Goooood evening AU Hoops fans. What a game, what a GAME. I hope you were able to make it to Bender today to see our AU Eagles beat Colgate 73-63. Barring that, I hope you were able to watch it in some form. This was one of the more enjoyable games I've ever seen at Bender, to be honest. Lots of passion from a very fired up team as they extended the PL home winning streak to 18. The recap is here and the box score is here. I also have to say I'm very happy to see the post-game press conference video up, nice touch athletics! Let's get to dishing out the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY after the jump!
THE GOOD
STEVE LUPTAK - Talk about having the game of your life. Luptak put on a show today for the Bender faithful. His previous career highs were 15 minutes and 5 points. Today's line? Blows it out of the water. In 23 minutes, Luptak scored 18 points. 4-6 from the field, 3-4 from behind the arc, 7-7 from the line, 2 assists, and a steal. He also had a basket waved off because he stepped out of bounds, but that was a sick play...After draining a 3 Luptak made a steal and was racing down the sideline. Sadly he touched the line on his way, but he was well on his way to adding to an already career day. His defense today was also phenomenal and he hassled Kyle Roemer all day long (more on that shortly). My hat is off to you, Steve. What a day for you.
STEPHEN LUMPKINS - Gotta be something about people named Steve/Stephen today. The "STE-PHEN LUMP-KINS" chant that bellowed from the Blue Crew in the last 4 minutes of the game today was well-deserved. Lumpkins played a masterful, dare I say, dominant, game today. 7-11 from the field and 5-7 from the line for 19 total points to lead AU scorers. He also tossed in 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and FOUR blocks. Just nasty inside today swatting stuff away. His boxing out also helped open up rebounds for the rest of the team (which is why we out-rebounded the Red Raiders 36-29). The best part about Lumpy's game today though was the swagger he brought to the court. He was one fired up big man. 4-5 rim bending dunks, including a last one where he shook his defender and went nuts on the basket. He looked like the dominant big man we saw in pre-season, and it was wonderful to watch.
Vlad "the Impaler" Moldoveanu - In just his second game in Bender Vlad had cries of "IMPALED!" echoing in section 114 today. He didn't do anything fancy today because he didn't have to put the team on his back. You don't want to take games like this for granted from Vlad because 6-9 from the field, 3-5 from the arc, 7 rebounds and 2 assists is a great line. He did foul out, but the officiating was overly sensitive and two of his fouls were incredibly ridiculous (apparently being on the same court as a Colgate player was a foul at times today).
The Blue Crew - Here's the thing, Blue Crew. On the back of your shirts it says, "WE ARE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE." That's not a joke, that's serious. A friend of mine from Colgate was at the game and was amazed at our school spirit and the ferocity of our crowd. We need to cultivate that. We want opposing teams to be afraid to set foot inside Bender. We need to be merciless and loud. We don't need to be rude or profane (though I have been and am at times, I guess) to be successful. There's a reason we win so many games at Bender in the Patriot League, it's because we're inhospitable and we make other teams know they're not welcome. At times today we got really fired up, but we need to try to maintain that passion throughout the game. Let our guys know they've got a six man watching their backs; it helps a lot. Today was a good showing, but we can do much better.
Team play - To be honest, this was a team win today, the 3 guys I mentioned above were the highlights, but this took the entire team. Hendra only had 2 points, for example, but he dished out 6 assists. Daniel Fisher, Matthew Wilson, Riley Grafft, and Joe Hill didn't have particularly impressive games on paper, but they opened up opportunities for their teammates, played solid defense, and didn't make a ton of mistakes.
Team defense - At halftime, Colgate had 30 points, and only 3 players for Colgate had scored. Kyle Roemer, the Patriot League's leading scorer, had only 7 points after being locked down by Joe Hill and Simon McCormack (who chipped in 7 points and 3 rebounds by the way). Roemer finished the game with just 19 points (he averaged 28 in his first two PL games). He was visibly frustrated after going just 6-19 from the field (I imagine the constant taunting and comparisons of him to an extra from Cops probably fed into that). The Red Raiders shot just 38% from the field and had their rhythms constantly disrupted by the pesky AU defense.
