2014-2015 Season

[SWSiouxMN]

Maybe those trying to temper expectations for Shanks know something about his game and that is why they are trying to lower expectations for him. When people were talking about Tyler stepping in as a starting guard for you this year and taking over for Anderson or Webb, I tried to temper those expectations after watching him compete against NDSU for 2 years. He is not anywhere close to those 2 and never will be. Chances are if Shanks had any offensive skills at 7 feet, he would have been playing right away at Utah State.

Still be better than we got now. Can't hurt to see

[jdub27]

Maybe those trying to temper expectations for Shanks know something about his game and that is why they are trying to lower expectations for him. When people were talking about Tyler stepping in as a starting guard for you this year and taking over for Anderson or Webb, I tried to temper those expectations after watching him compete against NDSU for 2 years. He is not anywhere close to those 2 and never will be. Chances are if Shanks had any offensive skills at 7 feet, he would have been playing right away at Utah State.

Tyler will be fine. He started as a true freshman and held his own in the Summit in UMKC's slow paced system. He is a different player then Anderson or Webb though.

Shanks must not be too bad, NDSU wanted him pretty badly and Minnesota wanted him but didn't have a spot. Needs to fill out some and develop but has 3 1/2 years left. He also had 3 guys that were 6'7" and two more that were 6'10" at the 4 and 5 spots in front of him at Utah State, there was no way he was going to see playing time worth wasting a year over.

[UND1983]

Maybe those trying to temper expectations for Shanks know something about his game and that is why they are trying to lower expectations for him. When people were talking about Tyler stepping in as a starting guard for you this year and taking over for Anderson or Webb, I tried to temper those expectations after watching him compete against NDSU  for 2 years. He is not anywhere close to those 2 and never will be. Chances are if Shanks had any offensive skills at 7 feet, he would have been playing right away at Utah State. 

 

NDSU wins two games in a row and we got their basketball 'experts' coming over to tell us about how the sport works.  

[hoopster]

Tyler's numbers pretty  close to A.Anderson's of last year...other than fg%.  Shanks will hopefully defend the paint and rebound better than current crop of bigs.  ESPN on Carson....Shanks is a big, strong, tough, young post with great potential. Carson has good movements for being this big at this stage of his life. Carson demonstrates good hands with some of the catches he makes and rebounds he comes up with.   Outstanding list of offers for a Big Sky UND recruit.

 

School Interest Offer Visit Recruited by Utah St. COMMITTED (11/16/2011) Offered 09/07/2012    Colorado St. Offered  Drake  Offered     Nebraska  Offered   North Dakota Offered    Northern Iowa Offered  USC  Offered   Utah  Offered 

Weaknesses:
Carson is limited in his scoring ability

[SWSiouxMN]

Just listened to the Jones presser for the week and he hinted that Shanks could.. could play this Friday, provided if grades are turned in and reported.  Worse case its the conference opener against Montana State.

 

Didn't realize that Hooker and De Rouen have only practiced 3 times in 3 weeks due to their injuries.  Yikes

[NODAK13]

Just listened to the Jones presser for the week and he hinted that Shanks could.. could play this Friday, provided if grades are turned in and reported.  Worse case its the conference opener against Montana State.

 

Didn't realize that Hooker and De Rouen have only practiced 3 times in 3 weeks due to their injuries.  Yikes

Also caught this about Hooker and DeRouen.  So if they are not practicing why does Jones keep playing Hooker so much with hardly a break.  Play Tyler and Antwi more and give Hooker more breaks so he is fresher.

[SWSiouxMN]

Also caught this about Hooker and DeRouen. So if they are not practicing why does Jones keep playing Hooker so much with hardly a break. Play Tyler and Antwi more and give Hooker more breaks so he is fresher.

Agreed. I hate the 3 guard lineup of hooker de Rouen and Tyler starting. I've been hard on lenny but he's been good this year. Give him more!

[sioux2013]

Agreed. I hate the 3 guard lineup of hooker de Rouen and Tyler starting. I've been hard on lenny but he's been good this year. Give him more!

