MBB Final: Louisiana 85, Coastal 77

[Big Tyme]

LoL that your church league is D1 level. Clowns

[cajun4life]

LoL that your church league is D1 level. Clowns

From your comments, you think Marlin has been successful throughout his tenure?

[SlickRick]

I don't think we are that good on defense. In fact, many games we've had to outscore our opponent and the defense has let us down in crucial games like the JMU game and McNeese games to name a couple. We are excellent at 3pt % given up as a defense but near the bottom of the league in opponent fg % which means we are getting killed in transition and inside. It makes sense, we are a small team and we have the significant height disadvantage almost every game and certainly in conference.

We're at the bottom of Defensive rebounding which gives teams tons of second chance points. Just like the JMU game. I categorize that as a defensive stat and we just aren't good there.

Also, we are literally running most of our offense through Kitenge. Like nearly every possession down the court. That is not the issue. We just don't have guys that can beat people off the dribble and Marlin doesn't do much to get Kobe in good spots with the ball. I clearly remember late in the JMU game when it was close, JMU ran a nice double curl pick for their best shooter where he got an open shot that he buried to put them ahead for good. We don't ever get looks like that.

I'm in favor of getting Hardy and Ratliff more minutes. We have to be able to rest guys and still get production from others if we want to be successful. They've all shown some promise at various times and they can give some much needed rest to our starters. Last night they did that and we actually closed the game out with Ratliff and Hardy on the court as well as Michael Thomas. Not sure what was up with Fulks but Thomas had a great second half.

I think Thomas played more minutes because Fulks is struggling on offense.

[ManAboutTown]

I think Thomas played more minutes because Fulks is struggling on offense.

And turning the ball over too much.

I’m don’t see what Zeph sees. Maybe the JMU and CCU games were outliers, but Hosana is not utilized nearly enough.

I don’t know how “good” we are defensively, but I know effort when I see it. Rebounding is bad because we just don’t have the length to compete with the teams we’ve played. Which is why I think Hardy and Ratliff need more minutes.

[Million$Mullet]

And turning the ball over too much.

I’m don’t see what Zeph sees. Maybe the JMU and CCU games were outliers, but Hosana is not utilized nearly enough.

I don’t know how “good” we are defensively, but I know effort when I see it. Rebounding is bad because we just don’t have the length to compete with the teams we’ve played. Which is why I think Hardy and Ratliff need more minutes.

Agree mostly. Hosanna does need the touches but he needs to be utilized on the low block, not the high post. When he is at the high post that is when he normally turns the ball over. It also has to do with the spacing as whoever is guarding the point making the entry pass, normally doesn’t need to move very far to pick hosannas pocket.

Been saying from the beginning Hardy and Ratliff need all the minutes they can get. I wouldn’t mind seeing Hosanna and Ratliff in at the same time in some instances to give us some help on the rebounding side.

The effort is A plus, but they still need to figure out some things. Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later.

[ManAboutTown]

Agree mostly. Hosanna does need the touches but he needs to be utilized on the low block, not the high post. When he is at the high post that is when he normally turns the ball over. It also has to do with the spacing as whoever is guarding the point making the entry pass, normally doesn’t need to move very far to pick hosannas pocket.

Been saying from the beginning Hardy and Ratliff need all the minutes they can get. I wouldn’t mind seeing Hosanna and Ratliff in at the same time in some instances to give us some help on the rebounding side.

The effort is A plus, but they still need to figure out some things. Hopefully that comes sooner rather than later.

I should have clarified, but you're exactly right. I'm not sure I want him handling the ball much outside of the paint.

Hardy especially adds a different toughness to the team when he's on the floor.

[zephyr]

And turning the ball over too much.

I’m don’t see what Zeph sees. Maybe the JMU and CCU games were outliers, but Hosana is not utilized nearly enough.

I don’t know how “good” we are defensively, but I know effort when I see it. Rebounding is bad because we just don’t have the length to compete with the teams we’ve played. Which is why I think Hardy and Ratliff need more minutes.

Hosana is the focal point of our offense. The issue has been teams have started double teaming him which requires him to distribute the ball but the ball movement often gets stuck. I actually wish we ran more high pick and roll with him to get some mismatches.

The effort is there. Not gonna take that away from the guys but rebounding is part of defense and while I get our physical limitations when it comes to rebounding, we've still been poor defensively in crucial times of games this season. I keep going back to the JMU game but we allowed JMU to get into good shooting situations late in the game and conversely, we did the opposite and imploded running our offense and getting any good shots off. The McNeese game was the same way.

[zephyr]

Been saying from the beginning Hardy and Ratliff need all the minutes they can get. I wouldn’t mind seeing Hosanna and Ratliff in at the same time in some instances to give us some help on the rebounding side.

I would go a step further and add Joe Charles at the 3 with Ratliff and Kitenge as well. Charles can space the court with his shooting, guard the perimeter with his length, run the court which he does well and help with rebounding.

[Big Tyme]

Hosana is the focal point of our offense. The issue has been teams have started double teaming him which requires him to distribute the ball but the ball movement often gets stuck. I actually wish we ran more high pick and roll with him to get some mismatches.

The effort is there. Not gonna take that away from the guys but rebounding is part of defense and while I get our physical limitations when it comes to rebounding, we've still been poor defensively in crucial times of games this season. I keep going back to the JMU game but we allowed JMU to get into good shooting situations late in the game and conversely, we did the opposite and imploded running our offense and getting any good shots off. The McNeese game was the same way.

I also would like to see the high PnR and some basic hi-lo 2 man game. Ratliff and/or Joe would be good in that with Kitenge.

[60swerethebest]

Kitenge and Charles sure have fun playing. Reminds me of Graylin Warner. Loved the game.