1/8 | Davidson | 7:00PM (CBSSN)

[spookydog]

University of Rhode Island vs Davidson University
The Ryan Center, Kingston, RI
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
7:00PM

Media
TV: CBSSN
Online: CBS Sports Online
Radio: 101.5 FM (B101) or iHeart Radio App
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Previews:
Davidson Fan Forum

New year, old problems. We can’t put the ball in the basket. Rhody starts 2020 0-2 after losses to Brown & now Richmond. Now it is time for this team to dig deep & straighten things out as they take on Davidson this Wednesday night. Davidson & URI have a lot in common this year. Davidson comes the Ryan Center scuffling a bit losing their last 2 as well. The Wildcats don’t have any big wins on their resume besides a home win against Nevada (good…screw that chickenshit wolf pack team) but they don’t really have any glaring losses as well besides maybe Charlotte. Even though they are just 6-7, they still have Grady, Gudmundsson, & Carter Collins so you know they can compete with anyone in the league. In order for URI to get this win, Fatts needs to stop pressing things when the shot isn’t falling. His last 4 games (24.6% & 9% from 3). Oh yeah, one other thing…please Jermaine, no more 3s. I don’t know what else to say in this preview besides PLEASE WIN THIS GAME!!! My health can’t take it anymore.

Opponent
Record:
6-7, 0-1 in the A10
Last season: 24-10, 14-4 in the A10

Rankings:
RPI: 90
KenPom: 81
NCAA NET: 94

Leaders :
Points – Kellan Grady, 16.3 (Jr., G)
Rebounds – Jon Axel Gudmundsson, 5.8 (Sr., F)
Assists – Jon Axel Gudmundsson, 3.4 (Sr., G) (2.0 TO per game)

Historical
Series: 6-7
H: 3-2, A: 2-3, N: 1-2
Most Recent Matchup: 2/22/19 75-66 L at URI
Most Recent Win Streak: 4 – Davidson
Match-up Predictor: 55.0% Chance of URI Winning

[rambone 78]

9% from 3. Hilarious.

Anybody else that bad would be glued to the bench.

But we can't sit Fatts. No one to replace him!

And Cox keeps letting him shoot.

"Ride him until the wheels fall off" was the comment.

Well the wheels have fallen off, and we're still riding him.

[ramster]

Sure you can sit Russell. We looked our best Sunday when he got his 4th foul and we had:
Dowtin
Martin
Toppin
Walker
Langevine

[ramster]

Mid-major madness On Davidson

https://www.midmajormadness.com/2020/1/ ... tlantic-10

[DC_Rams]

9% from 3. Hilarious.

Anybody else that bad would be glued to the bench.

But we can't sit Fatts. No one to replace him!

And Cox keeps letting him shoot.

"Ride him until the wheels fall off" was the comment.

Well the wheels have fallen off, and we're still riding him.

Bone, some of your takes are so off, it’s annoying.

This team needs Fatts. Period.

Do they need him to reel it in a bit , sure? He needs to find the fine line. He’s done it before and I personally believe in the kid. He has the biggest cajones on the team.

[hrstrat57]

Sure you can sit Russell. We looked our best Sunday when he got his 4th foul and we had:
Dowtin
Martin
Toppin
Walker
Langevine

Because it was the only portion of the game that we actually ran our stuff.

Four fouls or not I’d have sat him too...

Hero ball is loser ball.

Couple public service bits to add to your game Thread experience

Cats forum:

https://davidsoncats.com/viewforum.php? ... 6c796b6d75

Motion madness:





Search “Bob McKillop Offense” for tons more on the Wildcat motion offense. Hard to coach, hard to learn and wicked hard to defend with the right players running it.

[rambone 78]

DC, in this case my take is NOT off...others are already agreeing with me.

When Fatts plays like shit, he needs to sit, since he won't stop throwing up off balance 3's.

Who else should tolerate going 1-10 or 1-12 from the field? That will get you beat way more often than not.

I could take an off shooting night like say, 3-10 or 5-14....but 10% or less, that's ridiculous in anybody's book.

I have never said bench him period. It's when he gets out of control.

And others have pointed out MANY times, when Jeff is at the point we actually run some semblance of a half court offense!

