** I’ve been at this duty of writing post-game “dribbles” for almost two decades now.
** It’s almost always been a true labor of love, and during the best of times, it was hardly a labor at all.
** But for as much of a challenge as this season will be for our Panthers, I must confess it’s already been quite a challenge to write about it too.
** And for this particular game, it’s so darn difficult to even know just what to think, let alone what to write.
** The crowd didn’t know what to think either, I believe. Without the Zoo and few in attendance, it was so painfully quiet, the atmosphere was almost surreal.
** So I’ll start in the easiest and most obvious place, which is to congratulate our Panthers for a win. Not just a win, but their first win of the year with a comfortable margin at the end.
** So comfortable that we even got to enjoy the entrance of our stable of walk-ons. That’s always an enjoyable thing to watch.
** It’s also enjoyable to watch your team celebrate and enjoy when things are going well. And with threes raining from everywhere in the second half, there was certainly that to enjoy.
** But it would be less than honest to suggest that this was actually much of an enjoyable game.
** Of course, it started with a big loud ugly thud with the sight of Ryan Luther sporting a walking boot. I’m hoping for the best, but I fear that Ryan is looking at another injury just like last year.
** The time that could be missed by Luther is bad enough on its own, but when he returned for action last season, he was never really himself.
** Still, I went into the game looking forward to seeing more time from Terrell Brown. In fact, I was even conjuring a holiday delivery themed post centered around the idea of “what Brown can do for you!”
** But that wasn’t to be. Brown didn’t really deliver. Neither did Peace nor Kene whose minutes where increased in the absence of Ryan.
** In fact, this trio combined only for 5 points. 5 points against the #312 team in college basketball.
** Even Shamiel failed to make his mark in the paint.
** Truth be told, no one made much of a mark at all in the first half of the game.
** That goes for both teams. I can’t recall many halves when both teams combined to shoot 23% from the field. It was likely the worst first half on basketball we’ve ever seen at the Pete.
** The second half wasn’t actually all that much better actually, except that the Panthers got on a roll hitting the extremely wide open three pointers they too often missed in the first half.
** In the first half, I kinda chuckled at the three made by Kham Davis. It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that he had about two full seconds to take the shot. I commented at the time that the shot was so open that I think that I could have even made it.
** So let’s give full credit to Kham because he takes and makes good shots, and doesn’t force tougher ones.
** I had a hard time understanding just how McNeese State was trying to defend our Panthers on the perimeter, or should I say, not defend our Panthers on the perimeter.
** All the same, I was having an equally difficult time understanding just why we ended up taking 33 threes against a team as lowly as the Cowboys of the Southland Conference.
** Along those lines, I am having a difficult time trying to understand just exactly what Coach Stallings wants from his offense.
** At times, there is some really decent ball movement, which too often seemed to end up with another three launched from the perimeter instead of pursuing better options.
** And if it’s missed, there’s not really anyone anywhere close to the paint to pursue an offensive rebound.
** Am I the only one who is more than a little troubled that Kene and Terrell combined for 0-5 from three point land, but only 2 offensive rebounds?
** Is that really the kind of offense the staff is looking for?
** The good news is that the staff has Marcus Carr to run the offense, and just like one would hope in a game like this, Marcus was clearly this game’s most talented player. It wasn’t really even close.
** The other good news is that this was indeed a 21 point win. When the Cowboys cut it to six near the 12 minute mark in the second half, I feared the Panthers might be in store for another unwelcome dogfight. But five more threes in the next few minutes ended this show.
** I’ll end with a more positive note, suggesting that it took the Panthers a little time to figure just how they wanted to play without Ryan. That’s understandable.
** They will have another game to work on this Tuesday, against the worst team in Division I Hoops. But after that Towson offers a much more formidable challenge, as or course does any team in the ACC.
** Hopefully, we can work on a little bit of an inside game. Because without Ryan, I can’t think shooting 33 threes will get the job done.
