EternalOptimist

Well, Marley was in street cloths - again. I hadn't heard he had an injury that lasts this long. I would assume (or hope) the coaching staff have mentally moved on from him/them. Micah must not have made the trip. It's really too bad too, because both of them are unreal athletically, but it sniffs like there may be some mental maturity things going on.

It was a great win, but the concern amongst the staff is Anderson's injury is possibly an ACL tear. Obviously, they will need an MRI to confirm, but that result would be a blow. I certainly hope not.

TAKE JONES OUT. 40% FT

I'm curious about this. If this is true - which I guess I lean towards the possibility, logically then wouldn't that mean that every level below the top levels would be watered down? Is the NSIC down as well? D3 also down? I don't follow those levels close enough to know.

It really is. Why is this? Is this the result of the change in the portal and NIL or is it just an anomaly and it will get better. Maybe a little of both.

You might be right. If that plays out, how long of an extension does UND offer? I would imagine Sather wouldn't be to interested in a 1yr deal, maybe not even a 2yr deal - Unless the $$ was too good to turn down.

You can stream it from anywhere that has internet.

Gotta have this one. 3 road games in a row, St Thomas is a very tough win in their new 175 million dollar arena. We need to beat the 0-5 team in the conference. There will be a masked avenger in the game tonight!

I feel bad for BJ, he has really had injury issues since leaving UND.

I think you just nailed the reason for the thread. What you said is all true. That said, 7 years of history and underperformance is also true. Sather's contract is done at the end of this year - thus the Conundrum - do you extend multiple years based on a current 4-2 in the conference, or do you move on based on the 7 years of history. Obviously, the remaining games may weigh heavily on that decision.

99-48. Unfortunately, the game was never as close as the score indicates.

This is hard to watch.

Dollar dog night. That may well be the positive. We should get a look at a fairly well oiled SDSU team, and get another glimpse at what the goal is. If the turnovers and inconsistent shooting continue tonight, it could get ugly.

I wonder where Sather's salary is compared to the other Summit League coaches? I asked AI and it only provided salaries from a couple years ago, so it wasn't much of a help. Also, there are probably incentives within the contract, that don't get divulged. I'll be very curious as to what happens. I was pretty confident we would be in the bottom 4 this year. The way the Summit League is playing out, with injuries and coaching changes, I have to say, I believe I will be wrong. I would assume you would need to offer Sather at least a 2yr deal because from his perspective, I wouldn't play the year to year game, I would try and find a more secure fit? I lean towards moving on from him. I believe the twins will be gone. I also think at least 3 of the 4 guys who don't play (maybe all 4 of them) will move on. Even if A3 were to leave (and Moore doesn't come), a new coach would have a pretty good base to work. He would also have several scholarships at his disposal. A new coach may also bring a player or two with.

I see this as a possibility. Let's say this happens and the 3 graduate. The twins leave, but A3 stays, and you have a couple scholarships for the coach to play with (hoping he can get what is needed). Would you take this scenario with a 4 year extension of Sather? Or would you prefer Sather was relieved of his position and let the chips fall where they may for a rebuild? I'm not sure which way I land based on history, but im curious as to what others think and why.

USD is in a tough spot due to thw injuries. With them in the position they are in, UMKC in a free for all with a coach that's been fired, and Oral Bob, who is just bad, maybe UND can finish above the bottom 4

???? He seemed fine on Thursday. I'm sure yesterday's practice was mostly film and light. That's crazy

