Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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02-01-23 08:52 PM - Post#350603
Bison up 44-32 at the half. Xander has 14 points. BU has hit 86% on threes. Bison starting lineup is likely the tallest in their history: Screen, Timmerman, Motta, Forrest, and Rice. Average height of 6'6.5".
Hopefully ND didn't talk to the team aa the half.
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HuskyColonial
PhD Student
Posts: 1976
Age: 50
Reg: 02-17-12
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02-01-23 09:34 PM - Post#350605
In response to Bison137
Extend ND NOW! Offer him the highest salary in the PL. He’s recruited and coached the least talented team in a League which includes Service Academies and to a victory in one game.
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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02-01-23 10:04 PM - Post#350606
In response to HuskyColonial
Final: BU 78, AU 74. Bison shooting came back to earth in the second half and the defense was normal, i.e. lousy. With such a large lineup, they couldn't keep anyone in front of them.
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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02-01-23 11:02 PM - Post#350608
In response to Bison137
ND may claim that the team did all kinds of things well to earn this victory. The reality is that the game was decided by one thing: three point shooting. Bucknell hit about 70% on threes while AU barely hit 25%. If they both had a normal percentage of threes, AU would have won fairly easily. Three point shooting is not very controllable and Bucknell cannot hope to win many games in the future by having this sort of an advantage in that category. Fwiw, in PL games before tonight, the bison were hitting about 26% on threes.
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bison75
Masters Student
Posts: 487
Reg: 01-26-06
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02-01-23 11:14 PM - Post#350609
In response to Bison137
Agree with 137. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that we’ll win all the rest of our games in which we try more than a dozen threes and make 70 percent of them.
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MrPhillie
Postdoc
Posts: 2757
Loc: NE PA
Reg: 07-14-08
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02-01-23 11:47 PM - Post#350610
In response to bison75
I liked that they don’t throw up 25-30 threes when they aren’t making them, but as was said, laughable to count on shooting such a high percentage every game while opponent shoots low percentage.
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JVBison
Freshman
Posts: 6
Age: 70
Reg: 04-03-19
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02-02-23 09:58 AM - Post#350612
In response to MrPhillie
I do think there are certain things that improve 3 pt pct. The percentage of 3s taken was under 25 last night. The defense of American was pretty loose especially in the first half. So the rest of it is random somewhat, but we do have several potentially good shooters, including Rice, Forrest, and Motta. And they can also all drive in for good shots closer to the basket. Unless Andre can learn how to defend effectively without fouling and provide help defense on drives,it is still going to be an uphill battle. I thought the starting lineup was the right one given the injury circumstances. Hoping for more improvement in the next game.
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nitlion
Masters Student
Posts: 413
Reg: 06-18-06
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02-02-23 11:10 AM - Post#350613
In response to JVBison
I see and interact with Bucknell Athlete’s 3 or 4 times a week.. I will continue to wish them good luck stay healthy, nice game for a win, ..these are young student athlete’s that appreciate my support.. if a coach is replaced for whatever reason, that is on them,,, I for one, refuse to hope these young players lose games to satisfy the followers of a sports forum…they deserve better then that from so called adults.
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Paulie777
PhD Student
Posts: 1767
Reg: 11-11-07
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American Game
02-02-23 11:35 AM - Post#350614
In response to nitlion
,,, I for one, refuse to hope these young players lose games to satisfy the followers of a sports forum…they deserve better then that from so called adults.
We fans (and alum) deserve better from Bucknell than what is going on right now with basketball. This situation should not be tolerated by those in charge who can actually do something about it. Its uncharacteristic of Bucknell to let this happen, somethings slipping up there on the Hill, and its frustrating to see this team underperform.
On another note, good win yesterday. Here's to more.
On another note, Its nice to see our old coach Paulson and Fordham sitting fourth in the A-!0
*Coach Davis earned all his wins everywhere he's coached, but I really think he should toss his Coach of the year award in the garbage and give Paulson a call and thank him for the solid start he gave him at Bucknell with the recruits and disciplined team.
Edited by Paulie777 on 02-02-23 11:59 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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American Game
02-02-23 04:01 PM - Post#350632
In response to Paulie777
The last time Bucknell hit 69%+ on threes was in January of 2015 when they were 10-14 (.714) from beyond the arc, led by Haas' 5-6. That team ranked 38th in the country on threes so it was a lot less surprising than what happened last night. The 2015 team featured Haas, Show, Thomas, Azzinaro, S Brown, and Frazier shooting from long-range.
BTW, Ken Pomeroy did a large statistical analysis on defending the three a few years ago and found that of all the things a defense can do, holding down its opponent's 3-point percentage is the least controllable. Among the things that are more controllable by a defense are opponents' 2-point FG pct, offensive rebounds, turnovers, 3-point attempts, and fouls drawn. The year he did the study, he looked at the top teams in defending the three in November and how they did the next month in that same category. It turned out there was very little correlation. It was more luck than anything.
After last night's 3-point marksmanship, the Bison now rank 214th in that category, hitting 33.1% for the year. In the PL, they are still dead last, hitting 28.8% of their threes in league games.
