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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 4, 2017 5:18:11 GMT -5
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Post by Commissioner on Nov 4, 2017 9:54:08 GMT -5
Yup. As I note in my preview on the other site, this isn't a "gimme" game. Wayne State has good guards. They've probably got at least 4 guards who could be marginal rotation players (10-12 minutes a game) or more at a majority of Horizon programs, so while our guys are better, there's not the huge talent gap you sometimes find in these exhibition, at least in the backcourt. Key, their senior forward, could probably also play regularly in the Horizon. Key notwithstanding, we ought to dominate the front court just based on size and depth, but what's really important is that our guards play well.
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 4, 2017 15:21:29 GMT -5
Yup. As I note in my preview on the other site, this isn't a "gimme" game. Wayne State has good guards. They've probably got at least 4 guards who could be marginal rotation players (10-12 minutes a game) or more at a majority of Horizon programs, so while our guys are better, there's not the huge talent gap you sometimes find in these exhibition, at least in the backcourt. Key, their senior forward, could probably also play regularly in the Horizon. Key notwithstanding, we ought to dominate the front court just based on size and depth, but what's really important is that our guards play well. There have already been some close calls and upsets in these D1 vs D2 games. Ferris State gave MSU a very tough game. Ferris State is considered better than Wayne State, but we're certainly not on Michigan State's level. Marquette is having a tough time with D2 Lindenwood this afternoon, Washington struggled with a D2 squad, and Auburn actually lost 100-95 to a D2 team. Toledo lost to a very good D2 squad. The Titans need to be focused today and it wouldn't hurt if Prince is eligible and in action. Edit: Marquette beat Lindenwood by two.
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Post by larrytitan on Nov 4, 2017 19:16:57 GMT -5
Titans lead 38-31 at half. Chatman has 10 pets but 4 personal fouls. Hogan and Jackson scoring well....Long hit his first 3 pt attempt...Eichler had a traditional 3 pt play...Prince eligible and playing. All scholarship players saw action except Isaac Jones. Go Titans!
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 5, 2017 2:59:54 GMT -5
Exhibit A of the upcoming season has a "meet the new season, same as the last season" feel about it as the Titans dropped their exhibition opener to Wayne State by a score of 79-77. As Larry Titan said above, the Titans had the lead at halftime and actually held an eleven point advantage five minutes into the second half. The Warriors kept chipping away, however. The Titans gave up the lead late, took it back, but then couldn't close the deal as WSU made the plays down the stretch to get the win. All in all, a disappointing performance by the team. On the plus side, the game raised $10,000 for Detroit Public Schools. Per social media, there were over 3,000 fans in attendance. My work schedule kept me away from Calihan, so my impressions of the game are from the box score and social media accounts. JJ Jr. was the high man for the Titans with 19 points. He had no assists, but no turnovers either. He played 32 minutes, which was a surprise to me. Second in minutes played was Black, who logged 29 minutes. McFolly and Allen played 23 and 25 minutes, but combined to shoot just 4-19 from the floor. Tariq Jones had 13 points and five rebounds, while Chatman had 10 points and three rebounds. As the Commissioner predicted, Wayne State's guards played very well. Diminutive Ron Booth burned the Titans for 27 points, including 9-11 from the free throw line. In an unexpected development, YSU transfer Latin Davis racked up 19 points and 7 rebounds for the Warriors, surpassing the 16 points he had scored against Detroit in five games while he was a Penguin. The Titans didn't really recruit Davis out of high school. I'm sure he took a lot of pleasure in this game. No other Warriors cracked double figures. Some other red flags: The Titans larger front court was unable to decisively impact this game. The Warriors won without shooting a high percentage from 3, which is sometimes how these D2 wins over D1 programs happen. (WSU was just 3-15 from distance.) Hogan and Chatman were both in foul trouble. The Titans as a team only shot 63% from the free throw line. Most troubling to me: The Titans gave up 48 points in the second half. Things get real next Friday against Virginia Tech. detroittitans.com/news/2017/11/4/mens-basketball-drops-city-college-series-showdown.aspx
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Post by Commissioner on Nov 5, 2017 7:58:23 GMT -5
Exhibitions can be a time to try out new combinations, give the bench players some floor time, work on things the team isn't that good at. But when you're coming off an 8-23 season, and it's unclear what you have, I think you have to put your best team on the floor and play your best game. Hogan should have started, and I assume Prince as well, who I assume is slated for a starting spot. Dre Black should not be second on the team in minutes played, playing more minutes than McFolley and Allen.
