We have no guards!

[Mudrafan]

we are talking about guards. Our guard play is very weak & inexcusable. We lack Mo Valley talent at all guard positions. Our great post play masks it or it would be even more evident than it already is.

[LongBall42]

Yeah, I was just referring to Mike Williams and Mason Stewart. I mean it's nothing against Carlton Reed at all who will be huge for the future, but not having an active sophmore hurt depth.

[9YRPLAN]

what frustrates me is that mid-majors are usually able to find some diamond-in-the-rough guards that become stars, while teams struggle finding quality bigs. well we managed to find 2 post players who would probably start for all but 15-20 NCAA teams, but yet couldnt find any guards to complement them for this year. sucks to be wasting our talent inside.

[Cobra 23]

Seriously can anyone tell me why Stephen Jones touches the court ever? He does absolutely nothing. On offense we play 4 on 5 when he is in the game and on defense he is average at best. The guy should not play unless we are up by 20 with 30 seconds left in the game. I am sure he will turn into an alright player someday, but today is not that day.

On another note, with the way they played tonight why did Stout play in the end, Jordan was one of the only guys that gave us any energy and life. He did a good job on offense posting up strong and going to the hoop. Yes he missed a few shots, but he worked hard and made himself available for the passes. On defense he also did a pretty good job tonight getting a couple of rebounds and blocking a shot. Tonight was a night where he should have seen a lot more minutes!

[oldandgrey]

Tonight I saw the panthers give a good effort. Both teams left it on the floor, they both played with a lot of passion. It is too bad the referee's didn't give this game their best effort. They let the game get out of control at times. And I can't imagine what the ref saw when Brooks picked Ahearn's pocket with about a minute left. We were right in front of the play and there was no foul there. He thought it looked like a foul so he called one. Also when was the last time we ever saw two double techical fouls called in a game. I hope coach Jacobson gives the head of the MVC a call, these officals got to take their game to another level.

[9YRPLAN]

you are correct, i watched the game on FSN and saw the replay and TIVO. it was clean.

[jman2004]

Cobra 23, I tend to agree with you about Jones, but he actually played pretty decent defense tonight.

[UNIAlum95]

Jones played very good defense tonight. He did not give up much and spelled the guards well. We need his minutes to rest JJ and Brooks. I was impressed we the entire team effort tonight. It finally looked like a team that wanted to win.

[Panthers to the Bone]

I thought Jones played very well tonight. He can shoot the three, but just hasn't taken any shots lately. On defense, I thought he did a nice job.

I thought Jordan played well tonight, as did Brooks and Jared (and Brown played better tonight also).

The calls by the officials (namely the McKowen pick) were sketchy at times. The double technicals were....um...interesting. What's up with Mitchell being in UNI's huddle?

The good news is that this team is really playing hard still. Some teams would pack it in...this team isn't. They are still playing hard, and as long as they do that, they will continue to have a chance to succeed.

[unigriff]

I usually don't do it, but i gotta...even as a ref...the phantom foul on the steal was what decided the game in the long run. Yea we didn't make FTs, and still almost won, but seriously, in the midst of a big run and you call a touch foul like that and let Stout get mauled on a 3 (bleeding i might add) and no call and Coleman getting grabbed and shoved around in the post and no calls. The first I woulda gave the ref crew a A-/B+...they weren't too bad at all. But boy...they were acting like Div. II refs in the 2nd half. They let this game get the best of them. The call killed us.

[DRAKELAWPANTHER]

I didn't understand why we had Jones on the floor either - especially when we were down by 12 in the second half. He may be good on the defensive side of the court, but contributed nothing offensively.

Also, it has become embarrassingly clear how good our big men are, and how bad our guards are. With every missed (and wide open) three - you could hear an audible groan from everyone in the McLeod Center. It makes it pretty easy for other teams when they only have to guard two players...Shooting the ball so poorly from the perimeter - with wide open looks - is unexcusable...

However, having watched the team in person tonight...I still have a glimmer of hope that IF the three's start to fall, we could make a run at the tourney. Of course, if we have to play-in...it will be that much tougher...

On a sidenote: It was interesting to hear all the crowd support for Jordan tonight. I got the sense that everyone in the arena tonight felt like Jordan should have been on the court a lot more...every time he got put in or came out, he got a HUGE round of applause. I guess I was surprised that the discontent over his lack of playing time was so widespread...Thoughts???

[Deke3]

I
On a sidenote: It was interesting to hear all the crowd support for Jordan tonight. I got the sense that everyone in the arena tonight felt like Jordan should have been on the court a lot more...every time he got put in or came out, he got a HUGE round of applause. I guess I was surprised that the discontent over his lack of playing time was so widespread...Thoughts???

Glad he got to play tonight he did really well, Coach Jake mentioned how much his being on the floor affected the game/atmosphere in the McLeod Center. I still feel Jordan needs to improve before we will see him on the floor for an extended amount of time. He still lacks the foot speed and ball handling skills that are necessary. His points tonight were great, along with the energy he brought to the court/crowd. It was Coleman and Stout that needed to step up tonight.

[unigriff]

Jordan was awesome tonite..his defensive awareness still lacks, but offensively he was a force.

on the bright side panther fans...no worries!!! YOU KNOW WE'LL PLAY MSU in the first round in St. Louis, we have the last 2 years! Its a given! Unfortunately i wish we wouldnt have to play Creighton in the semis...if we beat MSU...but eh!

[Cobra 23]

Completely agree about the refs letting this game get out of control. I think they lost control of the game when they let Coleman get mugged from behind and did not call the intentional foul as that guy may as well have jumped on his back and asked for a piggy back ride. And since when is it a double technical foul if a guy storms into the bench of the other team and is trying tot start stuff with every guy on the bench. Just because it was a 3 point game with less than a minute left does not mean every call has to be offsetting.

I still completely disagree that we need Jones to spell Jared and Brooks. K-Jo does a far better job of that. Since we opened MVC play here are Jones's stats. 58 minutes, 0-3 FG, 1-2 FT, 0-3 3PT, 3 Assists, 0 Rebounds, 1 TO, and 2 PF. K-Jo plays defense just as well and actually gives us some offense. We cannot win games having guys that do absolutely nothing on the offense end of the floor continue to steal minutes from guys that can actually make the other teams have to guard them.

[jman2004]

That's true, Kwadzo isn't afraid to shoot the ball and has shown he can drain outside shots at times. Jones doesn't shoot the ball at all. I agree with you, it doesn't really hurt us or help us when he's on the court, so I can see what you mean, why is he even in there.