Morning After Pill: Cajuns and Golden Eagles

[ManAboutTown]

The Good:
Sun Belt Basketball has dramatically improved since the addition of the CUSA 4. Yes, the floor is still really low but the top of the belt is playing some exciting mid major basketball. Hattiesburg was on fire last night. That doesn't happen against any other school. The rivalry we've all wanted and this program has desperately needed is alive and well. What an atmosphere.

Jordan Brown is that dude. A couple different 'wow' moments last night. He was head and shoulders the best player on the floor in a big time game. It was great to see him perform in that situation.

Missed some critical FTs, but overall, it was a bright spot.

Regardless of outcome, team continued to play hard. They believe.

The Bad:
Offensively, it was just a mess in the second half. Spacing was awful. Way too much iso-ball. No movement. We let the USM defense speed us up and we rushed way too many shots. I keep seeing people talking about Fulks being so 'great' last night... Last night was one of the worst games Ive seen him play. He gets too careless with the basketball too often, especially in the second half. Greg Williams had to work too hard to create shots for himself because there was absolutely no ball movement on limited offensive sets. As soon as the pick and roll wasn't there, it was: dribble dribble dribble, jack up a shot or throw up a wild runner in the lane. I'm concerned about the inability of other players to step up and get buckets to support JB.

Defensively, I have no words for that second half. When USM adjusted and obviously were increasing the usage on Haase, what did we do? Play man defense down low with Greg Williams on a freaking PF. When we went to zone, he and Pinkey stepped out and hit open 3s. Did we adjust to their outside shooting? NO, we did not. Garnett got worked, Fulks got bullied by Alvarez (a bench player who ended up with like 18 points), Charles (who I like a lot) was exposed for his slim build and handsy defense and putrid boxing out by everyone not named Lewis or Brown. Still can't figure out why Richards didn't get more playing time. He seemed to be (athletically) a superior match up on Morman and/or Pickney.

The Ugly:
Sun Belt officiating continues to be a total embarrassment. I have no idea how quality teams are expected to play basketball like this. Not only does it ruin the game experience, it's flat out unfair to the competitors. Now, I thought we actually benefited from a lot of the calls, but both ways, it was just a joke. Again.

The Reality:
USM is a quality basketball team. Props to Ladner, his staff, their adjusments and their athletes stepping up in front of a raucous crowd. That was a really hostile environment. The truth is, this could be a reality check for our team. Good that it happens now and not in the tournament.

We have to start asking if Julien is a viable option for significant contribution down the stretch. As I've said a million times here, after the injuries he's sustained, what can you really expect? I keep being told he's good to go, but the minutes remain limited. We could have really used his defense on Haase and his scoring when the rest of the team was cold. He did have the highlight block on Crowley in transition, but other than that, not much.

We are a top tier team in this league. I think that's obvious. But there's no doubt, we have to get better before Pensacola to win a conference tourney championship.

[Million$Mullet]

Agree on all points except Fulks. You wanna talk about someone who cares? Dude plays his ass off all game and gets absolutely no rest. He HAS to be on the floor for us to succeed. I think he played well considering the circumstances. When Greg doesn’t take over the second half like he’s been doing and Garnett only gets 3 shots you get what you saw last night. Too many missed shots point blank at the rim. I don’t think we are a soft team but USM bullied us when it mattered.

As for the environment, it sure reminded me of the old lakefront days against UNO and Tim Floyd. 8k in a barn is a treat to witness(blackham anyone?). Being involved all game is a treat to witness. A student section that takes over the area a is a treat to witness. They fed off of that crowd. I’ve said this too many times over but home court advantage is real. Fan interaction with the players is real.

With that being said, we led the majority of the game and let that one slip away. I believe it was about the ten minute mark where things went south. We played about as bad as we could and still had our chances. I think USM put EVERYTHING into this game. From the crowd to the players. They blew their wad. We meet them in Pensacola we win. Period.

[ManAboutTown]

Agree on all points except Fulks. You wanna talk about someone who cares? Dude plays his ass off all game and gets absolutely no rest. He HAS to be on the floor for us to succeed. I think he played well considering the circumstances. When Greg doesn’t take over the second half like he’s been doing and Garnett only gets 3 shots you get what you saw last night. Too many missed shots point blank at the rim. I don’t think we are a soft team but USM bullied us when it mattered.