Team attitude - I've accused this team of having no heart at times this season. I don't retract that accusation now, but I do say that it certainly didn't hold today. This was a group of very passionate Eagles. Winning will do that, I guess, but from the very beginning this was a group of guys with fire in their bellies. If they can keep up this level of passion they will be a dangerous team because I think the despondence that they have shown in previous games has been their downfall more than anything else.
Free throw shooting - 19-23. Very nice. 'Nuff said.
The dance-off between Clawed Z. Eagle and the GEICO Gecko - That was a halftime show full of pure awesome, and I never wanted it to end...
THE BAD
The number of fouls - 23 is just way too many. I'm not sure how much of this is on the team because the refs just called a very tight game overall (43 fouls). It didn't hurt us too much in this case (Vlad fouled out when we had a 7 point lead), but it could hurt us in the future. Need to be disciplined and not give up ticky-tack fouls.
Not locking down Yaw Gyawu and Ben Johnson in the first half - At halftime, Colgate had 30 points. Gyawu had 13 and Johnson had 10. Roemer had the other 7. If we know that Colgate can't get scoring contributions from the rest of their team, we need to work extra hard to lock down these 3 guys and force the other guys to do something. Gyawu finished with a game-high 22 despite our best efforts.
The fact that the dance-off ended with Clawed and the Gecko grinding - ...I didn't want it to end, until this part. Sexual tension between mascots is uncomfortable to watch.
THE UGLY
Kyle Roemer once I got into his head - Here's the thing, Kyle. I know I'm relentless and cruel at games with the barbs I'm tossing at you. I know you don't like hearing that you're overrated, that you didn't show up for this game, that you look like a scruffy extra from Cops, etc. etc. but do yourself a favor: don't look right at me while you're on the court, put a finger behind your ear, and make the "I can't hear you" motion. When you do that you confirm to me that 1. you CAN actually hear me and 2. I'm getting inside your head. That just gives me carte blanche to continue being merciless. Sucker.
The officiating in this game - It was a very tightly called game, but it was inconsistent. Is traveling not a violation anymore? Is brushing somebody's jersey a foul? Do you guys even talk and consult with each other to make sure you're making the right call? No? You don't call a foul on Roemer when he elbows Simon in the mouth, but if Roemer gets his arm grazed he gets a whistle? Smells funny to me. This officiating crew was very poor, and I hope we don't get this terrible trio again any time soon.
I think that's it for today. Great game all-around, and I'm happy to be back in the thick of things in the Patriot League. We'll see you tomorrow for the PL check-in!
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
This game was so good that in the postgame press conference, JJ not only talked about the importance of having fun, but he also SMILED.
ReplyDeleteI was stunned.
You know, that's one thing I left out, this was the first game in a loooong time that I thought they were having fun out there. Makes a big difference. Everything was much smoother.
ReplyDeleteToday was such an excellent game that I've had a smile almost as big as Vlad's all evening. The only time Vlad stops smiling on the court is when he's making one of his awesome "I just impaled you...AGAIN" faces.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Vlad, I really hope as we move further into PL play that he can keep the fouls down. We got 23 REALLY solid minutes from him today, and his last two fouls didn't come until the last 2.5 minutes of regulation. Still, the 17 minutes he didn't see play I imagine were largely due to fouling concerns. Imagine if we could get 35+ solid minutes from Vlad, like we used to get from Carr, Mercer, or Gilmore on a regular basis. That would be absolutely terrifying for our opposition.
"IMPALED...IMPALED...IMPALED" all game long. It's music to my ears.
Of course on the plus side of all this, our bench is getting excellent time. One thing I saw tonight that I don't think I really saw at any point last season was serious depth at a number of different positions. It's good to know that Vlad can sit down and we don't have to worry. Those kind of options just weren't there last season and would have really helped us in close games where we lost because we got worn out ('Nova, anyone?).
