1/18 | La Salle | 12:30PM (NBCSN)

[RIFan]

You would think we would be pro's at running an offense against zone at this point since we have not been a good shooting team for the last year and a half worth of practices and 50 actual games.

I don't know what to make of Harris he misses some of the closest shots you can get...I think he is either not explosive enough or strong enough or both around the rim. I also think Harris and Martin make many questionable decisions each game when they have the ball. Harris completely backed away from a loose ball during the St Joes game! He looked at it like it was radioactive.

Cyril misses a lot of close up shots too, but his motor is high and he get a lot of second chance opportunities to put it back. Unfortunately not one of Cyril's best games between all his missed FT's and the foul at the end. He has gotten progressively worse at the line and at this point we all know it's in his head and he is way overthinking it.

[rhodyblue12]

So, your name is "RIFan" - are you really?
We are winning.

[bigappleram]

I don’t think in Disano’s postgame he was comparing Lasalle’s zone to Syracuse who are pretty much the gold standard for effective 2-3. Just illustrating that like Cuse if you don’t attack from within the back line wings can creep out and you are doing them a favor by just taking ill advised perimeter shots. Have to attack a zone from within. It’s pretty straight forward against a zone, but many teams lose patience and play right into it.

Get the ball to the foul line and short corner, attack the gaps and draw 2 defenders, reverse the ball 2-3 times and shooting percentages go up. Stand around and make 1-2 passes and then chucking a 3 is a recipe for disaster.

The possession where we swung the ball, Fatts hit the gap and then found Jeff who got it to Walker at foul line who then dumped it to an open Cyril for a layup was the exact manner in which to attack a zone effectively. We just didn’t do that much, or ever again. I’m always a fan of putting your best decision maker at the foul line, in our case Jeff, and let him be the QB.

[RIFan]

Yes we are, thankfully...imagine what this forum would be like if we weren't.

As I said yesterday, winning close is way better than losing close...but, that doesn't mean all is good and there are not things to improve on...especially when you are winning close games that shouldn't be close.

[RIFan]

Yes, the comparison to the Cuse was about the guards/wings creeping as the game went on making it harder to drive.

[ramster]

Who the fuck cares....we won.

Next.

DC, you probably notice we agree with each other more often than not and I have never once, nor will I question your "fandom, fanship, fanaticism" I don't really care how you came to be, why you came to be or how long you've been a fan, I just know you are a fan and that's good enough for me. But, you must know why we care about the offense looking very sluggish and guys floating quarter speed through the motions, if at all. C'mon man don't play dumb as if it doesn't worry you that we are seeing some pretty stagnant offense for large stretches of game time. Do you think it worries Cox? or maybe he's just like "Who the fuck cares....we won." Why spend our energy looking at game footage and trying to improve offense?

It really doesn’t concern me because I’ve seen us run the offense quite well this season. Yesterday, no one played particularly great, and we still won. Cox sees what we all see. I’m sure you all know he isn’t oblivious, but there seems to be a breakdown in the offensive sets that inherently cause a drained shot clock and a one-on-one drive to the basket. I’m genuinely not worried because it hasn’t cost us (bigly) yet. I like how this team finds way to win in transition and on defense for now.

It has nothing to do with playing “dumb”, it’s just I care more about just beating the team that’s put in front of us. We’ve done that 12 times now and sit in the top 3 of the A10.

I’d disagree with you DC that nobody played particularly great. We don’t win that game if Walker and Long didn’t play great. Longs best game of his career and maybe Walkers too.

• Long 16 minutes. 3-4 FG, 1-1 on 3P, 2-2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, zero TO’s, 9 points tied with Walker and only Russell (13 points in 34 minutes) and Dowtin (10 points in 37 minutes) had more

• Walker 19 minutes. 3-6 FG, 1-1 on 3P, 2-4 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO, 9 points

• Both played with energy, displayed confidence and leadership.

• at 7:58 remaining 52-46 lead Tyrese Martin threw a gorgeous, no-look “pass of the game” from the top of the key to Mekhi Long under the basket for 2. Was Martins only assist of the game but a beauty none the less

Honorable good game mention to Langevine:

• It appeared Langevine was hurt during the game and of course his 5 missed FTs stick out, and he had an below normal 5 rebounds, but he was an efficient 4-6 FG, and team game highs in Assists with 3, Blocks with 3 and Steals with 3 (tied with Martin)

• 2nd consecutive game Langevine has led the team in assists with 3. He was excited with his passes sometimes putting his fist in the air. This team is not passing the ball well. Yesterday I saw assists from the big men including Harris 2, Langevine 3, Walker 2 and Long 2 for total of 9. Guards had only 5 total assists. The big men seem excited about passing - thought hit me that they are taking more of a role in the ball movement among themselves and seem to be enjoying it. Assists from Dowtin, Martin and Russell have diminished of late

[DC_Rams]

DC, you probably notice we agree with each other more often than not and I have never once, nor will I question your "fandom, fanship, fanaticism" I don't really care how you came to be, why you came to be or how long you've been a fan, I just know you are a fan and that's good enough for me. But, you must know why we care about the offense looking very sluggish and guys floating quarter speed through the motions, if at all. C'mon man don't play dumb as if it doesn't worry you that we are seeing some pretty stagnant offense for large stretches of game time. Do you think it worries Cox? or maybe he's just like "Who the fuck cares....we won." Why spend our energy looking at game footage and trying to improve offense?

