Post-MU Loss Roll Call

[ToddPacker]

Isn't it funny how certain posters only show up after a loss and then go off the deep end ripping on Crean, the players, etc.?  Almost makes you wonder what the motivation is.  Nice to see 4ever in the house.  He has not had too much to whine about lately.  Who else do we have here...

Anyways, I too was disappointed with the performance last night, however, I liken  this game to last year against Rutgers more than anything else.  Poor road performance.  We get another shot at them at the BC and hopefully we'll be better prepared.

Now, don't go hurting yourselves jumping off the bandwagon!

[MU gimp ONE]

I agree with Todd.  wins seem to keep a lot of the people away.  once there are short comings to make note of, those people come back to take full advantage of it.

we have to keep in mind that we were without a key player.  our missing player hurt us more than their missing player hurt them, in my opinion.  granted jerel can get out of control at times, we really missed his penetrating ability against that zone and also his pressure on defense.  i know our front court got killed, but a good perimeter defender may have been able to stop some of those easy entry passes, or maybe get some turnovers from the guards before they had a chance to pass.  he was a huge key to a game like this and i just hope he returns soon. 

for everyone holding kinsella over the coals... i don't know why.  sure he wasn't an offensive help, but i think he played the best post defense last night.  Lazar was awful in the post on defense and let his man beat him on every move, just like ooze.  kinsella just came back from a month off and played solid.  i do agree with everyone that said he needs to be in the post, he spent way too much time around the arch.

it's a different game with jerel, so I'm not using this as a measuring stick by any means.  sunday will be different, hell they can't possibly shoot worse.

[ecompt]

Point taken, Todd. The depressing thing is that last night was not an aberration. We are an awful shooting team with NO inside game. Yes, losing McNeal hurt, but Providence was without its best player. If we lose to Syracuse Sunday (and the way we shoot, against that zone...) we will be 0-3 in the BE by next Thursday. That's ugly.

[MU71]

I agree ecomp, this was not an aberration.  I could change my tune quickly after the Syracuse game but I've seen too many games with the same problems already this season and don't see where the help is going to come from. 

[NYWarrior]

for everyone holding kinsella over the coals... i don't know why.  sure he wasn't an offensive help, but i think he played the best post defense last night..........kinsella just came back from a month off and played solid.

Kinsella has been a bust for MU...last night was a quintessential MK performance -- he played 7 minutes, had three fouls, three turnovers (the box score is wrong) and one rebound.

His turnover to end the half was embarrassing -- MU never got a shot.  He threw in a moving screen to boot, and stepped on the baseline sans any defensive pressure as well.  Not to mention how well PC's bigs played.  How is that solid? 

Sure MU was without a key player, but so was PC.  MU laid an egg last night -- time to regroup and win at home to get things moving in the right direction.  I'm nervous about MU facing another zone team though -- Cuse's zone is always pretty good.

[mu_hilltopper]

Since the dawn of MU internet forums, there's a contingent of people who are negatively vocal, and once there's an opening to vent, they do, as is their right. 

Then there's the posts decrying the sudden appearance of the negative folks.  Just like the groundhog.   Same movie, different year.

This year isn't getting any easier.  We're going to stumble a lot.  The worst part of this year was the unrealistic expectations by many, which set the bar too high.

[SGWarrior]

How is it that when you take a look at Kinsella on the bench he looks like a player.  Intense, into the game, and focused.  As soon as he steps onto the court he looks timid and lost.

We can compare this loss to the Rutgers loss last year, but last year we were able to bounce back.  This year we have to bounce back against Cuse (zone D), UConn, and WV?  Luckily we have two of those three at home.  Its tough to win on the road in the Big East, the Dunkin Donuts Center is no exception and neither is the BC.

[Final Four or Bust]

Well, I for one was waiting to see how this team would perform come conference time.  Yes, we won a lot of games -- we also looked crappy doing it against some pretty poor teams.  But if you recall we looked that way at times last year too and turned it around when the BE season rolled around.  Now it has and we don't have any improvement like we did last year.

I will be watching closely on Sunday, because if there isn't improvement (which there hasn't been), it will be a long season.

And spare the bandwagon talk, I've listened/watched every single game, and will continue to do so.

[iamthelorax]

I was one advocating for patience earlier in the year too.  I wanted to see this team develop -- it hasn't.