That's what worries me about next year...Jeff is gone and Fatts will run the point a lot. '

Will we see the same crap again, over and over? Unless Fatts is hot, that's what we will likely see.

[RamStock]

DC, in this case my take is NOT off...others are already agreeing with me.

When Fatts plays like shit, he needs to sit, since he won't stop throwing up off balance 3's.

Who else should tolerate going 1-10 or 1-12 from the field? That will get you beat way more often than not.

I could take an off shooting night like say, 3-10 or 5-14....but 10% or less, that's ridiculous in anybody's book.

I have never said bench him period. It's when he gets out of control.

And others have pointed out MANY times, when Jeff is at the point we actually run some semblance of a half court offense!

That's what worries me about next year...Jeff is gone and Fatts will run the point a lot. '

Will we see the same crap again, over and over? Unless Fatts is hot, that's what we will likely see.

I think the big problem is we have to play Martin at the 2 and defensively he just isn’t up to par. Fatts played incredible ball the first half of the season and needs to get back to being “smart”, but aggressive and getting to the foul line. The one thing you can’t fault him for is that other than Martin who really is aggressive for us on the offensive end. Dowtin definitely is better when his job is to run the point, Fatts is no two guard and playing them together hasn’t always worked. Not much we can do. It wouldn’t hurt to take some chances on the lineups though.

[reef]

Fatts definitely has seemed to have lost his confidence lately with these poor shooting numbers

If these struggles continue his minutes should be scaled back a bit

[hrstrat57]

Our half court offense is designed to run with 2 ball handlers attacking together. We need Fatts AND Dowtin in the game to be most effective. I prefer Russell handle the ball up the court most of the time because of his elite foot speed. If players are going to refuse to run the sets the way the coach wants we can’t succeed over the long term especially against better teams in the A10.

After extended breaks last month I truly thought Cox’s high post sets would be firing on all cylinders with so much time to practice. That’s why I find the last 2 results (again I did NOT attend the game at the Pizz) so disappointing.

Hopefully the reason things went so poorly is the team was “distracted” by the transfer portal drama recently. No excuse tho this team should be clicking - way too much talent.

We will learn a lot about what this club is made of Wednesday night. Should be a fascinating basketball game.

[PeterRamTime]

If theres a team that feels more hopeless than us its Davidson.

They are struggling more than we are.

A win will stop the bleeding.

Keep fighting Rhody.

Jeff

Fatts

Time to make layups and jump shots again.

[TruePoint]

Did you rip “it’s time to make layups” straight from the Pacino speech in Any Given Sunday?

[DC_Rams]

DC, in this case my take is NOT off...others are already agreeing with me.

When Fatts plays like shit, he needs to sit, since he won't stop throwing up off balance 3's.

Who else should tolerate going 1-10 or 1-12 from the field? That will get you beat way more often than not.

I could take an off shooting night like say, 3-10 or 5-14....but 10% or less, that's ridiculous in anybody's book.

I have never said bench him period. It's when he gets out of control.

And others have pointed out MANY times, when Jeff is at the point we actually run some semblance of a half court offense!

That's what worries me about next year...Jeff is gone and Fatts will run the point a lot. '

Will we see the same crap again, over and over? Unless Fatts is hot, that's what we will likely see.

Others agree with me as well.

Not that THAT even matters.

I don’t think we have a worry at guard fir the foreseeable future. Especially if we end up with Bishop.

[RamStock]

If theres a team that feels more hopeless than us its Davidson.

They are struggling more than we are.

A win will stop the bleeding.

Keep fighting Rhody.

Jeff

Fatts

Time to make layups and jump shots again.

This is true on Davidson. They were picked to finish higher than us and had two all first team A-10 players. Their season has been a train wreck

[Obadiah]

After having won four straight from Davidson earlier, the Rams have now lost four in a row to them in the last two years!

[ramster]

DC, in this case my take is NOT off...others are already agreeing with me.

When Fatts plays like shit, he needs to sit, since he won't stop throwing up off balance 3's.

Who else should tolerate going 1-10 or 1-12 from the field? That will get you beat way more often than not.

