Agree. Charlotte reminds me of us after Hawaii last year. Maybe some internal issues. They are baddd!
Charlotte Game Thread
- Thread starter FeralFelidae
- Start date
I often compare the PG position to the QB in football. To me, Bieniemy is, at best, a "game manager" type guy. He plays like 35 year old guy you see at the Rec center. He is not a guy who will elevate the team from that position. I guess the plus is that he isn't a two guard trying to transition into the position.
Efe had baby fat when he arrived to UTEP and became svelte. He still needs to work on his legs.
However, Onyema doesn't have that. Can you imagine what serious weight room work can turn him into?
I agree. He is a game manager type. Doesn’t excel at any facet of the game. Has a decent assist to turnover ratio. Decent defensively. When he shows up, he has a decent mid range game. He just doesn’t show up all that consistently.
Unless he’s an exceptional kid, who has the ability to keep things in perspective and think long term, I’d say he’s gone.
With this being a free year, I cannot fathom why we haven’t seen more of him. Even if only to change the look up for just a few minutes. Or by trying to infuse the team with a little energy, cuz he brings that every time he steps on the court.
I hope he stays, though.
Unanswered question of the century...TERRY; WHY HAVE YOU REFUSED TO GIVE ONYEMA A CHANCE TO PLAY AND LEARN? Do you recognize how many other players have left your program due to lack of PT, etc?
Can you imagine Onyema running to the rim off of BW double teams or one of our guards driving in. Imagine him on baseline inbound plays or playing in the back of a zone defense? Terry could have easily found ways to use him for 10 minutes a game (especially when Efe was out)
I remember Haskins had a front court inbound play where Antonio Davis would just come in on a thunder dunk. CRT tried it today but Williams was fouled. Onyema would kill it.
I never bet on Big 10 teams, they seem to be perpetual under-performers in the post season. Don't know if it's their style, talent or coaching but when the dust settles their teams seem to be MIA. The Pac 12 appears to be headed that way too. SDSU is my bet to be the next hot commodity. They sit in a rich talent pool, have and established program and are in a conference which is good competition but not extreme. This year maybe a reach for them but down the road they are going to make noise. Baylor is ? they have all the parts to make a run and maybe they will but a cold night shooting or a team getting them out of rhythm might do them in, same for the Zags. This year have not seen enough from anyone to make a prediction.
Alright... don't fire CRT just yet.
This team looks 180° different from a month ago. Having Odigie back has seemingly been the missing ingredient. That, and for Boum it's like throwing rocks in the ocean at the moment. Praying for that to continue. Having BW and EO on the floor at the same time is difficult to defend and keeping them off the boards is no easy feat. Great, swarming defense is being played too, and let's be honest, that's the most important aspect. I'm not expecting a win in Lawrence. Upsets do happen, but playing solid ball for 40 minutes and posing a challenge to the Jayhawks will send them into a winnable CUSA Tourney with confidence.
This team looks 180° different from a month ago. Having Odigie back has seemingly been the missing ingredient. That, and for Boum it's like throwing rocks in the ocean at the moment. Praying for that to continue. Having BW and EO on the floor at the same time is difficult to defend and keeping them off the boards is no easy feat. Great, swarming defense is being played too, and let's be honest, that's the most important aspect. I'm not expecting a win in Lawrence. Upsets do happen, but playing solid ball for 40 minutes and posing a challenge to the Jayhawks will send them into a winnable CUSA Tourney with confidence.
That program has made a total 180 from their high school gym WAC days.
Efe played meaningful minutes today and (especially) yesterday, and Charlotte didn't seem to have much luck scoring when he was in. There was one basket during garbage time today when Efe's feet were "planted in cement," but at that point of the game, I'm not sure we want him leaving his feet and committing a foul. You're not supposed to foul when you have a big lead: it stops the clock and gives the opponent a chance to score with the clock stopped.
Efe and BW had GREAT chemistry today and I'd like to see more of this lineup. Efe is a very efficient scorer and I just can't believe he's THAT much of a liability on defense.
I want to keep things in perspective. This is an absolutely AWFUL Charlotte team. That said, I love Efe's play yesterday and today. He showed what he's capable of doing and I hope he continues to build on his performance these two games going into next year.
Overall, we seemed to have better movement overall. Guys weren't just standing around waiting for something to happen. Everyone was moving well. Again, it could have just been because of how awful Charlotte was at least for these two games.
