Game 20--@ SIU

[PurpleCatFan]

This game is on the coach. 21 point lead at half and got totally out coached in the second half.what adjustments did he make besides clapping less courtside

[achrist70]

I’m a very superstitious person and look for patterns or things that might impact things. If you look at UNIs last cold streak as a program 11-14 people would say that we were always feeling the lost of Dougie, he graduates and we make the tournament the next two years. Since then we apparently have never gotten over the A&M game. I’m hoping the fact that the last 22 minutes were essentially a second happening of that game maybe for some reason the universe will realign itself and will get back to a winning program.

I know I’m talking out of my arse here, but I’m looking for something

[Panther AC]

Two things strike me as lacking with this roster: toughness and leadership.

[MNpanthers]

I’m a very superstitious person and look for patterns or things that might impact things. If you look at UNIs last cold streak as a program 11-14 people would say that we were always feeling the lost of Dougie, he graduates and we make the tournament the next two years. Since then we apparently have never gotten over the A&M game. I’m hoping the fact that the last 22 minutes were essentially a second happening of that game maybe for some reason the universe will realign itself and will get back to a winning program.

I know I’m talking out of my arse here, but I’m looking for something

Lol I rationalize superstitious stuff like this all the time. I'm on board, clearly the curse is lifted

[PantherFan]

Two things strike me as lacking with this roster: toughness and leadership.

Quickness and size

[Gboom23]

I can’t wait to see the tiebreaker scenario after all 10 Valley teams finish at 9-9. 😀

[SteinPizza]

Quickness and size

I totally agree with this. You’re also missing something else very important - athleticism.

[run&blade]

Two things strike me as lacking with this roster: toughness and leadership.

Toughness and leadership are just words to cloud up the real issue.


Players with talent and the bodies to use it.

Seriously, there is nobody on this team I expect to be able to score down low against real competition. Nobody on the roster had the body combined with skill.

Nobody can put the ball on the floor, command a double team and still get to the rim or kick out to open man.

Nobody had had the total package to be “the man” and carry the team or be the go to guy.

Green is as as close as they have and when it is all said and done it’s still jump shots. Uni needs a quick slasher at point guard to set Green up. No team with Green a PG is going to be very good unless you have an absolute beast on the block.

Hopefully there is a a lot of roster turnover and it sounds like maybe help is on the way next year. But we have heard that before.

Valkey stinks. Jake doesn’t need the best talent to dominate the league but he needs a lot more than what they got now.

At times all they are missing is beer bellys and uni would be would be the perfect old man ymca team where you take turns chucking 3’s.

First half looked like a game where the 3’s were going to drop and they would win easy.

[Khan4Cats]

I totally agree with this. You’re also missing something else very important - athleticism.

I would argue that this team is more athletic than the Coach Mac teams that went to three straight tourneys. Nobody on those teams compares to Brown, Pickford, or Berhow. Maybe Crawford could match Pickford. Brooks McKowen? Chris Foster? John Little? Adam Viet?, no contest. I'd match AJ with Benny and AJ would probably come out ahead on athleticism.

Size I can agree with in that we don't have a Stout or a Gruber-neither of which were incredibly 'athletic' but had a grit to them. We thought we had that in Phfye, but we know that story. And I don't buy the whole 'we should have planned for depth' argument as those Mac teams weren't exactly deep either, playing 7 players the last team in particular, with only Coleman and Stout as posts.

[SteinPizza]

I would argue that this team is more athletic than the Coach Mac teams that went to three straight tourneys. Nobody on those teams compares to Brown, Pickford, or Berhow. Maybe Crawford could match Pickford. Brooks McKowen? Chris Foster? John Little? Adam Viet?, no contest. I'd match AJ with Benny and AJ would probably come out ahead on athleticism.

Size I can agree with in that we don't have a Stout or a Gruber-neither of which were incredibly 'athletic' but had a grit to them. We thought we had that in Phfye, but we know that story. And I don't buy the whole 'we should have planned for depth' argument as those Mac teams weren't exactly deep either, playing 7 players the last team in particular, with only Coleman and Stout as posts.

You make good points, and I agree that these teams are more athletic than the Mac teams. However, they need to be. Mac, and Jake’s first coupe years, all had a ceiling due to lack of playmakers, guys who can create with the basketball. The game has moved more towards featuring the open court, and allowing athletes to make plays on offense. Any team that wants to be nationally relevant needs to ramp up the athleticism of their roster to keep pace, even teams that feature defense.

If you want to be relevant, just making tournaments isn’t good enough. You need to have teams built to win games, or at least be close enough at the end for a realistic chance to win against a good P5 team. Right now we have several guards who would be role players on a good team. That doesn’t cut it.