** It’s almost always been a true labor of love, and during the best of times, it was hardly a labor at all.
** But for as much of a challenge as this season will be for our Panthers, I must confess it’s already been quite a challenge to write about it too.
** And for this particular game, it’s so darn difficult to even know just what to think, let alone what to write.
** The crowd didn’t know what to think either, I believe. Without the Zoo and few in attendance, it was so painfully quiet, the atmosphere was almost surreal.
** So I’ll start in the easiest and most obvious place, which is to congratulate our Panthers for a win. Not just a win, but their first win of the year with a comfortable margin at the end.
** So comfortable that we even got to enjoy the entrance of our stable of walk-ons. That’s always an enjoyable thing to watch.
** It’s also enjoyable to watch your team celebrate and enjoy when things are going well. And with threes raining from everywhere in the second half, there was certainly that to enjoy.
** But it would be less than honest to suggest that this was actually much of an enjoyable game.
** Of course, it started with a big loud ugly thud with the sight of Ryan Luther sporting a walking boot. I’m hoping for the best, but I fear that Ryan is looking at another injury just like last year.
** The time that could be missed by Luther is bad enough on its own, but when he returned for action last season, he was never really himself.
** Still, I went into the game looking forward to seeing more time from Terrell Brown. In fact, I was even conjuring a holiday delivery themed post centered around the idea of “what Brown can do for you!”
** But that wasn’t to be. Brown didn’t really deliver. Neither did Peace nor Kene whose minutes where increased in the absence of Ryan.
** In fact, this trio combined only for 5 points. 5 points against the #312 team in college basketball.
** Even Shamiel failed to make his mark in the paint.
** Truth be told, no one made much of a mark at all in the first half of the game.
** That goes for both teams. I can’t recall many halves when both teams combined to shoot 23% from the field. It was likely the worst first half on basketball we’ve ever seen at the Pete.
** The second half wasn’t actually all that much better actually, except that the Panthers got on a roll hitting the extremely wide open three pointers they too often missed in the first half.
** In the first half, I kinda chuckled at the three made by Kham Davis. It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that he had about two full seconds to take the shot. I commented at the time that the shot was so open that I think that I could have even made it.
** So let’s give full credit to Kham because he takes and makes good shots, and doesn’t force tougher ones.
** I had a hard time understanding just how McNeese State was trying to defend our Panthers on the perimeter, or should I say, not defend our Panthers on the perimeter.
** All the same, I was having an equally difficult time understanding just why we ended up taking 33 threes against a team as lowly as the Cowboys of the Southland Conference.
** Along those lines, I am having a difficult time trying to understand just exactly what Coach Stallings wants from his offense.
** At times, there is some really decent ball movement, which too often seemed to end up with another three launched from the perimeter instead of pursuing better options.
** And if it’s missed, there’s not really anyone anywhere close to the paint to pursue an offensive rebound.
** Am I the only one who is more than a little troubled that Kene and Terrell combined for 0-5 from three point land, but only 2 offensive rebounds?
** Is that really the kind of offense the staff is looking for?
** The good news is that the staff has Marcus Carr to run the offense, and just like one would hope in a game like this, Marcus was clearly this game’s most talented player. It wasn’t really even close.
** The other good news is that this was indeed a 21 point win. When the Cowboys cut it to six near the 12 minute mark in the second half, I feared the Panthers might be in store for another unwelcome dogfight. But five more threes in the next few minutes ended this show.
** I’ll end with a more positive note, suggesting that it took the Panthers a little time to figure just how they wanted to play without Ryan. That’s understandable.
** They will have another game to work on this Tuesday, against the worst team in Division I Hoops. But after that Towson offers a much more formidable challenge, as or course does any team in the ACC.
** Hopefully, we can work on a little bit of an inside game. Because without Ryan, I can’t think shooting 33 threes will get the job done.
