[Game Discussion] Mercer

Roberts looks much improved out there.

Greg Williams does nothing for me.  I felt the same way last year and I dont see any improvement.

I’m high on Williams. He would have made the natural transition to a Carrington style PG by his junior year IMO. He is now forced to move that learning curve up a year and will need several games and will have to make a few dozen mistakes.

He’s one of two + on-ball defenders that we have and the only one that can defend the point at that level. Smart kid too with great scoring potential.

Roberts looks much improved out there.

Greg Williams does nothing for me.  I felt the same way last year and I dont see any improvement.

Roberts really does look vastly improved. Williams, the verdict is still out on if he will take that next step or not.

STFU.  If you don't see the obvious difference between this game and what went on last year you are blind and know nothing about hoops..

I’m high on Williams. He would have made the natural transition to a Carrington style PG by his junior year IMO. He is now forced to move that learning curve up a year and will need several games and will have to make a few dozen mistakes.

He’s one of two + on-ball defenders that we have and the only one that can defend the point at that level. Smart kid too with great scoring potential.

Williams cant shoot.  You just saw it there.  He had a hard drive, stopped on a dime and created space for a 15ft jumper.  But he doesnt take it, drives to the hoop and misses a contested layup.

How many 3’s has he chucked up so far? This kid is playing his role and playing excellent.

Is your interpreter available to explain this?

Earlington’s outside shot (and overall perimeter ability) is one of the strongest aspects of his game. That should be clear to anyone with even the most basic understanding of the sport.

STFU.  If you don't see the obvious difference between this game and what went on last year you are blind and know nothing about hoops..

We made the tournament last year. Is it your contention that this team will be better? I don’t understand your post otherwise.

Ponds was great but Mullin letting him control the ball too much led to poor ball movement and his teammates watching him.  Mullin was a poor coach and so far Anderson looks excellent.  Defense, hustle, ball movement,, chaos....I love it.  Have liked Earlington from the beginning and he is looking good.

Exactly this.

Williams cant shoot.  You just saw it there.  He had a hard drive, stopped on a dime and created space for a 15ft jumper.  But he doesnt take it, drives to the hoop and misses a contested layup.

He’s playing his first game as a true soph and he’s playing slightly out of position. It’s a little early to say he can’t shoot. His form and mechanics are solid.

He’s playing his first game as a true soph and he’s playing slightly out of position. It’s a little early to say he can’t shoot. His form and mechanics are solid.

I am basing that on watching all of last season too.  You can usualy tell who can shoot the ball pretty easily.  I dont see that in him.

Duke of Earlington and Roberts were pleasant surprises tonight.  It was great to see.

When can this dunn kid play?

We made the tournament last year. Is it your contention that this team will be better? I don’t understand your post otherwise.

Much better.  They are well coached, obviously better conditioned and I think they will outperform last year's bunch.  Hustling, playing D, looking for each other, creating chaos defensively.  I know Mercer is a lightweight but Mullin's teams had a way of making this level of game close while looking horrible.  I liked what I saw of Earlington last year but Mullin was a poor judge of talent and didn't use him.  Last year was the ponds show and anytime anyone is the show (excepting the extraordinary) it leads to poor play, especially if that someone is poorly conditioned as was evidenced by Pond's performance late in the season.

I think the point my guy marillac is trying to make (poorly imo ) is that one game doesn’t make a coach. Mullin beat cuse by 30 his first year. Fans love to rush to conclusions and create expectations.  I’m a big fan and a full believer but wait and see until we lose a game we shouldn’t and see how the mood on the boards is.

If you guys cant see the difference in the way this team played tonight and last year, i dont know what to tell you.

We have a professional coach this year.  It was night and day compared to last year.

Impressed. It's one game, but I saw very encouraging things. Playing tough defense all game, closing out on shooters, fighting for loose balls, under control on fast breaks and looking for teammates. I'll refrain from making sweeping assessments, as it is just one game against Mercer. But that was encouraging to watch.

I think the point my guy marillac is trying to make (poorly imo ) is that one game doesn’t make a coach. Mullin beat cuse by 30 his first year. Fans love to rush to conclusions and create expectations.  I’m a big fan and a full believer but wait and see until we lose a game we shouldn’t and see how the mood on the boards is.

 

He Is right about the one game but I saw hustle and D that was nonexistent in recent years.  And team play and ball movement.  This team with their style will be fun to watch, more fun than watching PONDS dribble too much, ignore his teammates and force shots.     

My thoughts from first game:

Mercer is awful and will lose at least 20 games again. They are really, really bad.

Caraher would either lead Mercer in scoring or be its #2 scorer.

Champagnie has impressed me. I was critical of his signing at first but very pleased he showed up at 6’7 and 220. He doesn’t have much spring, but I love guys that accept the PF role and he seems to have bought in. I like his skill a lot for a 4/3. I hate him as a pure 3 for at least the next two years. He could be a Marillac favorite if he keeps it up. I wouldn’t rule out his brother transferring here if he doesn’t find immediate success at Pitt.

Sears - Couldn’t get a read on him with the fouls and lack of half court play. Hopefully the fouling was just first game jitters or else, yikes.

Earlington - I don’t want to go overboard because he could probably start and average double digits for Mercer, but he’s a tough matchup for big men. He’s skilled and coordinated...he just needs a lot of burn to catch up to the speed of the game. Football has cost him countless hours of precious time and he’s still really behind his peers. With that last bit in mind, it’s really hard to believe anyone has written him off already.