It really doesn’t concern me because I’ve seen us run the offense quite well this season. Yesterday, no one played particularly great, and we still won. Cox sees what we all see. I’m sure you all know he isn’t oblivious, but there seems to be a breakdown in the offensive sets that inherently cause a drained shot clock and a one-on-one drive to the basket. I’m genuinely not worried because it hasn’t cost us (bigly) yet. I like how this team finds way to win in transition and on defense for now.

It has nothing to do with playing “dumb”, it’s just I care more about just beating the team that’s put in front of us. We’ve done that 12 times now and sit in the top 3 of the A10.

I’d disagree with you DC that nobody played particularly great. We don’t win that game if Walker and Long didn’t play great. Longs best game of his career and maybe Walkers too.

• Long 16 minutes. 3-4 FG, 1-1 on 3P, 2-2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, zero TO’s, 9 points tied with Walker and only Russell (13 points in 34 minutes) and Dowtin (10 points in 37 minutes) had more

• Walker 19 minutes. 3-6 FG, 1-1 on 3P, 2-4 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO, 9 points

• Both played with energy, displayed confidence and leadership.

• at 7:58 remaining 52-46 lead Tyrese Martin threw a gorgeous, no-look “pass of the game” from the top of the key to Mekhi Long under the basket for 2. Was Martins only assist of the game but a beauty none the less

Honorable good game mention to Langevine:

• It appeared Langevine was hurt during the game and of course his 5 missed FTs stick out, and he had an below normal 5 rebounds, but he was an efficient 4-6 FG, and team game highs in Assists with 3, Blocks with 3 and Steals with 3 (tied with Martin)

• 2nd consecutive game Langevine has led the team in assists with 3. He was excited with his passes sometimes putting his fist in the air. This team is not passing the ball well. Yesterday I saw assists from the big men including Harris 2, Langevine 3, Walker 2 and Long 2 for total of 9. Guards had only 5 total assists. The big men seem excited about passing - thought hit me that they are taking more of a role in the ball movement among themselves and seem to be enjoying it. Assists from Dowtin, Martin and Russell have diminished of late

Hey, that’s a fair analysis, and I’d actually agree with you on those points. Perhaps I should’ve said we didn’t play particularly well “together” yesterday.

[section(105)]

......time to consider a starting lineup change with Harris out and Walker in?.......oh boy, ya know looking for a spark......

[PeteRI]

I got right on Wi-Fi today. We're gonna win bigly!

Tell me your secrets.

Pure luck.

[NYGFan_Section208]

I got right on Wi-Fi today. We're gonna win bigly!

Tell me your secrets.

Pure luck.

Have to be one of the first 10 people to get there?

[UCH21377]

It looks to me like Langevine is playing hurt; fighting thru some stuff. He looked hurt when being replaced; kind of gimpy. Not sure about the hands or whatever. It's no picnic doing the work he does game after game. He's doing the dirty work out there that Harris isn't ready for yet.

Ramster agree with your points on Long and Walker. Tyrese had his moments, for sure, both good and not so good.

[15 Year Lurker]

......time to consider a starting lineup change with Harris out and Walker in?.......oh boy, ya know looking for a spark......

I don’t even understand this and most of these other comments. They play different positions. Harris has been playing very well recently. I think many of us discount his defense, rebounding, and free throw shooting and how critical it is. Team has won 4 in a row and this Wednesday is a HUGE ONE.

I’m fired up. Place is gonna be rockin on wed

[Seawrightspostgame]

Good win! Keep winning!

[PeteRI]

All I saw offensively from Harris was no scoring touch at all. I didn't see the box score but Cox seemed to have him on the bench for most of the game. Harris has had a chance his whole time here and hasn't contributed much offensively. Except for a dumb foul here and there he has been a contributor defensively. He has awful hands. Did you see how long it took Harris to get up an easy lay-up only to get it blocked? Walker is so much more talented offensively than Harris. I give the defensive edge to Harris. but not by much.

I'm just dismayed at this point, 1 1/2 seasons into his career. I've never seen a 6' 8" guy get so many 2-foot shots blocked. If he just stood in front of the basket, raised his arms and barely lifted his feet off the ground he could dunk it. Yet I can't recall ever seeing him dunk. And when he doesn't get his shot blocked he seems to miss at least half of his bunnies. It's maddening and an indictment of the staff that there hasn't been any improvement in his offense.

At least he's not picking up 3 fouls in 5 minutes ... But even his defense is less than it could be, with players routinely going around or backing him down.

[Billyboy78]

It looks to me like Langevine is playing hurt; fighting thru some stuff. He looked hurt when being replaced; kind of gimpy. Not sure about the hands or whatever. It's no picnic doing the work he does game after game. He's doing the dirty work out there that Harris isn't ready for yet.

Ramster agree with your points on Long and Walker. Tyrese had his moments, for sure, both good and not so good.

Cyril definitely tweaked his ankle when he fell over the Ramettes and into the first row. He came out of that with a visible limp.

[PeteRI]

is there any place to rewatch the game? trying to show a buddy some of the lack of offense we displayed in the second half.

We burned the tape.