Finally, speaking of the Blue Crew and of good things the athletic department has done, I really liked the little cards they included in each program today with the AU Fight Song on them. I'd love it if more people knew the song and could sing it loudly at games - like all fight songs it looks mildly lame on paper but when its bellowed by a large group of people at a sporting event, it's fierce.
Go Eagles!
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ReplyDeleteI also want to share my love for the pep band tonight. It might just be me but it sounds like they got more brass, and it sounds great.
ReplyDeleteFinally, it's also worth mentioning that not only is our home PL streak at 18, but our win streak against Colgate is now up to 11. Here's hoping we can push it to 12 (and possibly farther) this season.
My thoughts - Excellent game friends. A lot of ticky tacky fouls were called, but as Bill mentioned, the inconsistency is somethings you cannot accept. I know this isn't the Big East, but there has to be some level of consistency in the game calling.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to reiterate how impressed I am with Steve Luptak. A great game by him. He controlled the ball, directed the action, and had great shots. Kudos!
I would like to know the 411 on Blake and Jeff Holton's status. Perhaps an injury?
Yes CBS college Sports is not MASN. But TV exposure of any kind is good for the program. Good job AU Athletics.
I have to be honest I don't know the entire fight song. In addition to handing out it on paper, the cheerleaders and dance team should know it and SING it, the whole thing.
Lastly, the pep bands sounds better and better with each passing game. Good Job.
Go Eagles!
With regards to Blake, Jeff, and Bersch - here's what I've heard: Blake has a horrible attitude about the game and his role on the team; he doesn't seem to fit with JJ's mentality. Bersch is "a big softie" who hasn't looked good in practice at all because he isn't physical enough. Jeff has been doing well, but he's just not talented enough to beat out the likes of Vlad, Lump, Fisher, etc. for minutes.
ReplyDeleteDidn't they see Bersch play and practice in high school? They should have made that assessement then. In the case of Jeff Holton, Why did they recruit another player similar to other players they already had? Regarding Blake, I heard that the coaches liked his attitude when they recruited him? Does he not like the style of play or does he not like JJ or JJ does not like him? Any chances that these kids might bail after the season is over? It appears that snodgrass made a smart move.
ReplyDeletePlease elaborate about Blake's attitude and his opinion about his role on the team if you can? I'll certainly speculate on it tomorrow, but I'd like more data. E-mail me at auhoopsblog@gmail.com if you have to/don't want to talk about it here.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if we lost another player or two at the end of the season. I didn't/don't honestly think we're going to be lucky enough to keep both Blake and Danny for 4 years. They're both talented enough to be starters (eventually) somewhere.
Thing is, players like Vlad are going to graduate long before players like Bersch, so I'm really hoping he sticks around and matures into a really great player. Who thought Garrison Carr was going to be such a star his freshman and sophomore years? Probably not too many...then he just exploded. I can see similar things happening with Bersch. I sincerely hope all of these guys stick around as Eagles.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to follow up on Joe's comment about the Fight Song.
ReplyDeleteMark, the Pep Band Director, went around and passed out the lyrics to the fight song and each section alternated who sang and who played. (So Phil and John in the Trombone Section sang, Travis played. I sang, Mitch played in the Tubas) The fight song just isn't easy to sing along to and the words are awkward. (At some point I started to sing about squashing all types of diversity)
That being said, I didn't know Albany's lyrics until I downloaded it to my IPod. If I had an Itunes version of the fight song to sing along with and practice I may do a better job at it.
I also think we need to do more with IPod Applications and spirit programs. Maybe have an IPod Application for when the game is happeing, or game stats, or even lpayers names, or a copy of the alma mater.
Every onward to victory!
Sorry, my other thought, why not enlist OASN to do the fight song?
ReplyDeleteDo you remember that scene in Lean on Me where no one knows the school song, and the piano teacher teaches the kids an acappella version? Maybe OASN can do something with ours.
Can't disagree more regarding Bersch. Showed he can play in games early in the season, was very good against Manhattan. I think he should be playing wing with his ability to shoot and handle the ball. With his size, can get more clean looks than Joe Hill.
ReplyDelete