** Tonight, our Panthers turned it over so many times that they crashed the Basketball Message Boards!
** But no worries, as the Rivals computer wunderkinds did their work just in time for DRIBBLES!! (And I know that was their goal!).
** At least I can say that I actually wanted to do dribbles … because the Panthers at least had a few fair moments in Morgantown.
** But first, let me be clear. This was by no means an encouraging loss. Actually .... it sucked.
** So I assume I am here this evening to take solace in the fact that it could have sucked much worse!
** With that, allow me to speak of the good. There were three things I can speak of: Half court defense, John Hugley’s second half offense, and Will Jeffress’ best game ever as a Panther.
** And generally speaking, I do believe that the Panthers' overall mental intensity was much better than it was on Tuesday.
** Does this sound like faint praise? Well … it is. But that might be the most praise we can offer this year.
** So about this faint praise. For the most part, the half court defense our Panthers played tonight was the kind that could win some games. They switched better in man, They rotated better in zone. Three point shots weren’t as plentiful nor as open. We created some turnovers, and we cleaned the defensive glass.
** But none of that really matters when you turn the ball over 32 freakin times!
** All I could do all game long was to COUNT the turnovers as they continued to pile up … Ah-hah-hah!
** In fact, knowing we turned it over 32 freakin times, I think this is even greater evidence of how decent our half court defense actually was.
** Here’s the only question about today’s game that matters – can we get better?
** Some of the turnovers can be cleaned up. Some of them were caused by a lack of confidence in our execution. Some were from way too much dribbling. Many others were from a terrible night from Femi.
** A night like this from Femi is to be expected within his process, even if he is to have a solid campaign over the next 29 games.
** But unfortunately, so many more of the team's turnovers were a result of the fact that we simply do not have very good ball handlers handling the basketball. I don’t know if that can get better. It’s hard to see how it does.
** Here’s another troubling stat. WVU blocked 11 Panther shots. That’s not because the Hoopies are great shot blockers. It’s because we don’t take good shots.
** I’m not suggesting there are any answers for the offense. Actually, I’m worried that there are not. I think I’m only trying to find a way to adequately experience what is going to be a really tough year.
** And with that, I hope I can encourage just a few more of you to join me to watch the Panthers on Tuesday night. There’s a pretty good chance we will win our first game. I will even go out on a limb and say that I think we will. I just hope the Panther Lair message boards won’t crash again this time and we will be able to talk about it.
** Mostly, let's just hope that we will cut down the turnovers enough that we won't even feel the need to count them ... Ah-hah-hah!
** But no worries, as the Rivals computer wunderkinds did their work just in time for DRIBBLES!! (And I know that was their goal!).
** At least I can say that I actually wanted to do dribbles … because the Panthers at least had a few fair moments in Morgantown.
** But first, let me be clear. This was by no means an encouraging loss. Actually .... it sucked.
** So I assume I am here this evening to take solace in the fact that it could have sucked much worse!
** With that, allow me to speak of the good. There were three things I can speak of: Half court defense, John Hugley’s second half offense, and Will Jeffress’ best game ever as a Panther.
** And generally speaking, I do believe that the Panthers' overall mental intensity was much better than it was on Tuesday.
** Does this sound like faint praise? Well … it is. But that might be the most praise we can offer this year.
** So about this faint praise. For the most part, the half court defense our Panthers played tonight was the kind that could win some games. They switched better in man, They rotated better in zone. Three point shots weren’t as plentiful nor as open. We created some turnovers, and we cleaned the defensive glass.
** But none of that really matters when you turn the ball over 32 freakin times!
** All I could do all game long was to COUNT the turnovers as they continued to pile up … Ah-hah-hah!
** In fact, knowing we turned it over 32 freakin times, I think this is even greater evidence of how decent our half court defense actually was.
** Here’s the only question about today’s game that matters – can we get better?
** Some of the turnovers can be cleaned up. Some of them were caused by a lack of confidence in our execution. Some were from way too much dribbling. Many others were from a terrible night from Femi.
** A night like this from Femi is to be expected within his process, even if he is to have a solid campaign over the next 29 games.
** But unfortunately, so many more of the team's turnovers were a result of the fact that we simply do not have very good ball handlers handling the basketball. I don’t know if that can get better. It’s hard to see how it does.
** Here’s another troubling stat. WVU blocked 11 Panther shots. That’s not because the Hoopies are great shot blockers. It’s because we don’t take good shots.
** I’m not suggesting there are any answers for the offense. Actually, I’m worried that there are not. I think I’m only trying to find a way to adequately experience what is going to be a really tough year.
** And with that, I hope I can encourage just a few more of you to join me to watch the Panthers on Tuesday night. There’s a pretty good chance we will win our first game. I will even go out on a limb and say that I think we will. I just hope the Panther Lair message boards won’t crash again this time and we will be able to talk about it.
** Mostly, let's just hope that we will cut down the turnovers enough that we won't even feel the need to count them ... Ah-hah-hah!
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