[RhodyRam86]

I don’t think in Disano’s postgame he was comparing Lasalle’s zone to Syracuse who are pretty much the gold standard for effective 2-3. Just illustrating that like Cuse if you don’t attack from within the back line wings can creep out and you are doing them a favor by just taking ill advised perimeter shots. Have to attack a zone from within. It’s pretty straight forward against a zone, but many teams lose patience and play right into it.

Get the ball to the foul line and short corner, attack the gaps and draw 2 defenders, reverse the ball 2-3 times and shooting percentages go up. Stand around and make 1-2 passes and then chucking a 3 is a recipe for disaster.

The possession where we swung the ball, Fatts hit the gap and then found Jeff who got it to Walker at foul line who then dumped it to an open Cyril for a layup was the exact manner in which to attack a zone effectively. We just didn’t do that much, or ever again. I’m always a fan of putting your best decision maker at the foul line, in our case Jeff, and let him be the QB.

Agree. Jeff is probably the best to be in that high post spot against the zone. He has some length, best decision maker and probably the best mid range game on the team. He should be able to make that 15 footer more often than not. Has Andre Berry used all his eligibility?

[SmartyBarrett]

I don’t think in Disano’s postgame he was comparing Lasalle’s zone to Syracuse who are pretty much the gold standard for effective 2-3. Just illustrating that like Cuse if you don’t attack from within the back line wings can creep out and you are doing them a favor by just taking ill advised perimeter shots. Have to attack a zone from within. It’s pretty straight forward against a zone, but many teams lose patience and play right into it.

Get the ball to the foul line and short corner, attack the gaps and draw 2 defenders, reverse the ball 2-3 times and shooting percentages go up. Stand around and make 1-2 passes and then chucking a 3 is a recipe for disaster.

The possession where we swung the ball, Fatts hit the gap and then found Jeff who got it to Walker at foul line who then dumped it to an open Cyril for a layup was the exact manner in which to attack a zone effectively. We just didn’t do that much, or ever again. I’m always a fan of putting your best decision maker at the foul line, in our case Jeff, and let him be the QB.

[DeanDome88]

This is a very poorly coached team in-game. On a personal level, I like Cox a lot and I think he does some stuff well, but a team that gives up a 17-2 run at home against a virtually talentless opponent is rudderless. The talent on this team is so much better than La Salle that they will likely just out-talent them to the finish line, but you have a 14 point lead against a team like this at home, that has to be a 25 point laugher and not a nail-biter.

Yes, and I don’t think it is just Cox, with exception of TJ I see little or no enthusiasm or coaching by any of the assistants. We have a special assistant to the head coach who can barely move and apparently finds it hard to smile or clap , his son who has virtually no assistant coaching experience. As for Sutton , what is his job? At this point we should be able to get some easy points from Harris, why is it not happening. ?

Overall,
This is not a top 50 coaching staff.

I do not think we have lost a game that we have led at half-time. I guess we should just take that for granted.

[Obadiah]

Our big man starters- Langevine and Harris - have shown erratic performance all season. One of the two should always show double digit scoring and both should show shooting % above .500. We need the Cyril of the LSU, Providence and West Virginia games as opposed to what we are getting in all five A-10 contests to date: 16-45 FG, .356, 8-21 FT, .381, PPG 8.0 versus his year-to-date average of .462 FG, .446, PPG 10.1. Add to this Cyril's bonehead foul with 4.5 seconds left and you have performance if continued will not get the Rams to the NCAAT.

[Rhody74]

I don’t think in Disano’s postgame he was comparing Lasalle’s zone to Syracuse who are pretty much the gold standard for effective 2-3. Just illustrating that like Cuse if you don’t attack from within the back line wings can creep out and you are doing them a favor by just taking ill advised perimeter shots. Have to attack a zone from within. It’s pretty straight forward against a zone, but many teams lose patience and play right into it.

Get the ball to the foul line and short corner, attack the gaps and draw 2 defenders, reverse the ball 2-3 times and shooting percentages go up. Stand around and make 1-2 passes and then chucking a 3 is a recipe for disaster.

The possession where we swung the ball, Fatts hit the gap and then found Jeff who got it to Walker at foul line who then dumped it to an open Cyril for a layup was the exact manner in which to attack a zone effectively. We just didn’t do that much, or ever again. I’m always a fan of putting your best decision maker at the foul line, in our case Jeff, and let him be the QB.

Was that Twan’s no look pass? It was the prettiest play of that game.

[steviep123]

6,323 in attendance. Good turn out. The place sounded quiet on TV without the band and cheerleaders.

It wasn't a quiet crowd and some band members were there. I agree it wasn't exactly a ruckus. So on TV how many times did Martin actually charge?Live and biased it looked like the second one was a bad call for sure.

.......I thought the TV replays showed both were the correct call.....that’s just me......

I haven’t had a chance to watch a replay but real time I thought Matin was already in the air before the defender was set on the first in and the second could have gone either way. There was an o foul against LaSalle later I thought was a block as well.

[bigappleram]

I don’t think in Disano’s postgame he was comparing Lasalle’s zone to Syracuse who are pretty much the gold standard for effective 2-3. Just illustrating that like Cuse if you don’t attack from within the back line wings can creep out and you are doing them a favor by just taking ill advised perimeter shots. Have to attack a zone from within. It’s pretty straight forward against a zone, but many teams lose patience and play right into it.

