We had breakfast at the hotel this morning and immediately headed over to Chapman to practice. They have a beautiful campus with some that is always cool to see in an outdoor pool with elevated stands.
Practice went pretty well. The gym has a little different shape to it so it took a while to get use to it. No wonder they always play well at home.
After getting done with practice we headed north to Los Angeles to check out Hollywood Blvd. we didn't have much time there because of traffic but a bunch of our guys hadn't been there before so it was good for them to see. While our guys went out to see all the things there I met up with Tanner Anderson. It was good to catch up with him. He seems to be doing really well. His table waiting days seem to be behind him but be could be acting. He actually said he did a commercial with former St. Mary's star Lukas Holland, who has great hair. The MIAC is everywhere.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
California Trip - Day 4
Today got off to an early start with breakfast at the hotel and a quick departure to our new destination, Anaheim. We made good time to the hotel.
Our van was completely filled with guys and luggage. We played a couple of music and sports games once we got out of San Diego. That was always fun to hear each guy and to hear about their knowledge in different areas.
Once we got to the hotel we headed straight to the full bball court on the third floor roof. It's pretty impressive for a hotel. We did a short walk-thru of Chapman's stuff as well as our plays. After practice the guys set off for Disneyland or Disney World, I am not sure which one is here. I was a Debbie-downer and stayed at the hotel to workout and relax for a bit.
Tomorrow we have a 10am practice at Chapman and then will head to Hollywood for the afternoon and evening. We hoping to see one of our former players, Tanner Anderson. Tanner just completed his masters' in performing arts from a prestigious acting school in LA. He is an aspiring actor aka a waiter.
Our van was completely filled with guys and luggage. We played a couple of music and sports games once we got out of San Diego. That was always fun to hear each guy and to hear about their knowledge in different areas.
Once we got to the hotel we headed straight to the full bball court on the third floor roof. It's pretty impressive for a hotel. We did a short walk-thru of Chapman's stuff as well as our plays. After practice the guys set off for Disneyland or Disney World, I am not sure which one is here. I was a Debbie-downer and stayed at the hotel to workout and relax for a bit.
Tomorrow we have a 10am practice at Chapman and then will head to Hollywood for the afternoon and evening. We hoping to see one of our former players, Tanner Anderson. Tanner just completed his masters' in performing arts from a prestigious acting school in LA. He is an aspiring actor aka a waiter.
California Trip - Day 3
Yesterday we had an early practice over at St Augustine for the final time. We got onto the court just after their JV got done practicing. It was a decent practice but the guys seem to be in game mode already. Hopefully, we'll be fine over the next couple of days.
After practice we headed over to the beach for a little workout and "ice bath." We did a couple of relays races to get their upper bodies a workout and then we headed to the ocean.
Now it's off to Anaheim to check out Disney and all that goes on there.
After practice we headed over to the beach for a little workout and "ice bath." We did a couple of relays races to get their upper bodies a workout and then we headed to the ocean.
Now it's off to Anaheim to check out Disney and all that goes on there.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
California Trip - Day 2
Yesterday we put together another day here on Coronado Island. We had a little down time before practice yesterday and some of the guys headed to the beach. The water is cold in December.
We had practice at 4;30 at St. Augustine again. Our overall intensity level wasn't were it should've been. We looked like we had dead legs. It wasn't exactly the practice I was hoping for after our quality practice the night before. We have to string together quality practices in order for us to make the jump we are capable of.
After practice we got to a Mexican restaurant called Miguel's right here on Coronado Island. The food was really good and definitely topped off the night.
We had practice at 4;30 at St. Augustine again. Our overall intensity level wasn't were it should've been. We looked like we had dead legs. It wasn't exactly the practice I was hoping for after our quality practice the night before. We have to string together quality practices in order for us to make the jump we are capable of.
