basketball

[Chanson]

I should be good for Saturday's game. While I am kicking myself for not going, I gave my tix up to a buddy who contacted me right after the game that it was the best gift he received. That made me sooo happy.
I'm hoping this momentum will get more fans in seats. I'm gonna check top 10 on ESPN to see if Hollins tip in made it.

So, I was feeling horrible last night & lied in bed with head phones listening to the radio & not watching. Teicher & Yellen were going crazy after that win. They were jumping & screaming & then realized they were still on air. That was gold to me.
Also, does anyone know exactly what happened to Sibley? I'm thinking they might also sit him against FIU to get healthy. Also, did any of you notice that FAU played better when JB was sitting. We need another solid PG next year.

Golding- what a win for this guy. All year he struggled against bigger teams & finally put one under his belt.
JB- another great night. He had no energy left after this one. Probably why he didn't hit that 3.
Boum- also did his job & then some. He had a few strips to add to his high scoring.
Saterfield- needs to watch tape on Reggie Miller, Steph Curry, etc on how to get open. He'll be fine.
White- didn't make mistakes, but didn't take step forward in getting better.
Clardy- had a turn over, but controlled the ball to give our big players a breather.
Agnew- great energy as always. Kept their shooters at bay. Held my breath when he shot, but they went in when needed.
Hollins- not a stat stuffer, but hustled & had the game winning tip in amongst the trees.
Kalu- played hard, but was outmatched. Great learning game for him on elite big men.
Onyema- was played sparingly. Had a big dunk & disrupted shots. Another learning game.
Verho- is finally healthier & using his feet in the paint to score, besides his D.. I want more, please.
The ending was a dramatic win, but in truth, it was ugly. Rebounding & turnovers were horrible. Luckily we shot better from the field & from the stripe. Having more steals & less turnovers also helped.
On to FIU. This team is not as good as FAU, but cannot be overlooked by any means. I hope Golding played Kalu & Onyema a lot more this game.

[SisyphusMiner]

Sibley got run over on a charge (or maybe they called blocking).  He laid there a while.  Teich or Yellen said they thought groin.  So he probably took a knee to the crotch.

I held my breath with Agnew 3 pointer too.  NoNoNo, YES!

BTW, could really use Kennedy's D.  He can stay between his guy and the basket.  Boum pretty good.  Bienemy gets beat on the dribble pretty often.  Agnew good on stopping dribble drive.  Other guys not so much.

[kyyote]

The past few games I have seen what appears to be an offense.  The defense continues to play hard.  I now find myself wondering if the covid had a tremendous impact in slowing down the getting the offense, or if it took players and coaches time to come together, or and this is my concern, is it pretty much opponent specific.  Is it simply the last few games have we been able to look more organized and generating open midrange shots?  Some plays mixed in to give TV a chance to a stronger inside game.

I am just guessing, but I think Sibley may have hit his head and that was the concern.  It is too bad we lost him because I think he was a part of TV?s awakening.  I think Sibley provided the added strength inside to help TV.

[SisyphusMiner]

TD being Tydus Verhoeven?

I think I recall somewhere around the UNM game Golding said there were still lots of parts of the offense they hadn't installed yet but they were having to do it one piece at a time.

My interpretation was that we hadn't had an offense under CRT and these guys were starting from scratch.

Satterfield:  Doesn't seem like he shoots off the dribble well. has anyone seen him catch one on the move and plant and shoot (no dribble)?  Looks to me like we are in the early stages of implementing ball screens to pop guards open, reason I'm asking.

[kyyote]

Yes, good gawd a mighty!  Damn!

[SisyphusMiner]

It's not that bad Kyy, just watch a video of the President talking and realize you're nowhere near that far gone yet.

[kyyote]

That is a special blend that is exhaled past his lips like a flathead with the plug wires mixed up. When he is ?speaking? it is painful on multiple levels and tenses.

Part of the problem is that I use a laptop and an iPhone and they are very different. My iPhone tries too hard to help me and the laptop has sticking keys. I wish that had been the problem here but it wasn?t. TD was a brain fart that is impressed into my brain and it is Ty Dus. And I?m old. Lol

[SisyphusMiner]

Nice win.  Team doesn't give up, they fight back.  TV was a beast.  Hollins continues to contribute postively

If we can continue to get 20-ish points combined from our bigs it will help a a lot.

UNT really tough opponent in their house, good players, very good coach, very cold snowy sleety weather.  This is a probable loss, likely by a lot.  If they win this, they have really turned the corner and the sky is the limit in conference.   A loss not really a bad sign, especially if we at least look like we belong out there.

I've been going to the UTEP UNT game for years, and watched McCasland build something.  Every year they are better, and he outcoached Terry hugely, even when he had inferior players.  I will miss this one as I'll be driving back from Houston, so I'll listen to the radio broadcast.

[Chanson]

Miners played with confidence except for Sibley & Saterfield. Coach said Sibley was playing hurt, but that looked like his normal game. He's been given a lot of rope to develop. Saterfield was scouted & defended well.

