Jake Flaggert and Trey Touchet don't play a single second, and we freaking win a college basketball game.
We did it guys, good job fellow diggers.
#4FourInFrisco lol
We did it guys, good job fellow diggers.
#4FourInFrisco lol
Phil Johnson made some progress...
- Thread starter Roy_Bigwood_05
- Start date
He should've started surfing MinerDigs a lot sooner.
Exactly my thoughts when I saw the box score. Also the guys shot well and finished each half strong. Oh and our preseason best player led us in scoring. What a weird gameplan!!
Do you think the lack of those two ball slower downers gave Omega and others more confidence and aggression? He played all 40, and every one was pretty aggressive at times.
I missed the game but that could certainly be the case. Maybe the burro CJ has found a little bit with this starting line-up and a tightened rotation. That 50 point loss could a been a slap to his dome. Maybe he told the guys to let loose and have fun? Let's see what happens saturday.
I'm not getting my hopes up or anything, but I keep saying momentum is a hell of a drug. Things can change quickly in basketball. All it takes is a taste. I think its too late now to win big games, but getting these guys to show what they can do could pay big dividends in the future.
ball•slower•downer
noun
One who interrupts the flow and rhythm of a basketball game because he cannot keep up with the pace
synonyms - white boy, slug, ex 2 time Gatorade Player of the Year, premier charge taker
Origin and Etymology - Roy_Bigwood_05
noun
One who interrupts the flow and rhythm of a basketball game because he cannot keep up with the pace
synonyms - white boy, slug, ex 2 time Gatorade Player of the Year, premier charge taker
Origin and Etymology - Roy_Bigwood_05
Nate Archibald was an expert at slowing down the game. Today his number hangs in the Don Haskins Center.
I hate putting down Jake and Trey. They have been loyal and hard workers. Their skill levels just didn't allow them to contribute.
I know. I do too. I couldn’t help myself this time. Great guys. Work hard. Are loyal. Just tired of their minutes out weighing their contributions...and that IS putting it nicely.
Wait, so we played our best players and we had success? So we didn’t bench 3 starters for the final 7 minutes of a close game, like we did against WKU. I am thrilled that Phil Johnson waited until the final home stand of the season to finally solve this complicated puzzle.
Trey is not being utilized correctly IMO he could score 7-8 points a game off the bench and provide some scoring punch. Our offense just doesn't allow it....
He was brainwashed to distribute the ball rather than aggressively score as soon as he arrived here. He had a few really good halves last year, before Floyd would shut him down. Most notoriously was the ODU game at home. Just saying.
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Whatever where may the truth may lie that was a helluva game. They minimized Boykin and Omega showed up and made shots when it counted. Wow!
Yeah I don’t mean to pile on them disrespectfully either they both have gave their all to the program, just zero production and to their credit they’ve been asked to do more than their skill level provides because we are still waiting on the Calvary. Just interesting that as bad as LA Tech is defensively we seemed to match up better without them in any lineup and had one long scoring drought.
I have to agree with you. And I’d add that Flaggert came to UTEP with some game, also. I remember some high flying dunk of his on video from a HS game he played in. He could jump out of the gym. And he had a pretty good 3 ball. Since his injury, he hasn’t been nearly as physically gifted as he appeared when he arrived, and his 3 ball left the gym long ago.
I think these are two guys who followed every directive of Floyd’s, without question. I think by doing so, like so many others, their game has been stifled and they look like they play mechanically, and with fear. It’s too bad because both could’ve been role players that get us over the hump a few games a year. I will say, their commitment to stick through it all definitely stands out. I have no doubt that they’ll both be successful young men post college.
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In terms of production on the court, it really tough to justify playing either Flaggert or Touchet, in my opinion. I would lean slightly towards playing Touchet before Flaggert, but not by much. On this team, I can kind see why Johnson would want to play them some minutes, and this is due mostly to the teams' defensive issues. This year's team is really, really bad on that end of the court. Without trying to pick too much on a single player, if you look at Wade on the defensive side last night, you will generally see a guy who is completely lost. The same can be said for the other freshmen and Osborne. The best that can happen is for these young guys to mature, get coached up, and learn to give a better effort on that side of the ball. That is one of the challenges of playing so many young guys; they just don't know how to guard at this level. Now with Flaggert and Touchet, at least you have experienced guys who are generally in the right place to make a play; the coach can depend on them in that sense. However, they are simply not gifted athletically to compete consistently at this level. Touchet would have likely done better with a guy like Fili Rivera getting him open shots, but unfortunately, this team doesn't have that. Then again, Fili made a lot of guys look good.
Floyd/Johnson would have never put Hamilton on the bench even for a breather. So I guess that question is invalid.
Flaggert played a good amount of time today and the team won huge. Touchet played only the final two minutes
those teams could play tenacious defense so it played into their hands!
in all fairness to Trey, he had tremendous game in high school!! You are not Gator-Ade player of the year in a State 7 classifications and you're playing in the 4th!
Trey is major conference talent. His upside when he arrived was glaring. Sure he needs more developing of his game, but his role was diminished under Johnson. Im glad for both wins but Johnson departure is a must.