Get the ball to the foul line and short corner, attack the gaps and draw 2 defenders, reverse the ball 2-3 times and shooting percentages go up. Stand around and make 1-2 passes and then chucking a 3 is a recipe for disaster.

The possession where we swung the ball, Fatts hit the gap and then found Jeff who got it to Walker at foul line who then dumped it to an open Cyril for a layup was the exact manner in which to attack a zone effectively. We just didn’t do that much, or ever again. I’m always a fan of putting your best decision maker at the foul line, in our case Jeff, and let him be the QB.

That’s the one. 2 ball reversals, get ball to foul line, find guy in short corner (Cyril) diving to the hoop. That’s how you draw it up, players have to execute.

There are stats where literally every ball reversal almost doubles your shooting percentage - for pretty much any team. Have to get a zone moving and there are plenty of gaps if you do. Allow them to stand in space and you are doomed.

[PeteRI]

Tell me your secrets.

Pure luck.

Have to be one of the first 10 people to get there?

Every second or third time I get bounced off URI_Open server I see a link along the lines of go to keaneyblue.com anyway?. I click that link, which takes me to the page where I select Guest Access again. But of course there are periods throughout the game where nothing happens. Hey, want do you expect? It's not like it's the 21st Century ... oh wait ... its not like it's 2020 ... um, uh ... never mind.

[TruePoint]

I don’t think in Disano’s postgame he was comparing Lasalle’s zone to Syracuse who are pretty much the gold standard for effective 2-3. Just illustrating that like Cuse if you don’t attack from within the back line wings can creep out and you are doing them a favor by just taking ill advised perimeter shots. Have to attack a zone from within. It’s pretty straight forward against a zone, but many teams lose patience and play right into it.

Get the ball to the foul line and short corner, attack the gaps and draw 2 defenders, reverse the ball 2-3 times and shooting percentages go up. Stand around and make 1-2 passes and then chucking a 3 is a recipe for disaster.

The possession where we swung the ball, Fatts hit the gap and then found Jeff who got it to Walker at foul line who then dumped it to an open Cyril for a layup was the exact manner in which to attack a zone effectively. We just didn’t do that much, or ever again. I’m always a fan of putting your best decision maker at the foul line, in our case Jeff, and let him be the QB.

That’s the one. 2 ball reversals, get ball to foul line, find guy in short corner (Cyril) diving to the hoop. That’s how you draw it up, players have to execute.

There are stats where literally every ball reversal almost doubles your shooting percentage - for pretty much any team. Have to get a zone moving and there are plenty of gaps if you do. Allow them to stand in space and you are doomed.

I lost count of how many times the ball stayed in the middle of the court above the top of the key for 15+ seconds, sometimes with it changing hands a couple of times, sometimes with it staying with one guy. That just isn't going to get it done, even if there is lots of movement away from the ball to try to get guys in position to score (and a lot of times we didn't even have that), because the defense is locked onto the ball. To get the defense moving, which is a prerequisite to beat a zone, the ball has to move. You have to get it down beneath the top of the key - preferably in the middle of the court but failing that then you can attack the wing. If the ball is 30 feet from the basket the defense doesn't have to respect whatever ball movement there is because you aren't threatening the basket. You should be able to attack a zone from the high post, with a baseline runner, and with overloads and we barely feign at one of them - we do usually bring a guy into the high post but frequently he just stands there ignored or turns into a ball screener (?).

[bigappleram]

Agreed TP. And I’d posit that zones hurt us this year mostly because they throttle Fatts moreso than bc we are bad shooters. Our guys wide open can knock down shots but that requires the ball to move, preferably inside and out but even quick reversals on the perimeter with a drive, pass, pass combo can get it done. But the ball tends to get sticky with Fatts bc that is what he knows best to do, attack downhill versus being a bit more patient and picking his spots.

Hopefully he’s watching some tape today. You can quickly get teams out of a zone that are only playing it sporadically with a couple easy buckets.

[TruePoint]

I agree with that, but also he can use his ability/preference to attack downhill by dribbling right at a perimeter defender and forcing the guy to pick him up and then passing into the area that guy is responsible for - that is one way to start the ball movement/motion that we are talking about because it forces another defender to cover that pass, leaving another area of the zone unguarded. Forcing those rotations and making the defense execute 2, 3, 4 of them in a row is how you end up with easy scoring chances. The tough thing for this team, though, is the action has to happen fast to get the defense out of position. Our half court offense moves at a glacial pace sometimes - the ball moves and then it is held, then it moves again and is held again, etc., and that lets the zone continue to reset.

[bigappleram]

I agree with that, but also he can use his ability/preference to attack downhill by dribbling right at a perimeter defender and forcing the guy to pick him up and then passing into the area that guy is responsible for - that is one way to start the ball movement/motion that we are talking about. The tough thing for this team, though, is the action has to happen fast to get the defense out of position. Our half court offense moves at a glacial pace sometimes - the ball moves and then it is held, then it moves again and is held again, etc., and that lets the zone continue to reset.

Yep need to adopt the Popovich 1 second rule - drive, pass or shoot within a second. Getting sticky and slow is the defenses best friend.

