** They call this March Madness. But for this Panther fan, this year I’ll go with Spring Satisfaction.
** That is because as I sit here with my laptop, I feel not the anger or dismay or even disgust that fans can often feel with losses. Overall, I have a sense of fulfillment.
** It’s always tough to lose in this glorious single elimination event. Sometimes the loss can be incredibly close, turning on a miracle shot, an unfathomable error, or a questionable call. But at the end of the month, the Tournament usually does indeed find the best team.
** Today’s loss to the Musketeers was just that. A loss to the better team who really ran us off the three point line which was our calling card. My only real regret was that we were only within near-miracle distance, instead of any realistic deficit we could overcome in the second half.
** Sure, maybe It might have been a bit more fun for it to have been something like a 6 or 7 point game instead only being able to find our way to trim the mark to 8.
** Perhaps if Jamarius finds a wide open Greg instead of the hands of Souley Boum near the two minute mark, maybe we are all speaking about completely different emotions than just satisfaction. But alas we are not.
** And this isn’t to say that I think the Panthers played poorly today otherwise. They took care of the ball, and even started to get some things figured out defensively as the game went on. But our shots left us short.
** Most importantly, they never gave up and battled to the final buzzer. I was actually kind of impressed with their energy and enthusiasm, if not even gumption, in the last seven minutes till the end. Xavier was stuck on 74 for quite some time.
** A wise fan once wrote on this message board that any team’s goal should really to be simply the best team they can be. It’s easy for me to believe the Panthers met that goal this year.
** If you believe as I do this was the case, then it’s also important to recognize that the Panthers were always a team full holes and not loads and loads of talent. But they truly became a team who played together and found ways to get it done.
** One only needs to look at wins against Mississippi State and and Iowa State to realize this. Both are pretty decent basketball teams, and we beat them within three days of each other.
** Even more importantly, the Panthers won these games without their starting center, and instead won them with a 190 backup.
** And GDG wasn’t really even our backup center this year. He was our second backup center.
** There's no way I can know for sure if our team, our chemistry and our results would have been worse with John Hugley. All we can know for sure is that these things were pretty good without him.
** And in the long run, knowing John’s absence thrust the Twins into a larger role, maybe it’s better regardless.
** Their physical development will likely determine if they can become higher end players. But what we know now is that the Twins are indeed major college basketball players.
** Early in the season, Capel used to talk about the tremendous energy that the Twins bring when they are on the court. Generally, I don’t always like the phrase because it seems to be a compliment a coach gives to a players who try hard but don't necessarily produce.
** In these last few days, the Twins certainly did both. Now I’m suspecting there are a bunch of top teams who wish they would have snagged them instead of Jeff.
** In the coming weeks, we can talk about what this team need to add besides weight on the Twins and Fede, and maybe a few less pounds on Blake.
** Instead, I just want to offer a note of sincere appreciation for our departing quartet of senior guards. Somehow, I wish this game could have sent all four out with a little more fanfare. But each battled to the buzzer and should hold their heads high.
** In fact, the only downbeat notion I will offer this afternoon is my general fear that’s it’s going to be more difficult to replace these guys than we might think.
** Take Nike for example. Today he led the Panthers today with 9 rebounds. Just as he’s has done all year long, he brought all he had. All four seniors did. That’s why we are here today talking about a loss in the Round of 32 instead of who are next coach will be.
** This time last year many, including me, thought this would be Capel’s last year. I believe I wrote about my disposition for the program at the time calling it “sad.” Therefore, “sad” to “satisfied” is certainly a great leap forward.
** So thanks to our Panthers for a tremendously exciting and fun basketball season. Heck, I was shopping in Giant Eagle yesterday and found myself getting into a conversation with a couple fellow shoppers about this game. How long has it been since that would ever happen?
** In the coming weeks, Capel and staff have plenty of work to do keep us here. But without a doubt, I can close with a statement that we all now know is a fact. We Are Back!
