Post by Commissioner on Jan 14, 2021 22:45:22 GMT -5
Green Bay
When:
Friday, January 15, 7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, January 16, 5:00 p.m. ET
Where: Calihan Hall (no fans)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM; 92.7 FM
It's getting to the point where I don't know how or whether to do previews. Will the game actually be played? Will some players not play? Who knows?
Anyway, it's time for the Titans to put up. Two years ago Mike Davis responded to a tough defeat by saying, "Wait till I get my players in here... ." Well, now he has his players. The Detroit News reports "Davis said he has all his pieces in place for next season. He doesn't have plans to bring in any recruits, unless any of his players decide to leave." He has said many times this year that this is a "really good" team. But the Titans enter the weekend at 1-7 overall, and 0-4 in the Horizon, despite playing all four games in Calihan. The losses to Wright State were bearable--the Raiders remain the conference favorite even as they trail Cleveland State and the Vikings' blazing start. But losing two to a very mediocre Oakland team? We are rapidly running out of time, and if we are swept--or frankly, even split--with the Phoenix, who come in at 3-9 overall, and 3-5 in conference under first year head coach Will Ryan, you've got to start wondering when we'll be competitive. But the Phoenix have won their last three, beating Youngstown State and then sweeping Oakland last weekend.
Green Bay's strength is its backcourt, and they'll play a three-guard lineup most of the game. The anchor is Amari Davis, last year's Horizon Freshman of the Year, who is back and averaging 17.8 points per game. Davis has added a three point shot to his game this year. Last year he took just 8 all season, and made none. He's not exactly firing them up this year like Antoine Davis, but his is averaging about 3 attempts per game and hitting almost 40%--a nice addition to already strong offensive repertoire. Senior PJ Pipes is an effective combo guard, who averages 14.6 points and has made 42.5% of his threes. He'll man the point much of the time. The third guard is transfer Josh Jefferson, averaging 15.7 points and shooting 35% from behind the arc. Jefferson doesn't actually start, but he'll play about 30 minutes. Instead they've been starting 6-3 redshirt freshman Lucas Stieber, who is a better defensive player than the others, and has handled the point with surprising maturity while emerging as something of a "glue guy." Basically, they divide 120 minutes of playing time amongst these four guards, with Stieber typically playing less than the others. Davis, Pipes, and Jefferson are a dangerous trio on offense, and Stieber's play at the point has reduced turnovers and added consistency to the team. So why the 3-9 mark?
Obviously, you need some forwards--or at least size--even in today's position-less game, and the Phoenix are weak across the front. Green Bay's little three game win streak, however, has come since inserting (along with Stieber at guard) two freshmen into the starting forecourt. The first is 6-8 Terrance Thompson, the star of their 2020 recruiting class. The other is an unlikely contributor: 6-6 walk-on freshman Ryan Claflin. Neither plays a ton of minutes--Claflin played just 13 minutes in each of last weekend's games against OU, and Thompson averages about 20 minutes per game--but the lineup seems to be working. Their insertion into the lineup came just one game after Emmanuel Ansong, a 6-4 junior forward who followed Ryan to Green Bay from D-2 Wheeling, was granted eligibility. Ansong has been playing about 17 minutes per game, and while the raw numbers aren't great, he also seems to have helped.
Front court depth comes from three players whose roles have declined with the rise of the Ansong, Claflin, and Thompson: juco transfer Paris Taylor, redshirt freshman Japannah Kellogg, and freshman Cem Kirciman. Most likely, none of the three will play more than 10 minutes, but it wouldn't shock if any or all played 15 or 20. Taylor is the most likely of the three to see bountiful floor time. Another guy on the bench is Donovan Moore, a guard from West Bloomfield, by way of transferring from Toledo. He was hurt last weekend and didn't play, and I wouldn't expect major minutes this weekend.