[McRam]

All I saw offensively from Harris was no scoring touch at all. I didn't see the box score but Cox seemed to have him on the bench for most of the game. Harris has had a chance his whole time here and hasn't contributed much offensively. Except for a dumb foul here and there he has been a contributor defensively. He has awful hands. Did you see how long it took Harris to get up an easy lay-up only to get it blocked? Walker is so much more talented offensively than Harris. I give the defensive edge to Harris. but not by much.

My point is that Harris has turned into an excellent defender and his size disrupts things. He appears to be very athletic defensively and there is no argument from me that his offense is problematical.

So, if we buy into my theory that he is a good athlete, what is the reason that it doesn't translate into some offensive consistency?

Is he being used correctly offensively?? Should he be able to score as effectively as the very limited French from St> Louis.

Currently, if he gets the ball, you can almost hear him think "what should I do", his offensive
confidence is completely shot right now.

You've got to put that on the coaching staff.

[bigappleram]

All I saw offensively from Harris was no scoring touch at all. I didn't see the box score but Cox seemed to have him on the bench for most of the game. Harris has had a chance his whole time here and hasn't contributed much offensively. Except for a dumb foul here and there he has been a contributor defensively. He has awful hands. Did you see how long it took Harris to get up an easy lay-up only to get it blocked? Walker is so much more talented offensively than Harris. I give the defensive edge to Harris. but not by much.

My point is that Harris has turned into an excellent defender and his size disrupts things. He appears to be very athletic defensively and there is no argument from me that his offense is problematical.

So, if we buy into my theory that he is a good athlete, what is the reason that it doesn't translate into some offensive consistency?

Is he being used correctly offensively?? Should he be able to score as effectively as the very limited French from St> Louis.

Currently, if he gets the ball, you can almost hear him think "what should I do", his offensive
confidence is completely shot right now.

You've got to put that on the coaching staff.

Not sure I would call French very limited. He can score with either hand, has a good arsenal of moves around the hoop and is strong as a bull. I’d take that “very limited” guy on my team any day of the week.

[ramster]

Agreed TP. And I’d posit that zones hurt us this year mostly because they throttle Fatts moreso than bc we are bad shooters. Our guys wide open can knock down shots but that requires the ball to move, preferably inside and out but even quick reversals on the perimeter with a drive, pass, pass combo can get it done. But the ball tends to get sticky with Fatts bc that is what he knows best to do, attack downhill versus being a bit more patient and picking his spots.

Hopefully he’s watching some tape today. You can quickly get teams out of a zone that are only playing it sporadically with a couple easy buckets.

And you can bet that opposing teams are watching what works against us.
How many of Fatts’ 7 Turnovers we’re putting his head down and driving into the forest? My guess is all 7.

Walker was posted at the FT line a number of times, Long sometimes too. Is that by our Coaching design? Or just Walker and Long searching out an area of opportunity? My guess is it’s Coaching design but we don’t pass the ball quickly enough or often enough as a team. Our past NCAA teams in the last 50 years all excelled at passing that went along with solid shooting.

[Rhody_NYCT]

Another W yesterday. I will take it. Too close for comfort yes, but we are coming through and making plays down the stretch. This team has heart. Lots of room for improvement but you can say the same for every team in the country. I've been watching a lot of college hoops outside of Rhody games and it's not pretty, including teams in the top 25. We are watching college hoops here, not the NBA. These players are going to make lots of mistakes. I'm not saying it's not frustrating, but that's the nature of the game. Lots of positives right now with this Rhody team. All I can ask for are wins, and little improvements along the way. Keep fighting boys!

[Rhody15]

All I saw offensively from Harris was no scoring touch at all. I didn't see the box score but Cox seemed to have him on the bench for most of the game. Harris has had a chance his whole time here and hasn't contributed much offensively. Except for a dumb foul here and there he has been a contributor defensively. He has awful hands. Did you see how long it took Harris to get up an easy lay-up only to get it blocked? Walker is so much more talented offensively than Harris. I give the defensive edge to Harris. but not by much.

My point is that Harris has turned into an excellent defender and his size disrupts things. He appears to be very athletic defensively and there is no argument from me that his offense is problematical.

So, if we buy into my theory that he is a good athlete, what is the reason that it doesn't translate into some offensive consistency?

Is he being used correctly offensively?? Should he be able to score as effectively as the very limited French from St> Louis.

Currently, if he gets the ball, you can almost hear him think "what should I do", his offensive
confidence is completely shot right now.

You've got to put that on the coaching staff.

How the hell csn you say he’s a good athlete? He’s the most rigid, mechanical and robotic basketball player I have ever seen.

[TruePoint]

He’s definitely athletic. He’s a little hesitant, I would say, which maybe presents as being robotic. But when he stops thinking and just plays I think you see the athleticism come out. Regardless of what you think about his agility, though, he has the body of a stud college basketball player - 6’7”—6’8” 230–240 lbs, solid as a rock. I think people see his rawness offensively and project that out to other areas of the game and miss a lot of stuff he does pretty well.

[theblueram]

He’s definitely athletic. He’s a little hesitant, I would say, which maybe presents as being robotic. But when he stops thinking and just plays I think you see the athleticism come out. Regardless of what you think about his agility, though, he has the body of a stud college basketball player - 6’7”—6’8” 230–240 lbs, solid as a rock. I think people see his rawness offensively and project that out to other areas of the game and miss a lot of stuff he does pretty well.

He can make free throws as well so he's good in my book.

