Sorry it took me so long to get this edition of the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY out. My heart only stopped skipping beats about 10 minutes ago. The year of Jekyll and Hyde continues, friends and fans. A Tale of Two Halves, if you will. Yesterday at half, AU enjoyed a 47-30 advantage over FAU in what was easily the best offensive half they'd had all season. The patrons of the liveblog, myself included, were overjoyed (and not a little shocked) at the great play on the road from the Eagles. And then everything came crashing down in the second half. After pushing the lead to 52-30, the Eagles went on to give up their huge lead (at one point the Owls got within 1 measly point). The important thing here is that the Eagles gutted out the win and now stand at 4-0 with a very winnable game at Howard up next. Let's talk about what made this game so GOOD, BAD, and UGLY.
THE GOOD
Stephen Lumpkins - Well, being benched certainly seems to have motivated Lumpkins. After not starting yesterday, Lump had his best game of the season and played 32 minutes. Along with Vlad and Hendra, he was one of the few Eagles who was effective in the second half. This was Lump's first double-double of the season (22 points, 15 rebounds). The shooting percentage was excellent as well (8-12, 6-9 from the line). Overall just a tremendous game for Lump, who had his hands full on defense with Kore White and Brett Royster, but still only earned three fouls. This is the Lump we've been waiting to see, and hopefully he's here to stay.
Vlad Moldoveanu - Vlad had a tremendous second half again (scoring 19 of his 22 post-halftime). His free throw shooting was clutch down the stretch and sealed what was a very tenuous victory for the Eagles. Vlad played in foul trouble most of the game but did a great job not fouling out. He didn't have his touch from long range (1-5 from 3) but his inside game was great as he did a great job penetrating and getting to the basket. He also did a good job limiting turnovers (read: eliminating them, since he had 0) and also kicked in 7 boards.
Nick Hendra - Hendra's stat line was again secondary to what he contributed with intangibles. From the call of the game you could hear that he was all over, pressuring FAU's hordes of guards on the perimeter, chasing loose balls, and still carrying his own weight on the offensive end. He finished with 11 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and a steal. Your efforts are not being overlooked, Hendra, you're critical to this team's flow right now, and we acknowledge it!
Troy Brewer's first half - This is the Troy Brewer that we heard about and expected. At the half, Troy was the game's leading scorer with 14. 5-5 from the field, including 4-4 from 3. He also chipped in 2 steals, 2 assists, and 3 boards. Just an absolute beast. Which is what makes his second half so disappointing. We'll get to it in a minute.
First half offense - Just awesome. 16-29 overall, 7-11 from 3, and 8-9 from the line. All of this with 9 assists and outrebounding the Owls.
First half defense - Similarly awesome, we held the Owls to 21% shooting (6-28), and 2-6 from behind the arc. The only bad thing about this in the first half was the number of fouls we committed (a whopping FOURTEEN) that resulted in the Owls going 16-19 from the line. Without those fouls we would have had them completely locked down.
THE BAD
Troy Brewer's second half - Well, first watch this video. Only replace the word "Yankees" with "Troy Brewer":
Troy was awesome in the first half. And not so awesome in the second half. In the second half he went 0-3, 0-2 from behind the arc, with just one point (a free throw). He did chip in 2 boards, 2 blocks, and a steal, but he also earned three fouls and just completely disappeared on offense. Like we've said here, is defense merits him being on the floor, but we've got to get some consistency. We needed someone else other than Lump, Nick, and Vlad to step up and play in the second half. That's where Troy is supposed to come in, and he did not.
The point guard position - While Danny and Steve played good defense on the FAU guards in the first half, their commitment of multiple fouls resulted in a much less efficient second half. Luckily, neither fouled out, but the defense in the second half was less than stellar. We're still not getting much in the way of offensive production out of either of them. They combined to go 1-5, 0-2, 2-4 with 4 points (all Munoz), 3 assists, and 4 turnovers. I don't think Luptak is long for his starting position. Munoz is at least kicking in something on the offensive end and brings the ability to slash to the basket.
Assists-to-turnovers - We'd done with on assists-to-turnovers the past few games, but yesterday it was just 1:1. In the second half we only had two assists. That's a sign of an offense that's not functioning well and not working together. The evidence is there: Vlad and Lump had to put the scoring on their backs all second half.
THE UGLY
Number of fouls: We committed 29 fouls yesterday. TWENTY-NINE. Unreal. The game was called tightly on both sides (49 total fouls called), but that was not a disciplined showing yesterday from the Eagles.
