HoopsFan03

Alright pal. We are on the same team here. We can come back to this at the end of the season and see if anything changed from now until the end, in terms of coaching style and decisions by Sather and his staff. My money would be on probably not. I hope I am wrong though. That would be something I am willing to lose my money on.

Alright next time I will Google every single college basketball team and list every single one that plays less than 10 guys.... It was a quick example of top teams and how they don't play 10-12 guys in a first half like Sather has decided to do this year.

I wish I did!! I just want UND basketball to turn it around and stop being one of the worst teams in the nation. The team this year has a lot of promise to be competitive and have a solid year. Sather needs to make adjustments though. I am sick of seeing the same thing year after year with him.

Alright I will listen to you and @SD UND and let the team be the worst in the nation for another year and watch the same old style of basketball with 100 fans in the Betty. I will continue to accept that that is what UND basketball is and will continue to be under Sather. I'm glad you guys talked me into it!!

30% on catch and shoot 3's is not even close to a 'shooter' so not sure why you're assuming I'm calling him a shooter. He is nowhere near a shooter. However, he can shoot the ball. No doubt about that. Sather needs to start forcing him to shoot 3's. Tell him that if he doesn't shoot a wide open catch and shoot 3 that he's coming out. If this team wants to be competitive him and Trent need to shoot 3's to keep the defense honest and open up driving lanes.

No not that bad. It is alright on catch and shoot, but if there is any hesitation (like the one he shot against Pacific) or off the dribble it isn't going to go in. He's going to get wide open catch and shoot looks, if he shoots it confidently I don't doubt he could shoot 30-34% on catch and shoot. Which isn't great obviously but it is better than him not shooting them at all.

Funny guy lol Jones wasn't the best coach ever either but the teams he had and what they were able to accomplish are night and day between what Sather has brought in and what they have accomplished. I mean, what has Sather accomplished?? Other than the first year when he was saved by Marlon Stewart and Rebracha (Jones's guys) he has accomplished nothing but be one of the worst D1 basketball teams in the nation. Not just in our conference but in the nation!! But everyone wants to make excuses and let it pass by as a 'rebuilding year'..... just sad.

Exactly his point. If 12 of our 14 guys aren't D1 caliber players then why are we playing 12 guys in a half??? It makes no sense!

That is because Jones knew how to evaluate players. He knew what a D1 player looked like and played like. Sather does not have that. He knows D2 players and that is it. D2 players will have you playing like a D2 team. Which is what UND is at this point. It is really sad.

What locker room issues specifically are you talking about? If I remember correct, the locker room issues a few years ago came from his recruits that he brough in. I also heard that when he first came to UND he still coached the players like it was a D2 program. That may have to do with some of the locker room issues. It's sad but you have to coach players differently at every level. You can't coach D1 guys like D2 guys, you can't coach D2 guys like D3 guys, and so on. Just the way it is. I'm not trying to put all the blame on Sather but he just hasn't shown the ability to coach at the D1 level nor recruit at the D1 level. I think his time to figure it out is starting to go down. He's definitely on the hot seat this year.

This is what he needs to do. But when you are a low/mid major D1 team you are always going to have to get transfer portal players. You won't get enough years out of kids to have them really develop and help build a program. They have one good year and they are looking to transfer up. That's just the way it is in today's basketball. If you are not recruiting out of the transfer portal then you are falling behind. Just the way it is and Sather has shown that he cannot do that.

You literally said, " And I can assure you that almost every college basketball team in the nation is playing 10-12 guys right now" then I show you that teams aren't doing that and you backtrack. We'll just agree to disagree on this one. Either way, it is very obvious that Sather needs to make some changes in the way he coaches this team if we want to be competitive.

This couldn't be more false! Take for example the Duke vs Kansas and Kentucky vs Mich St games last night, three of the teams played 8 guys in their rotation with the exception of Kentucky playing 9. Teams are not playing 10-12 guys in a half. The majority will play 8 and others will AT MOST play 10 and will dwindle it down to 8-9 guys here within their next couple games. There is a reason we are the worst team in college basketball. NOBODY plays 10-12 guys in a half.

I can assure you in college basketball that you have a very good idea of the best rotations going into the first game. You learn that even before the first game. I mean, that is what preseason scrimmages/practices are for. That is what exhibitions are for. That is what regular practice is for. I get it you may try a different lineup here or there in OOC games but to consistently play 12 guys in a half and think it is going to be successful is just crazy....