I haven't seen Green Bay play this year so I don't know that much about what they're doing under new Coach Ryan. If you're counting, you see a lot of freshmen--5 among 10 rotation players. But we know that the Titans had 10 days with no practice, and this came as Coach Davis was just trying to work Waterman and Koka into the rotation. It's been almost three weeks since the Titans played a game. I'm more than a bit fearful that the Phoenix will jump out on our boys. But we have a definite size advantage. My sense is that we'll have a rather high-scoring game.
Green Bay has dominated the series in recent years (although that could be said of most teams in the league), winning 14 of the last 16 meetings. On the individual side of things, this season Antoine Davis has passed Bill Ebben, Jerry Davis, Dwayne Kelley, Guy Sparrow, and Ray McCallum on the Titans' all-time scoring list, and now ranks 8th. He trails #7, Terry Tyler, by just 2 points, and needs 43 points this weekend to catch #6 Terry Duerod. But Davis has fallen back into second place, behind Dave DeBusschere, on the Titans career list for points per game.
We really need to see a couple wins. The Titans are--as mentioned--1-7. Coach has his players. Each year we're told what good shooters the Titans have added, but the Titans remain one of the worst shooting teams in the NCAA--255th in 3 point percentage, 288th in total field goal percentage. The fans are really tired of losing. If we can't sweep Green Bay at home, I see little reason to think we can play .500 ball for the games that follow.
Likely Green Bay Starters
PG: Lucas Steiber, 6-3 Fr. (3.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.6 apg, 26.7% 3PtFG)
G: P.J. Pipes, 6-2 Sr. (14.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 42.5% 3PtFG)
SG: Amari Davis, 6-3 Soph. (17.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 36.8% 3PtFG)
F: Ryan Claflin, 6-6 Fr. (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
PF: Terrance Thompson, 6-8 Fr. (4.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
Key Reserves
SG: Josh Jefferon, 6-2 RS Sr. (15.7 ppg, 35.2% 3PtFG)
SF: Emmanuel Ansong, 6-4 Jr. (5.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
SF: Japannah Kellog, 6-6 RS Fr. (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
F: Paris Taylor, 6-6 Jr. (4.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
PF: Cem Kirciman, 6-8 Fr. (2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
When:
Friday, January 15, 7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, January 16, 5:00 p.m. ET
Where: Calihan Hall (no fans)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLQV 1500 AM; 92.7 FM
It's getting to the point where I don't know how or whether to do previews. Will the game actually be played? Will some players not play? Who knows?
Anyway, it's time for the Titans to put up. Two years ago Mike Davis responded to a tough defeat by saying, "Wait till I get my players in here... ." Well, now he has his players. The Detroit News reports "Davis said he has all his pieces in place for next season. He doesn't have plans to bring in any recruits, unless any of his players decide to leave." He has said many times this year that this is a "really good" team. But the Titans enter the weekend at 1-7 overall, and 0-4 in the Horizon, despite playing all four games in Calihan. The losses to Wright State were bearable--the Raiders remain the conference favorite even as they trail Cleveland State and the Vikings' blazing start. But losing two to a very mediocre Oakland team? We are rapidly running out of time, and if we are swept--or frankly, even split--with the Phoenix, who come in at 3-9 overall, and 3-5 in conference under first year head coach Will Ryan, you've got to start wondering when we'll be competitive. But the Phoenix have won their last three, beating Youngstown State and then sweeping Oakland last weekend.
Green Bay's strength is its backcourt, and they'll play a three-guard lineup most of the game. The anchor is Amari Davis, last year's Horizon Freshman of the Year, who is back and averaging 17.8 points per game. Davis has added a three point shot to his game this year. Last year he took just 8 all season, and made none. He's not exactly firing them up this year like Antoine Davis, but his is averaging about 3 attempts per game and hitting almost 40%--a nice addition to already strong offensive repertoire. Senior PJ Pipes is an effective combo guard, who averages 14.6 points and has made 42.5% of his threes. He'll man the point much of the time. The third guard is transfer Josh Jefferson, averaging 15.7 points and shooting 35% from behind the arc. Jefferson doesn't actually start, but he'll play about 30 minutes. Instead they've been starting 6-3 redshirt freshman Lucas Stieber, who is a better defensive player than the others, and has handled the point with surprising maturity while emerging as something of a "glue guy." Basically, they divide 120 minutes of playing time amongst these four guards, with Stieber typically playing less than the others. Davis, Pipes, and Jefferson are a dangerous trio on offense, and Stieber's play at the point has reduced turnovers and added consistency to the team. So why the 3-9 mark?