1) Poor defense, giving up 48 points in the second half; 2) McFolley/Allen shoot 4-19 3) Hogan and Prince, our supposed inside players, ineffective inside, with just 7 FG attempts between them (making 3). Add only 5 shots by Chatman. Our front line, with a huge size advantage, did very little.
I feel worse about this game this morning than I did last night. It was encouraging to have attendance at over 3000, but I wonder how many will come back.
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Post by rbj on Nov 5, 2017 22:01:36 GMT -5
Exhibitions can be a time to try out new combinations, give the bench players some floor time, work on things the team isn't that good at. But when you're coming off an 8-23 season, and it's unclear what you have, I think you have to put your best team on the floor and play your best game. Hogan should have started, and I assume Prince as well, who I assume is slated for a starting spot. Dre Black should not be second on the team in minutes played, playing more minutes than McFolley and Allen. 1) Poor defense, giving up 48 points in the second half; 2) McFolley/Allen shoot 4-19 3) Hogan and Prince, our supposed inside players, ineffective inside, with just 7 FG attempts between them (making 3). Add only 5 shots by Chatman. Our front line, with a huge size advantage, did very little. I feel worse about this game this morning than I did last night. It was encouraging to have attendance at over 3000, but I wonder how many will come back. I hope you are right about trying out new combinations. The substitution patterns didn't make since to me, it seemed as if coach Alexander was making substations for no reason at all, Dre Black plays hard but he is a complete liability on the defensive end, I am pretty sure Marcus Moore scored all 9 of his points while being guarded by Black, and that Booth did well against Black also. Ballantyne and Hogan both need to lose weight. I always tend to watch our new players during warm ups, and during the scrimmage and our game against WSU Ballantyne has shot the ball very well from behind the arc during warm ups, I would like to see if he can do it during game time.
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 6, 2017 11:24:23 GMT -5
3) Hogan and Prince, our supposed inside players, ineffective inside, with just 7 FG attempts between them (making 3). Add only 5 shots by Chatman. Our front line, with a huge size advantage, did very little. That is concerning. Guards are going to have off shooting days, and we know from last year that the defense could be a problem again, but Prince was a very good front court player in a good mid major conference and we know what Hogan is capable of. The fact that they were ineffective against a small, D2 front line is troublesome. Coming into the season, I thought that Hogan and Prince would do well against Wayne State but struggle against Virginia Tech, with neither outcome giving much indication of how they would do in the Horizon. I didn't expect them to struggle on Saturday.
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 7, 2017 11:12:05 GMT -5
Ballantyne and Hogan both need to lose weight. I always tend to watch our new players during warm ups, and during the scrimmage and our game against WSU Ballantyne has shot the ball very well from behind the arc during warm ups, I would like to see if he can do it during game time. I wasn't at the Wayne State game, but both Hogan and Jack B looked heavy during Hoop Night at the D. I'm glad that Ballantyne has shown a good touch in warm ups, but I hope that the rare "6-9, 250 pound guy we signed out of high school despite him having an offer from a Power 5 school" is going to be able to make an impact down low on both ends of the court. Seems like we've got the three point shooting covered with the guards we have. We'll need an effective interior presence to replace Hogan in the coming years.
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Post by rbj on Nov 7, 2017 16:24:16 GMT -5
Ballantyne and Hogan both need to lose weight. I always tend to watch our new players during warm ups, and during the scrimmage and our game against WSU Ballantyne has shot the ball very well from behind the arc during warm ups, I would like to see if he can do it during game time. I wasn't at the Wayne State game, but both Hogan and Jack B looked heavy during Hoop Night at the D. I'm glad that Ballantyne has shown a good touch in warm ups, but I hope that the rare "6-9, 250 pound guy we signed out of high school despite him having an offer from a Power 5 school" is going to be able to make an impact down low on both ends of the court. Seems like we've got the three point shooting covered with the guards we have. We'll need an effective interior presence to replace Hogan in the coming years. He certainly has the girth to bang in the paint, I would like to see some inside outside action with JB. A physical presence on the defensive end would also be nice.
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