I'll Be a Son of a Shark

[CoachC]

Jan 19:
It's no coincidence that in our 4 losses this season our turnover differential has been a mere +.75/g

In our 13 wins the differential has been +8.23/g

[CoachC]

Larry: Back home, let's get a new winnings streak started, Coach.

Gary: We need to get these next two games at home, for sure, Larry, with the toughest part of the conference schedule looming before us.

Larry: Picked 7th preseason, the Highlanders are hanging in there at 3-3.

Gary: Offensively this is a very similar team to Coastal Carolina, in that they like to run the floor and move the ball around on the half-court looking for shots for their perimeter people. They lead the league in 3 point shooting, however and that leads to some concerns about trying to zone them. For that reason we'll probably start in man and hope to avoid foul trouble. They have committed 16.2 turnovers per game, however, and that should play into our defense. Hopefully they'll fall prey to the Amoeba Zone early and often when we throw it at them.

We got off to another slow start offensively, and our man to man defense was horrid. When Felts and Battle each picked up 2 fouls midway through the half we were forced to go to zone, which actually was more effective. Feeley had a lousy first half, committing all 5 of our team turnovers. We also were getting shellacked on the boards 11-17,3-6. But eventually the Amoeba zone jumpstarted our offense forcing 14 turnovers on 11 steals and despite all our shortcomings, we take a ten point lead into the intermission 46-36.

Everything tasted better in the 2nd half. Our defense was much better, we continued to shoot well (50% for the game), and we hit the boards hard actually out-rebounding them in the end 33-30, 9-7. Of course turning them over 23 times on 19 steals didn't hurt a bit either. We were able to empty the bench towards the end as we ran away from them to a far distant land

Ike Jeffers had a fantastic game with 29 points 3 asts 8 rebs 2sts and 2 blks
nobody else was in double figures, but in this game it was okay, because they did the right thing looking for Jeffers who was red red hot.

We did get good play out of a bunch of people in this one though.

And Brandon Kerr rose from the ashes to give us some much needed help after our first half foul trouble and had 5 pts 3asts, 3 rebs, and 6 steals out of the Amoeba Zone. Sheals continued to contribute too. It was nice to be able to use 9 guys in the heart of the game and be able to depend on quality minutes from them for the first time since the start of the season. Hopefully that will continue.

The blowout final:

G-W 84 Radford 51

[CoachC]

Jan 22: Ike Jeffers is conference player of the week for 2nd time this season.

[CoachC]

Larry: Great win last time out, coach! We saw 9 players getting double digit minutes since the beginning of the season. Will we see that continue?

Gary: Depends on how badly Brandon Kerr wants the minutes, Larry. He was phenomenal last game on the defensive end. But one game isn't enough. Sheals has performed well over the last 6 games or so and has earned his spot in the rotation. Kerr has the talent to help this team. The question is, can he revert back to last season's form and provide quality minutes on a regular basis? We can't abide the empty minutes he was giving us at the start of the season.

Larry: The Bulldogs. Despite a 6-12 record overall, they are in contention in the Big South at 4-3. What have they been doing differently since the start of the conference season?

Gary: They've been playing some games at home! On the road they are 0-9, and we need to keep them winless away from home tonight. Completing this 2 game home sweep before heading out on the road for 2 is crucial.

Larry: The Asheville contingent traveling the 20 miles to come here along with the natural rivalry has the crowd swelling to 4200+ tonight. Biggest crowd of the year by far. Still not a sellout.. but getting closer!

Gary: Yes, it's nice to have that kind of crowd in the building. It would be nicer if that was the smallest crowd we ever got on a blizzardy December night playing against nobody, but ... baby steps.. baby steps.

Larry: What's the key to the game tonight?

Gary: Keeping them off the line. They look to get the ball in the lane and draw contact going to the basket. In their wins, that has usually been the key and they have a fairly balanced offensive attack. We'll start in zone again for as long as it is working for us. We also need to get back to some balanced scoring. Ike was unstoppable the other night, but most nights we need 3 or 4 people in double figures.

In a half where our defense stunk, we took care of things the old fashioned way. We simply outscored them. 57% from the field to their 50%, 7 fta to their 2. Not the way we want to play basketball, but it got us a halftime lead 43-34.

I ripped some butts in the locker room though.. no way this team should have shot that well against us in the first half. I'm happy with the shot selections, but in the second half I'd better see some defense being played by somebody SOMEWHERE!

There were looks of confusion in the locker room after the game when they saw I was angry enough to spit bullets. After all , we'd just won a game by 18 and emptied the bench in the last 5 minutes when our lead bulged to 25. Our offense had been crisp and clear and beautiful with 4 players in double figures and shooting 57.1 % from the field, and an identical 57.1% from 3 (12 of 21).

I didn't have to tell them why though. Tony Evans stepped up and said it for me(I love this kid even though he's not had the season either one of us had hoped for. That has been more about his physical limitations than his desire).