After practice we got to a Mexican restaurant called Miguel's right here on Coronado Island. The food was really good and definitely topped off the night.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
California Trip - Day 1
We arrived in Santa Ana, CA yesterday afternoon after the most turbulent flight I have ever been on. It also didn't help that I literally had a family doing a Chinese fire drill during the flight. Three family members were rotating seats and rotating who was holding their baby throughout the flight. Even a flight attendant got into the mix by knocking off my headphones when she walked by. She didn't even apologize. Not fun.
We headed down to our hotel on Coronado Island just outside San Diego. First order of business was to stop at the famous In-N-Out Burger. I guess it's a staple of the California diet but I think it's pretty awful. It doesn't help that I am not a fan of fast food.
As we made our trip out of San Diego we went over the Coronado Bridge which has a sign for a suicide hotline on it. Always interesting to see something like that on a bridge. On the way to our hotel we saw the area where Navy SEALS do their training. It would be awesome for our guys to see or experience how hard those guys go for their training. It would be an eye opening experience for sure.
After a couple of hours in the hotel we headed to St. Augustine HS to practice. The Saints (didn't realize they weren't creative in CA either) are home of former McDonalds All American and UCLA standout Jelani McCoy. Their head coach, Ed Baskin was nice enough to open the gym for us during our time in the San Diego area.
We had a pretty intense practice and our guys got after it pretty good. It was evident that some guys really worked over break and others didn't do much. We need to have another good one today to maintain the level we were playing at before break.
We headed down to our hotel on Coronado Island just outside San Diego. First order of business was to stop at the famous In-N-Out Burger. I guess it's a staple of the California diet but I think it's pretty awful. It doesn't help that I am not a fan of fast food.
As we made our trip out of San Diego we went over the Coronado Bridge which has a sign for a suicide hotline on it. Always interesting to see something like that on a bridge. On the way to our hotel we saw the area where Navy SEALS do their training. It would be awesome for our guys to see or experience how hard those guys go for their training. It would be an eye opening experience for sure.
After a couple of hours in the hotel we headed to St. Augustine HS to practice. The Saints (didn't realize they weren't creative in CA either) are home of former McDonalds All American and UCLA standout Jelani McCoy. Their head coach, Ed Baskin was nice enough to open the gym for us during our time in the San Diego area.
We had a pretty intense practice and our guys got after it pretty good. It was evident that some guys really worked over break and others didn't do much. We need to have another good one today to maintain the level we were playing at before break.
Friday, December 23, 2011
High School Programs
Over the past eight years I have been to a lot of high school basketball games and have seen my fair share of craziness. I've recruited a wide range of athletes and an even wider range of parents. The more I go to games and practices the less I get an understanding of how things work at certain programs. My dad is a high school coach back in NY and I know how he runs his program but everyone is different.
I've been to games where recruits have been suspended, where they have been taken out of the starting lineup, where they haven't played with no explanation (at least according to the kid and their parents), and where they've played the whole game because the coach has no other choice. It's hard for me not to judge high school coaches but at the same time I'm not at practice everyday. I don't know what the inner workings of the team are. Some high school coaches are great and will do whatever they can for their kids, others are just receiving their nice paycheck and calling it a day.
There are some coaches that I know that are willing to take kids on visits to schools. There are some coaches that are willing to discipline their players when their parents don't. There are some coaches who will do whatever it takes to win. There are some coaches that know that no one kid is bigger than the program.
Being a high school isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. The best ones are the ones that put in the time over the spring, summer, and fall to make sure that each and every kid in his/her program has the opportunity to get better. Many kids and parents fail to understand that the season doesn't start when there are tryouts. The true season started the day after your last game the previous year.
I went to tell you a story about a friend of mine that was a high school coach in the state of Minnesota. He kept on getting calls from a parent about why "little Johnny" isn't playing. He told the parent several reasons why (though coaches shouldn't have to explain to parents why kids aren't playing) and the calls didn't stop. Finally, my friend says, "Why don't you come to practice for 30 straight days and then tell me if Johnny should be playing more?" Naturally, the parent agreed. He came to practice for the first ten days and then never came again, and then never called about playing time again.
I just want to say thanks to the good high school coaches throughout the country who work their tail off and get their kids ready for college or the real world. I don't mean just basketball coaches.
I've been to games where recruits have been suspended, where they have been taken out of the starting lineup, where they haven't played with no explanation (at least according to the kid and their parents), and where they've played the whole game because the coach has no other choice. It's hard for me not to judge high school coaches but at the same time I'm not at practice everyday. I don't know what the inner workings of the team are. Some high school coaches are great and will do whatever they can for their kids, others are just receiving their nice paycheck and calling it a day.
There are some coaches that I know that are willing to take kids on visits to schools. There are some coaches that are willing to discipline their players when their parents don't. There are some coaches who will do whatever it takes to win. There are some coaches that know that no one kid is bigger than the program.
Being a high school isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. The best ones are the ones that put in the time over the spring, summer, and fall to make sure that each and every kid in his/her program has the opportunity to get better. Many kids and parents fail to understand that the season doesn't start when there are tryouts. The true season started the day after your last game the previous year.
I went to tell you a story about a friend of mine that was a high school coach in the state of Minnesota. He kept on getting calls from a parent about why "little Johnny" isn't playing. He told the parent several reasons why (though coaches shouldn't have to explain to parents why kids aren't playing) and the calls didn't stop. Finally, my friend says, "Why don't you come to practice for 30 straight days and then tell me if Johnny should be playing more?" Naturally, the parent agreed. He came to practice for the first ten days and then never came again, and then never called about playing time again.
I just want to say thanks to the good high school coaches throughout the country who work their tail off and get their kids ready for college or the real world. I don't mean just basketball coaches.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Caltech 12/13/11
Yesterday in "Happy Hour Hoops at Hamline," we took on the Beavers from Caltech aka California Institute of Technology. I was told after the game by one of their assistants that it isn't Cal Tech but Caltech. I thought they were supposed to be smart over there in Pasadena. Ranks right up there with some of the nicknames we have in our league. Caltech was 4-2 going into the game and was clearly playing with a bunch of confidence after beating Macalester on Monday night.
We got off to a slow start as neither team could find their rhythm. Our legs looked dead and couldn't get our offense going. The Beavers started off in a 2-3 zone to try and take away our penetration, I thought we still got good looks but didn't knock them down. We ran our zone offense but made a few careless turnovers that didn't help our cause. We made a couple of bursts but couldn't put them away. We just had too many turnovers (9) and too many missed opportunities. We still held a 34-24 advantage at the half but it wasn't exactly our best performance.
The second half started out with a bang as Mike Campbell made a layup, Tyler Pannell hit a 3, and then Dior Ford had a monster dunk in transition. This left the Beavers shell shocked. They recovered after a timeout to get it back within 13. Then, we made a run reminiscent of the ol' Brockport days as the guys went on a 25-4 run to put the game out of reach. We were running on all cylinders and the guys were having fun.
Over the course of the last eight minutes of the game we were able to play the guys who haven't played yet this season. It was great for them to get some varsity time. They extended the lead as well. It's always tough for those guys as you are never sure how to approach the way they play. At one point you want them to play at the same tempo as your "regulars" but at another point you don't want to embarrass the other team. I think we were able to use that balance last night. The final score was 88-48.
We were led by Mike Campbell's double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. Dior Ford and Charlie Choiniere both had 13 to help lead the charge. We got everyone off the bench had a total of 16 different guys score. EVERYONE contributed at some point last night. We held them to 30% shooting and 2-22 from 3. We outrebounded them 51-29 as well. It was a good night to be a Piper.
We have practice today and then our guys get some time off for finals and a little break. We play Chapman out in California on the 31st. I'm really looking forward to the trip.
We got off to a slow start as neither team could find their rhythm. Our legs looked dead and couldn't get our offense going. The Beavers started off in a 2-3 zone to try and take away our penetration, I thought we still got good looks but didn't knock them down. We ran our zone offense but made a few careless turnovers that didn't help our cause. We made a couple of bursts but couldn't put them away. We just had too many turnovers (9) and too many missed opportunities. We still held a 34-24 advantage at the half but it wasn't exactly our best performance.
The second half started out with a bang as Mike Campbell made a layup, Tyler Pannell hit a 3, and then Dior Ford had a monster dunk in transition. This left the Beavers shell shocked. They recovered after a timeout to get it back within 13. Then, we made a run reminiscent of the ol' Brockport days as the guys went on a 25-4 run to put the game out of reach. We were running on all cylinders and the guys were having fun.
Over the course of the last eight minutes of the game we were able to play the guys who haven't played yet this season. It was great for them to get some varsity time. They extended the lead as well. It's always tough for those guys as you are never sure how to approach the way they play. At one point you want them to play at the same tempo as your "regulars" but at another point you don't want to embarrass the other team. I think we were able to use that balance last night. The final score was 88-48.
We were led by Mike Campbell's double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. Dior Ford and Charlie Choiniere both had 13 to help lead the charge. We got everyone off the bench had a total of 16 different guys score. EVERYONE contributed at some point last night. We held them to 30% shooting and 2-22 from 3. We outrebounded them 51-29 as well. It was a good night to be a Piper.
We have practice today and then our guys get some time off for finals and a little break. We play Chapman out in California on the 31st. I'm really looking forward to the trip.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Cal Tech Webcast - 5pm Central Time
Here is the link to tonight's webcast of our game vs. Cal Tech. Just a reminder, game starts at 5pm Central
Cal Tech vs. Hamline - 5pm
Cal Tech vs. Hamline - 5pm
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Concordia-Moorhead 12/10/11
Yesterday afternoon we took on the Cobbers of Moorhead in Memorial Auditorium on Concordia's campus. Yes, that was a mouthful. The Cobbers were coming off a win vs St Mary's on Wednesday. Their whole starting lineup is juniors so I would imagine they will be pretty strong next year as well.
We started the game on an 11-2 run as our guys were really getting after it defensively. We got a couple of steals got out in transition much like the St Olaf game. We were attacking really well and got a few of their starters in foul trouble. I believe we got up by as many as 15 in the first half. I was hoping that our guys would step on the throttle a bit to close the half. We did for the last two minutes and then gave up a layup at the buzzer to give Concordia was momentum going into the locker room. We were up 39-25 at the half.
To start the second half both teams went back and forth as it seemed te Cobbers inched back closer and closer as the half progressed. They got it within eight on numerous occasions led by Brady Baildon's aggressive play. I believe he had 8 points in the second half for a (I believe) career high of ten points.
After Concordia got it within eight for the final time we went on a 8-2 as we slowly pulled away. We ended winning 80-66 as we hit he magical 80 mark for the second consecutive game. We got a couple of good shooting performances from both Tyler Pannell and Christian Taber, as both of these guys hit three 3's. Dior Ford had his first of hopefully many double-doubles with 17 points and 11 boards.
After the game a woman approached our team and said "you should be ashamed of yourselves for the way your bench was acting." There was an issue with our bench in the first half and it was addressed immediately and taken of. For the almost the whole game, our bench was as energetic as it has ever been since I have been at Hamline. It gave us energy throughout the game as we certainly have to on the road. I was proud of our whole TEAM effort tonight.
I always wanted to wish Cobber Aaron Lindahl well. It looked like he injured his knee in the first half and didn't return.
On Tuesday we take on the Beavers of Cal Tech at 5pm in Hutton Arena. The smartest team in college hoops (MIT might argue that) is 5-2 right now and playing really well. Last season, they won their first conference game since Gregg Popovich was a D3 coach at LaVerne in 1985 (yes, he took the loss), a streak of 310 conference games. They are led by a 6'7" wing player who averages 21 points per game and a 6'4 point guard who averages 17 points, 7.5 assists, and 7 boards per game. This isn't the lowly Cal Tech team of the past. They will play Macalester on Monday before they head over to our place. A win will put us at 4-4 at the semester break.
We started the game on an 11-2 run as our guys were really getting after it defensively. We got a couple of steals got out in transition much like the St Olaf game. We were attacking really well and got a few of their starters in foul trouble. I believe we got up by as many as 15 in the first half. I was hoping that our guys would step on the throttle a bit to close the half. We did for the last two minutes and then gave up a layup at the buzzer to give Concordia was momentum going into the locker room. We were up 39-25 at the half.
To start the second half both teams went back and forth as it seemed te Cobbers inched back closer and closer as the half progressed. They got it within eight on numerous occasions led by Brady Baildon's aggressive play. I believe he had 8 points in the second half for a (I believe) career high of ten points.
After Concordia got it within eight for the final time we went on a 8-2 as we slowly pulled away. We ended winning 80-66 as we hit he magical 80 mark for the second consecutive game. We got a couple of good shooting performances from both Tyler Pannell and Christian Taber, as both of these guys hit three 3's. Dior Ford had his first of hopefully many double-doubles with 17 points and 11 boards.
After the game a woman approached our team and said "you should be ashamed of yourselves for the way your bench was acting." There was an issue with our bench in the first half and it was addressed immediately and taken of. For the almost the whole game, our bench was as energetic as it has ever been since I have been at Hamline. It gave us energy throughout the game as we certainly have to on the road. I was proud of our whole TEAM effort tonight.
I always wanted to wish Cobber Aaron Lindahl well. It looked like he injured his knee in the first half and didn't return.
On Tuesday we take on the Beavers of Cal Tech at 5pm in Hutton Arena. The smartest team in college hoops (MIT might argue that) is 5-2 right now and playing really well. Last season, they won their first conference game since Gregg Popovich was a D3 coach at LaVerne in 1985 (yes, he took the loss), a streak of 310 conference games. They are led by a 6'7" wing player who averages 21 points per game and a 6'4 point guard who averages 17 points, 7.5 assists, and 7 boards per game. This isn't the lowly Cal Tech team of the past. They will play Macalester on Monday before they head over to our place. A win will put us at 4-4 at the semester break.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Concordia Webcast and Live Stats
Here are the links for our game on Saturday at 3pm in Moorhead at Concordia
Webcast - Hamline vs. Concordia
Live Stats - Hamline vs. Concordia
Webcast - Hamline vs. Concordia
Live Stats - Hamline vs. Concordia
Thursday, December 8, 2011
St Olaf 12/7/11
Last night we took on the Oles of St Olaf in game 3 in a row of horrendous nicknames. Like I said in previous postings that thy were predicted to finish second the preseason poll. They have plenty of talent and like us, have struggled a little bit early. They have two of the better players in the conference in Stu Neville and Bobby Fong. Both of these guys are capable of going off for 30 at any point.
Game got off to a back and forth start as both teams got settled in. Olaf got a couple of offensive rebounds early and all I could think was "here we go again." after those possessions we got on the glass and took away any 2nd opportunities. We started to get some easy buckets which increased our confidence tenfold and we looked like a completely different team than we have lately. At the half we were up 37-27 and I thought we played well for about 15 if those 20 minutes.
The second half started off really well as we quickly increased our lead to as much as twenty. Our intensity level was where it needed to be and hopefully our guys understand how hard we need to play every possession.
We got a great effort from a bunch of guys last night. I will not say we are where we need to be but it is a step in the right direction.
As many of you know, my brother goes to Hamline and is usually leading the student section in cheering and ragging on the other team. It was brought up this morning that he was swearing at guys on St Olaf during the game. Was he all over their players? Yes. Does he do that at every game? Yes. He definitely wasn't swearing because he knows that I would not let him come to games if he did. Last year he made a comment he shouldn't of to a kid and apologized the next day to the player, their coach, our AD, and our coaches. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize my career or his for that matter. Let's just leave it at this, "Don't stay in the kitchen, if you can't take the heat."
Thanks again to the all the readers. I just reached over 10,000 views for the blog.
Game got off to a back and forth start as both teams got settled in. Olaf got a couple of offensive rebounds early and all I could think was "here we go again." after those possessions we got on the glass and took away any 2nd opportunities. We started to get some easy buckets which increased our confidence tenfold and we looked like a completely different team than we have lately. At the half we were up 37-27 and I thought we played well for about 15 if those 20 minutes.
The second half started off really well as we quickly increased our lead to as much as twenty. Our intensity level was where it needed to be and hopefully our guys understand how hard we need to play every possession.
We got a great effort from a bunch of guys last night. I will not say we are where we need to be but it is a step in the right direction.
As many of you know, my brother goes to Hamline and is usually leading the student section in cheering and ragging on the other team. It was brought up this morning that he was swearing at guys on St Olaf during the game. Was he all over their players? Yes. Does he do that at every game? Yes. He definitely wasn't swearing because he knows that I would not let him come to games if he did. Last year he made a comment he shouldn't of to a kid and apologized the next day to the player, their coach, our AD, and our coaches. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize my career or his for that matter. Let's just leave it at this, "Don't stay in the kitchen, if you can't take the heat."
Thanks again to the all the readers. I just reached over 10,000 views for the blog.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
St. Thomas Game 12/5/11
Sorry for not updating from Monday (well, I'm not really sorry) but it's been pretty crazy around here with trying to get things figured out. We took on the Tommies (Game 2 of 3 against horrible nicknames) on Monday night at Hutton. St. Thomas is the defending National Champion with a slew of new players on their roster. They also have a bunch of other guys that didn't see the floor last season that are hungry to prove they belong in the same breath as the seniors that just left.
The game got off to a great start for us, as we converted on a bunch of transition layups and a couple of open 3's as we took an 18-15 lead with about 11 minutes left to play in the half. After that, the ugly turn that we have seen all year came out. We went flat and St. Thomas converted on everyone of our mistakes which included seven turnovers and three missed layups over a 29-6 run. It is something that we clearly need to fix as basically every team we have played has produced big runs against us with us having no answer at all. St. Thomas took a halftime lead of 49-34. Once again, a deficit that we have come back from.
The second half started out ok for us and then we have two straight turnovers and they hit big 3's on both possessions. Just when we thought we would get right back into the back, the lead is up to 20. Then the tides changed and we made a 12-0 run of our own and got it back within 8 in a matter of three and a half minutes (spurtability at it's finest). We had several opportunities to get it closer and we just couldn't convert on either end.
Final score was 94-77 in favor of St. Thomas. The game was definitely closer than the score showed by St. Thomas was clearly better than us. Every time we made a mistake, they jumped on us. That's a sign of a good team. This was the first time all year that I thought the team we played was better than we were. Does that mean that they will be better than us down the stretch? No, but tonight they were.
We definitely had some positives within the game as we only turned the ball over 12 times with their pressure. Problem was, about seven of those turnovers were unforced as we made some mental mistakes. St. Thomas had 18 turnovers, which I think is a high number against a quality team like them.
Our biggest issue right now is that team's are shooting over 50% from the floor and over 40% from 3 against us. That is just not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. We need to take pride in our defense and it's been how we have battled the past couple of years. Everyone in our program (coaching staff included) needs to make adjustments for us to get better. If we continue to play this kind of defense then we are in for a long year.
