The back half of this season has been like the sorrow and the pity, but with different accents.
there has been considerable handwringing amongst the faithful...but one question. Do we have any precedent of losing our best player for the last half of the season? I remember in 2009 when Steph rolled an ankle and we promptly lost by 20 to El Cid at home..he came back, but our at large hopes had already faded into the either.
Could this be as simple as our senor captain and high scorer went down, then we dropped from 12-7 to 15-15?
I'm trying to think of another time this happened, but honestly none is jumping out
Even in the best of times we are not working with a huge margin for error, and of course at the time you don't want the trash the season in January, but maybe we just drew a king showing 12, and have to move on to the next hand/season.
minus one
minus one
If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also to deny under oath that I ever said it
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DC69Wildcat
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Re: minus one
Worse yet, have we ever had a season when we lost the top scorer from the men's team and the top three scorer's from the women's team in the same season?
"We were in the center ring the whole night,'' longtime Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. ''We were not on the ropes. We were not on the mat. We were in the center ring slugging away, and we just ran out of time.''
Re: minus one
Graveline makes a great point.
Skogman was shooting the top of the key 3 with great accuracy, and that completely changed our offense. (An offense designed to take 3 point shots).
He was also a.decent low post scorer, and gave us a physical presence. He could get contested rebounds.
Sean would have played fewer minutes. He blocks shots, but his non-existent scoring ability makes him better suited for a bench role.
Having another offensive player would have taken pressure off Bobby, and Grant wouldn't have taken so many drives to the basket. Having another shooter on the court balanced out Grant's major deficiency as an outside shooter.. We were often fighting an expiring shot clock, Skog would have helped there.
Reed played better in the 2d half, and certainly Connor did, but we weren't the same team we had been with Skog, and we werent good enough in close games. This team was never going to beat Dayton (I mean in a game, not the conference), but a winning conference record was very much achievable.
Skogman was shooting the top of the key 3 with great accuracy, and that completely changed our offense. (An offense designed to take 3 point shots).
He was also a.decent low post scorer, and gave us a physical presence. He could get contested rebounds.
Sean would have played fewer minutes. He blocks shots, but his non-existent scoring ability makes him better suited for a bench role.
Having another offensive player would have taken pressure off Bobby, and Grant wouldn't have taken so many drives to the basket. Having another shooter on the court balanced out Grant's major deficiency as an outside shooter.. We were often fighting an expiring shot clock, Skog would have helped there.
Reed played better in the 2d half, and certainly Connor did, but we weren't the same team we had been with Skog, and we werent good enough in close games. This team was never going to beat Dayton (I mean in a game, not the conference), but a winning conference record was very much achievable.
Re: minus one
The loss of David was huge. Sean got more minutes, as did just about everyone else on the bench over 6'5".
The only good thing about the second half of the season is that a lot of freshman got more playing time. Hopefully that will lead to better performances next season.
It really hurts at the end of close games if your primary ball handler isn't a clutch free throw shooter and can't score with both hands around the basket. At least half of Grant's drives to the hoop looked like out of control moves with a prayer at the end for a foul call.
Jag was like that, until he started making the shots more consistently, then the refs would call the foul if he missed.
I am choosing to be positive and expect the Cats to be better next year, if only because that's what I hope for and it would get the universe back the way I prefer it. I will leave the negativity to others.
At least the Cats aren't Pacific. They trailed Pepperdine 58-9 at the half in the WCC tourney play in game yesterday. They wound up losing by 59. The game started out 39-2. I can't imagine being the 9th place team in a 9 team leagues and losing to the 8th place team that badly.
The only good thing about the second half of the season is that a lot of freshman got more playing time. Hopefully that will lead to better performances next season.
It really hurts at the end of close games if your primary ball handler isn't a clutch free throw shooter and can't score with both hands around the basket. At least half of Grant's drives to the hoop looked like out of control moves with a prayer at the end for a foul call.
Jag was like that, until he started making the shots more consistently, then the refs would call the foul if he missed.
I am choosing to be positive and expect the Cats to be better next year, if only because that's what I hope for and it would get the universe back the way I prefer it. I will leave the negativity to others.
At least the Cats aren't Pacific. They trailed Pepperdine 58-9 at the half in the WCC tourney play in game yesterday. They wound up losing by 59. The game started out 39-2. I can't imagine being the 9th place team in a 9 team leagues and losing to the 8th place team that badly.
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wildforthecats
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Re: minus one
Yeah it’s not like Davidson is losing by 20 every game. Skogman certainly would have gotten us several more wins had he not gotten hurt.
