THis team is not last years team. Last year we had two players with inside presence thus allowing Doyle and Peterson to drive to the hoop. It even allowed Doyle and Peterson to play the point. It also allowed for more looks on the perimeter. THis year Doyle and Peterson are getting double teamed and stripped and having to make contested passes to the perimeter. Lots of turnovers. few good shots. Doyle and Peterson are not great ball handlers. Jef WHite is a ball handler,,,maybe Richarson and Smith. I dont think teams are particularly scared of Montel getting the ball inside either. He had more space last year. Everyone had more space last year because we had another inside presence. So what to do? something new....5 guards and press? 4 guards and MOntell and Ingram spell each other? I am not sure but what worked last year is not working this year. My only complaint about Coach is that I think he is sometimes stubborn and that his answer is always they need more effort or confidence. If these kids get to the point that they are giving 100% and they still arent winning and all the Coach says is work harder,,,oh boy,
Also defensively we just have a lot of lanky guys with slow first steps. This is not a good combo for man-to man. They do have some long arms.....maybe more zone.
But we are certainly far enough through the season to see that what we are currently doing is not working

I am not an expert, but to me, I see a number of things stick out as different from last year's team.

1. Lack of depth at the small forward position.
Christian Thomas was a great finisher in traffic, with a nice stroke on a 10-15 foot jump shot. As a sophomore and junior, he played the power forward at 6'5". Last year, he let Montel James do more of the inside work, since James has great footwork and is 2" taller or more. More important, Thomas was a pretty good rebounder when it was needed. That is what Donte Ingram is supposed to do, but he's only a sophomore, and he's playing the spot after having had a different role for most of his playing career. I'm OK with what Donte's doing defensively, but his offense is not making progress as much as I thought it would. In fact, it is probably worse than it was last year. Jay Knuth would have been a backup playing considerable minutes in this role, but he's out for the season. If we had a big man, Montel James could slide down to this spot to give a different look.... but we don't have a big guy that can play 15+ minutes.

The main thing with this spot is something that shows up a lot with zone defenses... the guy who can get a pass in the seams of the zone and do something with it-- passing back out, shooting immediately, drawing double teams, or driving to the basket. Doyle has to do that this year, and he's really needed to do other things. Ingram doesn't have the instincts or developed skill for it. Nobody else is in that size and skill range.

2. Energy and Work Ethic.
I don't think we have the same energy or urgency that we had last year. Last season, the team played like they had a chip on their shoulders, and they were trying to prove people wrong last year. Some games they lost confidence or let off that energy, but for the most part the team was trying to make a statement about us being worthy... at least that's how it seemed to me. And whenever we seemed to lose focus or ease up on intensity, Christian Thomas and Joe Crisman (the hard working, hard nosed seniors who wanted desperately to make a statement at the end of their college careers) were there to get the team back in gear.

3. Rule Changes.
I do think the rule changes have slightly hurt us with the kind of team we have. The rule changes (shot clock, timeline, coach timeouts, etc.) have made possessions slightly less valuable, and slowing the tempo and making other teams work for 35 seconds on offense and defense is less effective than it was last year.

4. We've been scouted well.
Last year's team had a different approach-- a lot of help defense, controlling tempo, being deliberate, making shots and possessions count. Every team has seen film or been told of what we do, who is key to the offense, etc. It's not a surprise anymore when we come out with energy, double team certain players, run plays to get shots for certain players, etc.

5. Experience/fine points/finishing.
One thing I've noticed about this year's team is how many times we get our hands on rebounds first, but don't ultimately come up with the ball. I also think we're not getting the roll on a lot of point blank shots, and that really goes to the instincts/experience of adjusting the touch on a shot in traffic and under pressure. Last year we shot 51.2% as a team on two point shots, this year we're at 44.5% after the ISU game. Christian Thomas shot 58% on two point shots last year, and Doyle, Peterson and James were also over 50% on twos. This year, only Turk and Rajala are over 50% on twos.

That's just my observations/opinion about what's missing from what we had last year...

I've read everything, watched every game available, expressed my opinions,
and currently am depleted. I'm gonna take a rest and just watch what happens for a week or two.
Personally, I am out of gas emotionally. I care about this team, and these players as much as anyone and
am frustrated because there really is nothing any of us fans, (pardon my grammar) can do at this point but hope that PM and the players can get it going. Everything else is more long term and will not help this team, this year.
Go Ramblers

Like Rambler guy I think I will take a deep breath and hibernate for a week or two. Emotionally exhausted as it has been hard to watch especially because there were so many games that were winnable and yet we lost. Toledo and UNC Asheville in Alaska, Cleveland State, SIU and Indiana State have all been major disappointments.
I saw this team up close in Alaska and had lunch with them. They are close knit and the team chemistry is fine. But for some reason the confidence is gone and they need to reset. The big mystery to me has been Doyle. A lack of shots, more time on the bench, injuries which appear to be minor. When a person is constantly hurting, after awhile they just become more passive. I do not see the fire in him. Last year in Vegas I saw it, this year I just don't. And I think that has affected the confidence of those around him. Just a quick note, Turk yesterday really tried to pull the team back. When he couldn't get the outside three pointer he slashed to the rim or pulled in close for the easier two. He has really improved his game. In retrospect not surprised he missed a key one/one as I am sure he was pretty fatigued.
The last two minutes were really ugly and opened up the margin for the Trees but heck we were down ten and could have gotten it to eight if we had hit those one/ones. I also think White should start with Peterson coming off the bench. White has really restored his game after his year of trying to come off of knee surgery.
In the last minute the boys were still pressing and diving for loose balls. Having the Trees make 22 of 25 really sealed the deal. That is not going to happen often.
Time for a nap.

These guys need to watch tape of their tournament run. The problem is not the opponents. The problem is them. They are not playing up to their capabilities. They need to go back and look at what they did right when they were winning and playing together as a team. The are capable of winning almost every game left on their schedule of they play together and play to their abilities. Hopefully they can get a spark and turn it around. It's not too late but they need to start improving immediately.

Probably need 9 more wins to secure a CIT bid. At 16-16 do you pay again to be in a "C" tourney?

Some interesting thoughts. Everyone is right ,,,,nothing we can do but sit and wait and watch, It is up to the Coach and players at this point. Nice to hear from 25 that the team has good chemistry. I have heard from multiple sources that these are good kids. The one point mentioned that I think is true is that Jeff White should start and handle the ball. I think it is unfair to expect Milton Doyle to run the point. Ball handling not his best skill set. 5 turnovers again yesterday.
Well it will be interesting to see if they can pull themselves out of this hole.

The CBI tournament was a good investment At the time because it was giving us a chance to gel and gain experience for what was supposed to be a great team going into the following year. If this team is 16-16 this year, which is by no means a garauntee, I don't know that it's as solid of an investment going into next year. This was going to be the year that if the ball bounced our way we might have a chance to go to the NCAA or NIT. At this point, we wouldn't just have to have a good regular season for it to be a good investment - we would have to make a major statement at arch madness.