The other thing that is glaring about this team is their lack of offensive production for long stretches. We appeared to be very unprepared for Dayton offensively. I might have chalked this up as being youthful and very inexperienced, however it was two freshman who played well and kept us in the game. Ebanks had another very solid performance. And Truck Bryant may have played his best game of the year. Even a couple of the turnovers that Truck committed seemed to be a result of other players in the offense not being on the right page, resulting in his passes going out of bounds. There's no question the future is bright for this group, but we have to be a better prepared offensive team by the coaching staff to be able to take it to the top level.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Huggins Needs Offensive Help.
First of all let me start by saying that Coach Huggins and this team did a very good job this year and for the 5th straight year finished 2 or more spots ahead of where they were predicted in the Big East. However, this is the first year that we haven't continued that success into postseason play. One thing that needs to be on the list of improvements next year is to beat Cincinnati. This team has been the worst team to beat us each of the last two seasons. (this may be more of a personal issue since I can't stand Cronin)
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Agreed. I think help is on it's way. ESPN has our incoming class ranked #4!!! These guys can play. Makes me wonder who's going to be in the starting lineup next year around tourney time. Mazoulla's coming back plus we have 3 strong incoming freshman + 1 juco transfer. It should make for a lot of depth. But there's a strong possiblility Deniz Kalicli and Dalton "Dr" Pepper will be starting by Year's end. Throw in Mazoulla or Truck with Butler and Ebanks and that's a pretty stout lineup. I'd pay to see the #1's take on the 2's considering that leaves Truck, Wellinton, Cam, Flowers, newcomers Dan Jennings and Casey Mitchell on the bench along with 3 or 4 others that may never see the floor again. (Johnny West, Josh Sowards, Will Thomas, Cameran Payne, Dee Proby thanks for participating you can pick your certificates up at the door!)
Prediction: Ebanks jumps to 1st team Big East next season. That guy was coming on strong at the end of the year. Huggins weight training should take him to the next level. Personally, I can't wait to see it!
ESPN and everyone are finally playing catch up. It was beginning to become clear last summer that the '09 class was even going to be better than the '08. Now everybody is on the bandwagon, especially w/ Kalicli. New faces don't necessarily address the issue that we weren't ready to play against Dayton, especially on the offensive end. This could be something that a program that is changing has to grow into, but the glaring lack of offensive ingenuity within' the framework was a huge disappointment. Lack of continuity within the game due to inconsistent officiating certainly played a factor as well. The extreme talent that WVU is bringing in, I believe, will result in a preseason ranking, but getting to the Villanova, UConn level will require a translation to more solid offensive production. You just can't try to hold everyone to under 60 points and expect to win.
And I couldn't agree more on Ebanks. Monroe was certainly deserving of winning rookie of the year in the BE, but I haven't seen a Freshman of Ebanks' maturity and understanding of the game since Calbert Cheaney.
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