"That's what you would call an old-fashioned butt-kicking," AU head coach Jeff Jones said as he sat down to talk to the media after the Eagles' 75-60 loss to Bucknell. On a night full of hard lessons for the Eagles, they were nearly dealt a devastating blow.
With just over three minutes left, AU's superstar senior Vlad Moldoveanu took a hard fall. Just as he has the ability to ignite a crowd, Moldoveanu took its entire breath away when he landed on his right shoulder and began writhing in pain.
"The angle I was at, the way his shoulder looked, it looked bad," Jones said. "I grimaced, in fact I looked away."
But somehow, just over a minute later, Moldoveanu stood up. The fans started cheering when he first sat up, let alone when he put weight on both shoulders to propel himself off the ground and returned to the bench.
"They said he was okay to come back but it made no sense to do that, the game was already out of hand," Jones said. "We'll keep an eye on it overnight and if, as I anticipate, it's sore tomorrow then we'll try to hold him out and try to ease him back into things. Probably wouldn't hurt our other guys to play and figure out how to get some stuff done without relying on him so much."
For that brief moment, Eagles coaches, players, and fans were left to wonder if they'd seen the last of Moldoveanu, and what the team might look like without him.
Picture the first 37 minutes of tonight's game, because it was pretty much the same.
Moldoveanu scored just seven points, and the Eagles were bulldozed by Mike Muscala, whose 33 points led the Bison over AU by what Jones said was the largest margin he could remember in his time at Bender.
The Bison dared the Eagles to shoot jump shots all game. Moldoveanu was double teamed with the ball at all times, and Muscala took care of Stephen Lumpkins on both ends of the floor for most of the game. The Bison were happy to allow the Eagles to chuck up threes, and AU did: they shot 5/24 from long range. Meanwhile, Bucknell shot 23 free throws and made 20 of them. AU made all five of their attempts.
In a game in which the Eagles were crying out for someone to pick up the scoring load, nobody answered.
"Collectively we didn't rise to the occasion," senior Nick Hendra said. "It's as simple as that. It was a big game and in games like that everybody has to rise to the occasion. You have to be the cream of the crop and the better team will win. It's as simple as that."
But after the game there was some disagreement as to why the Eagles looked so rusty early.
"No matter what their scheme was, they could have taken away the middle but we weren't knocking down shots," junior Troy Brewer said. "We got the ball down low and we weren't making layups. The way we started out, we weren't prepared to play."
"From an individual standpoint and from a collective standpoint I felt like we were not prepared for today's game," Hendra said.
"I'm going to interpret and hope that what [Brewer and Hendra] meant was that we didn't come out and play nearly as well [as we did against Lehigh]," Jones said. "I think it's a cop-out to say we weren't ready. I think we prepared hard, our players were excited for this game. Bucknell just played better."
The Eagles will pack their bags and head to Colgate for a game Saturday. Three of the next four games will be on the road against conference opponents.
The blueprint to beat AU is out there. Unless the Eagles can develop a consistent threat from mid-to-long range on offense outside of Moldoveanu, they will see similar defenses.
"If you think it's hard to win at home, it's about twice as hard to win on the road," Hendra said.
Let's see, Bucknell goes 20 for 23 from the foul line and we shot 5 for 5, and we lose by 15 -- at home no less. Unless we are going to hit an ungodly number of threes, we cannot win without going to the basket.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, we have many other opportunities to excel -- Let's hope we take advantage of them.
I shouldn't have been surprised to see this loss. This isn't an "I told you so moment" because before the game I was only thinking that AU would win but that's because I'm sometimes prone to thinking what I want so much that I lose sight of what's in front of me. I didn't consider us loosing beforehand but, in 20/20 hindsight, it could have been predicted. Including as bad as it was.
ReplyDeleteBucknell has been monster in December. AU and Moldoveanu have been looking good in three of the past four games but this is still the same team that lost to Columbia at home. We haven't grown as a result of that loss. We still come out the same, with the same attitude, with the same ethic, with the same everything and expect to win. It's been happening but a closer then the score indicates game against Brown, 5 points over Mount Saint Mary's, and the Columbia loss means we need to be doing something different.
