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Post by CallingBS on Feb 3, 2023 22:03:00 GMT -6
I really liked Lewis call at the end of OT to foul at after Eastern crossed the mid court line in stead of let them call the TO and not be able to set up for the final shot. That was good coaching and I think caught EMU off guard. Me too! I was hoping he'd do that. It was his best option with their 3 guards - no reason to give them a look from three, but most coaches won't do it. |
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Post by realitycheck on Feb 3, 2023 22:07:22 GMT -6
I am so thankful we didn’t waste that crowd by losing although we sure tried on several occasions. That’s as good as our first five have played all year, IMO. And you know what. It was so much fun. It’s fun again. Not just winning although that solves everything but the crowd, the students who were rowdy as hell, the back and forth, the drama. That has been missing from Worthen for so long. Lewis was hilarious off and on during the game as usual and I’m amazed how in control he is. He’s a stickler on the details and has a crazy basketball IQ. After the game he and Pat Knight walked back to the tunnel arm in arm. Knight was scouting Bates I think.
Speaking of Bates…holy shit he is good. Not much for defense but his stroke is pure. That’s as good an offensive performance at the JDub I can recall since Chris Williams. Farrakhan and Acuff are both freaking good too. We were lucky to beat them and how they are 6-16 is like an XFiles mystery. How is that even possible.
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Post by cardfan on Feb 3, 2023 22:38:30 GMT -6
Wouldn’t wanna see them in mac tourney. Bates can beat you by himself in a one and done. He is legit. He does not have Bonzi’s overall game but he is better offensively which is saying something. He has lottery pick talent but he obviously has some issues. The problem I have with this game tonight is that he is a rhythm shooter and scorer and always, I mean always going to his strong hand side to shoot. I would have implored our guys to take away his right shoulder and forced him left, even if it meant he was getting into the lane. He is special and if he can stay out of trouble, is going to make a shit load of money. Not so sure he is not bringing in some pretty good change right now. He was a man amongst boys tonight. Lewis made mention of our guys not executing the plan to force bates to his off hand. |
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Post by reevo on Feb 3, 2023 22:58:32 GMT -6
He is legit. He does not have Bonzi’s overall game but he is better offensively which is saying something. He has lottery pick talent but he obviously has some issues. The problem I have with this game tonight is that he is a rhythm shooter and scorer and always, I mean always going to his strong hand side to shoot. I would have implored our guys to take away his right shoulder and forced him left, even if it meant he was getting into the lane. He is special and if he can stay out of trouble, is going to make a shit load of money. Not so sure he is not bringing in some pretty good change right now. He was a man amongst boys tonight. Lewis made mention of our guys not executing the plan to force bates to his off hand. Not surprised! He has a beautiful stroke, and his handles and quickness for a 6’9 kid is off the charts. Super talented. Watching the game from home made it difficult to see if was talking smack. I was surprised to see him help several if our guys off of the floor. Even though he was playing for the other team, he was fun to watch tonight. Glad we pulled it out. |
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Post by redfeather on Feb 4, 2023 0:41:59 GMT -6
The across-the-board scoring was phenomenal tonight! All five starters scored in double digits!! That’s what wins games!
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Post by rmcalhoun on Feb 4, 2023 0:52:02 GMT -6
Lewis made mention of our guys not executing the plan to force bates to his off hand. Not surprised! He has a beautiful stroke, and his handles and quickness for a 6’9 kid is off the charts. Super talented. Watching the game from home made it difficult to see if was talking smack. I was surprised to see him help several if our guys off of the floor. Even though he was playing for the other team, he was fun to watch tonight. Glad we pulled it out. Not alot of smack talk a little here and there but thats normal. pregame he was quite had headphones on kept to himself. No big entourage just his dad and maybe two more people. At least three times he helped our players up. One was funny he tried to help sparks up but was not strong enough. He stopped and gave high fives to kids in early warmups. He also came back out after game and signed autos and took pics with group of highschooll kidd.. The nest was all over the whole game. I was impressed with him |
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Post by 00hmh on Feb 4, 2023 6:52:45 GMT -6
Lewis made mention of our guys not executing the plan to force bates to his off hand. Not surprised! He has a beautiful stroke, and his handles and quickness for a 6’9 kid is off the charts... Glad we pulled it out. Even when we took a little something away and forced him to shoot a little away from where he wanted, he just shot too well. Our wins on D were making someone else shoot. Except they had 3 guys who were good on offense. We could have had a bigger lead at half and maybe cooled them off, stopped them at the end of 1st half. They were tough second half and good thing we improved and played better offense! The big crowd and TV motivated them, too. |
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Post by realitycheck on Feb 4, 2023 9:16:26 GMT -6
Not surprised! He has a beautiful stroke, and his handles and quickness for a 6’9 kid is off the charts. Super talented. Watching the game from home made it difficult to see if was talking smack. I was surprised to see him help several if our guys off of the floor. Even though he was playing for the other team, he was fun to watch tonight. Glad we pulled it out. Not alot of smack talk a little here and there but thats normal. pregame he was quite had headphones on kept to himself. No big entourage just his dad and maybe two more people. At least three times he helped our players up. One was funny he tried to help sparks up but was not strong enough. He stopped and gave high fives to kids in early warmups. He also came back out after game and signed autos and took pics with group of highschooll kidd.. The nest was all over the whole game. I was impressed with him I agree Rob. The student section rode him like a mule but he was humble, didn't show boat or react, just drilled shot after shot. Like a pro. Count me impressed with his game and attitude. |
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Post by 00hmh on Feb 4, 2023 9:26:01 GMT -6
When good very good.
