Jake, Jake, Jake...

[UNIAlum95]

Valley - That is a pretty uninformed post.

Kwadzo will be a VERY good point guard for us the next three years. He has shown flashes of utter brilliance and has the ability to do things even Brooks cannot do. He will be the type of point guard we have been wanting for a number of years once he learns how to play within himself. Remember that he is a TRUE freshman being asked to control the ball against the most physical team in the Valley. Yes he did make several mistakes, bad passes, etc that caused turnovers. However, the same can be said for Brooks, Stout, Coleman, and Brown. Believe me the turnovers were a TEAM effort. No one was immune from them last night.

If Jake thought that Jared had the tools to run the point, we would have seen him doing it at times this season. I guess if you want to give up on him, go ahead. The reality is that you are going to see a lot of number 11 running the panther offense for the next three years...

[jman2004]

Very well put Khan4Cats. I had the exact same thought, you just put it more elogantly and not in such rambling.

SIU is a dirty defensive team. UNI is a great defensive team. There's a big difference and I'm glad someone else noted it.

[UNI MadCat]

I think you need to look at Kwadzo's conference stats. He has killed us and is not producing. He is a turnover machine and cannot shoot at all! Give Haak or Jones a chance, or let Josten run the point. Kwadzo is not very talented and we need to move on and build for next year.

Uninformed post.

I think in order to make statements like that you need to back it up with something. And, like I've said many times, these are student-athletes that dont get paid to entertain us -- you ripping them is inappropriate.

If there is something that you are seeing that you feel qualified to point out, point it out but give the kids a bit of a break here and also maybe be willing to balance it out a little bit. Idle comments that basically equate to "this guy sucks" don't do anything to help these conversations.

What I saw out of KA is someone that is giving it his all. Is he making some mistakes, yeah, no doubt -- he's a freshman, that's what freshman do. But the kid is showing some flashes. Plus, you gotta love his spirit. Watching him and others on the sideline after some big points down the stretch and he was REALLY into it. To me that's the sign of a kid that "gets it" and will be just fine in our system.

I am all for developing even more of a bench than we already have but I also trust our coaches. The developing time was in the nonconference schedule and I think they have a pretty good idea of who can handle being on the court during this huge time of the year. This is not the time to just test other guys out because people like you just dont like KA's game.

[jman2004]

Yeah, from what I could tell, the UNI team had 24 TOs last night and Kwadzo accounted for 4 of them and most of them a direct result of Mullins raping and grabbing him.

The other 20 came from somewhere. That post was a little ridiculous Valley.

[panther2317]

We lost by 2 points (at a place where 47 of the last 48 teams to play there have lost as well) despite the fact that we had 24 turnovers. Even when this team isn't playing at its highest level...they compete...they fight and that's what I love about watching them play. A technical or two missed FT's are easy things to point at because they stand out in your mind, but giving SIU 24 more possessions is what doomed the Panthers last night.

[Panther Alum 83]

SIU has a great defensive strategy - if all five players are basically fouling (pressure D) all the time the ref's can't call them all, eventually they miss some & eventually they let some stuff go, but usually only on one end of the court.

This same point was made on the Valley Talk board. The refs can't blow their whistle on every trip down the floor, so they swallow it. It's a genius strategy for winning at home, and winning conference games.

But in NCAA games it doesn't work too well. That's why I never expect too much from SIU in the NCAA tourney. Because then they're playing in front of refs who don't understand that they're supposed to be allowed to play like that - hack, grab, shove... And so they have to adjust their play on the fly against a very good team, after mastering a style all year long. The results are predictable.

[oldcat]

Boulderdash..................we had a lot of turnovers, the refs weren't on top of their game, we had a technical..........................but we kept playing hard and kept ourselves in the game. We could have folded our tent several times during that game, but they hung together and fought through it. We played great defense and our shooting was pretty darn good..............and this was at SIU where a lot of teams have bit the dust. Tournament time, they won't be getting those calls and I don't think they would want to run into us again.

[Panthers Win!!]