** That is because as I sit here with my laptop, I feel not the anger or dismay or even disgust that fans can often feel with losses. Overall, I have a sense of fulfillment.
** It’s always tough to lose in this glorious single elimination event. Sometimes the loss can be incredibly close, turning on a miracle shot, an unfathomable error, or a questionable call. But at the end of the month, the Tournament usually does indeed find the best team.
** Today’s loss to the Musketeers was just that. A loss to the better team who really ran us off the three point line which was our calling card. My only real regret was that we were only within near-miracle distance, instead of any realistic deficit we could overcome in the second half.
** Sure, maybe It might have been a bit more fun for it to have been something like a 6 or 7 point game instead only being able to find our way to trim the mark to 8.
** Perhaps if Jamarius finds a wide open Greg instead of the hands of Souley Boum near the two minute mark, maybe we are all speaking about completely different emotions than just satisfaction. But alas we are not.
** And this isn’t to say that I think the Panthers played poorly today otherwise. They took care of the ball, and even started to get some things figured out defensively as the game went on. But our shots left us short.
** Most importantly, they never gave up and battled to the final buzzer. I was actually kind of impressed with their energy and enthusiasm, if not even gumption, in the last seven minutes till the end. Xavier was stuck on 74 for quite some time.
** A wise fan once wrote on this message board that any team’s goal should really to be simply the best team they can be. It’s easy for me to believe the Panthers met that goal this year.
** If you believe as I do this was the case, then it’s also important to recognize that the Panthers were always a team full holes and not loads and loads of talent. But they truly became a team who played together and found ways to get it done.
** One only needs to look at wins against Mississippi State and and Iowa State to realize this. Both are pretty decent basketball teams, and we beat them within three days of each other.
** Even more importantly, the Panthers won these games without their starting center, and instead won them with a 190 backup.
** And GDG wasn’t really even our backup center this year. He was our second backup center.
** There's no way I can know for sure if our team, our chemistry and our results would have been worse with John Hugley. All we can know for sure is that these things were pretty good without him.
** And in the long run, knowing John’s absence thrust the Twins into a larger role, maybe it’s better regardless.
** Their physical development will likely determine if they can become higher end players. But what we know now is that the Twins are indeed major college basketball players.
** Early in the season, Capel used to talk about the tremendous energy that the Twins bring when they are on the court. Generally, I don’t always like the phrase because it seems to be a compliment a coach gives to a players who try hard but don't necessarily produce.
** In these last few days, the Twins certainly did both. Now I’m suspecting there are a bunch of top teams who wish they would have snagged them instead of Jeff.
** In the coming weeks, we can talk about what this team need to add besides weight on the Twins and Fede, and maybe a few less pounds on Blake.
** Instead, I just want to offer a note of sincere appreciation for our departing quartet of senior guards. Somehow, I wish this game could have sent all four out with a little more fanfare. But each battled to the buzzer and should hold their heads high.
** In fact, the only downbeat notion I will offer this afternoon is my general fear that’s it’s going to be more difficult to replace these guys than we might think.
** Take Nike for example. Today he led the Panthers today with 9 rebounds. Just as he’s has done all year long, he brought all he had. All four seniors did. That’s why we are here today talking about a loss in the Round of 32 instead of who are next coach will be.
** This time last year many, including me, thought this would be Capel’s last year. I believe I wrote about my disposition for the program at the time calling it “sad.” Therefore, “sad” to “satisfied” is certainly a great leap forward.
** So thanks to our Panthers for a tremendously exciting and fun basketball season. Heck, I was shopping in Giant Eagle yesterday and found myself getting into a conversation with a couple fellow shoppers about this game. How long has it been since that would ever happen?
** In the coming weeks, Capel and staff have plenty of work to do keep us here. But without a doubt, I can close with a statement that we all now know is a fact. We Are Back!