I think Nero's performance last night showed why he fell so far out of the lineup. Doesn't play any defense. Just pounds the ball into the floor the whole time on offense. Doesn't make shots. I hate to say it, but he just doesn't bring much to the team.

Let the 8 guys build some chemistry and get a feel for each other now while it's non-conference games. No sense in playing all these different lineups that don't work and won't play together in conference play. We have all new/young guys that need to build some chemistry. Now is the time to do that.

Here are my thoughts on some very glaring issues that can be easily fixed and help this team at least be competitive. 1. On defense we need to stop high hedging ball screens. Nobody does that ball screen coverage anymore. That is an old fashioned style of coverage. There is a reason nobody runs it anymore. We need to stop with that. Move to the more modern drop coverage. 2. We need to get up and pressure more. Speed the other teams up. Take chances for steals. So far this year and in the years past with Sather we have shown that our defense is abysmal. Do the full-court man to man pressure that they showed in the exhibition. The other teams can do whatever they want, get to whatever spot they want, and are never sped up or having things made difficult for them. 3. Sather needs to choose 7-8 guys that are good enough to play and just let them play. That includes the current starting 5 and Treysen, Norman, and Mathews. Enough of this playing 12 guys in the first half. We do not have skilled enough players to play more than 8 guys. Play the best 8 and let them figure it out. 4. This goes off of the last point but whichever assistant coach that is doing the subbing needs to stop. Way too many subs way too often. Nobody can get in a rhythm. A player makes a shot and they get taken out. None of it makes sense. Let the players play and get in some sort of a rhythm. 5. Omot should play 34-36 minutes, Trent should play 34-36 minutes, Brooks should play 30+, TT should play 30+ minutes, Treysen should get the most minutes off the bench. Let our best players (especially the young guys) play the most minutes. They bring the best energy and are the most skilled players. If this is another "rebuilding year" let them play and develop throughout the year. 6. Our whole halfcourt offense needs to change. We get nothing in the halfcourt. Enough of this running a play every single possession. It ruins the flow of the game and doesn't allow the players to just play and react. We need to go to a 5 out offense. We are full of guys that refuse to shoot the 3 ball and want to do nothing but drive. But there is nowhere to drive since we have TT and/or Sueker standing in the paint. No driving lanes at all. Move to a 5 out motion and let the players make plays from there. I think that covers the main issues that I am seeing. It is very frustrating to see the exact same issues year after year with no changes being made. I still think this team can be competitive as the year moves on, but last night was a wakeup call that things need to be changed and they need to be changed asap!

I agree with you completely. I wasn't happy with the hire either and questioned if he could coach at the D1 level. I would hope that if the season continues like this, that it would be the last season for him here at UND. He seems like a good person just not a good enough coach/recruiter at the D1 level.

He has shown that he isn't a D1 level coach. He was a very good D2 coach but cannot get it done at the D1 level. He doesn't know how to evaluate talent and has shown his old school mindset by not adapting to the transfer portal and getting solid D1 transfers. It is getting very sickening hearing that it is another 'rebuilding' year.

I think I have finally cooled down a bit from being at that pathetic showing of a basketball game. Sather needs to go. Plain and simple. His offense is atrocious. Whoever he has doing the subbing needs to be demoted. He can't evaluate recruits at all. We are a team full of D2 level players besides Omot, Brooks, Trent, and Treysen. Sather needs to figure it out. It is such easy adjustments that he needs to make that would allow us to be 10x better.

Against UIW. He was 0-1 on 3's in the box score. I don't remember him shooing one at all though.....

Correction: Trent shot 1 three in the season opener and did not make it.

Nice writeup! I am feeling an upset in this game as well. After watching Pacific play NDSU on Sunday, this is a winnable game. It is going to be a close one but I think UND comes out on top. The key to this game is can we shoot and make 3's?? Will our starting PG and SG even attempt a 3 this game (they haven't shot a single three between the two of them in the first two games). I think we have the athletes to be able to defend them and their dribble drives, but can we score enough points to beat them? I guess we will find out tonight!

I mean we were playing the #9 team in the nation.....

He did have his left thumb taped up, however, I think he must have just gotten benched. If it were his thumb that was the issue he wouldn't have even gone in the game I wouldn't think