Totally agree.  If Hooker is hurt and not practicing others need to share more minutes, especially Antwi.  Antwi currently is our only outside threat but I do believe Tyler will be a force from the outside anytime.  Anyone hear about Stefen, he could make a huge difference in our rotation and bring another outside threat into the lineup which we desperately need.  The lineup could look very good with Hooker and Tyler at the point,  De Rouen and Antwi at the 2 and Coleman and Stefen at the 3.  Just run wild and rotate and wear down the opponent.  Looks nice on paper but I don't think Jones will do this as he has a love for certain players he refuses to take out. 

[homer]

Why even play Hooker and De Rouen until they are healthy?  Putting them out there to struggle through games is not doing any good. 

[UND-1]

Totally agree.  If Hooker is hurt and not practicing others need to share more minutes, especially Antwi.  Antwi currently is our only outside threat but I do believe Tyler will be a force from the outside anytime.  Anyone hear about Stefen, he could make a huge difference in our rotation and bring another outside threat into the lineup which we desperately need.  The lineup could look very good with Hooker and Tyler at the point,  De Rouen and Antwi at the 2 and Coleman and Stefen at the 3.  Just run wild and rotate and wear down the opponent.  Looks nice on paper but I don't think Jones will do this as he has a love for certain players he refuses to take out. 

 

If you don't hear about a guy for an entire semester, there is probably a pretty good chance he won't come back the next semester.  We will see but it's obviously a grades issue with Stefan because he is still on the roster. 

 

Also, I really hope we see more ball screens at the top of the key. That worked really well vs. NDSU.

 

Here is a thought: Have a secondary play/motion/screen that is happening while that stupid ball screen is being set that they run every single time down the floor.  Or run an actual offense. Either or.  

[homer]

If you don't hear about a guy for an entire semester, there is probably a pretty good chance he won't come back the next semester.  We will see but it's obviously a grades issue with Stefan because he is still on the roster. 

 

Also, I really hope we see more ball screens at the top of the key. That worked really well vs. NDSU.

 

Here is a thought: Have a secondary play/motion/screen that is happening while that stupid ball screen is being set that they run every single time down the floor.  Or run an actual offense. Either or.  

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I couldn't agree more.  It was frustrating to watch on Saturday.  I have seen city league teams that have more motion in their offense.  We do nothing to force any defenders to move besides the players guarding the ball and the post setting the screen. 

[petey23]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I couldn't agree more.  It was frustrating to watch on Saturday.  I have seen city league teams that have more motion in their offense.  We do nothing to force any defenders to move besides the players guarding the ball and the post setting the screen. 

I don't have a problem with the ball screen offense but you have to change it up on occasion and if the other team adjusts to it you need to counter.

 

NDSU just turned the screener loose and doubled the ball since the screener wasn't a credible threat to score. After a while I was happy that Calcaterra just traveled or threw up a brick rather than swallowing his tongue. I have never seen a guy so uncomfortable with a basketball in his hands.....adjustments that should have and could have been made would have been to have someone who can score at the rim(Nash) or on a pick and pop(Tyler, Antwi) set the pick and make NDSU play straight up. Another option would have been to set the screen higher so you could maintain space and keep your angle to pass to the opposite corner and prevent the weakside defender from setting up in the lane. We could have also cleared the lane and attempted to break them down 1 on 1 with dishes to the help defenders man. Also with Nash being guarded by Brown we could have posted Nash and used dribble entry to the wing and ran the ball through Nash for offense down low or easy kick outs when they double him....I am no basketball genius but these were all things I pointed out to the person I was at the game with at the first media timeout.....we didn't make any adjustments, not one.

[homer]

I don't have a problem with the ball screen offense but you have to change it up on occasion and if the other team adjusts to it you need to counter.

NDSU just turned the screener loose and doubled the ball since the screener wasn't a credible threat to score. After a while I was happy that Calcaterra just traveled or threw up a brick rather than swallowing his tongue. I have never seen a guy so uncomfortable with a basketball in his hands.....adjustments that should have and could have been made would have been to have someone who can score at the rim(Nash) or on a pick and pop(Tyler, Antwi) set the pick and make NDSU play straight up. Another option would have been to set the screen higher so you could maintain space and keep your angle to pass to the opposite corner and prevent the weakside defender from setting up in the lane. We could have also cleared the lane and attempted to break them down 1 on 1 with dishes to the help defenders man. Also with Nash being guarded by Brown we could have posted Nash and used dribble entry to the wing and ran the ball through Nash for offense down low or easy kick outs when they double him....I am no basketball genius but these were all things I pointed out to the person I was at the game with at the first media timeout.....we didn't make any adjustments, not one.