I could take an off shooting night like say, 3-10 or 5-14....but 10% or less, that's ridiculous in anybody's book.

I have never said bench him period. It's when he gets out of control.

And others have pointed out MANY times, when Jeff is at the point we actually run some semblance of a half court offense!

That's what worries me about next year...Jeff is gone and Fatts will run the point a lot. '

Will we see the same crap again, over and over? Unless Fatts is hot, that's what we will likely see.

Others agree with me as well.

Not that THAT even matters.

I don’t think we have a worry at guard fir the foreseeable future. Especially if we end up with Bishop.

Is it confirmed URI will be recruiting Bishop? Or KB Poster speculation?

[section(105)]

.....Team Rankings sez.....their #85 ranked Rams have 59% to win over their #75 ranked Davidson....they ranked URI # 6 in the A-10, with a record of 10-8 and 18-12 overall.....they give URI a 15% chance to Dance, down 12 as result of loss to Spiders....

[DC_Rams]

DC, in this case my take is NOT off...others are already agreeing with me.

When Fatts plays like shit, he needs to sit, since he won't stop throwing up off balance 3's.

Who else should tolerate going 1-10 or 1-12 from the field? That will get you beat way more often than not.

I could take an off shooting night like say, 3-10 or 5-14....but 10% or less, that's ridiculous in anybody's book.

I have never said bench him period. It's when he gets out of control.

And others have pointed out MANY times, when Jeff is at the point we actually run some semblance of a half court offense!

That's what worries me about next year...Jeff is gone and Fatts will run the point a lot. '

Will we see the same crap again, over and over? Unless Fatts is hot, that's what we will likely see.

Others agree with me as well.

Not that THAT even matters.

I don’t think we have a worry at guard fir the foreseeable future. Especially if we end up with Bishop.

Is it confirmed URI will be recruiting Bishop? Or KB Poster speculation?

With 3 open ships, and Hammond gone, I strongly believe so.

[Rhodymob05]

Enough is enough, if there's moral issues, the players have to realize that they have the power and ability to change the attitude of that locker room. THey can still make a season out of this and theres no point in sobbing anymore. Grow some nuts and beat the crap outta Davidson.

[Rhody72]

'78 I can prove your wrong. I agree with you 100%!

Also, Fatts is the most selfish player on the team. And Cox has enabled this quality in Fatts. Ripping players during games does not inspire them to play better.

[Urifan91]

Wednesday’s game cannot get here soon enough. This board is a mess and I believe the team is a mess at the moment as well. Everyone needs to put the last two games in the rear view and get back to winning vs Davidson. Let’s just hope there is no more bad news between now and then.

[DC_Rams]

'78 I can prove your wrong. I agree with you 100%!

Also, Fatts is the most selfish player on the team. And Cox has enabled this quality in Fatts. Ripping players during games does not inspire them to play better.

Guess you’ve never seen guys named Tom Izzo and Mike Kryskewski coach.

I’m not comparing DC to them (before you all jump to that conclusion), but just about every coach in America, to include the greats, lay into their kids.

[TruePoint]

I am here to tell everyone that Fatts is not the problem. I don’t get why he’s such a target for everyone but it makes no sense. The offense is so dependent on him that it stands out when he has an off night shooting the ball, but that’s going to happen. If the team needs one player to never have a bad shooting night in order to be competitive, that is a problem with the team and not the player. Fatts averages almost 6 assists on a team where nobody can shoot - he’s a good passer. I think part of them problem is that people love Jeff (I love Jeff too) and want to blame Fatts for Jeff having a bad year. Jeff’s bad year is on Jeff, not Fatts. If Jeff were playing closer to his standard, the team would be better.

[DC_Rams]

I am here to tell everyone that Fatts is not the problem. I don’t get why he’s such a target for everyone but it makes no sense. The offense is so dependent on him that it stands out when he has an off night shooting the ball, but that’s going to happen. If the team needs one player to never have a bad shooting night in order to be competitive, that is a problem with the team and not the player. Fatts averages almost 6 assists on a team where nobody can shoot - he’s a good passer. I think part of them problem is that people love Jeff (I love Jeff too) and want to blame Fatts for Jeff having a bad year. Jeff’s bad year is on Jeff, not Fatts. If Jeff were playing closer to his standard, the team would be better.