The elephant in the room: THE FACT THAT WE ALMOST BLEW A 22 POINT LEAD - Yes, a win is a win. And I'd much rather be 4-0 than 3-1, but that second half was ugly yesterday. It felt like we were playing not to lose. We were very lucky to escape yesterday with the W. Like Mike Jarvis said after the game, 8 or 9 times out of 10, FAU is supposed to win that game. We made the 1 out of 10 as ugly as possible before getting the hell out of Boca Raton.
Other thoughts about the game yesterday?
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
You nailed the analysis again. Unfortunately, after Vlad's immediate success with AU, it is easy to think that all transfers (especially from a power conference like the SEC)will undoubtedly have a similar immediate impact. Does Troy make the Eagles better--absolutely and the program in general is fortunate to have him. Does he make us better to the extent that Vlad has--no, of course the season is young, but it might be a reality that we have to live with.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that is was not like we got a top scorer from the SEC and now he is not performing at the same level that he did with Georgia. Yes, without a doubt, the PL is not at the same level as the SEC, but if your shot is off, then your shot is off. What we have seen from his so far that is positive are his hot streaks that do add value to the team (even if not as much as hoped for). But, the consistency, at least at this point, and based on past statistics, may not be there, so the Eagles have no choice but to find it elsewhere.
With Hendra playing so well it will be hard to replace him with Hinkle, especially if Hendra is playing better than Brewer. If this is the case, then Hinkle might come in for Brewer when he gets cold, even though Hinkle is more known for his solid defense than his scoring ability. The great thing is that JJ will certainly make the best decision, so no matter how individual players perform, it is a good feeling to know that JJ will put the best team on the court. In JJ We Trust.
As for the point guards, the game exposed what speedy 1 guards can do. By getting by the Eagles slower guards, such guards did, and will most likely, continue to cause fouls. I was not surprised, after reading the scouting report, that FAU's guard oriented offense drew so many fouls on Munoz and Luptak, but what really surprised me is that Wayne Simon was not put into the game--even after Danny and Steve had 4 fouls. This puzzles me not just because of the foul troubles, but because Simon is apparently a good defender (helped by his long arms and speed). So, why didn't that happen, especially during the time when the team was up by so much? Does this mean that Simon is really not giving JJ enough confidence to play him, or is simply that JJ has decided to stick solely with Danny and Steve, no matter what?? Any thoughts?
Aside from this, we as fans should really be proud of the team's ability to travel 1000 miles to pick up a win as an underdog against a solid team. 4-0 is as good as it gets--GO EAGLES!!!
We would have won by 20 if we weren't called for every homer foul. They shot 36 foul shots. Jarvis was out coached. They were out played and we would win by more next time now that we raelize that their quickness doesn't bother us. We consistently beat their pressure. FAU is just a travel team trying to play college ball.
ReplyDelete"FAU is just a travel team trying to play college ball." Um. If that's the case, then a travel team's top four guards are all better than our best guard. So, ridiculous statement on your part. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteDo agree with you on the fouls though.
No insights for you re: Wayne Simon, AU Alum. We'll try to drum up what we can about it.
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify, lest anyone take what I said wrong, I'm more praising FAU's guards than knocking ours. They have a tremendous backcourt. There's no taking that away from them, so to call them a travel team is just unwise. Steve and Danny were overmatched yesterday in the second half, there's no doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteB^3
ReplyDeleteYOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED THIS GAME. OUR GUARDS CAUSED RAY TAYLOR TO BE BENCHED FOR THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF THE GAME. THIS IS THE SAME GUARD THAT JARVIS SAID LAST YEAR SHOULD BE PLAYING AT A HIGHER LEVEL. TAYLOR WAS 0 FOR 8 FROM THE FIELD WITH TWO TURNOVERS. GREAT PERFORMANCE. DEFINITELY OUTPERFORMED OUR GUARDS. YOUR COMMENTARY SHOULD BE BETTER INFORMED.
If you don't like the commentary, you're welcome, of course, to read another AU basketball blog, or start your own. It's rather easy to start one these days. I never claimed to provide expert analysis, in fact, I have often provided disclaimers regarding my distinct lack of expertise in the past. I'm sorry my commentary forced you to resort to such an...inelegant...expression of your sentiment.
ReplyDeleteYou cited Ray Taylor, and you're right, he had a poor game. However, I would offer that Alex Tucker, Dennis Mavin, and Greg Gantt all had good offensive performances while severely limiting our own backcourt's performance. AU gave up 24 points in the paint in the second half. Only 8 of those came from their big men. Want to tell me again how we couldn't deal with their guards slashing inside to the bucket? How our guards couldn't keep up with their quickness, let them penetrate, and then left it up to Lump and Vlad to stop them on the drive?
Care to disagree with any of the above? Fine. That's your right. Do me a favor though and don't cite only one guard's performance in YOUR analysis.
I look forward to you starting AUBasketballBlog.com. Thanks.