Let's do the break down, shall we?
Golding- cracked the whip on D. It paid off in the 2nd half. This was total domination.
JB- seemed like he had a bit of an off game, especially on D, but did enough to be relevant.
Boum- Just brilliant. Every time he is hot like that, just feed him the ball. 30+ points
Saterfield- had 3 open looks & couldn't convert. That's all he had, though. He was singled out. Needs to figure how to get open.
Clardy- better at protecting the ball, but needs a lot of work still.
Agnew- this is the Agnee we all want to see. As soon as coach put Saucy on the PG, it was over. He also didn't try to score much. Rebounds & defense is why he is here.
Hollins- I was wrong when I said he reached his ceiling a few wks ago. He stepped up w/11pts, 3 rebs, & pretty good D. We need this on a consistent basis w/Kennedy out.
Sibley- chimed in with rebounding, but stick timid on O. Kid needs a full summer of hard strength training to get his confidence up.
Z- tonight's performance is why he gets minimal time. He defended a bit late & caught silly fouls. Needs another summer of work, but still needs court time for confidence.
Verho- His best game in a Miner uniform. Dbl/Dbl & just dominated on O. Had some mistakes in the end, but this was the team we could afford those with.

Now, on to a really tough 6-7 games on the road. Starting with a very good UNT. Can this tough D continue? We shall see.

PS- the officiating was not good. Saw 2 phantom fouls called & they really didn't allow the game to flow. Girl ref was good looking. Will give her a pass, but next time I'm throwing rotten vegetables.

[kyyote]

? Girl ref was good looking.?

This is the kind of in depth analysis that we love here in the Den. I believe Sibley and Hollins  being on the court with TV is a key to TVs success. When he has help down low he isn?t smothered and can use his speed and sweet moves to shoot his baby hooks.

[SisyphusMiner]

I am seeing improvement.  I now see stretches of the games lasting longer than one or two plays where what I am seeing on the court exceeds anything I saw from the previous two coaches.

Just for fun, thought I'd rank the defensive play of the various guys that get meaningful play time.

Guards:
Kennedy
Agnew
Boum
Bienemy
Satterfield

From Boum downwards, these are guys that will get beat badly off the dribble several times a game.  Kennedy and Agnew only rarely.

Bigs:
Verhoeven
Hollins
Sibley
Onyema
Kalu

Hollins has picked it up a lot.  Not as athletic as Verho but strong and quick hands.
Sibley so so.
Kalu actually better at being in position than Onyema, but gets backed down too easily.  Onyema is athletic and strong and is often able to recover from his mistakes because of that.

[Chanson]

So I got to talking to some hard core fans at the Don & all think Kennedy will take a Med Red Shirt for the year. Not sure if it can be done, being he sat his 1st year & got an extra for Covid year. Not sure how it works, but I hope they do this. Would love to have him another 2yrs.
JB- this young man has a shot at NBA. Once he can hit with better frequency & protect the ball better, he will be ready for the top level.
I'm not going to dwell on who we need to replace, because we have a good idea. What I do want to talk about is the help needed to be better.
We need a big and a PG. We have shooters & scorers ready for next year in Evans, Boum, JB, Saterfield, & Kennedy. We need a ball handler & distributer. Clardy & Giffa not at D1 level backup status. We need 1 or 2 solid big men. Verho is the only one with skills while our other bigs are really green. We see potential, but we need 1 baller while our greenies catch up.
We have some good 2s & 3s going into next year with Boum, Saterfield, Kennedy, Sibley, Evans, dos Anjos, & Saucy.
1st thing is 1st. We need a good big. Golding needs to land someone sooner than later. Preferably a Soph transfer. Type talent I'm thinking of is V. Hunter, Caracter, Lofton (LA Tech), etc. They do exist.

[Chanson]

Great road win against Rice.

Defense was great along the perimeter. Still an issue with the back door. I actually think the other kids would have more points, but when you have someone as HOT as JB, just keep feeding him.
Golding- has got his team doing better than any of us thought (so far). Got the big guys to do more attacking, but it was the long ball & defense that won this game.
JB- Played lights out & dictated the game.
Boum- Didn't push since JB was hot, but defended well.
Saterfield- Still learning the game. Is only good on catch/shoot & getting better on D. I like his potential.
Agnew- Great energy on D. Should not be shooting the ball. Only driving. Gets so careless on O & with his handles. He gets in his own way & ignores fundamentals. That's why he doesn't start.
Hollins- I dogged this kid in the beginning. I was wrong. He has developed into a really good role player. Keep it up.
Sibley- Still issues with confidence. I wish he would drive more since he has great footwork & not settle for 15'rs. He also needs strength. He is too lean to bang in the paint.
Onyema- I like his fight & athleticism. He needs to learn offensive moves & be quicker on D
Verho- Played OK on O. Missed a lot under the basket, but I want to see him keep it up. I think je just needs to turn the corner. His D was good, but got outrebounded 8-2 against their big.
Maring, White, & Clardy- Just Ugh. All lucky to be playing on a D1 team.

Our teams identity is defense & guard play. Sound familiar? We need some bigs & a PG. We have a kid replacing Hollins & a 6'6" sharp shooter. So until next year gets here, I'm gonna keep riding this unexpected season.

Go Miners

[SisyphusMiner]

I was wrong on Hollins too.


The way Bienemy is playing right now, where does he fall in the list of legendary UTEP point guards?  He dominated that game and the last several.  He had 36 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals in this game.    Julyan Stone was probably a better defender and had better A/TO ratio. But he couldn't score like JB. 

[SisyphusMiner]

Just bought tickets for the UNT game.  I don't expect a win, but should be the best game I've seen in their house in quite a while.