[Dowtinsavestheworld]

If Harris can shoot the ball consistenly we will all be happy. He is left wide open all day and he has a good touch. Work on that mid range and 3 and Harris will be good in my book. Until that point he is a liability

[Billyboy78]

Harris is strong but he has no ups. He has to learn to use his body to shield himself from a defender when going up for a layup. He shouldn't be getting so many shots blocked underneath.

[McRam]

Does Harris have a baby hook and a simple slide step to the rim. Our coaches should be able to teach this pretty quickly- Why ?

Another general comment that should be easy to perfect. Bring in a in a video of Don Nelson and his classic head fakes. Any reason Harris and Langevine can’t put this in their arsenal immediately.

"J

[NYGFan_Section208]

I think Harris is filling more and more of a role all the time. The first hurdle was to, regularly, not get two fouls in less than 2 minutes. Good accomplishment and I think the more he gets to play, the better he'll get. People would freak if he were to suddenly not be available, so, not really fair to say 'liability', is it?

[bigappleram]

His defense and court awareness has gotten markedly better this year. Don’t always think our offense and our playmakers do enough to get him touches and build confidence. I’m hopeful it’s all gonna click some day, he’s got the build and body to be a great A10 big.

[reef]

Agree with those that are down on Harris I would be very surprised if he turns into anything more than a guy who averages about 10 and 6 in about 20 minutes a game

He gets into foul trouble which keeps his minutes down and he is just so damn raw on offense

Positives though are he hedges out well and is a big body who should be able to defend and rebound , I wouldn’t expect much of him offensively though

[Rhody74]

Actually he’s been staying out of foul trouble during our recent stretch of wins.

[ramster]

All I saw offensively from Harris was no scoring touch at all. I didn't see the box score but Cox seemed to have him on the bench for most of the game. Harris has had a chance his whole time here and hasn't contributed much offensively. Except for a dumb foul here and there he has been a contributor defensively. He has awful hands. Did you see how long it took Harris to get up an easy lay-up only to get it blocked? Walker is so much more talented offensively than Harris. I give the defensive edge to Harris. but not by much.

My point is that Harris has turned into an excellent defender and his size disrupts things. He appears to be very athletic defensively and there is no argument from me that his offense is problematical.

So, if we buy into my theory that he is a good athlete, what is the reason that it doesn't translate into some offensive consistency?

Is he being used correctly offensively?? Should he be able to score as effectively as the very limited French from St> Louis.

Currently, if he gets the ball, you can almost hear him think "what should I do", his offensive
confidence is completely shot right now.

You've got to put that on the coaching staff.

How the hell csn you say he’s a good athlete? He’s the most rigid, mechanical and robotic basketball player I have ever seen.

At 6:03 remaining Cox put Harris in the game for Langevine with Rhody winning 54-50. LaSalle scored a 2, Russell missed a 3P and LaSalle’s Saul Phiri hit a 3P to give LaSalle it’s first lead of the 2nd half 55-54.
Then a huge clutch basket by Dowtin, followed by a hoop by Beaty at 4:07. 57-56 LaSalle in front of a shocked, hushed Ryan Center crowd that had seen a 52-38 Rhody Lead of 14 points at 9:55 remaining in the 2nd half rapidly disappear.

At 3:48 Harris was fouled. With a shocked crowd Harris went to the FT Line and calmed the crowd making two huge FTs making in 58-57 URI . (Imagine if Langevine had been in for Harris at that time shooting FTs?)

Langevine then subbed for Harris.

Harris had 2 big steals and 2 nice assists with zero turnovers and no personal fouls in his 17 minutes

The guards:
Russell 2 assists 7 turnovers
Martin 1 assist 5 turnovers
Dowtin 2 assists 2 turnovers

Again, Harris had as many assists as any of the 3 guards and zero turnovers.

I would not want to see this team without Jermaine Harris on it or without Harris in the starting line up.

I’d like to see Cox push the guards to feed Harris, Langevine, Walker and Toppin more inside and reduce the number of 3-pointers and drives to the hoop. Our big men are playing well, shooting FGs for high percentages and the big men are getting increasing number of assists among themselves. We need more assists from our guards.

[NJRhodyFan]

My point is that Harris has turned into an excellent defender and his size disrupts things. He appears to be very athletic defensively and there is no argument from me that his offense is problematical.

So, if we buy into my theory that he is a good athlete, what is the reason that it doesn't translate into some offensive consistency?

Is he being used correctly offensively?? Should he be able to score as effectively as the very limited French from St> Louis.

Currently, if he gets the ball, you can almost hear him think "what should I do", his offensive
confidence is completely shot right now.

You've got to put that on the coaching staff.

How the hell csn you say he’s a good athlete? He’s the most rigid, mechanical and robotic basketball player I have ever seen.

At 6:03 remaining Cox put Harris in the game for Langevine with Rhody winning 54-50. LaSalle scored a 2, Russell missed a 3P and LaSalle’s Saul Phiri hit a 3P to give LaSalle it’s first lead of the 2nd half 55-54.
Then a huge clutch basket by Dowtin, followed by a hoop by Beaty at 4:07. 57-56 LaSalle in front of a shocked, hushed Ryan Center crowd that had seen a 52-38 Rhody Lead of 14 points at 9:55 remaining in the 2nd half rapidly disappear.