Obviously, you need some forwards--or at least size--even in today's position-less game, and the Phoenix are weak across the front. Green Bay's little three game win streak, however, has come since inserting (along with Stieber at guard) two freshmen into the starting forecourt. The first is 6-8 Terrance Thompson, the star of their 2020 recruiting class. The other is an unlikely contributor: 6-6 walk-on freshman Ryan Claflin. Neither plays a ton of minutes--Claflin played just 13 minutes in each of last weekend's games against OU, and Thompson averages about 20 minutes per game--but the lineup seems to be working. Their insertion into the lineup came just one game after Emmanuel Ansong, a 6-4 junior forward who followed Ryan to Green Bay from D-2 Wheeling, was granted eligibility. Ansong has been playing about 17 minutes per game, and while the raw numbers aren't great, he also seems to have helped.
Front court depth comes from three players whose roles have declined with the rise of the Ansong, Claflin, and Thompson: juco transfer Paris Taylor, redshirt freshman Japannah Kellogg, and freshman Cem Kirciman. Most likely, none of the three will play more than 10 minutes, but it wouldn't shock if any or all played 15 or 20. Taylor is the most likely of the three to see bountiful floor time. Another guy on the bench is Donovan Moore, a guard from West Bloomfield, by way of transferring from Toledo. He was hurt last weekend and didn't play, and I wouldn't expect major minutes this weekend.
I haven't seen Green Bay play this year so I don't know that much about what they're doing under new Coach Ryan. If you're counting, you see a lot of freshmen--5 among 10 rotation players. But we know that the Titans had 10 days with no practice, and this came as Coach Davis was just trying to work Waterman and Koka into the rotation. It's been almost three weeks since the Titans played a game. I'm more than a bit fearful that the Phoenix will jump out on our boys. But we have a definite size advantage. My sense is that we'll have a rather high-scoring game.
Green Bay has dominated the series in recent years (although that could be said of most teams in the league), winning 14 of the last 16 meetings. On the individual side of things, this season Antoine Davis has passed Bill Ebben, Jerry Davis, Dwayne Kelley, Guy Sparrow, and Ray McCallum on the Titans' all-time scoring list, and now ranks 8th. He trails #7, Terry Tyler, by just 2 points, and needs 43 points this weekend to catch #6 Terry Duerod. But Davis has fallen back into second place, behind Dave DeBusschere, on the Titans career list for points per game.
We really need to see a couple wins. The Titans are--as mentioned--1-7. Coach has his players. Each year we're told what good shooters the Titans have added, but the Titans remain one of the worst shooting teams in the NCAA--255th in 3 point percentage, 288th in total field goal percentage. The fans are really tired of losing. If we can't sweep Green Bay at home, I see little reason to think we can play .500 ball for the games that follow.
Likely Green Bay Starters
PG: Lucas Steiber, 6-3 Fr. (3.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.6 apg, 26.7% 3PtFG)
G: P.J. Pipes, 6-2 Sr. (14.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 42.5% 3PtFG)
SG: Amari Davis, 6-3 Soph. (17.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 36.8% 3PtFG)
F: Ryan Claflin, 6-6 Fr. (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
PF: Terrance Thompson, 6-8 Fr. (4.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
Key Reserves
SG: Josh Jefferon, 6-2 RS Sr. (15.7 ppg, 35.2% 3PtFG)
SF: Emmanuel Ansong, 6-4 Jr. (5.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
SF: Japannah Kellog, 6-6 RS Fr. (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
F: Paris Taylor, 6-6 Jr. (4.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
PF: Cem Kirciman, 6-8 Fr. (2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg)