Monday's 1st game tune up will give a nice comparative to an upcoming opponent. Murray State under returning coach Steve Prohm dismantled Brescia 102 -57. Murray only has one returning player who I believe was a walk on last year. While Prohm & McDevitt shared similar start-ups, meaning massive departures due to prior coaches exiting for higher profile jobs. The Murray kids can really play, lots of athletes. Watched exhibition on ESPN plus. I have no doubt we will win, but may not be the cakewalk I originally anticipated. Got to work that day, but looking for to ESPN Plus on demand replay.
BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee vs Brescia
- Thread starter MTFAN61
- Start date
The game is streaming live on MT Athletics/Basketball's twitter
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Nice to see basketball. Floor graphics look good, however, not sure how I feel about the 'ash' look. It's somewhere between a gray and a brown.
Only been able to check off and on. Will hopefully get to watch Wednesday or Thursday this week.
we will struggle to be a .500 ball club if we play like that every night. some pathetic offensive numbers against a team that we had significant height advantage and athletic ability over
concerns about an inability to shoot the 3 grow even larger. we won't win many games shooting 27% from deep.
concerns about an inability to shoot the 3 grow even larger. we won't win many games shooting 27% from deep.
I know it was education day or whatever, but attendance says 7,047. For anyone there, do those numbers seem close? That is a great turnout, even with all the kiddos, for a low caliber game like this.
The announcers mentioned that NAIA teams started practice before us, in addition we were their 4th season game. They've simply had more time to gel. But you are right, it has to get better.
After Smith hit a 3 to put us up 22-4
1st possession = turnover, then out of bounds on Brescia
2nd = shot clock violation, then BU scores
3rd = 0-1 in paint, BU rebounds and scores
4th = 0-1 in paint, BU rebounds, MT rebounds
5th = fouled
6th = misses jumper, missed 3, missed 3, made jumper.
BU goes on 7-0 run and we go 0-3 in paint and 0-2 outside the arc before Dish finally hits a jumper. After that was another missed 3, a turn over, BU hits a 3 and now is on a 10-2 run. They would go on a 12-5 run till the 4min media TO.
Looks like since I work from home now and have a better schedule I'll be watching more basketball. Does seem to make me happier....
I'm with Mtneer in the fact this team needs a few more games to gel. Glad we have Porter. Can see us taking a few L's, once team shooting balances up to our athleticism I believe the team will be ok.
Next opponent is Winthrop which got thumped by Penn State by 25. They are a prideful team & will be tough to beat at their place after that loss
Next opponent is Winthrop which got thumped by Penn State by 25. They are a prideful team & will be tough to beat at their place after that loss
Abundance of talent. New players look to have lots of athleticism, talent, and overall phenomenal potential.
Offense looked out of sorts. Chemistry or finding right combo of players on the floor looked to be an issue as one would expect for the first game of the season. Every year in openers or exhibitions vs NAIA type schools this is a fairly usual refrain. That is the NAIA team already has several games under their belt to be a little better organized in offense.
As the game went on, it appeared to me that the lack of a clearly defined PG floor general was glaring. Clearly there are several players that appear more than capable of running the point, but I'm guessing it's a leadership, chemistry, and/or experience issue at this point (or combo of all of the above).
What did I hear today? MT is one of only three in nation to not have transfer portal this offseason. Is that right? I knew CNM did good not losing anyone but that is crazy good.
For all the returning talented players and essentially the team from a good season last year, I was kind of hoping that they would look a little more cohesive and in flow to start the season. Then again, the big offseason losses to graduation were the floor generals. It's likely going to take more than a few games for a couple of players to step in and settle into the role of PG floor general. It's replacing what? 5 or 6 years of significant or starting PG experience?!
Coleman-Jones has visible raw talent or potential there to be developed, but it was obvious being out for almost two years has him really rusty.
Lastly, Dishman looked the most fit, healthy, and ready that I can remember since he has been here. Those injuries really took a toll on him. Him coming back this year is huge! Mad props to him to keep fighting through it which really started to show up and pay dividends down the final stretch last season. At times at the end of last season, it appeared to me he was almost carrying the whole team on his back when adversity struck. I'm really glad he is back and healthy. He just might have a really special season, and I will be elated to see it!
Offense looked out of sorts. Chemistry or finding right combo of players on the floor looked to be an issue as one would expect for the first game of the season. Every year in openers or exhibitions vs NAIA type schools this is a fairly usual refrain. That is the NAIA team already has several games under their belt to be a little better organized in offense.
As the game went on, it appeared to me that the lack of a clearly defined PG floor general was glaring. Clearly there are several players that appear more than capable of running the point, but I'm guessing it's a leadership, chemistry, and/or experience issue at this point (or combo of all of the above).
What did I hear today? MT is one of only three in nation to not have transfer portal this offseason. Is that right? I knew CNM did good not losing anyone but that is crazy good.
For all the returning talented players and essentially the team from a good season last year, I was kind of hoping that they would look a little more cohesive and in flow to start the season. Then again, the big offseason losses to graduation were the floor generals. It's likely going to take more than a few games for a couple of players to step in and settle into the role of PG floor general. It's replacing what? 5 or 6 years of significant or starting PG experience?!
Coleman-Jones has visible raw talent or potential there to be developed, but it was obvious being out for almost two years has him really rusty.
Lastly, Dishman looked the most fit, healthy, and ready that I can remember since he has been here. Those injuries really took a toll on him. Him coming back this year is huge! Mad props to him to keep fighting through it which really started to show up and pay dividends down the final stretch last season. At times at the end of last season, it appeared to me he was almost carrying the whole team on his back when adversity struck. I'm really glad he is back and healthy. He just might have a really special season, and I will be elated to see it!
We are really going to miss the tree point shooting of Jefferson and Sims this season. Post players Coleman Jones, Dishman, and Fussell are going to be serviceable but are not going to be go to scorers. McDevitt really needs to recruit some solid post players and more go to scorers at the guard position to make a solid championship team . This team will be a good defensive team but will struggle to score. It's a team of role players with no go to stars. I think we will struggle to have as good a season as last year. Hope I'm wrong.
After watching replay again can't disagree with your assessment. Lots of good athleticism, but worried about team perimeter play & continuity. Could take some time to smooth things out. As you said, hope we're both wrong
It's one game- the very first one at that.. your track record on jumping to bad conclusions regarding the guard play in first games isn't great (case in point) .. could they look better- absolutely. Did they shoot poorly- yes.
Still a lot of time.. I would easily argue you don't really want to be polished and high performing in November as it's really hard to keep 18-24 yo's attention for 5 solid months.. let the guards and roster get through the pecking order of who's starting/playing/logging key minutes- rotations that work best etc..
I think this team has a ton of potential, but there are also some things that need to be cleaned up. First, I don't think Porter will be our starting PG. CNM may like Weston coming off the bench, but our best lineup right now is probably Weston, Lawrence, Lenard, Millin, and Dish. I could see Bufford or even King cracking the starting lineup some, but I think that lineup is what we will see most of the year. No great shooters in that lineup, but you have to respect Lawrence and Millin from 3. We don't have a guy you can count on night after night, but we do have a group of guys that can catch fire at any given time. Just have to find the hot hand and right combination that works best for that game. If we get it figured out, we will have a very successful season. I don't mind not having an elite scorer as long as we play elite team defense and everyone plays within the offense. I don't think we will be playing many teams that can match our combination of size, athleticism, and skill. It all depends on the coaching staff finding the right combinations and the players buying in.
You look at the box and see the main factor they shot 5-18 from 3 is the combined 1-8 from Lawrence and Lenard. Eli can get streaky, I have no concern there. Teafale looked like he got a little ambitious after hitting the first 3PA. Had a couple airballs later IIRC. Not saying its not a concern, it was the main one I listed in the last column, but this was the first game of the year under special circumstances (11 AM on a Monday with 5k screaming kids).
