Well, it looks as if baseball's going to begin where last season ended--a team that simply can't close the deal. Even though women's softball has a promising new head coach and despite a nice 4-3 win over North Carolina's tarhicks yesterday, our team is still off to a shaky 2-4 start. So, maybe our best shot is to turn our attention back to basketball, On second thought...



The RPI #274 Mountaineers (9-13, 6-7 SunBelt) and falling like a rock, travel to league leading UL-M RPI #120 (17-8, 11-3 SunBelt) for a 3 PM EST contest in Fant–Ewing Coliseum. By the numbers, UL-M is an easy 11 point favorite. As we know, ASU goes as Tommy Spagnolo goes and he's been struggling for a couple of weeks. Despite the outside scoring of Burgess and Eaves and recent good play from frosh swingman Jake Babic, no one else is scoring and no one but Babic is playing any defense. The result has been losing three of the last four games. Two of the losses have come against lesser competition. We'll see if our guys can turn it around on the road in the Black Bayou against the SunBelt's best defensive team.

The game can be seen live on Warhawks All-Access TV...
http://www.ulmwarhawks.com/liveEvents/l ... m_id=19000

I will never understand why 30-40 years ago basketball arenas were designed in the round. Square peg, round hole.

AppinVA wrote:I will never understand why 30-40 years ago basketball arenas were designed in the round. Square peg, round hole.

That's easy. Multipurpose facility. Did you read T-dog's blog? Bull-Ring!

Seriously, multi-purpose! Concerts-in-the-round, rodeos, tractor-pulls, demolition derbys, Ice Capades! Hmmmm, Louisiana...alligator wrestling.

Remember old VG and all the lines painted on the playing floor? The track and lined turf in KBS to accommodate football, soccer and FH? Same thought-process. Same era.

I played badminton using some of those lines. I believe they were green.

Still, any of those activities can be done on something about the size of a hockey rink. I guess I'm doing something I caution so many of my students from doing -- applying 2015 logic to that from a different era.

Another poor performance by the Apps. Down 35-19 with 3 mins left in the 1st half. We are shooting 26% and once again allowing a team to shoot better than 50%. When you can't shoot and can't play defense, you won't win many games that way. Until we get some D1 talent, we will continue to struggle in the SBC.

Update: Trail 38-26 at the half off a Burgess three at the buzzer.

Dropped it 69-58. A little better in the second half, but ULM held a comfortable advantage all game. We just don't have enough...enough, to do more than we do, sometimes. The positives of what lie on the horizon, and the determination of our guys are what keeps me going.

AppinVA wrote:Dropped it 69-58. A little better in the second half, but ULM held a comfortable advantage all game. We just don't have enough...enough, to do more than we do, sometimes. The positives of what lie on the horizon, and the determination of our guys are what keeps me going.

Ultimately, the key will be how well Coach Fox can recruit. We know he can coach.

Of all the Appalachian teams I've followed over the last *gulp* 5 decades, I don't recall a team so poor at finishing around the rim with simple lay-ups. I counted the missed lay-up attempts this afternoon, based on DJ's play-by-play calls. Our guys missed 15 simple, essentially uncontested, snowbird layups because they didn't get the ball up over the lip of the rim or they clanged the ball off the glass too hard with no one around them. I won't post names; but if you listened to the broadcast, you know who I'm speaking of. Have they heard of the finger roll or the dunk?

Coach Fox said after the game that he was particularly disturbed by the missed layups. "Division I basketball players are supposed to hit those uncontested shots," he said.

Even if we hit only half of them, we win the ballgame. Good grief, Charlie Brown!

asu66 wrote:Well, it looks as if baseball's going to begin where last season ended--a team that simply can't close the deal. Even though women's softball has a promising new head coach and despite a nice 4-3 win over North Carolina's tarhicks yesterday, our team is still off to a shaky 2-4 start. So, maybe our best shot is to turn our attention back to basketball, On second thought...



The RPI #274 Mountaineers (9-13, 6-7 SunBelt) and falling like a rock, travel to league leading UL-M RPI #120 (17-8, 11-3 SunBelt) for a 3 PM EST contest in Fant–Ewing Coliseum. By the numbers, UL-M is an easy 11 point favorite. As we know, ASU goes as Tommy Spagnolo goes and he's been struggling for a couple of weeks. Despite the outside scoring of Burgess and Eaves and recent good play from frosh swingman Jake Babic, no one else is scoring and no one but Babic is playing any defense. The result has been losing three of the last four games. Two of the losses have come against lesser competition. We'll see if our guys can turn it around on the road in the Black Bayou against the SunBelt's best defensive team.

The game can be seen live on Warhawks All-Access TV...
http://www.ulmwarhawks.com/liveEvents/l ... m_id=19000

Let's look at the glass being half full. We lost barely into double digits (11 points) to a team which is closing in on a 20 win season (now 18 wins) using much of Capel's recruits, on the road no less. It's not the Bobby Cremins era, but looking better every game IMOp.