The game got off to a great start for us, as we converted on a bunch of transition layups and a couple of open 3's as we took an 18-15 lead with about 11 minutes left to play in the half. After that, the ugly turn that we have seen all year came out. We went flat and St. Thomas converted on everyone of our mistakes which included seven turnovers and three missed layups over a 29-6 run. It is something that we clearly need to fix as basically every team we have played has produced big runs against us with us having no answer at all. St. Thomas took a halftime lead of 49-34. Once again, a deficit that we have come back from.
The second half started out ok for us and then we have two straight turnovers and they hit big 3's on both possessions. Just when we thought we would get right back into the back, the lead is up to 20. Then the tides changed and we made a 12-0 run of our own and got it back within 8 in a matter of three and a half minutes (spurtability at it's finest). We had several opportunities to get it closer and we just couldn't convert on either end.
Final score was 94-77 in favor of St. Thomas. The game was definitely closer than the score showed by St. Thomas was clearly better than us. Every time we made a mistake, they jumped on us. That's a sign of a good team. This was the first time all year that I thought the team we played was better than we were. Does that mean that they will be better than us down the stretch? No, but tonight they were.
We definitely had some positives within the game as we only turned the ball over 12 times with their pressure. Problem was, about seven of those turnovers were unforced as we made some mental mistakes. St. Thomas had 18 turnovers, which I think is a high number against a quality team like them.
Our biggest issue right now is that team's are shooting over 50% from the floor and over 40% from 3 against us. That is just not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. We need to take pride in our defense and it's been how we have battled the past couple of years. Everyone in our program (coaching staff included) needs to make adjustments for us to get better. If we continue to play this kind of defense then we are in for a long year.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Gustavus 11/30/11
Last night we took on our first league opponent, the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties. It was first of three straight league games against teams with horrendous nicknames (Tommies and Oles are next).
We got off to a pretty hit start with a couple of fast break layups and really got going defensively. Our guys played with a lot of energy and it showed as we took a decent lead over the first couple of minutes. We somewhat held heir leading scorer, Seth Anderson, in check. We battled on the boards against a much bigger team. I was surprised to see he stats at halftime saying that they were shooting over 50% from the floor. I believe we were up by one at the half.
The second half started much like the first as we were playing solid defense and really communicating. After about ten minutes of play I was still close an you could also feel the momentum swinging our way. Like the Eau Claire and Whitewater game, we had them on their heels, and then we turned it over. They scored on the next couple of possessions and we didn't have an answer.
It is clear to us as with everyone else that we are struggling a bit right now. We will have to figure out a way to get the ship straightened. No need to panic right now but we certainly need to make some adjustments.
It doesn't get easy as we play St Thomas and St Olaf on Monday and Wednesday of next week. Both teams were predicted to finish in the top two of the conference in the coaches' preseason poll. UST knocked off Olaf last night after beating D2 Concordia St Paul last week
We got off to a pretty hit start with a couple of fast break layups and really got going defensively. Our guys played with a lot of energy and it showed as we took a decent lead over the first couple of minutes. We somewhat held heir leading scorer, Seth Anderson, in check. We battled on the boards against a much bigger team. I was surprised to see he stats at halftime saying that they were shooting over 50% from the floor. I believe we were up by one at the half.
The second half started much like the first as we were playing solid defense and really communicating. After about ten minutes of play I was still close an you could also feel the momentum swinging our way. Like the Eau Claire and Whitewater game, we had them on their heels, and then we turned it over. They scored on the next couple of possessions and we didn't have an answer.
It is clear to us as with everyone else that we are struggling a bit right now. We will have to figure out a way to get the ship straightened. No need to panic right now but we certainly need to make some adjustments.
It doesn't get easy as we play St Thomas and St Olaf on Monday and Wednesday of next week. Both teams were predicted to finish in the top two of the conference in the coaches' preseason poll. UST knocked off Olaf last night after beating D2 Concordia St Paul last week
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