B^3, thanks for sticking to the facts and giving a thorough analysis. Their guards simply wore AU's down, even with one of them (Taylor) having a under-performing night. Their painfully numerous double bonus foul shots at the end of the game is the clearest sign of this. JJ has made it clear that the Eagles' guards are the not the most athletic, referring once to Luptak as a "quarterback with a bad arm". FAU on the other hand is known for their athletic guards, and their depth at guard.
ReplyDeleteJarvis comment about beating AU 9 out of 10 times is absurd. They were blown out in the first half then made a run to almost tie it. Au pulled away again. A superior team would pull away if only down 2 at home with 5 min left in a game. Obviously I don't think his comment coincides with the outcome of the game.
ReplyDeleteBersch hit a couple nice shots yesterday. Seems people only mention him lately when he does poorly. A shooter must keep shooting and hopefully he picks up momentum from this last game.
You cited bad PG play, but I really feel the opposite is true. You don't win a game like that on the road (with guards that you tout very highly) without good/strong PG play. It just doesnt happen. If the PG spot breaks down so does everything else. And AU was literally blowing them out so I dont understand those comments. FAU pressed all game long. Our guards had no trouble breaking that press ALL game long. Luptak played strong defensively and was a victim of some ticky-tack fouls. Danny seemed to push the ball up court in transition especially in the first half creating many opportunities on fast brakes. With the so-called lack of quickness(he seems rather quick to me,especially off the dribble)-he was able to push the ball and penetrate at opportune times and make good decisions. The analysis at this position seems to be based on stats, which is really not a fair assessment of this position. The 2 PG's get the team in positions to score, thus creating that scoring outburst in the 1st half and 82 pts. for the game.
A perfect example of a play that doesnt receive a stat -is when Danny pushed the ball up court on the break in the first half-luring his defender to the left-Lump was filling the right lane and Troy was in the left corner-Danny lured his defender and the big man (who had to choose either Troy or Lump) to collapse left-then made a pass to Lump-Lump got fouled hard from the big man from behind and got sent to the line for 2. No assist recorded, but a great set up.
As for scoring production-any PG would be the 5th option on this team. There are 2 All league players-a high major transfer and a senior in Nick Hendra. Luptak has shown he can hit the 3 and Danny has shown to hit the 3 and be able to penetrate, but the PG being the 2nd or 3rd highest scorer on this team would make no sense at all. They have shown the ability to score when called upon, but whats really impressive is how they are RUNNING the team.
FAU went to the line for 36 shots-and were in the double bonus with 10 minutes left in 2nd half. AU still won by 10. Im nothing but impressed with the outcome and by what the players were able to do against a very good team. By the way, Coach Jones outcoached Jarvis hands down.
Another positive - we just beat our out of conference record for all of last season (3-12 I believe).
ReplyDeleteI agree that Troy is a great player, but consistency is an issue. However, I am still of the opinion that it is taking him a bit longer to shake off the rust of not having serious playing time for a number of years. It was a little different for Vlad, as while he never had meaningful minutes at Mason, he did have the Romanian national team. There is a lot of time and a lot of games in which our team will mature and evolve between now and the start of League play. I am still holding out hope that Troy is able to become more consistent between now and then - we are, of course, still only 4 (5 if you count the exhibition) games in.
For example, it worried me a little that while we struggled against UMES, Bucknell crushed Binghamton by something like 66-34. However, the same night we "upset" (and I use the term a little loosely in this case) FAU, they lost by a single point to St. Francis (PA), with whom we had our first tune-up this season. So, it just goes to show that not a single team in our conference is at the same point we'll see them come January.
However, what we have seen is that if Vlad, Lump, and Troy can all get going at the same time, with floor generals like Nick Hendra and the solid play of our guards behind them, we will be unstoppable in our conference. Best of all, we're still not at full strength, as Charles still has to come into the equation. Frankly, we're off to the best start we could hope for, and even better still, we're bound to go up from here.
This is the season we waited for all throughout the last one.
I've been appropriately chastised for putting PG play in the "bad" column. I won't be editing it from this post, but I'll take the observations made above into consideration for further Good, Bad, and Ugly.
ReplyDeletei listened to the game online, and when it got down to the last few minutes i expected our kids to fold- and they didn't. So now in 3 of the 4 games this group has shown guts and resilience when it came to crunch time. Reminds me of the 2007 team that refused to lose.
ReplyDeleteQuick and penetrating opposing guards will give our kids fits on the defensive end all season. MES and FAU are nothing until AU sees WVA and the Gators- it will interesting to see how JJ defensively adjusts our kids. The good news is that the PL is not blessed with a plethora of these types. Simon the 3rd must not be ready or JJ would give him a shot. How good is 4-0. I personally couldn't be happier at this point in the season.