At 3:48 Harris was fouled. With a shocked crowd Harris went to the FT Line and calmed the crowd making two huge FTs making in 58-57 URI . (Imagine if Langevine had been in for Harris at that time shooting FTs?)

Langevine then subbed for Harris.

Harris had 2 big steals and 2 nice assists with zero turnovers and no personal fouls in his 17 minutes

The guards:
Russell 2 assists 7 turnovers
Martin 1 assist 5 turnovers
Dowtin 2 assists 2 turnovers

Again, Harris had as many assists as any of the 3 guards and zero turnovers.

I would not want to see this team without Jermaine Harris on it or without Harris in the starting line up.

I’d like to see Cox push the guards to feed Harris, Langevine, Walker and Toppin more inside and reduce the number of 3-pointers and drives to the hoop. Our big men are playing well, shooting FGs for high percentages and the big men are getting increasing number of assists among themselves. We need more assists from our guards.

Agree wholeheartedly with that last paragraph. We've made the fewest 3-pointers in the conference this year, and we're also tied with St. Joe's for shooting threes at the worst percentage. We are NOT a good 3-point shooting team so it boggles my mind that we keep hoisting them up as frequently as we do. We have a very good frontcourt. Pound the ball inside!

[Section104]

How the hell csn you say he’s a good athlete? He’s the most rigid, mechanical and robotic basketball player I have ever seen.

At 6:03 remaining Cox put Harris in the game for Langevine with Rhody winning 54-50. LaSalle scored a 2, Russell missed a 3P and LaSalle’s Saul Phiri hit a 3P to give LaSalle it’s first lead of the 2nd half 55-54.
Then a huge clutch basket by Dowtin, followed by a hoop by Beaty at 4:07. 57-56 LaSalle in front of a shocked, hushed Ryan Center crowd that had seen a 52-38 Rhody Lead of 14 points at 9:55 remaining in the 2nd half rapidly disappear.

At 3:48 Harris was fouled. With a shocked crowd Harris went to the FT Line and calmed the crowd making two huge FTs making in 58-57 URI . (Imagine if Langevine had been in for Harris at that time shooting FTs?)

Langevine then subbed for Harris.

Harris had 2 big steals and 2 nice assists with zero turnovers and no personal fouls in his 17 minutes

The guards:
Russell 2 assists 7 turnovers
Martin 1 assist 5 turnovers
Dowtin 2 assists 2 turnovers

Again, Harris had as many assists as any of the 3 guards and zero turnovers.

I would not want to see this team without Jermaine Harris on it or without Harris in the starting line up.

I’d like to see Cox push the guards to feed Harris, Langevine, Walker and Toppin more inside and reduce the number of 3-pointers and drives to the hoop. Our big men are playing well, shooting FGs for high percentages and the big men are getting increasing number of assists among themselves. We need more assists from our guards.

Agree wholeheartedly with that last paragraph. We've made the fewest 3-pointers in the conference this year, and we're also tied with St. Joe's for shooting threes at the worst percentage. We are NOT a good 3-point shooting team so it boggles my mind that we keep hoisting them up as frequently as we do. We have a very good frontcourt. Pound the ball inside!

I'm a little confused on this whole idea that we shoot 3 pointers too often.

We're 35th in the country at possessions per game at 75.2
We're 311th in the country at 3 pointers attempted per game at 17.6
We're 294th in 3 point %
We're 52nd in Offensive Rebound %
We're 13th in Offensive Rebounds Per game

So...if we have the 35th most possessions per game AND are near the bottom of 3 pointers attempted per game wouldn't that tell you we actually take less three pointers per possession than just about every team in the country? Additionally, we're one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country so cant you make the argument that our inability to hit the shot is actually resulting in points a decent chunk of the time due to our ability to get second chance points?

[NJRhodyFan]

At 6:03 remaining Cox put Harris in the game for Langevine with Rhody winning 54-50. LaSalle scored a 2, Russell missed a 3P and LaSalle’s Saul Phiri hit a 3P to give LaSalle it’s first lead of the 2nd half 55-54.
Then a huge clutch basket by Dowtin, followed by a hoop by Beaty at 4:07. 57-56 LaSalle in front of a shocked, hushed Ryan Center crowd that had seen a 52-38 Rhody Lead of 14 points at 9:55 remaining in the 2nd half rapidly disappear.

At 3:48 Harris was fouled. With a shocked crowd Harris went to the FT Line and calmed the crowd making two huge FTs making in 58-57 URI . (Imagine if Langevine had been in for Harris at that time shooting FTs?)

Langevine then subbed for Harris.

Harris had 2 big steals and 2 nice assists with zero turnovers and no personal fouls in his 17 minutes

The guards:
Russell 2 assists 7 turnovers
Martin 1 assist 5 turnovers
Dowtin 2 assists 2 turnovers

Again, Harris had as many assists as any of the 3 guards and zero turnovers.

I would not want to see this team without Jermaine Harris on it or without Harris in the starting line up.

I’d like to see Cox push the guards to feed Harris, Langevine, Walker and Toppin more inside and reduce the number of 3-pointers and drives to the hoop. Our big men are playing well, shooting FGs for high percentages and the big men are getting increasing number of assists among themselves. We need more assists from our guards.