Totally agree with this take.

[rhodylaw]

After having won four straight from Davidson earlier, the Rams have now lost four in a row to them in the last two years!

We are due!

[PeteRI]

I am here to tell everyone that Fatts is not the problem. I don’t get why he’s such a target for everyone but it makes no sense. The offense is so dependent on him that it stands out when he has an off night shooting the ball, but that’s going to happen. If the team needs one player to never have a bad shooting night in order to be competitive, that is a problem with the team and not the player. Fatts averages almost 6 assists on a team where nobody can shoot - he’s a good passer. I think part of them problem is that people love Jeff (I love Jeff too) and want to blame Fatts for Jeff having a bad year. Jeff’s bad year is on Jeff, not Fatts. If Jeff were playing closer to his standard, the team would be better.

My sig tag is there for a reason.

[DC_Rams]

DC, in this case my take is NOT off...others are already agreeing with me.

When Fatts plays like shit, he needs to sit, since he won't stop throwing up off balance 3's.

Who else should tolerate going 1-10 or 1-12 from the field? That will get you beat way more often than not.

I could take an off shooting night like say, 3-10 or 5-14....but 10% or less, that's ridiculous in anybody's book.

I have never said bench him period. It's when he gets out of control.

And others have pointed out MANY times, when Jeff is at the point we actually run some semblance of a half court offense!

That's what worries me about next year...Jeff is gone and Fatts will run the point a lot. '

Will we see the same crap again, over and over? Unless Fatts is hot, that's what we will likely see.

Judging by the likes under TP’s latest post, you’re way OFF.

[Running Ram]

Bone, there's plenty of blame to go around and Fatts doesn't deserve to be the brunt of the discussion. Two things, one, when things aren't working or others aren't making off ball moves, it's on Fatts to create and try to spark and two, I think if someone looks into it we'll find his shot hasn't been right since he left the, I think, PC game and I believe it was an elbow, maybe a wrist? I know he came back to the game, finished strong and it wasn't ever really mentioned as an issue after that, but it looked like a painful situation and he was continually shaking it out the rest of that game. If I had the time I'd chart out his peak and falling percentages and cross reference them with that injury. It's a suspicion of mine anyway. And if you put the two things together and consider the team often needs him to get creative it often can look like he's killing us when he's not right.
Yes he presses at times but he's instructed to do so. We have two point guards on the floor often and it just seems like although they have both been great at times they haven't been great together, it feels like one or the other is 'on' or they are both 'off.' Dowtin has his struggles as well, he seemed to be more able to create in the past than he shows now. I think it's and this is not a shot at him, on DC to help these guys get back to some kind of cohesion. There are so many moving parts when it comes to guiding/coaching at this level and so much of it is a matter of the young male psyche it must be one of the most demanding and stressful jobs available to be a D1 head coach. On the flip side it must also be as rewarding as any job when you are meeting your personal goals, whether that's winning championships or helping shape young men into well adjusted adults.

[Billyboy78]

Jeff is a pure PG and Fatts is more of a CG . Yeah, positionless basketball, I know. But that describes their skill sets. The problem is Jeff is 6'3" and Fatts is 5'8". Switch their heights and things would look a lot better.

[rambone 78]

I don't put all the blame on Fatts.

There's enough to go around.

Again, at least some of this is the personnel situation, nothing can be done about it until next season.

[ramster]

Bone, there's plenty of blame to go around and Fatts doesn't deserve to be the brunt of the discussion. Two things, one, when things aren't working or others aren't making off ball moves, it's on Fatts to create and try to spark and two, I think if someone looks into it we'll find his shot hasn't been right since he left the, I think, PC game and I believe it was an elbow, maybe a wrist? I know he came back to the game, finished strong and it wasn't ever really mentioned as an issue after that, but it looked like a painful situation and he was continually shaking it out the rest of that game. If I had the time I'd chart out his peak and falling percentages and cross reference them with that injury. It's a suspicion of mine anyway. And if you put the two things together and consider the team often needs him to get creative it often can look like he's killing us when he's not right.
Yes he presses at times but he's instructed to do so. We have two point guards on the floor often and it just seems like although they have both been great at times they haven't been great together, it feels like one or the other is 'on' or they are both 'off.' Dowtin has his struggles as well, he seemed to be more able to create in the past than he shows now. I think it's and this is not a shot at him, on DC to help these guys get back to some kind of cohesion. There are so many moving parts when it comes to guiding/coaching at this level and so much of it is a matter of the young male psyche it must be one of the most demanding and stressful jobs available to be a D1 head coach. On the flip side it must also be as rewarding as any job when you are meeting your personal goals, whether that's winning championships or helping shape young men into well adjusted adults.