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candyfan
Masters Student
Posts: 459
Reg: 01-10-10
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American Game
02-02-23 06:57 PM - Post#350647
In response to Bison137
Talk is cheap when the Bison win a game these days, i.e., as the old saying goes, a Win is a Win is a Win is a Win!
This applies to any component of the game, no matter how they win.
But reality will set in again, painfully, vs. Army I fear where Ian Motta will not score 16pts suddenly, where the team does not shoot lights out 3pt shots, where we don't have four guys in double figures, all of which we had at Bender Hall last night etc.
The problem remains not with Davis and his staff coaching abilities, but with the rather mundane recruiting these last several years. We don't know if that's mostly on Davis, who, ultimately is responsible for it. However, it may be that the coaching staff is just not getting the better recruits? This team has no Stephen Brown, Zach Thomas, nor Nana Fouland?
Few teams do in the Patriot League, but we Bison fans expect this level of excellence. So does AD Truax, who outlined as much in his open letter to the Coach and the Fans last year.
Another last place finish in the PL will surely come down hard on Davis and his staff and raise the question: release him with a year left on his contract OR pay for one more year, then hit the jettison button.
Edited by candyfan on 02-02-23 07:01 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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HoleinOne
Masters Student
Posts: 596
Loc: Bluffton, SC
Reg: 02-15-09
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02-02-23 10:23 PM - Post#350650
In response to candyfan
I went to Bucknell based on the premise of a liberal arts education. To me, this was not only a premise of academic diversity but on overall life skills and experience. Seeing a basketball program implode and nothing done about it does not show a commitment to problem solving and management. Love Bucknell but feel the core platforms that the university promotes applies to everything but sports (i.e. football and basketball).
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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Re: American Game
02-02-23 10:44 PM - Post#350651
In response to candyfan
The problem remains not with Davis and his staff coaching abilities, but with the rather mundane recruiting these last several years. We don't know if that's mostly on Davis, who, ultimately is responsible for it. However, it may be that the coaching staff is just not getting the better recruits? This team has no Stephen Brown, Zach Thomas, nor Nana Fouland?
Few teams do in the Patriot League, but we Bison fans expect this level of excellence. So does AD Truax, who outlined as much in his open letter to the Coach and the Fans last year.
Another last place finish in the PL will surely come down hard on Davis and his staff and raise the question: release him with a year left on his contract OR pay for one more year, then hit the jettison button.
I completely disagree about the coaching. You are correct that Davis and staff have recruited poorly. But imo they have coached just as poorly. The defense the last few years has been abysmal, and it started all the way back in 2018–19 when Davis and Harrison came up with the ridiculous idea of switching on every screen, thus allowing the opposition to have any matchup that they wanted. Beyond that, however, the team has very poor fundamentals and it has shown in their terrible defensive performance. Unfortunately the offense is not much better. In general this team is much less than the sum of the parts.
As far as recruiting goes, you are correct that it has been poor. But you make it sound as if everyone in the patriot league is just as poor when it comes to landing players and that is not the case. Over the last few years, a number of PL teams are definitely bringing in better players. That is disgraceful when you consider Bucknell’s basketball tradition and the fact that it has the best facilities in the league. Based on the number of visits and offers, it seems like the staff is just incapable or uninterested in landing players.
As far as buying out the last year of his contract, in the long run it would be much cheaper for Bucknell to do that since we are at a tipping point where fans, alums, students, and everyone else may totally revolt. I heard some alums a few weeks ago talking about organizing a movement to boycott Bucknell completely as far as donations go. Not just boycotting the athletic department but boycotting the entire university. Abandoning the basketball program could cost BU a lot of money if this movement gets off the ground. Personally I hope that it does.
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Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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02-02-23 10:59 PM - Post#350652
In response to Bison137
One more thing relative to the above. When ND took over, the average attendance at Sojka was 2867 per game. This year it is an appalling 986. Next year it will likely fall to under 650. That is significant money Bucknell is losing by putting an unwatchable product on the floor. Also a significant loss of reputation.
It is not just the losing but also the way the team plays. And it is also the contempt that ND displays towards the fans. He does everything in his power to avoid them and not have to have any conversation or interaction. And never does he thank the loyal fans for their support. Not at Sojka and not on the road where Bucknell has continued to have the best fan support of any PL team. Unfortunately this has rubbed off on the other coaches and players. Much different than in the Flannery era. Btw, in Pat's last year - when the team had a losing record - the average attendance was 3399. It fell some during the DP era and now has collapsed.
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BisonRoadWarrior
Professor
Posts: 5203
Loc: Where the Bison Roam
Reg: 08-16-06
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Re: American Game
02-03-23 11:36 PM - Post#350743
In response to Bison137
I heard some alums a few weeks ago talking about organizing a movement to boycott Bucknell completely as far as donations go. Not just boycotting the athletic department but boycotting the entire university.
Were these alums contemplating that because of basketball, or a broader set of grievances that goes beyond athletics?
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