We just got exposed in so many areas in Houston. Which might not be a bad thing. We've gotten by, with poor shooting and rebounding and turnovers from time to time against lesser opponents. Tonight Houston made us pay. Also, very bad idea to talk smack by Boum on that Technical which started a Big Cougar run. This team is obviously much better than last year, but still learning. This was a teachable game. Now let's make a better showing in Hawaii.
Exposed against a Better Team
- Thread starter nattybry
- Start date
I think the 1 day rest didnt help.
But it was a good test.
Nobody got exposed.
But it was a good test.
Nobody got exposed.
3 things:
1. We're good at home but uncomfortable on the road. The road is our Kryptonite. This makes perfect sense because this team spent all of last season playing each other in the Don and this season we are undefeated there. Stanman called them "the best scout team in the country." I think he's probably right. But now we're out of the Don and there will be a transition. We're gonna lose our share of road games but luckily C-USA is down this year. We will win the conference.
2. This team needed a smack down. This will help to put some fire in their belly and get us riled up for the Hawaii trip. If we meet Houston again it will be a closer game and maybe we'll win.
3. We didn't play well. I attribute that to 1, above, and to the fact that Houston is loaded and confidant.
1. We're good at home but uncomfortable on the road. The road is our Kryptonite. This makes perfect sense because this team spent all of last season playing each other in the Don and this season we are undefeated there. Stanman called them "the best scout team in the country." I think he's probably right. But now we're out of the Don and there will be a transition. We're gonna lose our share of road games but luckily C-USA is down this year. We will win the conference.
2. This team needed a smack down. This will help to put some fire in their belly and get us riled up for the Hawaii trip. If we meet Houston again it will be a closer game and maybe we'll win.
3. We didn't play well. I attribute that to 1, above, and to the fact that Houston is loaded and confidant.
I think that's an overreaction. Wasn't our night, think travel and scheduling played a role as well.
We looked good against ENMU, Highlands, and East Central. Who would have thought playing weak squads at home wouldn’t prepare us for road games versus real competition?
To win on the road you need two things..consistent play and leadership, we had neither. All is not lost UH is a good team and we are young and lack consistent and cohesive play which will come. Once this team breaks thru on the road you see a different and much better team. Confidence is everything and we don't have enough to carry us as of yet.
I envy your optimism. I'm trying like crazy to find some of that. Where did you get it?
I don't agree with this. We're 10 games into the season and should be seeing improved team play, improvement in rebounding, etc. We are spinning our wheels if not regressing since the UNM win.
We have shown ZERO improvement in rebounding, bench support is still non-existent, Edwards has regressed, Efi still has no game, Vila doesn't contribute much, if at all. Boum had a nice week but it will take far more than one decent week of play especially as Edwards fades further and further into irrelevance. Hawkins is exciting but usually out-of-control when trying to make something happen. Archie is a bust, Tarke and Stroud can't seem to get any court time. Lathon doesn't do much.
We have two guys we can count on for consistency, Williams and Verhoeven. And only one of those guys knows what the basket looks like. The other guy at least plays pretty good defense.
All of that and yet we are 8-2. I still see worlds of potential but ZERO progress in really getting the most out of this team. I will not be surprised if we lose half of our remaining games or more.
I'll still be watching and rooting for our guys. I just won't be placing any more bets on them.
My optimism stems from several facts about what we are.
We are a very mixed and blended team of various parts, returning freshman (who were forced to play last year) transfers from various programs. Although they all practiced last year as a team nothing can substitute for experience on the court. These kind of teams all develop at a different pace. 10 games is not IMO enough court time to develop as a team. Look at Bloum, many on this board wanted him on the bench because he could not hit a outside shot, made terrible passes and looked uncomfortable playing, well in last three games he has shown us a improving game (and against better comp) and appears to be getting better every night (with a few setbacks). Villa, Edwards and Hawkins all have a place to find on this team. No doubt this team is very talented, we have some depth and size and all cylinders are not clicking yet. I believe we will see this all come together sometime this season, when who knows? we have the parts it just a matter of time. Now are we NCAA tourney team? likely not but we will have top 2-3 finish in conference and likely a 20 win or so season for me that's fine.
We are a very mixed and blended team of various parts, returning freshman (who were forced to play last year) transfers from various programs. Although they all practiced last year as a team nothing can substitute for experience on the court. These kind of teams all develop at a different pace. 10 games is not IMO enough court time to develop as a team. Look at Bloum, many on this board wanted him on the bench because he could not hit a outside shot, made terrible passes and looked uncomfortable playing, well in last three games he has shown us a improving game (and against better comp) and appears to be getting better every night (with a few setbacks). Villa, Edwards and Hawkins all have a place to find on this team. No doubt this team is very talented, we have some depth and size and all cylinders are not clicking yet. I believe we will see this all come together sometime this season, when who knows? we have the parts it just a matter of time. Now are we NCAA tourney team? likely not but we will have top 2-3 finish in conference and likely a 20 win or so season for me that's fine.
Didn't think all is lost. Thought we got our pants pulled down and spanked and that's a learning experience.
Agreed, UH is a quality team who on a given night can look like a top ten team or look like Texas Southern just our luck we got the former.
