Game against Western New Mexico

[Chanson]

I wanted to start with you all knowing that Tyler Tafoya is an assistant on the Mustang team. My kid noticed it since he was his coach at those annual Floyd Camps in the Summer. I think the kid will make a great coach.

Anyway, our team is right where we need to be. We won by about 50 points, because the team was communicating better. We found out a few things with about this team. Let's break each kid down starting with the bigs.
Willms- Once again he was way too much for the shorter players. He still needs to work on free throws, because he is going to get fouled a lot more if he doesn't improve. We saw how this guy dominated towards the middle of a season, so I'm not worried about him.
Smith- The kid hustles, can shoot, has good post moves, and can't miss from the charity stripe. The ugly is his defense. He is fouling quickly and sometimes gets lost on D. He will get a lot more chances to improve.
Thomas- Much better performance from last week. His jumper and defense will improve with a few more games, but this kid has improved his footwork and ball skills. That will always be there even on a bad night.
Flaggert- He is the same as last year. He also seems to be our best defender. He did drive a few times, but punched it back out. He had a few flat shots, but that will go away with more time spent on the court.
Wade- This kid did it all. He hit jumpers, he blocked shots, he drove & scored, he rebounded, he played D. etc. He started over Thomas and did fantastic. I love this kid.
Osborne- CTF had him playing the 1, 2, & 3 spots. This kid creates separation, is quick, and had a few rebounds where really got high in the air. Once he hits his jumpers with frequency, he take the place of Omega in years to come.
Frazier- Just WOW. He doesn't move or is athletic like Osborne or Wade, but he knows where to be, plays good D, passes better than anyone, and can flat out score. He was hitting NBA 3s & not hitting rim. If this kid decides to get more physical, he will be a next level player. He's that good.
Omega- He played better than last week. He doesn't look like himself, but he didn't make mistakes.  I'm thinking he may have lost a step with his back. If he heals, he will be fine.
Touchet- The kid is plays D, but that's it. He can't shoot, hit free throws. This is not a starter and shouldn't be. I know he is the hardest worker on the team, but he needs to change something up to help his team.
McGee- Much better game. He hit jumpers, made passes, and improved on D. I would not be surprised if Gilyard and this kid start in future games.
Gilyard- This is our PG for sure. He needs to take care of the ball a lot better, but that is because he is moving too fast and trying to do too much. He will get over it like Omega did, but this kid has sick talent. He will be fine.
I know a ton of you are thinking this was a much inferior team we played, but they are always loaded with great guard play and shooting. With CTF playing tons of different looks, they still were able to close right at 100 points as apposed to previous games like this in the past that are close.
The team communicated much better, they took the lead early, and they just kept playing hard. They still need to work on more defensive assignments, fast breaks, and rebounding. Defending the 3 is much better and boy can this team score. Frazier was in double digits 5min in. Wade, Willms, Omega, Thomas, Frazier, and even Smith all can hit double digits every game. Once those PG's start to settle in, they will contribute as well.

[kyyote]

Great job!  Thanks for the review.

[kuhlero]

Magee

[MinerManiac]

Touchet- The kid is plays D, but that's it. He can't shoot, hit free throws. This is not a starter and shouldn't be. I know he is the hardest worker on the team, but he needs to change something up to help his team.

The frustrating thing about this kid is the he can shoot.  I saw him knock down an amazing 28 of 30 three point shots to win the three point shootout before the Orange and White game two years ago.  However, during a game, it seems like nerves or stage fright gets the best of him, and he's not the same shooter.  If he could fix this issue, and shoot in games like he does in practice, he would increase his value to this team tremendously.

[Chanson]

I remember the kid that was let go for gambling from Chillicothe OH was the same way. He couldn't miss in practice, but couldn't hit a barn in the games. Touchet hit with frequency in high school and, so far, turned into a dud. Let's hope this 4th year is his break out year.

[Minermojo]

There was this kid that was really a bad player his junior year but in his senior year he couldn't miss a shot. I think his name is Craig something or that was his last name. He got in trouble with the law because he went looney.

Let's hope that Touchet grows into the great shooter that he can be. Fingers crossed.

[MinerManiac]

I remember the kid that was let go for gambling from Chillicothe OH was the same way. He couldn't miss in practice, but couldn't hit a barn in the games.

You're thinking of Jalen Ragland.  As frustrating as it was to hear how well he shot in practice when he couldn't hit anything during the games, I was most frustrated with the end of his tenure as a Miner.  With Moore and Crosgile already suspended, Ragland led the team in scoring with 19 points, including three 3 pointers, in a loss to New Orleans.  Then it was revealed that he was involved in the gambling scandal as well, and was kicked off the team just as he finally started living up to his potential.  Again, frustrating.

[SisyphusMiner]

He's thinking of Chris Craig who had a great senior year and then went to play professional ball in Ireland. He then started suffering mental illness.  He has been in and out of trouble, recently threatening to blow up an elementary.  He did not actually have any explosives so at least there's that.  Mental illness is a terrible thing.  A lot of people abuse the system by claiming mental illness for committing crimes, and that just makes it harder for those that actually do have real mental illness to get proper help.

[Minermojo]

He's thinking of Chris Craig who had a great senior year and then went to play professional ball in Ireland. He then started suffering mental illness.  He has been in and out of trouble, recently threatening to blow up an elementary.  He did not actually have any explosives so at least there's that.  Mental illness is a terrible thing.  A lot of people abuse the system by claiming mental illness for committing crimes, and that just makes it harder for those that actually do have real mental illness to get proper help.

Ese mero! Yep, I remember his play during his junior year. He was absolutely awful and we used to groan when coach put him in to play. His senior year on the other hand was a complete turn around. He had 9 3's one time if I remember right in one game. Every fan was shaking and scratching his head with disbelief.

[SisyphusMiner]

He may have had the best one-year turnaround I can remember.  I can think of some players that had turnarounds from mediocre to good or even great.  Craig went from sucky to pretty dang good.

[UTEPDefense]

You guys are right, Craig really struggled as a Junior and then became a very good player as a Senior.  There were 2 big reasons for Craig's big Senior year jump: 

1.). During his Junior year they tried to play him at PG and he really struggled trying to create offense and score off the dribble.  His overall game struggled.  Then we brought in Fili Rivera(a true PG) in to play the PG spot for Craig's Senior Year and Craig was able to move to SG and away from ball handling duties.  Craig became mostly a catch-and-shoot guy, which he really excelled at.

2.).  Like a lot of Junior College players, it sometimes takes them a full year to adjust to D1.  Haskins used to say that you are probably only going to get one good year out of a JC player because of this transition period.  Craig's Junior year was his first year at the D1 level.  He then came back as a Senior fully adjusted, experienced, and playing his natural role.