Maybe our men thought that since we missed on a game winning three (by Brewer) that we should have won and nothings amiss. Maybe I'm nitpicking and ignoring our effort against Florida, ignoring being down by 4 at the half at Northwestern, ignoring the solid performance in the Cable Car Classic, and ignoring our great effort against Lehigh and piking out an unfair assessment because that's the kind of asshole I am but going into the game it was clear we are not the team we could be and the game should prove that we're not.
Ben Schwab (continued)
ReplyDeleteI always get worried when one player takes it all on his shoulders for his or her team because that player won't always be hot. It shows that there is a weakness that is being masked by the one strong player. I have been worried about AU in this regards all season. Moldoveanu is a great player and I don't want to detract from that or what he means to our team but we need a few players who can consistently step up. Brewer can carry us when he's hot like he did against Howard, Lumpkins can defiantly work very well for us at times, and Hinkle steeped it up last night but it's clear that when Moldoveanu isn't working well the rest of our team ain't workin.
Lumpkins was outworked this game and smothered defensively. I don't know if that's because he can't stack up against Muscala or if he wasn't put in the right place by our offense and/or mentally to do so. In order for AU to win we need to have Lumpkins able to score in the paint. That is clear from every game I've seen and I guarantee you that if Lumpkins is shut down in the paint at any time this season, the Eagles will lose. This doesn't mean that he needs to score a lot of points in the paint but the treat has to be there.
There are ways to counter this. What has worked best most of the season when Lumpkins has been in trouble is to have the 2, the 3, or the 4 drive baseline (or secondarily into the lane) to take some pressure off and open up the post a bit. Brewer did this once (and guess what, we scored) rather then put up a three but we didn't do it enough to get Muscala off of Lumpkins.
I know a lot of people love Brewer. After one of his two made three's I heard more then one fan yell it out. The three has it's place but we don't use it well. This was compounded by the fact that when we did use it well, it tended not to go in. In general I've been quite dismayed by Brewer's tendency to shoot the three in positions that clearly don't call for it. I think it's awful basketball. I don't know if a promise to let Brewer play his game was required to bring him here and I don't know if it's worth it (going forward). I'm not smart enough to make these decisions but as an ignorant fan, I want to see him either play smarter or to see him benched (at the very minimum to get his attention).
It's clear that we aren't playing smart offense. We definitely have pieces there to do so. Our best scoring chances are in the post: especially when both Moldoveanu and Lumpkins are in the game. Hendra should be able to find them and our 2 and 3 players should be able to drive to the basket to free up more space. When our offense has been the best this has been our bread and butter with Moldoveanu rotating to the high post to help with movement and to sometimes get a good three and sometimes other perimeter players finding a good three. This doesn't seam like the offense we want to play though, and I'm not smart enough to know why.
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ReplyDeleteI know we only scored 4 points in the first 7 minuets or so but, from what I could see from the stands, our primary problem (at-least at the beginning of the game) was defense. Defense is key. Defense wins games more consistently and more often then does offense. Defense sets the tone more effectively then does offense. Good defense generates good offense while the reverse is rarely true. Good defense is necessary to get a team back into a game or to maintain a lead no matter what is happening on the other end.
We didn't play good defense to start the game nor did we ever go to it to bring us back. The fact that we looked to offense to win this is damning. Even with effective offense Bunknell would have (and did) keep the pace with us because we couldn't get the needed stops. As much as we need to play smarter offense, if we don't play good defense we will lose games like this one.
Bucknell may have enough options that we can't shut down one player and have that be good enough but we have to be either disruptive or solid and we were neither. We also need to decide which one we are going to be at-least as a fall back position and work in generating the skills necessary to be that.
Our defensive strategy is to play physically and disrupt the opponent's rhythm, wear them down, tire them out, and frustrate them. It can work (it's honestly the primary reason we beat Lehigh) but not against Bucknell. They were able to stay in their game and our strategy got away from us and that worked to the Bison advantage. We don't have a backup defense and we need to get one if we're going to be going dancing.
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ReplyDeleteLastly, several times this season Jeff Jones and others have commented about a lack of on the floor leadership. It games we aren't leaving everything on the floor and we definitely aren't playing like it at the start of games. It gets us in trouble and it requires us to relay on individuals which may or may not step up. The ones who consistently step up (Moldoveanu and Lumpkins, primarily) can be shut down if others aren't stepping up of if they don't have the game that night to do so. We're in trouble then. When others step up who are playing well then things tend to start to go our way. Hinkle stepped up and had the game but it was lacking from others and it wasn't enough.