Re: minus one
All good points, but looking ahead to next season, we may gain a "plus one" due to Grant's graduation., I urge folks to view Brizzi's senior year highlights video on YouTube (the link is posted on the "In Game -- Loyola" thread) to see what he's capable of when he is running the point. I acknowledge that HS highlights videos are often not relatable to the college level, but his quickness, speed, and athleticism are qualities that shine through. I was also impressed by his ability to hit NBA-depth threes in transition and his numerous dunks on fast breaks (who knew?). If Matt assures him that he will be running the show and that he's given a green light to create plays and launch threes, I predict that he could be a game-changer who will open up the offense. And I think that Spadone and maybe Moss will provide reliable backup. Brizzi might be able to get Durkin more spot-up looks from three, and Logan/Bailey can operate in the paint. Both Logan and Bailey should have plenty of off-season work assignments: gain some muscle, work on protecting the ball and finishing at the rim, don't try to dribble too much when the double-team arrives, and hone their three-point form. Oh ... and bend their knees!
“Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.”
"I can't be worrying about that sh*t. Life goes on, man."
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"I can't be worrying about that sh*t. Life goes on, man."
- Jeff Bridges as The Dude in "The Big Lebowski"
Re: minus one
Just given what I have seen of Gelo on the court this season, I don’t think your optimism is at all misplaced. I don’t know what the ceiling might be for Logan and Bailey, but if they can continue to gain muscle as they have over last season and improve otherwise, they’ll be fine; maybe not Sam and Luka, but that’s a high bar. Will Bobby Buckets® live up to the name? It is not unreasonable to expect that, and your Brizzi scenario sounds plausible for him.raptorcat wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2024 3:40 pmAll good points, but looking ahead to next season, we may gain a "plus one" due to Grant's graduation., I urge folks to view Brizzi's senior year highlights video on YouTube (the link is posted on the "In Game -- Loyola" thread) to see what he's capable of when he is running the point. I acknowledge that HS highlights videos are often not relatable to the college level, but his quickness, speed, and athleticism are qualities that shine through. I was also impressed by his ability to hit NBA-depth threes in transition and his numerous dunks on fast breaks (who knew?). If Matt assures him that he will be running the show and that he's given a green light to create plays and launch threes, I predict that he could be a game-changer who will open up the offense. And I think that Spadone and maybe Moss will provide reliable backup. Brizzi might be able to get Durkin more spot-up looks from three, and Logan/Bailey can operate in the paint. Both Logan and Bailey should have plenty of off-season work assignments: gain some muscle, work on protecting the ball and finishing at the rim, don't try to dribble too much when the double-team arrives, and hone their three-point form. Oh ... and bend their knees!
Μεγάλη ἡμέρα εἶναι Λύγξ
Re: minus one
If Sean doesn't hone his three point form (shooters generally aren't created-see Grant Huffman) it would be fine with me if he just never attempted another three.
Bailey may have the potential to be a better three point shooter, but his percentage isn't encouraging. Angelo really needs to up his percentage, and I think that's much more possible.
Bailey may have the potential to be a better three point shooter, but his percentage isn't encouraging. Angelo really needs to up his percentage, and I think that's much more possible.
Re: minus one
Didn't we lose Magarity for a big chunk of time? Dusan too? And there was another player, big, good, that we lost to multiple concussions--name is not coming to mind right now.
"There ain't no sanity clause!" Chico Marx
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wildforthecats
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Re: minus one
Yes. Maybe not our best player, but certainly a good one and had potential to get better before his bb career was cut short.
"There ain't no sanity clause!" Chico Marx
Re: minus one
Yep. Tried valiantly to go his sr. year but had to shut it down.
"There ain't no sanity clause!" Chico Marx
Re: minus one
Although not a leading scorer, Clint Mann was knocked out of the rotation by the concussion he sustained against El Cid. He had been a very effective bench player until that night. He might have made a difference against M_________.
Conor Bree
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Jay Catsby
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Re: minus one
Clint had 20 points against Furple just two games before he got knocked out against The Citadel.
He didn’t play the rest of the regular season but did get in for 6 minutes against M…… but he had a turnover and 4 fouls and was clearly not in game shape.
He also added a pretty decent 3 point shot that season, going 9/20 before the concussion. Definitely would’ve made a difference in multiple NCAA tournament games if he had been healthy.
He didn’t play the rest of the regular season but did get in for 6 minutes against M…… but he had a turnover and 4 fouls and was clearly not in game shape.
He also added a pretty decent 3 point shot that season, going 9/20 before the concussion. Definitely would’ve made a difference in multiple NCAA tournament games if he had been healthy.