"Boys win at home, men win on the road" - Timothy Fitzpatrick Floyd
It was good to see the Miners react they way they did midway through the game. Some players played tough and stepped up their game. Odige and Hawkins played tough. Houston taught us how we're supposed to play. They can't always play "coached" basketball. It is still a game where you need individual skill and talent to life the team. We were tired. Went completely blank with 6 minutes remaining which is a symptom of tired legs. Good learning experience.
I guess we should call him Timmy Boy then.
Very early impressions on these players:
Kaden Archie- How in the hell was this kid a 4 star recruit and Bryson was a 2 star? He’s not very good and there's a reason he rarely played at TCU
Eric Vila- Terrible
Souley Boum- Good player
Daryl Edwards- Great shooter; poor ball handler
Anthony Tarke- Not very good
Tydus Verhoeven- Solid player with high basketball IQ
Deon Stroud- Very raw with lots of potential
Nigel Hawkins- Good player that needs to settle down a bit
Efe Odigie- Looks lethargic and uninterested at times; definitely has regressed from last season
Jordan Lathon- Good player on both ends; however, he needs to take more of a leadership role on this team
Bryson Williams- UTEP would be lost without him and he’s the best player on the court each night
Soft schedule at home hasn't prepared this team to play on the road.
Kaden Archie- How in the hell was this kid a 4 star recruit and Bryson was a 2 star? He’s not very good and there's a reason he rarely played at TCU
Eric Vila- Terrible
Souley Boum- Good player
Daryl Edwards- Great shooter; poor ball handler
Anthony Tarke- Not very good
Tydus Verhoeven- Solid player with high basketball IQ
Deon Stroud- Very raw with lots of potential
Nigel Hawkins- Good player that needs to settle down a bit
Efe Odigie- Looks lethargic and uninterested at times; definitely has regressed from last season
Jordan Lathon- Good player on both ends; however, he needs to take more of a leadership role on this team
Bryson Williams- UTEP would be lost without him and he’s the best player on the court each night
Soft schedule at home hasn't prepared this team to play on the road.
I dont think our best lineup has been on the floor yet. I want to see Stroud out there with the starters. Lets see what he can do for 20 minutes. Hawkins at the point and Boum at the 2. Williams and Tydus 4&5. Efe can dominate smaller less athletic teams, but Tydus needs more minutes in bigger games or against more athletic teams. Everybody needs to trust him on the back end and stop fouling on the floor. Let Williams dominate down low and then bring him to the perimeter when he's getting double teamed. Let Efe and Tydus work down low. We need rebounding and we need to attack the rim! Hawkins and Boum have been the best at attacking and shooting free throws.
I dont care about stars when it's all said and done. It's great if the guys can play, but I want to see progression along with the wins. I was sad to see Eze go when some other guys are not doing much. I think he had more potential.
I dont care about stars when it's all said and done. It's great if the guys can play, but I want to see progression along with the wins. I was sad to see Eze go when some other guys are not doing much. I think he had more potential.
UTEP may not have won that first NMSU matchup. His defense and rebounding were solid. There were some easier opponents that others were struggling against but he always came up with rebounds.
EO? Are you kidding? He still boards and tough to get around. Just needs to put back with authority.
Lathon was brought in to run the offense but CRT can let him drive more.
Edwards was looking red hot the first few games. He IS the reason UTEP beat NMSU in the first game because he had critical drives to the basket and 3's.
Boum struggled out of the gates. His confidence is a total 180, a little too much as a game changing technical against him turned the tide to Houston who took a dagger to UTEP heart.
My expectations for this team are definitely tempered. I thought we could be an ncaa tourney team at the beginning of the year, but I had completely different expectations of various players, including-
Lathon-- thought he would be a consistent 8-11pt scorer each night. He's been absent most the season, though
Tarke-- he was a big reason I thought we had potential. Dude got buckets at NJIT, but he's sadly not allowed to play
Efe-- thought we'd see a lot more minutes out of him. Instead he's being benched and given spot minutes, which has hurt his ability to impact the games.
Vila-- I didn't expect much from him, but I expected him to hit open shots better than he does.
On the positive side, Williams has definitely exceeded my expectations. I knew he was good, just didn't know he was THIS good.
Not sure how the season will end, but I think we have a reasonable shot at an NIT invitation. Nothing about this team tells me they're anywhere close to competing for the conference championship, but who knows. Cusa is a crapshoot at times
Lathon-- thought he would be a consistent 8-11pt scorer each night. He's been absent most the season, though
Tarke-- he was a big reason I thought we had potential. Dude got buckets at NJIT, but he's sadly not allowed to play
Efe-- thought we'd see a lot more minutes out of him. Instead he's being benched and given spot minutes, which has hurt his ability to impact the games.
Vila-- I didn't expect much from him, but I expected him to hit open shots better than he does.
On the positive side, Williams has definitely exceeded my expectations. I knew he was good, just didn't know he was THIS good.
Not sure how the season will end, but I think we have a reasonable shot at an NIT invitation. Nothing about this team tells me they're anywhere close to competing for the conference championship, but who knows. Cusa is a crapshoot at times
It does feel a lot better to have nine wins before Christmas as opposed to eight wins the entire season though. We got Improvement, which is what we are all hoping for from the football team but didn't get
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