As for the environment, it sure reminded me of the old lakefront days against UNO and Tim Floyd. 8k in a barn is a treat to witness(blackham anyone?). Being involved all game is a treat to witness. A student section that takes over the area a is a treat to witness. They fed off of that crowd. I’ve said this too many times over but home court advantage is real. Fan interaction with the players is real.

With that being said, we led the majority of the game and let that one slip away. I believe it was about the ten minute mark where things went south. We played about as bad as we could and still had our chances. I think USM put EVERYTHING into this game. From the crowd to the players. They blew their wad. We meet them in Pensacola we win. Period.

Agree on everything in the last paragraph. I think we're the better team 1-6.
Still think Fulks has to take better care of the ball. He was fine in the first half, but just like against Marshall, turnovers creep up on him in second halfs. 7 against Marshall and I think 5 last night. Also the ball he threw off of JB that led to a crazy bucket (by him) in the second half and a few loose balls that he somehow got a hold of after fumbling away.

He's definitely the key to the offense. I think he'll figure it out. You're right about him caring and being invested. I appreciate that guy's attitude very much.

[Million$Mullet]

Agree on everything in the last paragraph. I think we're the better team 1-6.
Still think Fulks has to take better care of the ball. He was fine in the first half, but just like against Marshall, turnovers creep up on him in second halfs. 7 against Marshall and I think 5 last night. Also the ball he threw off of JB that led to a crazy bucket (by him) in the second half and a few loose balls that he somehow got a hold of after fumbling away.

He's definitely the key to the offense. I think he'll figure it out. You're right about him caring and being invested. I appreciate the guy's attitude very much.

Also I will say this, Alvarez is a difference maker for them. He is the one who didn’t play in Lafayette. Mexican Mike Bibby is what Jeaux named him lol

[ManAboutTown]

Also I will say this, Alvarez is a difference maker for them. He is the one who didn’t play in Lafayette. Mexican Mike Bibby is what Jeaux named him lol

YES! He was a bully. Got the crowd into the game multiple times. Still, it was a career game for him. I don't expect that again.

[HoustonCajun]

The Good:
Sun Belt Basketball has dramatically improved since the addition of the CUSA 4. Yes, the floor is still really low but the top of the belt is playing some exciting mid major basketball. Hattiesburg was on fire last night. That doesn't happen against any other school. The rivalry we've all wanted and this program has desperately needed is alive and well. What an atmosphere.

Jordan Brown is that dude. A couple different 'wow' moments last night. He was head and shoulders the best player on the floor in a big time game. It was great to see him perform in that situation.

Missed some critical FTs, but overall, it was a bright spot.

Regardless of outcome, team continued to play hard. They believe.

The Bad:
Offensively, it was just a mess in the second half. Spacing was awful. Way too much iso-ball. No movement. We let the USM defense speed us up and we rushed way too many shots. I keep seeing people talking about Fulks being so 'great' last night... Last night was one of the worst games Ive seen him play. He gets too careless with the basketball too often, especially in the second half. Greg Williams had to work too hard to create shots for himself because there was absolutely no ball movement on limited offensive sets. As soon as the pick and roll wasn't there, it was: dribble dribble dribble, jack up a shot or throw up a wild runner in the lane. I'm concerned about the inability of other players to step up and get buckets to support JB.

Defensively, I have no words for that second half. When USM adjusted and obviously were increasing the usage on Haase, what did we do? Play man defense down low with Greg Williams on a freaking PF. When we went to zone, he and Pinkey stepped out and hit open 3s. Did we adjust to their outside shooting? NO, we did not. Garnett got worked, Fulks got bullied by Alvarez (a bench player who ended up with like 18 points), Charles (who I like a lot) was exposed for his slim build and handsy defense and putrid boxing out by everyone not named Lewis or Brown. Still can't figure out why Richards didn't get more playing time. He seemed to be (athletically) a superior match up on Morman and/or Pickney.

The Ugly:
Sun Belt officiating continues to be a total embarrassment. I have no idea how quality teams are expected to play basketball like this. Not only does it ruin the game experience, it's flat out unfair to the competitors. Now, I thought we actually benefited from a lot of the calls, but both ways, it was just a joke. Again.

The Reality:
USM is a quality basketball team. Props to Ladner, his staff, their adjusments and their athletes stepping up in front of a raucous crowd. That was a really hostile environment. The truth is, this could be a reality check for our team. Good that it happens now and not in the tournament.