RR,
Good points
I went back and just as you said, Russell finished strong in the PC Game after getting hurt and going to the Locker Room. Russell went out at 9:59 left in the game, then returned with 6:23 remaining (out 3:36 minutes). He returned and went 3-3 on 3Ps and missed a FG plus went 2-2 FTs scoring 11 points in 6 minutes. Could be his wrist/arm and also we had a long break since the PC game. Only 4 Games in a months time. Hopefully we go forward from here and return to the PC and before percentages.

Looking at Games up to and including PC and then the 4 games since the December 6th PC Game:
PC and Before:
65-138 FG = 47.1%
19-46 for 3P = 41.3%
44-51 FT = 86.3%

4 Games since PC
16-65 FG = 24.6%
2-22 for 3P = 9%
19-23 FT = 82.6%

[ramster]

Jacob Toppin

As frustrating as the Richmond game was, Jacob Toppin had his best game as a URI Ram!!

• Toppin had a Career high 12 Points AND a Career high 8 Rebounds in 23 minutes

• Topping was an efficient 5-7 FG and 2-2 FT

• He stayed clear of foul trouble with only 1 Personal Foul despite playing aggressive defense

• Toppin had an amazing Blocked Shot - best Block I have witnessed all season - NBA Highlight Reel Quality

Note how well Toppin and Walker are getting along. Appears that even though Walker is new to the team (he did have a year practicing with the team) Walker seems to have taken Toppin under his wing often talking to him and frequently appearing to be giving him advice and encouragement. Good to see.

With the continuous improvement of Jermaine Harris, it is quite exciting to think about how strong our front line of Harris, Langevine, Walker and Toppin can be by A10 Tournament time. Allso looking forward to next season with Harris, Walker and Toppin forming a formidable front line!!

[Running Ram]

Thanks for looking at that ramster, don't know if its an actual thing but it came to mind. When it happened I remember thinking I hope his shot doesn't suffer, then when he came back and finished strong in the game and with the long lay-off I figured no worries, but thinking about the fact that the peak of his percentages were that very game and the swoon since then leads me to wonder.

[steveystuds06]

I love Toppin, but I'm a little surprised more people haven't brought up the play of Tyrese Martin lately.

I understand he makes some dumb passes, but he's scoring, and has been a monster on the boards. He's averaging 16 and 9 in his last four games. He lead the team in rebounding against Brown and Richmond. If you don't think that's effort I don't know what to tell you.

I think Tyrese is about to show the A10 that he's going to be a huge problem.

[steveystuds06]

Others agree with me as well.

Not that THAT even matters.

I don’t think we have a worry at guard fir the foreseeable future. Especially if we end up with Bishop.

Is it confirmed URI will be recruiting Bishop? Or KB Poster speculation?

With 3 open ships, and Hammond gone, I strongly believe so.

That's like asking if URI was gonna recruit Jared Terrell after he decommitted from Oklahoma St. Bishop was a priority recruit last year. We better be going after him!

[rambone 78]

Well if Fatts is dinged up, stop with the wild 3 pt. shooting.

Take one when he's wide open and that's it.

Otherwise run the offense.

[ramster]

Is it confirmed URI will be recruiting Bishop? Or KB Poster speculation?

With 3 open ships, and Hammond gone, I strongly believe so.

That's like asking if URI was gonna recruit Jared Terrell after he decommitted from Oklahoma St. Bishop was a priority recruit last year. We better be going after him!

Jared Terrell was #79 ESPN. Only EC Mathews, Kuran Iverson, Stanford Robinson and Jermaine Harris were ranked as ESPN Top 100 Players recruited under Dan Hurley. Iverson and Robinson transferred in.