NewApp wrote:

asu66 wrote:Well, it looks as if baseball's going to begin where last season ended--a team that simply can't close the deal. Even though women's softball has a promising new head coach and despite a nice 4-3 win over North Carolina's tarhicks yesterday, our team is still off to a shaky 2-4 start. So, maybe our best shot is to turn our attention back to basketball, On second thought...



The RPI #274 Mountaineers (9-13, 6-7 SunBelt) and falling like a rock, travel to league leading UL-M RPI #120 (17-8, 11-3 SunBelt) for a 3 PM EST contest in Fant–Ewing Coliseum. By the numbers, UL-M is an easy 11 point favorite. As we know, ASU goes as Tommy Spagnolo goes and he's been struggling for a couple of weeks. Despite the outside scoring of Burgess and Eaves and recent good play from frosh swingman Jake Babic, no one else is scoring and no one but Babic is playing any defense. The result has been losing three of the last four games. Two of the losses have come against lesser competition. We'll see if our guys can turn it around on the road in the Black Bayou against the SunBelt's best defensive team.

The game can be seen live on Warhawks All-Access TV...
http://www.ulmwarhawks.com/liveEvents/l ... m_id=19000

Let's look at the glass being half full. We lost barely into double digits (11 points) to a team which is closing in on a 20 win season (now 18 wins) using much of Capel's recruits, on the road no less. It's not the Bobby Cremins era, but looking better every game IMOp.

Not if you go by the last two games. That 11 point deficit is somewhat misleading. You can't win ball games when the opposition shoots 20% better than you do. This team competes but that isn't going to get it done on most nights, execution is lacking.

Things are an H of a lot better than last year. You have to admit that. Baby steps.

That rest of our games are going to be tough to steal a win. Other than Texas St. all remaining opponents are in the top five of the SBC.

I think we win two down the stretch, overall that would have been a good results based upon preseason expectations.

We have a PG and SG coming in next year, if we can get a big man we can be a top half SBC next year.

I just keep wondering how Spagnolo will be replaced. There is not a big man on the roster who has been a double digit scorer or rebounder until Lawson yesterday. Maybe he will that guy once he gets more comfy with Fox's system. I don't see a post player on the recruiting radar either. Maybe that will change. I wonder how many wins we would have had Spag not been granted the extra season. That being said, I'm still very optimistic about our future with Fox and staff in town. If Jason Allison could recruit at VMI, he should be able to at App.

I believe Kinney had 10 or so earlier this year. But yeah, Tommy will be tough to replace for sure. However, I think with Lawson, Kobani and Kinney's continued offensive development, and Obacha's defensive skills, we can do it.

BurlingtonApp wrote:I believe Kinney had 10 or so earlier this year. But yeah, Tommy will be tough to replace for sure. However, I think with Lawson, Kobani and Kinney's continued offensive development, and Obacha's defensive skills, we can do it.

No one on the roster save Lawson will be an inside scorer. I love Kinney's effort but he has a long way to go to develop into someone who can provide offense on the inside. He needs to settle down a bit, right now he is a turnover machine.

It has been frustrating at times this season and a lot of little things have killed us. That said, the team has probably exceeded all expectations going into the season. One hopes that with a season under their belts next year we will see a more consistent performance on both sides of the ball. We are a poor shooting team (last in the SBC) and not a particularly good defensive club either (last in FG defense). That has to improve if we expect to exceed this year's resutls. No doubt, the talent pool needs to improve as well. I think we have the guy to turn the program around but he needs the consistent talent to carry it out.

BurlingtonApp wrote:I believe Kinney had 10 or so earlier this year. But yeah, Tommy will be tough to replace for sure. However, I think with Lawson, Kobani and Kinney's continued offensive development, and Obacha's defensive skills, we can do it.

What class is Obacha?

Just so we're reminded that Rome wasn't built in a day, Bobby Cremins' first season at App resulted in a 13-14 record.

AppGrad78 wrote:Just so we're reminded that Rome wasn't built in a day, Bobby Cremins' first season at App resulted in a 13-14 record.

RP

AppGrad78 wrote:Just so we're reminded that Rome wasn't built in a day, Bobby Cremins' first season at App resulted in a 13-14 record.

I think we are all aware of where this program was when Fox took over. No one is critical of the job he has done. Moving forward he does need some help though.

Going into this season, I wasn't sure we'd win three games after the dumpster fire Capel left us with. That Fox has gotten us to the number of wins we have and has gotten the team playing the way they are is nothing short of a miracle. This season has already exceeded my expectations. I am very happy with what he has done thus far and am looking forward to seeing what he can do with a few more arrows in the quiver.