Roberts - Great motor. Great athlete. Raw. He’ll be the biggest benefactor of the new system. Lucky kid. It kind of makes you wonder who was advising him when he committed to the previous staff.

Rutherford - I didn’t pay attention to him much. He seems to anticipate well and shot some passing lanes for steals, but Mercer was horrible with telegraphing passes. I don’t like the way he short-arms his finishes at the basket. If he can just be serviceable it will huge. He does seem steady thus far.

Williams - Sloppy. Obviously very talented though. He’s our best defender for PGs and combos. I’d say he’s probably a + defender for the conference. His learning curve will be steep. Baptism by fire for him.

Caraher - Heady player. Strong. Not a defensive liability from what I’ve seen. He’ll need some time to get used to the speed of high major play. Rushes most of his shots so far but good form and mechanics. He has some major point-forward ability in space if he can adjust to the speed of this level. He’s the guy you want rebounding the ball to push.

It seems like we’ll get a lot of easy baskets from our forwards. We are smaller than most frontlines but much more skilled in space.

Really good game, still need to sure up the switching and rotating on defense to it allow so many 3’s but that has always been the problem for mike in the first half of the season. And yes I am absolutely wrong about Earlington, he has shown so much progress from the summer, could be the most athletic big man we have.

Much better.  They are well coached, obviously better conditioned and I think they will outperform last year's bunch.  Hustling, playing D, looking for each other, creating chaos defensively.  I know Mercer is a lightweight but Mullin's teams had a way of making this level of game close while looking horrible.  I liked what I saw of Earlington last year but Mullin was a poor judge of talent and didn't use him.  Last year was the ponds show and anytime anyone is the show (excepting the extraordinary) it leads to poor play, especially if that someone is poorly conditioned as was evidenced by Pond's performance late in the season.

Please put a win total on the season then.

I HATED Mullin’s style of play. I was critical of him not emphasizing rebounding, for his lack of structure, and for his inability to constrain players to roles that fit their skill sets.

With that written, Mullin started the season 12-0. He beat Loyola Maryland by 21 in the opener. He beat a 22-win Bowling Green team game two and then beat Rutgers on the road by 19. They beat Cal, VCU (a tournament team) and Ga Tech and beat Maryland Eastern Shore by 21.

Next they beat Mt. St. Mary’s and a good Princeton team (that beat Arizona State) by 14 a piece.

The closest game against a scrub was hat 14-pt win over MSM (who just lost to Gtown tonight by 13). It’s just not accurate to paint Mullin as a coach that struggled against lesser opponents like some are trying to do. Even the 85 Final Four team lost to Niagara.

Mullin would have won this game by 20 pts. Anderson’s style of play will obviously add more pts in lopsided games. That is to be expected. This “thank God for Anderson” jubilation after a game like this is insane to me.

And before someone creates another strawman, I love scheduling scrubs early. It definitely has its place and this team needs games like this, albeit maybe not quite this bad of an opponent.

Good to have some Johnnies basketball back.

Anytime you win by 20+ it's a good win and there are some encouraging signs here. This team is much less talented than last years but I don't think there will be as many poor showings energy wise as there were last year, tho I don't expect to win as many games.

Almost goes without saying but Heron and LJ will benefit from not having as many mouths to feed, and it's possible the team over all will. Only two guys commanding the ball in tight spots. Rutherford looks like he fits in well with those two.

-Roberts looks much more aware and comfortable out there, not to mention stronger, but his lack of skill will be an issue at times. He gets up but no touch.
-Caraher should be a valuable asset for the next few years, he's the kind of role player that wins good teams tournament games.
-Sears and Champagnie have good NCAA bodies but I was pretty unimpressed by them. Hope Champagnie can grow into a role.
-Who really knows with Earlington. He looked good out there today but so hard to say off one game.

Depth is going to be our issue this year. Last year we had enough talent in the starting 5 that we could cover up depth for the most part but with the speed we will be playing at I'm not sure the guys we have will get it done. Hoping for the best and hoping for more games like this one.

If this team can add both Dunn and Steere, who knows, maybe it could take the BE by surprise.

Please put a win total on the season then.

I HATED Mullin’s style of play. I was critical of him not emphasizing rebounding, for his lack of structure, and for his inability to constrain players to roles that fit their skill sets.

With that written, Mullin started the season 12-0. He beat Loyola Maryland by 21 in the opener. He beat a 22-win Bowling Green team game two and then beat Rutgers on the road by 19. They beat Cal, VCU (a tournament team) and Ga Tech and beat Maryland Eastern Shore by 21.

Next they beat Mt. St. Mary’s and a good Princeton team (that beat Arizona State) by 14 a piece.

The closest game against a scrub was hat 14-pt win over MSM (who just lost to Gtown tonight by 13). It’s just not accurate to paint Mullin as a coach that struggled against lesser opponents like some are trying to do. Even the 85 Final Four team lost to Niagara.

Mullin would have won this game by 20 pts. Anderson’s style of play will obviously add more pts in lopsided games. That is to be expected. This “thank God for Anderson” jubilation after a game like this is insane to me.

And before someone creates another strawman, I love scheduling scrubs early. It definitely has its place and this team needs games like this, albeit maybe not quite this bad of an opponent.

Speaking of strawman that's what you are doing bragging on Mullin's team last season as his program was a house of cards ready to collapse which is why his only recruiter high tailed it out of here and Mullin bailed too. Mullin had more talent last year than we have this year but he knew last year was his apex and things were about to get ugly for him and the program so the one thing I applaud him for doing is falling on his sword.