The bigs haven't gotten any better...in fact, they might have regressed.

James has taken too many long range jumpers when he should be trying to penetrate.

Fitz looks like a deer in headlights.

And did we miss Jerel last night.

All hope isn't lost...but the team needs to turn it around in a hurry.  Better shooting will solve a lot of these issues...but that hasn't really improved much either.

Sunday's game is a big one.

[ecompt]

If it is true that DJ told Crean before the season that he was going pro ( as some here have speculated), then that might explain why TC has used him as a shooting guard, knowing that DJ needed to show NBA scouts that he could drain the outside jumper. In this scenario (and I'm just speculating, so don't jump on me), his intentions were good, but the plan has failed.

[muhoops1]

My Brother and Father were in the elevator with DJ, Jerel and Wes @ the team hotel in Kansas City.  DJ, Jerel and Wes said they would all be in HI. next year for the Maui Classic.

His stock has had to drop since the beginning of the year.

Fitz is a major disappointment.

[Untucked]

Just a few thoughts. Kinsella is NOT a D1 player. The only player who's worse is that stiff on Providence Ray Hall.

Why doesn't Blackledge play more. He should be playing at least 20 minutes a game. His defense can't be worse than Lott, Burke or Kinsella. At least he can
challenge some shots. He has a big upside offensively. He can pass and he can run the floor.

Maybe MU should work on half court offense against a zone, instead of doing tackling drills in practice. Why does no one ever penetrate into the lane against the zone? It drives me crazy. They just pass the ball around the perimeter until somebody misses a 23 footer.

Crean needs an experienced offensive mined assistant.

[ToddPacker]

Since the dawn of MU internet forums, there's a contingent of people who are negatively vocal, and once there's an opening to vent, they do, as is their right.

Hmm, ok.  I guess that misses the point.  You are assuming that this contingent of people is actually pro-MU and is really just frustrated.  I'm saying, I think they were more likely wearing red at the BC this year, if you catch my drift.  Even if they are MU fans, they are the worst type of fans and I am just interested in exposing their two-faced nature. 

I was extremely disappointed with the effort and execution last night.  Of course, I also realize that it was only one game.  We had a similar performance last year against Rutgers.  Talk to me after SU.  If the performance is similarly bad, then we may have issues.  This team beat a very good Duke team this year.  You simply do not forget how to play or for that matter coach.

[rocky_warrior]

Isn't it funny how certain posters only show up after a loss and then go off the deep end ripping on Crean, the players, etc.?

Actually, I think things have been quite civil here.  Only a couple extremists.  I think most people are disappointed with last nights game, and can acknowledge that *if* we play better we'll do fine in the big east.  Of course, if we don't it could get ugly. 

I for one, am willing to see them play the rest of the games to find out how it all turns out 

[spiral97]

Of course, if we don't it could get ugly. 

And for ugly.. we all have a time-proven solution for that too... more beer!

Not terribly worried yet though.. and even if things do remain sour, I'm still having a relatively good time just being a fan. 

[Final Four or Bust]

Since the dawn of MU internet forums, there's a contingent of people who are negatively vocal, and once there's an opening to vent, they do, as is their right.

Hmm, ok.  I guess that misses the point.  You are assuming that this contingent of people is actually pro-MU and is really just frustrated.  I'm saying, I think they were more likely wearing red at the BC this year, if you catch my drift.  Even if they are MU fans, they are the worst type of fans and I am just interested in exposing their two-faced nature. 

I was extremely disappointed with the effort and execution last night.  Of course, I also realize that it was only one game.  We had a similar performance last year against Rutgers.  Talk to me after SU.  If the performance is similarly bad, then we may have issues.  This team beat a very good Duke team this year.  You simply do not forget how to play or for that matter coach.

Calling us "badger fans" is absurd, some of us have higher standards and expectation.  Ironically though, you state it is just one game and one more may reveal problems.  We've had these same problems in almost all our games this season -- but one game will make a difference to you?  This team beat a very young and average Duke team this year, but they did beat them.  That was over a month ago now -- how about their performances since then.  I don't recall too many good performances since then.

[NCMUFan]

If I recall, before the Providence game, we had three games where we shot around 50%.  Have some faith and confidence.  I am sure we will have a number of very good games and I am sure some more bad games.  Why be negative.  After a while it just gets old.