NOT good on D. Has enough athleticism to defend.
Not clear if he can play as well without the ball.
Did not respond to coaching at first stop. Probably those two issues. Not clear he's getting much coaching at EMU.
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Post by CallingBS on Feb 4, 2023 9:41:23 GMT -6
Not alot of smack talk a little here and there but thats normal. pregame he was quite had headphones on kept to himself. No big entourage just his dad and maybe two more people. At least three times he helped our players up. One was funny he tried to help sparks up but was not strong enough. He stopped and gave high fives to kids in early warmups. He also came back out after game and signed autos and took pics with group of highschooll kidd.. The nest was all over the whole game. I was impressed with him I agree Rob. The student section rode him like a mule but he was humble, didn't show boat or react, just drilled shot after shot. Like a pro. Count me impressed with his game and attitude. I agree. He played a very quiet game and showed good sportsmanship. |
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Post by CallingBS on Feb 4, 2023 9:56:56 GMT -6
I loved the moment late in the game where Sparks all-out dove (Rodman style) for a loose ball.
This team is different because Lewis is different.
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Post by rmcalhoun on Feb 4, 2023 10:03:03 GMT -6
Not alot of smack talk a little here and there but thats normal. pregame he was quite had headphones on kept to himself. No big entourage just his dad and maybe two more people. At least three times he helped our players up. One was funny he tried to help sparks up but was not strong enough. He stopped and gave high fives to kids in early warmups. He also came back out after game and signed autos and took pics with group of highschooll kidd.. The nest was all over the whole game. I was impressed with him I agree Rob. The student section rode him like a mule but he was humble, didn't show boat or react, just drilled shot after shot. Like a pro. Count me impressed with his game and attitude. Yea I have to say I had preconceived thoughts about the kid that from only laset nights game were erased. There was no Boogie or castroneva theatrics.. No pure Kent State thuggery. Just a quiet dude doing whatever he wanted on a basketball court. Even during timeouts where he just came over and sat down. He once told one player "They cant guard me" which was true. The nest was all over but to be honest I was hoping to myself that they would just stop. I was scared it might piss him off and motivate hom more lol |
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Post by rmcalhoun on Feb 4, 2023 10:04:32 GMT -6
I loved the moment late in the game where Sparks all-out dove (Rodman style) for a loose ball. This team is different because Lewis is different. that was awesome, So was Jacobs Steal and the one handed dunk from sellers..All three of those plays really got the crowd up |
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Post by 00hmh on Feb 4, 2023 10:21:00 GMT -6
I agree Rob. The student section rode him like a mule but he was humble, didn't show boat or react, just drilled shot after shot. Like a pro. Count me impressed with his game and attitude. Yea I have to say I had preconceived thoughts about the kid that from only laset nights game were erased. There was no Boogie or castroneva theatrics.. No pure Kent State thuggery. Just a quiet dude doing whatever he wanted on a basketball court. Even during timeouts where he just came over and sat down. He once told one player "They cant guard me" which was true. The nest was all over but to be honest I was hoping to myself that they would just stop. I was scared it might piss him off and motivate hom more lol He certainly has an odd demeanor. It's not exactly that he is just a cool customer who is unflappable under pressure, it was different from that. Like he doesn't really relate to the pressure at all.
It's not like a Larry Bird focus on the game making him unaware of anything else but the game. The game doesn't seem to really be that relevant to him. It's like he plays in his own world. Ah, here's the ball, there's the basket, I'll hit it. don't bother me with the details. Timeout, coach talking, no big deal, they'll give me the ball and I'll hit it. What's the score, who cares, where is that ball? I'm really good at this. |
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Post by 00hmh on Feb 4, 2023 10:43:48 GMT -6
Maybe we should call him the Rain Man, and the MAC is at the mercy of his Savant Syndrome. He is definitely a savant shooting on offense.
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