From fallowing my two favorite teams this year, AU and IU (Indiana University), the importance of an on court leader is made starkly clear. I knew it to be important and other situations have demonstrated the value of such a player but I know it now like never before. We need a player who will keep the rest of the team focused, in the game plan, keep it a team effort, and keep all five members on the court in the game at all times.
This can't come from the coach, it needs to come from the players. It also doesn't have to be the best ball player, a starter, or even someone who's not a bench warmer. I've seen this leadership come from the bench before. I'm thinking that it would be smart to use one or two scholarships to recruit a leader or two even if the player isn't the most talented player a school can get.
I'm not surprised that the coach thinks that the team did everything to prepare but the players say they weren't prepared. That disagreement is a symptom of this lack of leadership and it will, in all honesty, likely cost us a league championship. It's not too late for a player to step up and and develop this kind of leadership but unless our team gets serious about winning it all, it's not going to happen.
Bucknell is clearly in the drivers seat for the League championship after last night. Baring a loss outside of Lehigh it will stay there until our next meeting at-least. Over the past month Bucknell has demonstrated that it has what we have demonstrated that we lack. They have all players playing hard the entire game, they have the ability to play collected and smart, and they have the ability to find a path to victory. Until we get these things for ourselves and if Bucknel keeps playing like they have been they should run away with every game in the League and that should have been obvious going into last night's game.
AU basketball is good but is falling well short if its potential. Ultimately the buck stops with Jeff Jones. Our problems of having a smart offense, having an adaptable and consistent defense, and on the field leadership are all things that a perfect coach can fix. We have the pieces to win the championship but they are all a jumble right now.
While I'm critical of Jeff Jones, I am not questioning the appropriateness of him as a coach. What Jeff Jones has done with AU, should trump the struggles of this season and even with the struggles, our team deserves to be lauded and that reflects on Jeff Jones. All I'm trying to do is to point out where I think the solutions need to come from. I'm anxious to see what Jeff Jones does because I want to see a championship out of this team.
What I'm saying here (and elsewhere) is just my opinion and like @$$holes... I'm not smart enough at basketball to get at what the issues are with confidence or to know the right solutions. I'm just a fan of the sport and want to see the Eagles win. I'm giving my two cents primarily because it helps me to cope (and hopefully often to revel) but maybe others find my comments useful for them too.
In Gratitude
Benjamin Arthur Schwab
Benjamin, your comments are quite useful to us fans.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I agree with you. While it can be said that Bucknell is not always as good as they played last night and AU is not always as bad, the truth is that Bucknell is more balanced and yes a better team as this moment. I believe that our grand hope as fans is that JJ makes some sort of adjustment that has not been made thus far and that it will make a clear difference. However, over a month of playing has not resulted in any change that is significant (especially in the starting lineup, except for Hinkle's eligibility and Hendra's short time last night at pg). Will anything change or will the same approach be continued with the hope that the current lineup will finally gel together? As fans who want noticeable fixes, we hope that some change will come that reflects brilliance on the part of JJ.
This wasn't the same team that lost to Columbia, since we were without Vlad in that game. Also, the team made great strides out in California, and I contend that, offensively, they played very well in all four of their latest games, including a close game against Brown.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the game was fast paced, not the walk-it-up-the-floor style we played so well in California. Bucknell's point production was not too high for a game of this pace, AU's was too low. So while I think there were certain possessions we got burned on, overall I think this was a game in which we were disastrous in our offensive execution. 24 3s taken by AU, and many of those early in the possession. We pushed the pace and couldn't score. That's a recipe for a crushing loss.
There were 64 possessions in the game. The average AU game has 63.5 possessions, so basically the pace of play was exactly average for AU overall.
ReplyDeleteAs for point production, Bucknell averaged 1.17 pts per possession, which is very high and much more than AU usually gives up. If AU gave up that many every game, they would rank 344th in the nation - instead of 191st, which is their current defensive ranking. You can debate how much of Bucknell's production was due to good shooting/execution and how much was due to poor AU defending.