LOL - No, I don't want that. What I would have liked is for them to recruit a big that can contribute because after last year's season, it was pretty obvious we needed one, and instead we got Jones.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. Jones is a back to the basket 5 man - Bothun is a stretch 4 converted to a 5 and he has been sparingly used to pick and pop. Again, it's not apples to apples. Comparing rebounds doesn't work, and I've gone over the shooting (Donte DiVincenzo for the T-Wolves went on a stretch where he was 4 for 30 from 3 earlier this year - sometimes it happens, especially when you get pulled after the 1st miss). I'm not saying Bothun is the answer - you brought him up. All I am saying is I don't think Jones deserves the time he is getting based on his stats, and the coaching staff hasn't really tried anything else seriously. Heck, try Marley Curtis at the 5, try Erickson, just try something. Outside of Guga, our frontcourt isn't producing, our guards can penetrate - try getting that defending big out of the lane - even a low percentage for a 5 is better than a scouting report that says let their 5 shoot from anywhere except the paint - sag and stop the drive. Unfortunately, this should have all been tried before the Summit League games started, not now, but here we are - just another one of the issues with coaching. On a side note - I like talking about basketball and this team. In no way do I wish to convey any negative or combativeness in what I say. I welcome talking about it and understand I am not always right. I hope there is no negative feelings by what I say. I know sometimes forums get a bit tense - I just want a good conversation/debate to sharpen my thinking.

Guga should average more minutes - and should be starting. We can disagree on the role of a starting center, I don't think the role is "eat up minutes and be physical". What we need is someone to come into the game to relieve Guga, and contribute while in. The context of what I said was in reference to odd subbing along with short leashes vs longer leashes. It's my opinion that Jones's stats and play shouldn't allow him the extended minutes he gets. It seems your opinion is that we have no other option - which is fine to have. I think however, its a bit unfair to compare a player like Bothun in this situation to Jones. Bothun's playing time up until that NAIA game, was 1-2 minutes a game, and like Wylee was pulled instantly for missing a shot (which really helps the confidence as a shooter). You don't have to believe me, but once he got meaningful minutes (because of the foul trouble of Jones and Guga), he went 5-5, scored 15pts, was the player of the game. Sather basically said he is not a good shooter, he is a great shooter, and he does it in practice. It would be interesting to me to see what increasing his minutes would do to this team. I'm probably in the minority with this opinion, but I would like our 5 to spread the floor and allow our gaurds to penetrate. I actually think both Erickson and Bothun could get 3.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg with even less minutes than Jones gets, and I think the guards production would go up as well. I agree - offense isn't everything, and maybe the defense would over-ride it, but Jones defense isn't great, and he is tied for 2nd on the team in turnovers. Again just my opinon, and observations based on the stats I see.

I can't go with you there. I'll buy into Guga not being able to play 40 minutes, but Jones is our starting 5. He averages 3.2 ppg, 3.5 Rpg, and 3.5 fouls per game. Any one of the guys on the bench could do that with the minutes he gets - no matter their size. Our offensive productivity actually goes up when he is out because his defender isn't clogging the lane for our guards.

Another thing that is troublesome about the subbing - all those coaches on the bench, and when a player makes a mistake and is pulled, nobody says anything to them. Every once in awhile, Sather will say something, but most of the time, it's high fives from everyone and right to a chair to allow them to figure it out themselves. No "next time" speech, or "I have confidence in you but you need to..."

Subbing and play time seem odd most of the year. I don't think Sather is doing the subbing, but you'd think he would watch film and have a knowledge of what's happening during the game. The Wylee situation last night bothered me to. I believe the plan for him was to redshirt. He works hard, and they pull the redshirt tag part way through the year. He does fairly well in some games, but then checks in and gets instantly yanked after what I thought was Guga's issue. And he is done. Just kill the kid's confidence. They have done this kind of thing before, while others have long leashes. Also, I wonder if Karson Ouse is happy they pulled his redshirt as well - the kid hasn't seen any time for a few games. Doppler started a game, now doesn't play. Bothun struggled then had 15 and was a player of the game in a game, and hasn't played since. I do get that not all those guys should be playing meaningful minutes, but it's just the way it's playing out. On the flip side, it seems they really want Marley to play so they tolerate poor decisions and bad shots. And their starting center, after 21 games, now has a total of 64 points and 73 fouls. That's 3.2 ppg and 3.5 fouls per game. Crazy

A3 played great in the 1st half, then as he is prone to do, the ball gets sticky in his hands. If he can figure out that moving the ball will increase his opportunities rather than decrease, he'll be better. Learning

I think that's a fairly accurate number. You don't have to look much further than this site and the posts about each sport