[DecadePanther]

I think everyone is severely overreacting and over-analyzing everything. Yes we're having a rough year, but let's not jump to the conclusion that it means we have no talent, or we're not big/strong/fast/athletic/etc enough to compete each night with any given team. This team has gotten a lot better from the beginning of the year. Sure, last night's second half was bad, but that doesn't mean the other 6 1/2 Valley games we have played have been bad. We didn't have a lot of post depth going into this season to begin with. You can blame that on recruiting, kids not panning out, etc. but it is what it is. Losing Phyfe is what caused this team to spiral out of control. Losing Miles who was becoming a steady spot in the point guard role contributed to the spiral. Pickford coming into the season not being 100% has contributed. Biggie losing time has contributed. We're down to 8 scholarship players and some on here are complaining that we're not up to par when compared to a couple of our best overall seasons in program history. How much sense does that make?

Compare this year and players to our Sweet 16 team's roles. Remove Eglseder for the year, remove Adam Koch for an extended period of time, remove Johnny Moran for half of the season. Have Ali play at 75% for the first 3/4 of the season and tell me how good that team is? That's what we're facing this season. And instead of having Kwadzo at point we have a true freshman who has been playing extremely well outside of the turnovers. And instead of embracing this team for the fight they are showing half of you are dumping on them like we don't have the talent, and I'm calling BS. Now, I'm not saying that these guys are as good individually as the players I just mentioned, but these are the guys trying to fill those roles and playing those minutes like the guys from the Sweet 16 year. And instead of being blown out night in and night out like many realists would expect with the circumstances we're in, we're sitting two games out of first place with our worst Valley loss being by nine points on the road with 11 games to go. And I don't think I need to remind you of last year and where we were sitting at this time.

As I said earlier, we could really use a Bennett Koch this year. Someone we can throw the ball in to the paint when things aren't going well who can get a bucket on a consistent basis and stop the bleeding. McDonnell isn't that guy, and we're forcing him to play out of position this year -- and to his credit he's done a pretty good job of it too! Dahl has shown flashes, and I know Mudra has it out for Jacobson, but what he/she isn't realizing is that Dahl gets tired rather quickly. So we can't play Dahl 25 minutes a game -- he even said himself after a game earlier this year in the post-game interview that he was extremely tired. He has gotten much better from early in the year but he's still a work in progress. Southern was killing us from outside, hitting long jumpers and getting us into foul trouble by driving the lane and getting bumped on the way in. How exactly does Dahl solve that problem? That's why he didn't play, not because Jacobson doesn't like big guys. He isn't quick enough to defend on the perimeter and that's not a knock on Justin, that's just the truth for most 7 footers. So complaining about him not playing many minutes in the second half shows the lack of basketball IQ Mudra must have.

I for one am damn proud of how this team is playing and fighting night in and night out. Outside of the second half last night we're back to playing solid defense despite playing down some guys. They compete night in and night out and that's all we can ask as fans. We have the best coach in the Valley, and it's hysterical that some of you don't believe that anymore. A few of you even mentioned the A&M game broke Jacobson, and I can assure you that's nowhere near the truth. There were some tough lessons in that game that has lead to some extra preparation (i.e. having multiple guys inbound the ball), but his leadership has also helped make this team competitive on a nightly basis again, and they've made huge strides from early on in the season despite losing some guys. I'm not sure what more you could ask from your head coach.

I hope many of you on here are just speaking from frustration rather than looking at the reality of the situation. I get it, losing sucks. But this team will be very good again in the very near future. A wise man once told me, "Never get too high on the highs and never get too low on the lows". We will be back in the tournament soon enough. I'm not counting out a run in March this season either, but we will be back soon. And I hope many of you are still on board when we are. This team needs us now more than ever, so quit throwing a pity party, go to the games, stand up and cheer, and support this team until the clock hits 0:00! That's what will make for a special season. Let's get some momentum going, and let's start it by attending the game Saturday, being loud, and cheering on these kids like crazy! I'm so proud of this team, this program, and this university! I know many of you are as well. Let's make it hell to play the Panthers at the McLeod again! Who's with me?

[run&blade]

Jake likely is the best coach in Valkey which is proof what dumpster fire the roster is.

The best player is a guy that required no recruiting. Should have freed up time to recruit better in other spots.

Dahl hast to sit out a half from the fatigue of playing 5 minutes in the first half?um ok.

Lising Phyfe hurt but he was no sure thing. He was far from a proven commodity heading into the year.

This team is no no better than it was from day one. They are chuckers. If they fall all things are fixed, when they don’t a DIII team can have them on the ropes.

They will get better when the roster is better and no sooner.

Some of you must have the movie Hoosiers playing in your house 24/7. Don’t need to be John Wooden to watch this team and see what the problem is. It’s talent down low and athleticism in the guard court.