"Our defense and rebounding sucked big blue chicken soup cans!"

and he was right. Even though our defense was marginally better in the 2nd half, and we did get a very Bulldog like +7 turnover differential on 11 steals, I was never entirely happy with it. Our rebounding performance in the 2nd half though was atrocious especially on the defensive end. And going back on the road now beginning the toughest part of the conference schedule, I don't want these guys going into the next game thinking that this effort would win a lot of games on the road... because it won't. It would lose a few games at home as well.

That said, our offensive game WAS pretty awesome.

Jermaine Felts led with 23 points.

Ike Jeffers has adapted to playing the 3 better than I could have ever hoped, and for the last 7 or 8 games or so finally understood that part of his role was to grab rebounds. He put up another yeoman's line tonight ..18 pts 2 asts, 5 rebs, 2stls, and a blk.

Feeley had 4pts, 7asts and just 1 to in 24 minutes
Battle had 13 pts, 5 asts, 2 to in 20 minutes

what more can you ask from a 2-headed point guard?

O'Conner got in double digits too with 11. He also had 4 assists. His 4 rebounds in 24 minutes though leave me frowning. He's the size of half the freakin' court for cryin' out loud. He should get at least 7 rebs a game by getting the basketball stuck in his jersey!

For the 2nd straight game Kerr and Sheals gave us positive double digit minutes off the bench. Does that mean we are 9 deep moving forward? I won't go that far... i think we are still 7 deep with 2 guys that can give a rest to the guys in the rotation without giving up a 12 point lead.

Sometimes I'm sure it seems like I short shrift Moore and Brown, but I assure you it's only because the stats sheet doesn't adequately tell the story of what they bring to the game each and every night. They had an off night on the boards this time, and that's unusual, and only combined for 8 pts, but they did combine for 5 steals, and NOBODY on this team works harder or has more of a presence on the defensive end than those two guys.

We win going away, but i'm still not happy

Final

G-W 92 NC-Asheville 74

[CoachC]

Jan 26: We finish our 2 game homestand where I wanted us to be no matter how we got there. A 2 game lead over the Big Blue Chickens and a 3 game lead over the 8 teams tied for third. This is gonna be a tough 2 game road trip, and I hope we come back home in serious contention.

[CoachC]

Larry: Campbell has their biggest crowd of the season, tonight, a near sellout. It will undoubtedly be a hostile environment for us tonight.

Gary: No doubt. Hopefully our guys have enough maturity and experience to feed off the hostility. Just once I'd like to put a severe hurting on the Camels and send the crowd home cryin' in their soup.

Larry: They were just 1-10 in the pre-conference season, but have gone 4-4 since the beginning of conference play. What have they been doing differently?

Gary: Playing at home a bit more often. All of their conference wins have been at home, but they are still just 1-8 on the road. Offensively they like to move the ball around a lot and hope one goes in. This is not a very good team, especially with Augustine gone and no longer able to hack away, climb people's backs, and get away with charges.

We come out of the tunnel to a roar of boos, and the Camel doing his thing to incite the crowd calling T's on me. I heard there's a new guy in the suit this year, and I notice he's being very careful to stay away from our end of the court.

We didn't play well at either end of the court in the first half, but take a 30-24 lead at the half, thanks to some good rebounding and 5 steals. We turned over the ball 8 times ourselves though, and I need to light a fire under O'Conner who has become gun-shy in the post, looking to pass back out rather than take the ball to the rim. Battle had the only hot hand in the first half, and we need a few other people to step up in the 2nd half.

We played even worse in the 2nd half, turning the ball a ridiculous 17 times for the game and shooting just 40.3% from the field. Our defense wasn't any better, and no one other than Battle gave us anything off the bench.

Jeffers had 19 pts 6 rbs 2 stls
Battle had 16 pts 3 asts 4 rebs, but since he had our only hot hand, he of course was designated for bad calls and played just 17 minutes because of foul trouble.
Moore had a very good game with only 4 pts, but 6 asts 7 rebs and 4 stls
O'Conner was a lot more active in the 2nd half but it was too little too late with 8 pts, 3 asts, 8 rebs, and 2 stls

An ineffective bench, a poor floor game by Feeley, some lousy ball-handling over-all and a lack of focus on offense allowed a much inferior team to beat us at the end

Final:
Campbell 64 G-W 58

[CoachC]

Jan 29: We recieved word today that Bobby White did meet the test scores necessary for eligibility, which leaves us with just one more scholarship to fill this spring.

[CoachC]

Larry: Tough loss on the road the other night, Coach.

Gary: Not a tough loss, Larry, and ugly and very disappointing loss. Horrible ball-handling, weak defense, and a ton of empty minutes off the bench. When Chris got into foul trouble and was the only one on his game, we needed someone else to come off the bench and give us something, and no one did. An effort like that one tonight and we'll lose by 30.

Larry: Tonight's opponent being conference newcomer Longwood. We know that Lancers won the CIT last year, before joining the Big South during the off-season. They were picked to be a contender, and are looking like it. What can you tell us about them?