Can't argue with any of this. Nice post.

[nodakhoops]

Looks like Shanks is eligible. Guessing that means he plays against DSU. As for the offense vs. NDSU, the Bison were hedging our guards hard because they scouted UND well and noticed our screeners have been very little threats to score so far this year. We need our guards to see those guys when they are open. At the same time we need our screeners ready to catch the ball and score if teams are going to hedge like that. Guessing this has been a focus at practice this week.

I wouldn't mind seeing Nash and Coleman setting screens if teams are going to hedge like that which they will after the NDSU game. Those guys are good leapers and decent shooters. Could be some lob potential or pick and pop potential.

[hoopster]

Outstanding job by Jones thus far....3rd highest RPI in Big Sky!

3 (189) North Dakota .4856

[zonadub]

Outstanding job by Jones thus far....3rd highest RPI in Big Sky!

3 (189)

North Dakota

.4856

The reward for playing (and even losing to) quality(?) teams.

[fightingsioux4life]

 

Outstanding job by Jones thus far....3rd highest RPI in Big Sky!

3 (189) North Dakota .4856

 

Isn't RPI a little suspect this time of year because of a small sample size?

[Siouxphan27]

Outstanding job by Jones thus far....3rd highest RPI in Big Sky! 3 (189) North Dakota .4856

The new model for success! It's not whether you win or lose, (cuz you're going to lose) but how good the OOC team is that you lost to !

Throw a few more years and a healthy raise on that coaching contract!

[SWSiouxMN]

Anybody figure out what was up with Lenny?

 

If we don't see Cole against Montana State, I wonder if we will see him at all this year

[Cratter]

Lenny is on team discipline.

[SWSiouxMN]

Lenny is on team discipline.

 

1 game deal or multiple?

[Cratter]

Not sure. Mentioned on the radio during the Marquette game. They made it sound like one game.

[fightingsioux4life]

The new model for success! It's not whether you win or lose, (cuz you're going to lose) but how good the OOC team is that you lost to !

Throw a few more years and a healthy raise on that coaching contract!

Another puff piece by the Herald's Tom Miller:

 

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-basketball/3642827-tom-miller-mixed-results-Marquette

 

A splashy win continues to evade the UND men’s basketball team, although North Dakota turned in one of its better efforts against a major program during a 67-54 loss at Marquette last Monday in Milwaukee.

 

UND led by five at halftime against a member of the Big East. North Dakota held a lead as late as 12 minutes to go.

So we are into moral victories now?  Really Tom?

 

Big Sky play starts on New Year’s Day at Montana State, a winnable road game against a rebuilding Bobcats squad.

Considering this program's abysmal road record during the Jones regime, I will believe it when I see it.

[darell1976]

Another puff piece by the Herald's Tom Miller:

 

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-basketball/3642827-tom-miller-mixed-results-Marquette

 

So we are into moral victories now?  Really Tom?

 

Considering this program's abysmal road record during the Jones regime, I will believe it when I see it.

There are no for sure winnable road games in the BSC, did he forget the loss last year to 1 win SUU? 

[Teeder11]

Caveat: I have absolutely nothing against fan criticism of UND players, coaches or teams. I personally don't believe it helps a program in the least, nor does it keep a program from settling for mediocrity any more than I believe a more positive pie-in-the-sky (or the favored term here, "delusional") outlook is a bullet-train ticket to permanent stagnation. Bottom line: what we write here or what the media writes anywhere has very little bearing on the direction of the program. The real pressures are applied from much closer distance and from much more powerful strings ( no, not the %gobc) than a fan message board.

Ok, that said: If Tom were to consistently write in a negative, glass-half empty way about UND teams the way some on here bag on UND teams when they're struggling, he'd be quickly labeled as another UND-hating, Bison-loving, McFooly-cloned media hack. Not that he'd care in the least. I have seen Tom write some pretty downright negative stuff about the UND program on occasion. But I also like that he balances things out with some fact-based and numbers-based positivity now and again. I want to read about the good and the bad. Tom and Wayne do a nice job walking that tightrope. Not even The Strib and PiPress sports columnists (opinion writers who are not dependent on access to players and/or coaches, mind you) write scathing, hatchet jobs all of the time.