by Wayne23 » Mon Jan 04, 2016 7:11 pm
November 14 Earl:
72-62 over Indiana! Otto Arte had 26 and 12. He can PLAY! The weird thing is he’s a senior and he barely played in his first 3 years here. He has told us there was a personality conflict with the coach. I do not understand how you can sit a kid with this kind of talent. We won’t! 13, 4 for Tom Holt at SF. We shot it really well, 54.2% to their 41.9%. That and fouls were the difference.
Zak:
I never expected a win here. It’s great! Well, as we got closer to game day I felt like Arte gave us a chance.
#9 seed New Mexico is next. They beat #8 Kentucky. We two were the only upset winners, and an 8-9 game isn’t really an upset.
November 16 Zak:
71-57 over New Mexico. 22, 12, 2 for Arte, 10, 7, 2 for PF Juke Antt, 16, 2, 4 for guard Shoe Floyd. 11 TOs. We never trailed after the first minute.
Billy Bob Sears, WMNT radio:
“Hello all a you Tigers fans. We’re here after the game with brandy new Coach Zak Zachery. Coach, you doin’ miracles here!”
“Well, no, Billy Bob. My guys are doing some wonderful things though. I’m thrilled with the start.”
“So tell us how you doin’ it then. Las’ year this here team was pretty aver’ge.”
“To give credit where it’s due, my predecessor recruited Shoe Floyd and Juke Antt, and those two freshman have given us a lot.”
“Yeah but Otto Arte done nuthin’ but sit the bench las’ year- fer three years. He’s yer hoss!”
“Not being here before this year I can’t comment on why Otto didn’t play. But he’ll get all the minutes he can handle for us.”
“All right now. This here is Billy Bob Sears, WMNT radio. We gonna be at ever’ Tigers game all year long. Come on down an’ give us a lissen!”
Earl:
#12 seed Brigham Young upset #4 Georgetown so we play them in the semifinal round. They beat #5 Florida the round before that. They’re an outside team. They go with 3, sometimes even 4 guards. They can shoot it!
November 19 Ezra Johnson, scouting assistant:
70-57. My report said they were an outside team. I thought Coach had taken leave of his senses when he said, after looking at the video clips I sent him and then asking me LOTS of questions, we would NOT take it inside, but instead would beat them outside. He told the staff he thought our guards were quicker. He kept the inside strategy for a backup but he never needed to go with it because he was right. Our starting guards Shoe Floyd and John King had 18 each, and only 3 TOs between them, and SF/SG Tom Holt hit 3 threes on his way to 12 outside points. Arte had 13 and 7 inside but we beat them outside, mostly. 9 TOs and great D. We held them to 18 in the first half.
Ramsey Noone, GSPN TV:
“Coach Zachery, no one expected you to be playing for the preseason NIT title. How did you get here?”
“We flew, Ramsey. Just kidding! I think we snuck up on people. I’m guessing our first two opponents underestimated us and had difficulty recovering when we jumped out to a big early lead. We are definitely shooting it extremely well, but we’re getting people open. Getting open shots improves the shooting percentage a whole lot.”
“Nothing wrong with the D either.”
“We’ve played the kind of D I always like to see my guys play.”
“Good luck tomorrow!”
Zak:
It will be #6 seed, #4 ranked Georgia Tech for the title. We’re at #12 in the first in season poll but to be honest I think we’re playing over our heads. Hope I’m wrong.
November 20 Ezra:
56-71. 16, 8, 4 for Arte, 10, 6, 3 for Holt, 10, 4, 5 for King. 10 TOs.
Coach said the bench would be the difference. Their bench got 32, 12, 7, and ours got 8, 3, 4. He felt that their depth would wear us out. We kept it close for about 30-32 minutes and then it fell apart so he was right. We know we aren’t deep and that will hurt against good teams.
Zak:
I would call this a pretty strong start!
Tank:
All 6 recruits signed so we’re done recruiting for the year. I’ll look at juniors, potential transfers, some other kids.
November 21 Earl:
79-69 at UMBC. 17, 12 for Arte, 14, 3, 3 for Holt, 16, 3, 6 for King, 15 for Floyd. 10 TOs.
We were tired after a red eye flight and a game the day after the Georgia tech game, but we held on.
November 24 Zak:
73-54 over Drexel in our home debut- to a sellout crowd! All 5 starters were in double figures, scoring between 11 and 15. Mick Tigs had 8 and 7 from the bench. We never trailed. 10 TOs.
Billy Bob Sears, WMNT radio:
“We’re back after the game. We’re with freshman Shoe Floyd. Okay, I gotta ask it. I’m guessin’ ‘Shoe’ ain’t the name your mama give you.”
“That’s right, it ain’t. My older brother’s name is Joe an’ fer whatever reason when I started in ta talkin’ it come out as ‘Shoe.’ The name stuck an’ I been Shoe ever since- my borther too!”
“Great story. Freshmens at major college programs is s’posed ta have adjustment problems. Yer the 2nd leadin’ scorer on the Tigers. How come yer doin’ so good, so early?”
“Thanks fer that, Billy Bob. I gotta say it’s 2 things. First, Otto Arte gits a LOT of attention. That frees up the rest of us sometimes. Right along with that, John King is one terrific guy at findin’ the open man. When I’m open he us’ally gits me the ball.”
“What’s the biggest differ’nce ‘tween here an’ high school ball?”
“The pace. Ever’thing is way quicker here. That’s the thing I can’t never ferget. If’n ya lose yer man on D he’s gone an’ there ain’t no way ta catch him. So I work real hard not ta lose my man.”
“Coach says yer a good defender. Keep doin’ what yer doin’, Shoe!”
November 27 Zak:
We’re at #10 in this week’s poll. As I said last week, that’s too high. But, we’re winning, and looking good doing it. 3 of our next 4 on the road though and that could change things. 2 of our first 10 at home.
November 28 Earl:
69-82 at Colorado. Ugly. Otto Arte had 2 points, 8 RBs, mostly because of foul trouble. Our guards did great, 22, 2, 6 for King, 12 for Shoe, but he fouled out, and 15 for backup guard Mal Akins. But we got killed inside and we let them shoot 53.2%, 9-18 on threes. This was more points, by 11, than we’ve given up this season.
December 1 Earl:
71-61 over Richmond here. In and out. 17, 6 for Arte, 15 for King, 11, 5 for first big off the bench Mick Tigs, 10, 4, 3 for Shoe, 8, 9, 3 for Ante. +12 RBs.
Next two games will be tough.