GAME THREAD WVU vs. Iowa State

With senior guard Daxter Miles out (illness), WVU goes with a lineup consisting of Jevon Carter, Chase Harler, Wesley Harris, Esa Ahmad and Sagaba Konate.
 
What's up with Carter's red shoes? Looks like he had to borrow some from ISU.
 
When was the last time Lamont hit a 3? The guy can't buy a hoop
 
The Mountaineers just might continue to slide until they are no longer considered for votes in the Top 25. Then they will start playing again. I don't get it. A loss to ISU could just be the straw that breaks the camels back. One more thing. When is Jevon Carter going to stop driving to the bucket just to realize he has no shot and nobody to pass to? Warez
 
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We are a bad team now. Can get back to being a good team but we're playing like shit on offense and defense. Need to win Saturday or season could completely unravel
 
This team is broken right now.........What broke them? Was it Kansas? No doubt this team wasn't the #2 team in the nation, and I think we all agreed then that we weren't that good. But we aren't bad enough to lose to Iowa State by 16 points either.

Teams have figured us out. JC tries doing too much. Ball doesn't move hardly, gets stuck on one side of the court for too long. Defensively we were scorched again by the two things that have been our achilles heal: runouts (guards not getting back) and 3-pointers (in transition nobody challenging them).

We have a few guys that are donuts on the scoreboard pretty much every night now. Teddy, West, Harris, Esa, Harler...........very little offensive production during this slump. JC, Sags, and Bolden have been the only ones scoring the ball consistently.

Defensively in the half court, we have some that are really really bad......and we all know which ones that is.
 
I suggest we try this: Give up on the press. It doesn't work with this group. Try a zone... maybe like UVA's... make them shoot contested jumpers all game. Save's our legs for some late game offense too. Everybody gets to the rim on us now... I'd prefer if Konate didn't have 7 blocks a game... because that means they are getting to the rim too easily
 
I suggest we try this: Give up on the press. It doesn't work with this group. Try a zone... maybe like UVA's... make them shoot contested jumpers all game. Save's our legs for some late game offense too. Everybody gets to the rim on us now... I'd prefer if Konate didn't have 7 blocks a game... because that means they are getting to the rim too easily

I understand what you are saying, however, if we do that then we settle in to a halfcourt game with another team we WILL NOT WIN. Our offense in the halfcourt is atrocious. The only offensive set that we run remotely well is our flex-cut offense on the baseline with Dax or Esa. At least with the press, there is a hope that we can get some turnovers and points off them in transition. In the games we don't, then we will probably lose.......as we did tonight.

I still say tonight's game was more about heart and effort, not scheme. There were 3-4 guys out there that didn't want to be out there.
 
I understand what you are saying, however, if we do that then we settle in to a halfcourt game with another team we WILL NOT WIN. Our offense in the halfcourt is atrocious. The only offensive set that we run remotely well is our flex-cut offense on the baseline with Dax or Esa. At least with the press, there is a hope that we can get some turnovers and points off them in transition. In the games we don't, then we will probably lose.......as we did tonight.

I still say tonight's game was more about heart and effort, not scheme. There were 3-4 guys out there that didn't want to be out there.

My answer to you is how would we know? We can't win with the press... we can't win with half court offense off the press... with the press right now, as you said, all we have is hope.. and hope just flew out the window.

Now, I do agree with you that we don't have much of a half court offense right now. But, I'll ask you this - are Esa, Dax, and Lamont just that bad of shooters? I don't think so - they're no Steph Curry for sure but not that bad. So, why are they that bad now? From what I've seen over the years, when shooters go bad, and it isn't a form issue, then its almost always their legs. Usually shots that would go in clang off the from of the rim.

We don't have anyone who can beat their man off the dribble... no one is that fast. We don't have a true 2 guard - the blame for that goes on Huggins himself who has, for whatever reason, never been able to recruit one. Every other position, yes, an exceptional player, but not a true 2. We also can't seem to understand that you don't have to shoot every shot from either 2 feet or 20 feet. How about some nice 10 to 15 foot jumpers? oh well...
 
My answer to you is how would we know? We can't win with the press... we can't win with half court offense off the press....

First off I'd argue that we have 16 wins with the press........so there's that.

Secondly, we went out of the press tonight in the 2nd half, and how'd that work out? Didn't see any difference.
 
You can run the press effectively when you have talented enough backups to fill the roles they need to fill. We don't have a Phillip or Paige to come in off the bench and spell our shooters and perhaps give us a spark. We don't have an Elijah Macon to give Konate a break and provide a few points and leadership (or another true big man for more offensive options). Instead, so I won't throw anyone under the bus, I'll just say we have what we have - a bunch of kids that really just don't have much to offer in anything - offense or defense - right now.

Second, you won't see much difference when everything is gone from the start.
 
The fat lady has been singing for a week now. Anyone who thinks this team is going to do squat for the rest of the season...or who thinks the winning against the patsy part of the schedule was a chest pounding event...is tone deaf.
 
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or who thinks the winning against the patsy part of the schedule was a chest pounding event...is tone deaf.
Some degree of truth, with the exception of Texas A&M (L) Missouri & Virginia (W’s), the preseason competition could not give an honest assessment of this year’s squad’s likely hood of future success. The 15-1 start may have raised expectations far beyond the talent on hand. “Can’t guard anyone” may only be surpassed by Can’t shoot, score, or run a half court offense, either way, not a preferable combination for success.
 
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The fat lady has been singing for a week now. Anyone who thinks this team is going to do squat for the rest of the season...or who thinks the winning against the patsy part of the schedule was a chest pounding event...is tone deaf.

Yep. I'm tired of this "Press Virginia" crap. It doesn't work when a team beats it and definitely doesn't work when a Win or Loss is based on how the team handles pressure defense. In tournament games, this doesn't work and the more offensive-based team wins.

I'm ready for WVU to start trying to recruit more offensive-based players.
 
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I'm ready for WVU to start trying to recruit more offensive-based players.
Inability to score the basketball is certainly frustrating. Who was the last recruit who has been remotely close to Da’Sean Butler, Mike Gansey, or even Kevin Pittsnogle’s consistent offensive skills, particularly shooting the basketball? Can’t think of too many, sure I may be forgetting some.
 
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Inability to score the basketball is certainly frustrating. Who was the last recruit who has been remotely close to Da’Sean Butler, Mike Gansey, or even Kevin Pittsnogle’s consistent offensive skills, particularly shooting the basketball? Can’t think of too many, sure I may be forgetting some.

I honestly cannot think of any players Huggins has recruited that you can depend on day and night to score in games consistently.

Only one that comes to mind is Kevin Jones. Other than that, I don't see them.
 
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