Hardly Madcat, while I'm no doubt biased and envious of SIU's home winning record (who wouldn't be?) it's not jealousy that motivates me nor I'm sure any of the other posters here to come out of lurker status to comment about the officiating. If "jealousy" as you put it is that I wish we could foul with impunity and not be called for it then yeah, I'm jealous. As a Bulls fan of many years I didn't like it when the Pistons did it and I don't care for it when SIU does it.

Get over the "good fans" don't "whine" about officiating. No one is suggesting that the officials aren't great guys, that they've been bought off or anything of the sort. I'm positive they have the best of intentions, work hard, are well trained and call it as they see it. All you can ask for though in sport is an equal playing field where you know the rules of the game beforehand. These young people that work their tails off for us and our school deserve that much. It sure seemed to many, if not most, that the conference didn't deliver that last evening.

Last comments and I'm going back to lurker status...

If the Panthers can continue to win and make the NCAA Tournament, which I think they can and will, this game will certainly give the coaching staff a lot of teaching material. It may actually be a blessing in disguise. I think someone could make a lot of money betting on the outcome with a SIU fan if the teams face each other again at the MVC tournament.

[9YRPLAN]

i rarely complain about officiating but i dont think it is whining to ask for consistency. siu plays great D, but holy crap they foul all the time. their intensity is ridiculous and deserves respect, but you have to call those fouls on the arm.

[otownpanther]

after reading all the posts and thinking about the game in my head, i wondered why uni didn't attack the basket more instead of allowing siu to push them close to halfcourt. i know its easier said than done, but siu was way more aggressive on d and uni played quite passively on offense. it seemed like they were more willing to look for someone instead of taking the ball to the basket.
also, i think b/c the lack of attacking the basket, the officiating usually "awards" the more aggressive team. that team was siu and not uni. the officials seemed to call more down low than out on the perimeter with the hand checks etc.
still, it stinks to lose by 2, but when you turn the ball over that many times, and have a chance to win the game at the end, you should feel very lucky.

[jegbomb52]

Actually, no. After the "T" we outscored them 12-8.

Key stats:
UNI Turnovers: 24
SIU Points off Turnovers: 29

SIU Offensive Rebounds: 9
SIU 2nd Chance Points: 14

Get over the "T" people, there were many, many, many other reasons we lost that game.

I know, imagine if we would have outscored them 12 to 8. This is no big deal, people blame losses on different things. Some blame the "T", some blame officials, I for one blame this on an overall "team loss". Too many nit-picky mistakes last night, just playing lazy, not all but a lot of the night.

[9YRPLAN]

brodie is my neighbor lol

[DancerHall Cat]

But in NCAA games it doesn't work too well. That's why I never expect too much from SIU in the NCAA tourney. Because then they're playing in front of refs who don't understand that they're supposed to be allowed to play like that - hack, grab, shove... And so they have to adjust their play on the fly against a very good team, after mastering a style all year long. The results are predictable.

I know this is your 1st post, but lets hope all of your posts arent this uneducated. SIU won a game in the tourny just 2 years ago before playing Okie State (eventual final four team) very tough in the 2nd round. Also, it hasn't been that long ago that this team was in the Sweet 16. This is probably the best program in the MVC right now.

Just because SIU plays great defense, half of the people on this board think they get away with something. They move their feet and pressure the ball at all times. It's not illegal. I wouldn't complain about more than 2-3 calls last night, and I certainly wouldnt say this team is dirty as some on this board have implied. SIU is a solid, hard-working team, period.

[Coachdags]

Bottom Line and Jake agrees with this....

Officials did not cost us the game.
Panthers did not do what they needed to do, to win.
Look for UNI to play even harder next time out,these guys compete.

GO PANTHERS!

[DancerHall Cat]

Panther-sheik

1st of all, try a paragraph break once in awhile.

2nd - I was referring to a post that implied that SIU won't and has not had any success in the NCAA tournament. As I pointed out, that could not be further from the truth.

3rd - for you and others that think that SIU gets all of the calls in the regular season, how do you explain this. I would assume that more than 1 crew calls their games throughout the year. Also, how do you explain some of the non-conference success they have had this year and in the past? Are these the same officials that are so biased towards SIU during MVC play?