I'd love to say something like, "If we build on this ..." but we're at the end of the season. There's no building on anything at this point in the season. We likely peaked this weekend though I hope it carries over to Thursday and maybe we give Kansas a decent effort.
Overall, we seemed to have better movement overall. Guys weren't just standing around waiting for something to happen. Everyone was moving well. Again, it could have just been because of how awful Charlotte was at least for these two games.
I'd love to say something like, "If we build on this ..." but we're at the end of the season. There's no building on anything at this point in the season. We likely peaked this weekend though I hope it carries over to Thursday and maybe we give Kansas a decent effort.
This team is below average and Kansas will remind of this in a few days.... Charlotte was an awful team
Kansas would make everyone in CUSA look below average. Look at what happened to the top team last week when they stepped up.
WKU is the real deal and can beat Kansas. The top 3? I doubt it.
However, this is why CUSA is a one bid jamboree: That 49ers team UTEP whooped up on this weekend beat both WKU & UAB. UTEP showed moxy against Arizona and beat ASU at home and even out rebounded them by 20 but drops one to Rice and a way worse than 49ers team USM.
My point is CUSA is that crazy person you date early in your life that burns your possessions but then takes you to a 4 star restaurant and wants to marry you. You never ever know what you will get?
UTEP men's Bball has the horses now that Efe is back and looks in good form but which UTEP team will show up against Kansas?
Well at least we are 8 deep now with 4 guards and 4 forwards. This should help somewhat headed into the tourney. Hopefully the KU game is a springboard and doesn't destroy whatever momentum and confidence we have right now.
Not having Supica available was a factor for Charlotte. Like other CUSA teams, they lack any real depth. They were forced to play a couple of freshmen inside, and we took advantage of that. I'm not saying they are a great team by any means, but not having any real inside presence made it much easier to defend their guards, who are solid. That said, I thought the team played with good energy, and it looked like the week off did them some good. Obviously, playing Kansas will be a big challenge; I wish we would have caught them earlier in the season, but I like the late season scheduling addition.
Another Issue with CUSA basketball and their lack of regard is they don't seem to be elevating their play. After watching this version of Cusa for 7 years now not a single team or teams have upped their level of play, the top teams are solid but not game changers and if you look at who we sent to the tourney the last few years no one stands out. There is a lot of parity in this league but it is almost all average. Memphis carried the old CUSA and brought a higher level of play to all teams including us, UAB and others. If this league can't develop one true and consistent high level program, it is going to be stuck as a one bid conference for ever. UTEP could be that program but we need to really get our act together.
MTSU won consecutive first round games in 2016 and 2017. Too bad the rest of the conference sucked and MTSU is garbage now. They were the conference’s only hope of having a dominant team that every gunned for.
This years “best” team lost 81-57 to Houston the other day. That’s why UTEP’s results are disappointing. This conference is there for the taking.
As of right now.
So we will play our First Round games on ESPN. If we win that we Switch to Stadium Sports. If We win that one play on CBSN.
I guess one network camping out and covering all the games wasn't Covid Friendly.
The Kansas game will be a good measuring stick; is UTEP "peaking" now with their blowouts of Charlotte, or is Charlotte just that bad? Charlotte did beat both UAB and Western Kentucky, I believe, but maybe they're imploding.
This is probably the best path UTEP could have hoped for. They're certainly capable of beating FAU, and they already beat LA Tech. This is the side of the bracket to be on; UTEP didn't seem to match up well with UNT, so it's good we avoid them. One game at a time, of course.
As of right now.
Thats how it would have been last year, maybe it was like that in 2019 too. Hasn’t mattered since UTEP is one and done most years anyway
I don’t think it’s a good measuring stick at all. Unless the Miners lose close or win and then make the conference final. If they beat Kansas, but then lose to FAU in the first game, what good did the win do?
Good teams win on the road. I don’t care who FIU and Charlotte beat, we beat them at home. Big deal. We’re supposed to win those games.
Doesn't matter what these teams have done......tourney is wide-open and no team is dominant. I feel somebody unexpected is going to win it.
Can’t hurt. Definitely better than playing a home game vs Western New Mexico. I would rather see these guys lose to Kansas by 40 than beat WNMU by 40. Playing Kansas before conference play can only help the team by trying to elevate their game. I don’t know what to say about Thursday’s game because it’s in a weird spot, not sure if it helps anything besides UTEP’s financials.
Similar threads