Agree wholeheartedly with that last paragraph. We've made the fewest 3-pointers in the conference this year, and we're also tied with St. Joe's for shooting threes at the worst percentage. We are NOT a good 3-point shooting team so it boggles my mind that we keep hoisting them up as frequently as we do. We have a very good frontcourt. Pound the ball inside!

I'm a little confused on this whole idea that we shoot 3 pointers too often.

We're 35th in the country at possessions per game at 75.2
We're 311th in the country at 3 pointers attempted per game at 17.6
We're 294th in 3 point %
We're 52nd in Offensive Rebound %
We're 13th in Offensive Rebounds Per game

So...if we have the 35th most possessions per game AND are near the bottom of 3 pointers attempted per game wouldn't that tell you we actually take less three pointers per possession than just about every team in the country? Additionally, we're one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country so cant you make the argument that our inability to hit the shot is actually resulting in points a decent chunk of the time due to our ability to get second chance points?

Interesting stats. Thanks for sharing. I guess it just seems like we shoot too many because we're so bad at it! Either way, I still think we need to put more emphasis on pushing the ball inside more. I really like our frontcourt, especially with the emergence of Walker, Toppin and Long.

[ramster]

Agree wholeheartedly with that last paragraph. We've made the fewest 3-pointers in the conference this year, and we're also tied with St. Joe's for shooting threes at the worst percentage. We are NOT a good 3-point shooting team so it boggles my mind that we keep hoisting them up as frequently as we do. We have a very good frontcourt. Pound the ball inside!

I'm a little confused on this whole idea that we shoot 3 pointers too often.

We're 35th in the country at possessions per game at 75.2
We're 311th in the country at 3 pointers attempted per game at 17.6
We're 294th in 3 point %
We're 52nd in Offensive Rebound %
We're 13th in Offensive Rebounds Per game

So...if we have the 35th most possessions per game AND are near the bottom of 3 pointers attempted per game wouldn't that tell you we actually take less three pointers per possession than just about every team in the country? Additionally, we're one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country so cant you make the argument that our inability to hit the shot is actually resulting in points a decent chunk of the time due to our ability to get second chance points?

Interesting stats. Thanks for sharing. I guess it just seems like we shoot too many because we're so bad at it! Either way, I still think we need to put more emphasis on pushing the ball inside more. I really like our frontcourt, especially with the emergence of Walker, Toppin and Long.

That’s the point. We are so bad at 3 point shooting that we need to shoot even fewer than we do currrently. And if we don’t shoot 3 pointers because teams know we are bad, then the defenses are sagging in and/or going zone and our guards are driving into Forrest like traffic jams.
Need to work the ball inside to Langevine, Harris, Toppin and Walker. The big men are getting more assists than our guards last game. Should not happen that way, our guard assists are dismal last several games. But we are winning so that’s why Cox is the Head Coach not me.

[ramster]

How the hell csn you say he’s a good athlete? He’s the most rigid, mechanical and robotic basketball player I have ever seen.

At 6:03 remaining Cox put Harris in the game for Langevine with Rhody winning 54-50. LaSalle scored a 2, Russell missed a 3P and LaSalle’s Saul Phiri hit a 3P to give LaSalle it’s first lead of the 2nd half 55-54.
Then a huge clutch basket by Dowtin, followed by a hoop by Beaty at 4:07. 57-56 LaSalle in front of a shocked, hushed Ryan Center crowd that had seen a 52-38 Rhody Lead of 14 points at 9:55 remaining in the 2nd half rapidly disappear.

At 3:48 Harris was fouled. With a shocked crowd Harris went to the FT Line and calmed the crowd making two huge FTs making in 58-57 URI . (Imagine if Langevine had been in for Harris at that time shooting FTs?)

Langevine then subbed for Harris.

Harris had 2 big steals and 2 nice assists with zero turnovers and no personal fouls in his 17 minutes

The guards:
Russell 2 assists 7 turnovers
Martin 1 assist 5 turnovers
Dowtin 2 assists 2 turnovers

Again, Harris had as many assists as any of the 3 guards and zero turnovers.

I would not want to see this team without Jermaine Harris on it or without Harris in the starting line up.

I’d like to see Cox push the guards to feed Harris, Langevine, Walker and Toppin more inside and reduce the number of 3-pointers and drives to the hoop. Our big men are playing well, shooting FGs for high percentages and the big men are getting increasing number of assists among themselves. We need more assists from our guards.

Agree wholeheartedly with that last paragraph. We've made the fewest 3-pointers in the conference this year, and we're also tied with St. Joe's for shooting threes at the worst percentage. We are NOT a good 3-point shooting team so it boggles my mind that we keep hoisting them up as frequently as we do. We have a very good frontcourt. Pound the ball inside!

Agree pass the ball inside. More passing, less dribble drive.

[Section104]

I think we can all agree that the key is eliminating the forced shots and taking what the defense gives us (unless your last name is Harris).

I think Toppin/Long/Walker are all capable, but should combine for maybe 2-3 attempts per game, max, with the rest coming from Jeff, Fatts, Rese (he's been ice-cold as of late).

[Running Ram]

Harris straight up won a game this year with his defensive athleticism, had a block, two deflections, key battle for an offensive rebound off a missed free-throw all with less than two minutes to go with an I believe 1 or 2 point lead. It was a thing of beauty a la Hassan Martin. Harris has a decent motor and shows real potential. Our deficiencies are not related to our lack of athleticism.