Something I overlooked entering the season and was made apparent to me vs Brescia is the lack of off-the-bounce options we have to pull the opposing defense in. Sims and Jefferson were more cited as shooters but both took it to the rim plenty (Sims was second in 2-point makes on last season's team). Between those two and Weston always gave you two dribble drive threats at each guard spot all 40 minutes. Lawrence at the 2 isn't gonna give you that type of dynamic attack-the-basket ability.
Not sure about Trevon Smith yet, but it looks like Weston and Porter are the only two guards capable of getting to the rim consistently (maybe Tre Green but given how late he checked in, I am not expecting him to be in the main rotation, at least in these first few months). The problem is Weston and Porter didn't coexist much if at all Monday. Think that will have to change. If there aren't dribble drive threats or shooting threats, halfcourt offense could get very grim.
Something I overlooked entering the season and was made apparent to me vs Brescia is the lack of off-the-bounce options we have to pull the opposing defense in. Sims and Jefferson were more cited as shooters but both took it to the rim plenty (Sims was second in 2-point makes on last season's team). Between those two and Weston always gave you two dribble drive threats at each guard spot all 40 minutes. Lawrence at the 2 isn't gonna give you that type of dynamic attack-the-basket ability.
Not sure about Trevon Smith yet, but it looks like Weston and Porter are the only two guards capable of getting to the rim consistently (maybe Tre Green but given how late he checked in, I am not expecting him to be in the main rotation, at least in these first few months). The problem is Weston and Porter didn't coexist much if at all Monday. Think that will have to change. If there aren't dribble drive threats or shooting threats, halfcourt offense could get very grim.
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Oh is it? 1 good year doesn't make up for 3 bad ones. I've had concern about guard play since the day Nick arrived. Granted, he didn't have a lot of roster players his first two years but guard play has always been a concern, every year, as it should be for a G5 program (or any program). I had a lot of guard play concerns last year as well and rightly so. Sims didn't play that well the year before and Jefferson was a big question mark as a transfer and we had no idea Weston would break out like he did. Make no mistake, those have been rare exceptions since Nick arrived. We've seen many more busts than hits.
2022-2023 might be the "Year of the Big" according to national sportswriters, but teams are only going to go as far as their guards take them. Especially a program like ours. I stand by my belief that losing Sims and Jefferson is going to be extremely difficult to overcome. They may have only been 2 guys, but they did so much for the team on the offensive end and made a crap ton of timely baskets when we needed them. I believe our offensive numbers suffer significantly this year with their loss. I just don't see anyone on the team that can give us what they did on the offensive end unless Porter, Smith, or Green can surprise.
3 point shooting is everything in today's game. And right now we suck at it until proven otherwise. They are welcome to prove me wrong.
We will beat most teams most nights with defense and superior athleticism but when we go up against equal talent I just can't see us winning a lot of those games without 35-40% 3pt shooting. Closer to 40% hopefully.
I went through the schedule and estimate about 12 losses for this team, give or take a game or two. People are going to point to strength of schedule to try and explain away the losses but losses are losses. These should all be winnable games against fellow G5 programs that we should be beating. Let's remember, Nick McDevitt is one of the top paid G5 head coaches in the country. With a schedule that doesn't have a single power 5 program on it (nor a program from the pseudo-P5 American), along with Nick entering year 5, it's completely reasonable for expectations to be high for our program.
But back to the losses, I believe the vast majority of these losses will be to teams that we can't just rely on defense and superior athleticism against and actually have to hit shots (UAB, WKU, North Texas, UTEP, @FAU, Belmont, St Bonnies, SFA, possibly Winthrop/Mo St jury is out on them still, + a random off night or two with someone like a La. Tech).
I count 31 games on the schedule, so my prediction would then be 19-12 going into CUSA tournament. Not a good look after a very promising season last year. And I believe it will be because of a clear lack of 3pt shooting and offensive numbers down across the board. 19 wins isn't the end of the world, but it's certainly not what we are hoping for and being in year 5 as a top paid G5 head coach with a winnable schedule I think we should be getting a little more and going dancing soon. Again, team is welcome to prove me wrong.
What's your prediction Kingaling ? Not trying to get in a pissing match here but I would love to book mark this thread and return to it after the season.
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