Terrell never played for Oklahoma State. Bishop had already played at Xavier and his statistics are not great. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask if URI will be going after Bishop, I honestly don't know as yet.

[DC_Rams]

With 3 open ships, and Hammond gone, I strongly believe so.

That's like asking if URI was gonna recruit Jared Terrell after he decommitted from Oklahoma St. Bishop was a priority recruit last year. We better be going after him!

Jared Terrell was #79 ESPN. Only EC Mathews, Kuran Iverson, Stanford Robinson and Jermaine Harris were ranked as ESPN Top 100 Players recruited under Dan Hurley. Iverson and Robinson transferred in.

Terrell never played for Oklahoma State. Bishop had already played at Xavier and his statistics are not great. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask if URI will be going after Bishop, I honestly don't know as yet.

I’ve seen Bishop’s stats and I’m smart enough to know I won’t judge him based of it.

[ramster]

That's like asking if URI was gonna recruit Jared Terrell after he decommitted from Oklahoma St. Bishop was a priority recruit last year. We better be going after him!

Jared Terrell was #79 ESPN. Only EC Mathews, Kuran Iverson, Stanford Robinson and Jermaine Harris were ranked as ESPN Top 100 Players recruited under Dan Hurley. Iverson and Robinson transferred in.

Terrell never played for Oklahoma State. Bishop had already played at Xavier and his statistics are not great. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask if URI will be going after Bishop, I honestly don't know as yet.

I’ve seen Bishop’s stats and I’m smart enough to know I won’t judge him based of it.

Same here. But comparing Terrell to Bishop is not exactly apples to apples. I personally would take Bishop, worth a shot.

[DC_Rams]

That remains to be seen. Let’s get him, first.

[RamStock]

I love Toppin, but I'm a little surprised more people haven't brought up the play of Tyrese Martin lately.

I understand he makes some dumb passes, but he's scoring, and has been a monster on the boards. He's averaging 16 and 9 in his last four games. He lead the team in rebounding against Brown and Richmond. If you don't think that's effort I don't know what to tell you.

I think Tyrese is about to show the A10 that he's going to be a huge problem.

I’m not saying it is right or wrong as I like Martin a lot and loved him when we signed him, but I think similar to Fatts at times he will push the issue leading to turnovers and his defense has always been questionable which has kept him from being a fan favorite. I feel like the fan base liked him more last year. I expected him to lead the team in scoring. He still might the rest of the year

[steveystuds06]

Jared Terrell was #79 ESPN. Only EC Mathews, Kuran Iverson, Stanford Robinson and Jermaine Harris were ranked as ESPN Top 100 Players recruited under Dan Hurley. Iverson and Robinson transferred in.

Terrell never played for Oklahoma State. Bishop had already played at Xavier and his statistics are not great. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask if URI will be going after Bishop, I honestly don't know as yet.

I’ve seen Bishop’s stats and I’m smart enough to know I won’t judge him based of it.

Same here. But comparing Terrell to Bishop is not exactly apples to apples. I personally would take Bishop, worth a shot.

Bishop is also a top 100 4 star guard. I'm not comparing who's the better player...I know he never played for Oklahoma State.

My point is Terrell and Bishop were both our top targets before they committed somewhere else. Let's just see what happens.

I really hope Cox gets these guys locked in defensively. If we leave this team wide open it's going to be a LONGGGG night.

[SandorClegane]

I think to begin the season we all knew the team would play well when Fatts and Jeff are on, and we’d struggle if they weren’t. Well we’ve stalled here and we need to get them both going. Run some set plays to build confidence. Let’s string together some wins.

[DeanDome88]

I love Toppin, but I'm a little surprised more people haven't brought up the play of Tyrese Martin lately.

I understand he makes some dumb passes, but he's scoring, and has been a monster on the boards. He's averaging 16 and 9 in his last four games. He lead the team in rebounding against Brown and Richmond. If you don't think that's effort I don't know what to tell you.

I think Tyrese is about to show the A10 that he's going to be a huge problem.

