upper half of the Big 12.
Agreed. This was the perfect move in scheduling. Give the noobs some experience and put a taste of winning in their mouth.