Gary: They have a very balanced offense, and the ability to score inside and out. They have no one go to guy, but everyone in their starting line-up is capable of having a big night. Our defense tonight has to improve 6 fold over the performance we had last time out. They have no glaring weaknesses, handle the ball well, and get to the line a lot. They play well on the defensive end as well. They are just a solid all-round team. At home they are 11-0 and have made this a very difficult place to come in and win. It'll take perhaps our best effort of the season to get out of here with a victory.

Larry: They've been selling out most of their games and tonight is no exception. A tough task, but let's get it done!

Despite playing reasonably well in the first half, other than 9 turnovers, we are tied at the half 32-32. Reasonably well won't get the job done. In the 2nd half we need not only take care of the ball much better, but hit the boards harder as well. Feeley needs to get out of the funk he has been in the last couple of games and get back in the flow of the game.

The turnover plague continued in the 2nd half, as we had 17 for the game. We had a decent effort on the defensive end, but we looked gassed in the final minutes when we couldn't buy a basket. We were back to playing basically 7 guys tonight, so that much was understandable, although Josh Brown did give us 9 quality minutes off the bench. We also let their point guard torch us for 25. I'm not disappointed in our effort tonight, but our offense was too ineffective in the 2nd half to get a win on the road against a quality team.

Jeffers had 17 pts, and 2 stls, but had just 1 rebound and turned the ball over 5 times.

Feeley had his 2nd poor night in a row.

Felts had 10 pts, 4 rebounds but we needed more offense out of him.

Battle had 8 pts, 5 asts and just 2 turnovers and probably will start in the next.

Godzilla had a decent game with 11 pts, 9 rebs and Sheals and Moore did what they were supposed to do.

Poor ball-handling and too little offense down the stretch cost us this one.


Final:

G-W 56 Longwood 60

[CoachC]

Feb 2: our losing road trip drops us into a first place tie with the Chanticleers, and just 1 game in front of Presbyterian and Longwood.

[CoachC]

Larry: Back home, and out of the frying pan and into the fire, Coach! A big game against the always dangerous and talented Blue Hose.

Gary: Certainly true, Larry. They have so many scoring options. They are 2nd in the nation in scoring at 75.4 per game, and it's no fluke. Crider and company are a big handful. Defensively, it's a quandary for us. We've never been very successful zoning this team because of the outside presence of Lyles and Jackson, but because are bench is so shallow this year, it's very difficult for us to begin the game in man. Needless to say, I'm very concerned.

Larry: It's a big test for Godzilla, too. Last year his maturity could be measured by the 3 games we played against Presbyterian. In the first game Crider took him to school, in the 2nd game, Josh stepped up and had a very solid game, and in the tournament, 'Zilla totally dominated him.

Gary: Yes, and Josh is going to have to show that side of himself tonight as well, along with help from all our other bigs. Crider always seems to step up his game play against us, and has had some huge games against us. It'll take a total team effort to remain undefeated at home tonight. Battle will move into the starting line-up tonight, and hopefully that will get Feeley back into the swing of things coming off the bench because he had a lot of problems during our road trip.

The zone wasn't that bad in the first half, although they still managed to get their points. Crider was a ton again, and was able to get the ball in the post too often. We did a decent job of getting out on Lyles and Jackson though. We may have to go to man at some point in the 2nd half, if O'Conner can avoid picking up his 3rd foul. We had strong contributions from all 3 guys off the bench, especially Sheals who was our strongest rebounding presence. Felts struggled with his shot a bit, but Battle was on fire and Jeffers had a good first half as well. We need to do a better job of keeping Crider off the boards in the 2nd half, and continue to take care of the ball.

At the half we lead 45-36.

We were out-rebounded badley in this game 30-38,9-14. O'Conner took a step backwards and was dominated by Crider (17 pts, 12 rebs) and managed just 1 of 6 from the field and 4 rebs. Felts struggled with his shot all night going just 2 of 14.

Brown(10 pts 4 rebs in 19 minutes) and Sheals(4 pts, 6 rebs, 1 stl, 1 blk in 24 minutes) made huge contributions off the bench though and helped keep Crider from totally getting away from us. Sheals in particular played probably the best defense of his career.

Battle had a career high 24 points along with 7 asts
Jeffers added 22 pts and had a very good all around game.
Felts despite his offensive struggles still added 9.
Moore had his usual blue collar night (8pts, 7 rebs, stellar defense)
Feeley looked good coming off the bench with 7 pts, 5 asts and just 1 turnover.

Other than the struggles of O'Conner and Felts our offense was really clicking tonight, and as usual when we win, we did it largely on turnover differential (a/to 20/6, 14/17) with 9 steals. We were able to pull away in the 2nd half and even get all of our rotation guys out of the lineup in the last couple of minutes.

Rebounding aside, this was a very good game for us against a very good basketball team, and I'm quite pleased. We have to get 'Zilla going again though.

final

G-W 89 Presbyterian 66