HoopsFan03

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

That’s very concerning. It’s going to become even more of an issue when we get into conference play. When teams start really scouting UND, they will just refuse to even guard Trent or Brooks outside the lane. It’s not going to end well if they don’t start shooting the 3 ball.

We still lack scoring from the guard position. Someone that can get the ball and get a bucket. Omot is that player but the coaches need to let him do that. He's going to take some ill-advised shots at times but you have to live with that and let him just go score the ball

I knew this would be the type of final score we'd see going into the game but I was hoping we would at least be a little more competitive. At least for the first half or something. We were competitive for the first 3 minutes was about it.

This will be a big test for the guards and wing defenders. I’m afraid we are out-sized on the inside now matter what we try do. Kalkbrenner has significant height advantage and then Kaluma is a strong athletic NBA prospect… going to be tough inside

Exactly! Hoping for a great game as well!

29 is a lot of points. I could see UND covering that. I won’t be putting money on it though lol

I will be at this game as I am also a Creighton fan! Super excited to watch it in person! I think Creighton had a wake up call against St. Thomas that they can’t just walk into these non-conference games and think they will win. They will come out on all cylinders to start the game. This will be a very tough matchup for UND but I’m excited to see how the freshman react on the big stage!

I loved all the lines trying to justify the take that they could make the playoffs at 5-6 lol

ST just packed it in the middle and dared Creighton to shoot the 3. That was their weakness last year. They were missing and ST was able to keep it a close game. I am nervous for the game as I think that was a wakeup call to Creighton that they can't just waltz their way through these non-conference games. They will be ready to play against us on Thursday.

I haven't seen anything. Is he good enough to play? When he got in at the end of exhibition I didn't see him do anything that would provide anything different than the people that already play. I could be totally wrong though. He is very much an unknown.

TT is lost on defense for sure. Doesn't help that they went to switching screens in the second half so he was getting switched out onto guards. Not something you'd love to see him having to do. He got burned on that backcut late but Omot saved him with the block. Mathews is better than TT but he just doesn't look comfortable out on the court. I think his back is still bothering him. It looks painful for him to run. I think he would struggle to play any extended minutes.

He has been like this since coming to UND. I get it he had some injuries in the past but he plays with no energy, no grit. There's just not much there. Emotionless. You can't have that from your PG and a veteran player. It would be best for the team if his minutes start to dwindle as the season moves forward. Give the minutes to Trent or other young guys that bring that energy, effort, and passion.

Spot on! Let Norman come in off the bench and if he hits a shot or two and brings you energy he can play a few more minutes. But if he misses or turns the ball over then you have to get him out of there. Our new players are bringing great energy and effort so far. It's great to see!

Sloppy win last night but starting the season off 1-0 and with a road win is always a good thing. Defense was really fun to watch. We have a TON of good wing defenders and lots of length. Offense was shaky to say the least. They were pressuring a ton and got us out of a rhythm the whole game. Omot is going to continue to develop into that player that when we need a bucket just give him the ball and get out of the way. You could already see that last night when it would get late shot clock and at the end of the game. Starting lineup should be Trent, Brooks, Omot, Sueker, TT. Then have Treysen get good minutes off the bench. He can sub in for Sueker. Mathews as the 5 man sub. And then sprinkle in Nero and I guess Norman as needed. If Norman doesn't hit his first shot or two just get him out of there. Doesn't do much else to help the team. It's tough but our young guys give us the best shot at winning as we move forward. They are long, athletic, can play and guard multiple positions, and bring a different energy to the team. I'm excited to continue to watch them improve.