The uni forwards might be athletic but they shoot like dung.

lets get real about McLeod, there will be no atmosphere until they win a lot. It’s the way it always has been and will be. Kiddie pep talks are pathetic.

[hediondo19]

I think everyone is severely overreacting and over-analyzing everything. Yes we're having a rough year, but let's not jump to the conclusion that it means we have no talent, or we're not big/strong/fast/athletic/etc enough to compete each night with any given team. This team has gotten a lot better from the beginning of the year. Sure, last night's second half was bad, but that doesn't mean the other 6 1/2 Valley games we have played have been bad. We didn't have a lot of post depth going into this season to begin with. You can blame that on recruiting, kids not panning out, etc. but it is what it is. Losing Phyfe is what caused this team to spiral out of control. Losing Miles who was becoming a steady spot in the point guard role contributed to the spiral. Pickford coming into the season not being 100% has contributed. Biggie losing time has contributed. We're down to 8 scholarship players and some on here are complaining that we're not up to par when compared to a couple of our best overall seasons in program history. How much sense does that make?

Compare this year and players to our Sweet 16 team's roles. Remove Eglseder for the year, remove Adam Koch for an extended period of time, remove Johnny Moran for half of the season. Have Ali play at 75% for the first 3/4 of the season and tell me how good that team is? That's what we're facing this season. And instead of having Kwadzo at point we have a true freshman who has been playing extremely well outside of the turnovers. And instead of embracing this team for the fight they are showing half of you are dumping on them like we don't have the talent, and I'm calling BS. Now, I'm not saying that these guys are as good individually as the players I just mentioned, but these are the guys trying to fill those roles and playing those minutes like the guys from the Sweet 16 year. And instead of being blown out night in and night out like many realists would expect with the circumstances we're in, we're sitting two games out of first place with our worst Valley loss being by nine points on the road with 11 games to go. And I don't think I need to remind you of last year and where we were sitting at this time.

As I said earlier, we could really use a Bennett Koch this year. Someone we can throw the ball in to the paint when things aren't going well who can get a bucket on a consistent basis and stop the bleeding. McDonnell isn't that guy, and we're forcing him to play out of position this year -- and to his credit he's done a pretty good job of it too! Dahl has shown flashes, and I know Mudra has it out for Jacobson, but what he/she isn't realizing is that Dahl gets tired rather quickly. So we can't play Dahl 25 minutes a game -- he even said himself after a game earlier this year in the post-game interview that he was extremely tired. He has gotten much better from early in the year but he's still a work in progress. Southern was killing us from outside, hitting long jumpers and getting us into foul trouble by driving the lane and getting bumped on the way in. How exactly does Dahl solve that problem? That's why he didn't play, not because Jacobson doesn't like big guys. He isn't quick enough to defend on the perimeter and that's not a knock on Justin, that's just the truth for most 7 footers. So complaining about him not playing many minutes in the second half shows the lack of basketball IQ Mudra must have.

I for one am damn proud of how this team is playing and fighting night in and night out. Outside of the second half last night we're back to playing solid defense despite playing down some guys. They compete night in and night out and that's all we can ask as fans. We have the best coach in the Valley, and it's hysterical that some of you don't believe that anymore. A few of you even mentioned the A&M game broke Jacobson, and I can assure you that's nowhere near the truth. There were some tough lessons in that game that has lead to some extra preparation (i.e. having multiple guys inbound the ball), but his leadership has also helped make this team competitive on a nightly basis again, and they've made huge strides from early on in the season despite losing some guys. I'm not sure what more you could ask from your head coach.

I hope many of you on here are just speaking from frustration rather than looking at the reality of the situation. I get it, losing sucks. But this team will be very good again in the very near future. A wise man once told me, "Never get too high on the highs and never get too low on the lows". We will be back in the tournament soon enough. I'm not counting out a run in March this season either, but we will be back soon. And I hope many of you are still on board when we are. This team needs us now more than ever, so quit throwing a pity party, go to the games, stand up and cheer, and support this team until the clock hits 0:00! That's what will make for a special season. Let's get some momentum going, and let's start it by attending the game Saturday, being loud, and cheering on these kids like crazy! I'm so proud of this team, this program, and this university! I know many of you are as well. Let's make it hell to play the Panthers at the McLeod again! Who's with me?

Well said.

[DecadePanther]

Jake likely is the best coach in Valkey which is proof what dumpster fire the roster is.
Dumpster fires would be getting blown out, we're not, despite missing two of our key pieces and another finally getting back up to speed. But ok!

The best player is a guy that required no recruiting. Should have freed up time to recruit better in other spots.
We brought in Berhow who's one of our better shooters and rebounders, Goldman who had B1G interest out of high school who was coming on as of late and has been hurt, and Croft who was an all-american but has been suspended. Please tell me how we didn't bring in better recruits? Did you want another McCloud running the show?