We have to start asking if Julien is a viable option for significant contribution down the stretch. As I've said a million times here, after the injuries he's sustained, what can you really expect? I keep being told he's good to go, but the minutes remain limited. We could have really used his defense on Haase and his scoring when the rest of the team was cold. He did have the highlight block on Crowley in transition, but other than that, not much.

We are a top tier team in this league. I think that's obvious. But there's no doubt, we have to get better before Pensacola to win a conference tourney championship.

I think that is a perfect assessment of last night's game. "Spacing was awful. Way too much iso-ball. No movement. We let the USM defense speed us up and we rushed way too many shots. I keep seeing people talking about Fulks being so 'great' last night... Last night was one of the worst games I've seen him play. He gets too careless with the basketball too often, especially in the second half. Greg Williams had to work too hard to create shots for himself because there was absolutely no ball movement on limited offensive sets. As soon as the pick and roll wasn't there, it was: dribble dribble dribble, jack up a shot or throw up a wild runner in the lane. I'm concerned about the inability of other players to step up and get buckets to support JB."

We panicked when USM pressed us and took the lead in the second half. We made no adjustments offensively or defensively and our coaching, or lack thereof, got exposed yet again. We can play like this and win against weak teams, but good teams will beat us and that happened again last night.

[ZoomZoom]

We choked from 3, that’s the killer. 2-15 is unacceptable. Give USM credit, especially Alvarez. We lost the assist battle by 6-13.

We were dead even FTA/FTM, in the good 11 rebounds and 1 TO.

Have to man up, our next 5 opponents are taking notes this AM.

Rather lose this one than one in March.

[CajunVic]

. . . USM is a good team . . . we had a bad game all around except JB . . . we lost in a hostile environment . . . regroup and get back to business . . .

. . . after the Thursday games at ULM and USM, I assume that we are traveling on to the Saturday games . . . this gives the team 4 drivable games to get to back to back and the long trek back on Saturday night . . . if that is the case, I understand and it is a good policy decision . . .

[Boomer]

. . . USM is a good team . . . we had a bad game all around except JB . . . we lost in a hostile environment . . . regroup and get back to business . . .

. . . after the Thursday games at ULM and USM, I assume that we are traveling on to the Saturday games . . . this gives the team 4 drivable games to get to back to back and the long trek back on Saturday night . . . if that is the case, I understand and it is a good policy decision . . .

….their big guy was unstoppable down low…outside he showed what the announcer said he was capable of doing…..they had a plan for Brown down low and that was making him put up a shot and another defender timing the shot for a block…..great game but certainly not our best!

[ULvictory]

USM put everything into this game from the sellout crowd to the way they finished. We also shot 30% FG in the 2nd half to their 60%. We wouldn't even beat LSU-E shooting like that.

Hopefully, this is a wakeup call that even the smallest of mistakes can cost you. Time to right the ship starting with Troy.

[CajunNation]

USM put everything into this game from the sellout crowd to the way they finished. We also shot 30% FG in the 2nd half to their 60%. We wouldn't even beat LSU-E shooting like that.

Hopefully, this is a wakeup call that even the smallest of mistakes can cost you. Time to right the ship starting with Troy.

This is why I haven't gotten too excited this season. Our biggest deficit is the most important thing in college basketball....perimeter shooting.

[CajunEXPRESS]

This is why I haven't gotten too excited this season. Our biggest deficit is the most important thing in college basketball....perimeter shooting.

So your observations are wrong. We’re second in 3 point percentage made and middle of the pack in attempts. Additionally our biggest weakness is 3 point defense where we’re dead last.

Last night we were bad at both made and defended.

[Hatch]

MAT, just curious if you were able to make the game in person and if so your thoughts on Reed-Green in regards to your renovate Blackham campaign.

[Million$Mullet]

MAT, just curious if you were able to make the game in person and if so your thoughts on Reed-Green in regards to your renovate Blackham campaign.

Reed Green is a small dump. Concourses are small. Concessions suck and bathrooms are few and far between. Wooden bleachers for the majority of the arena. But guess what? None of that mattered cause it’s an electric atmosphere and the people are there for the game. It was loud in spurts but that last dunk blew the roof off of the place. According to their fans I spoke to last night they are renovating it soon. They will have to build it out for sure. Bottom line, the place can be a dump with bad accessories but none of that matters cause it’s smaller and intimate and it blows the atmosphere of the Cajundome away.

[CajunVic]

. . . and they had 8,000 rowdy fans there with a substantial student component . . . that crowd would rock in the CD also . . .