I like Tyrese a lot but have cringed a few times when he's decided not to go to wide open guys in the corner when he was tightly covered especially when it's been Jeff wide open. Everyone likes a scorer and I would not be surprised if the coaching staff has asked for him to get more agressive but he is a bit of a ballstopper. I guess as fans we always want a little more.

[rhodyfan3000]

Basketball is a team sport. Unfortunately, you can have situations where you have one or two individuals who have very impressive individual stats, but they don't make a good effort to get the rest of their teammates involved. This leads to two things: 1. a breakdown in a cohesive team that plays like they are all on the same page, and 2. helter skelter basketball, where, you steal the ball, rush down the court try to make a "highlight reel pass" to someone who is a blurr and barely had enough time to flash a hand at you, the opposing team easily intercepts the ball or it goes out of bounds, change of possession. Wasted possession. After about 3 of those, cue the boo birds.

We saw this A LOT the last two games. You don't need Dr. Basketball to diagnose the problem. These guys need to start playing like a team, place their teammates in positions to succeed, not set them up for failure, and protect the ball with their lives... and then you'll see a turnaround in the overall play out there on the court.

Last year, the main culprit was Fatts. I don't know if he ever changed anything that he was doing. Was he disciplined a few times by Cox? I don't remember. In the end, he played so well, I guess he only needed to make incremental changes to his game for people to forgive and forget a lot of the negatives.

Now we are seeing some of that with Tyrese. This is a problem unfortunately with a lot of highly ranked basketball recruits in the AAU system, we have seen if for multiple decades now. They are taught that if your teammates can't keep up with you, you need the scouts to always see YOU, first and foremost, forget them, and plug along.

Unfortunately that doesn't lead to success at this level, especially in this league, and it needs to be driving out of them earily on or it will fester.

[rhodyfan3000]

it's too bad Jeff decided to step down as the emotional leader of this team, because from what I can remember, he was always plenty talented but never suffered from this problem.

Apparently, Wood is a player like Jeff, so hopefully that will help set the pace in future years.

[UCH21377]

It's totally unfair to blame these losses on Fatts. He led us for a bunch of games in a row; no way we win without him, and now he has a couple bad games and he goes to the bench??? Sorry can't agree with this. And these "big" lineups people are mentioning would get decimated by anyone that plays tight man-to-man D, or presses, like VCU. What we need is more guard depth, and scoring depth at the guard position, which we unfortunately don't have this year.

[Rhody72]

Jeff use to be such an assist machine, that defenders feared his passes more than his shots. That resulted in Jeff getting more good shots as well as teammates getting into good position to score. Cox decided to transfer team leadership from Jeff to an inconsistent Fatts. Bad decision. Don't fault jeff for stepping back from his leadership role.

Somehow posters here have forgotten about Fatts' funk last year. We've seen him fade before.

Again I ask, is Fatts a captain? If yes, did the team or Cox anoint him?

[PeterRamTime]

It's totally unfair to blame these losses on Fatts. He led us for a bunch of games in a row; no way we win without him, and now he has a couple bad games and he goes to the bench??? Sorry can't agree with this. And these "big" lineups people are mentioning would get decimated by anyone that plays tight man-to-man D, or presses, like VCU. What we need is more guard depth, and scoring depth at the guard position, which we unfortunately don't have this year.

Yep. We can barely survive if both Jeff and Fatts have bad games. We cannot survive if both are bad.

I mean, against Richmond, Fatts got in position on offense, just literally could not but a lay up.

Jeff the same deal really.

We have seen both play well this year. Fatts more than good games than Jeff by far.

Its feasible that those two can keep from shooting as bad as they did against Richmond. If one of them actually has a good game against Richmond it's going down to the wire.

Therein lies the biggest issue of the year. Not having Sheppard is HUGE.

Not only are all the minutes on Jeff and Fatts, but they have all the pressure in the world.

They can, have and will deliver for us, but it sucks because its ALL ON THEM.

Our frontcourt issues are solved. Our two freshman can play. Especially Toppin.

We have two guards in a guard dominated league.

How much can they do all by themselves?

If they both play well, we can give Dayton a game.

If they dont play well, anybody can beat us.

[hrstrat57]

Agree PRT

The whole Sheppard deal remains a puzzlement...