Dahl hast to sit out a half from the fatigue of playing 5 minutes in the first half?um ok.
I didn't say that. Reading comprehension must be tough for you. I said that's why he played those four minutes early and then sat back down instead of staying in. Southern was attacking us in ways that Dahl couldn't have helped with, but again, reading must not be your thing.

Lising Phyfe hurt but he was no sure thing. He was far from a proven commodity heading into the year.
You're correct in that Phyfe wasn't a sure thing, however he would have provided quality minutes defensively compared to what we have now. He moves a lot better than Dahl and is bigger than McDonnell, so yes, he would have helped a tremendous amount.

This team is no no better than it was from day one. They are chuckers. If they fall all things are fixed, when they don’t a DIII team can have them on the ropes.
This team is no better is just clear hate on your part with no reasoning behind it. Do you think there's a reason we're "chuckers"? Maybe it's because we don't have a reliable post option?? Cough, cough, Phyfe, cough. And to not see the improvement on the defensive end of late makes me question whether you're blind or simply not paying attention. You must have absolutely no coaching experience even at the youth level to not see our rotations are 100x better than they were at the beginning of the year. We have so many new pieces in, did you expect them to "get it" from day one?

They will get better when the roster is better and no sooner.
If by better you mean healthier then okay. This roster has more talent than we've had in a long time, but again I will refer back to not having an internal option. That's what's holding this team from an average team to a very good team. Guys are having to do too much to make up for the void. We have to double the post instead of guarding it one on one which makes us leave someone open. Again, see my coaching reference above. Put a Jake Koch, Bennett Koch, Grant Stout, Eric Coleman, Kavion Pippen on this roster and tell me they wouldn't be a tough out against anyone. And notice I didn't say Eglseder, Adam Koch or Tuttle. I didn't use them because they were some of the best we've had. Put an average true post on this team and we're miles ahead of where we are now.

Some of you must have the movie Hoosiers playing in your house 24/7. Don’t need to be John Wooden to watch this team and see what the problem is. It’s talent down low and athleticism in the guard court.
I wish you could talk to John Wooden and he'd tell you how ignorant you're being regarding "athleticism". Look at our top teams at UNI. Was Moran, Kwadzo, Ali, Dunham, Haak, etc. a more athletic group than A.J., Berhow, Brown, Pickford, Lohaus, Haldeman, Wentzien? If you think so then I suggest you go back and look at the tape. What made them good was defense that kept us in games. It had nothing to do with athleticism. They didn't have to double the post which made it tougher for offenses to find open shots against them, something this group now doesn't have the ability to do. You keep talking about athleticism and keep being wrong, that's your hill to die on.

The uni forwards might be athletic but they shoot like dung.
I find it hilarious that you think our forwards are athletic but not our guards. Biggie probably has the best shot of the group and was starting to come on until he got hurt. McDonnell is a 45% 3 point shooter. Luke has had his struggles at the line this season for sure, but to say he shoots like dung is laughable at best, unless 45% is bad. I'm pretty sure every program out there would take 45% from 3 from their starting forward, just saying.

lets get real about McLeod, there will be no atmosphere until they win a lot. It’s the way it always has been and will be. Kiddie pep talks are pathetic.
What's pathetic is your attitude, actually. The McLeod was built for noise. Even with 3,000 in there it can get loud during runs. You either must not attend games very often if you believe that or are deaf on top of being blind. Yes, obviously it's more fun with a name brand opponent in there with 7k+, but you must not attend if you say the atmosphere is terrible 100% of the time. The students are key and unfortunately playing most of our non-conference away from home and then playing home games during Christmas break didn't help. Come on Saturday and I would venture to guess the atmosphere is the best it has been the entire year. Or you can just continue to be a keyboard warrior and kill everyone else's vibe because we're not in the top 25, your call. I'll be there, will you?

See my responses above.

[run&blade]

Brown and Pickford average 7 and 4 points a game while just getting about 40% from the field. They scare nobody and that doesn’t scream athleticism to me.

Uni’s center shoots 3’s. Because the other four guys on the court don’t have that covered. I guess that explains why at times all five guys are hanging around 3 point arc.

Look at points per game and shooting percentage. It’s pretty awful from top to bottom.

Create own shot (jacking 3’s don’t count) and getting to rim when everybody knows you are going to and still do it equals athlete.

There isnt a guy on this current roster that could carry Kwadzo’s jock. He is exactly what they need.

i go to plenty of games. Sit in student section bleachers with lots of families with kids, been that way the past few years. If that equals big time basketball atmosphere to you maybe you could pick up the blue ray Incredibles movie on the way home.