Disappointing season

[texasstud28]

What happened to the LU men's basketball team this year?  We started 10-4, and now we're sitting at home instead of going to Katy.

[badndn]

Probably the single most dissapointing season in my LU memory. I don't want to hear all of the excuses. For this team to not even make the conference tourny is a joke.

ROC, whatever your doing it ain't working. I still don't understand what the offensive game plan is??

[UNLV]

Probably the single most dissapointing season in my LU memory. I don't want to hear all of the excuses. For this team to not even make the conference tourny is a joke.

ROC, whatever your doing it ain't working. I still don't understand what the offensive game plan is??

The game plan was to play possum.

"The 36 points is the lowest total ever in the 25-year history of Montagne Center"

[HoopInsider_Cooper]

Losing Sanders, Todd hurt more than most thought.

KD played his heart out...Never should have been on the court tonight but probably was the right thing to let him play a little but he was not effective.

Some thoughts:

1. Glad Brandon McThay is done.

2. Anthony Miles is a bright spot.

3. Skyler Williams isn't good.

4. Coy Custer plays hard but is far from dominant.

5. I know Brooks Ybarra had 1 bad game @ Central Arkansas, but it's time for him to get on the court.

6. Team will miss Jay Brown, A LOT.

[geezer]

Next year should be interesting.  If there is not significant improvement the Roc should go.  You can blame a lot of this year on injuries, but I think there is a lack of leadership also.  Agree, glad to see McThay gone, should have never brought him back.  Custer is a walk on, so why would we expect him to be dominant.  Miles always played tentatively when playing with Dawkins, needs to play with intensity.  If Dawkins wasn't ready to play a 100%, then he should have only played a few minutes as teams do for most Seniors, and let the guys who have been playing carry the load.  Williams is interesting, see occasional bright spots but plays like he is in the dog house most of the time.  It's obvious his game is dribble drive penetration and he rarely does it.  Harper, very raw but plays hard. Wait to see if he improves his game by next year.  The injured, did not play this season team was probably better than what we put on the court.

[Guest coachacola]

This year Roc didn't bring in any JUCO stars like his first two years.  Hopkins, Todd, Dawkins, Nabors, and Brown lead the teams the first two years.  This year Williams and Moton were the two JUCOs he brought in and Moton didn't play and Williams was a disappointment (although in all fairness he's a sophomore missed all last year due to a serious injury).  I know Hall and McThay are JUCO players, but they only played 1 year of JUCO and will (or did) play 3 years at LU.

I think the transition from JUCO players to HS players this year really hurt, especially with the loss of a scholarship (Roc's fault), loss of Nabors and Nwevo, ongoing injuries during the year, and Moton not eligible (Roc's fault too?).  The loss of Hopkins and Todd really hurt because Roc didn't bring in any good 3-point shooters (maybe that was suppose to be Moton's role?).

We'll see how next year plays out.  Nabors and Nwevo will be back.  Those two should be able to replace the play of Brown and Worrell.  Hall and Miles should be better next year.  Moton and EB Davis appear to be the new JUCO players, but how good are these guys?  5 freshmen are coming in, and looking at their stats this year, only PG Nuno Muandumba seems to be a big scorer at the HS level.  Like always, there's potential, but the big question is can Roc put it together?

[texasstud28]

This year Roc didn't bring in any JUCO stars like his first two years.  I know Hall and McThay are JUCO players, but they only played 1 year of JUCO and will (or did) play 3 years at LU.

I think the transition from JUCO players to HS players this year really hurt, especially with the loss of a scholarship (Roc's fault), loss of Nabors and Nwevo, ongoing injuries during the year, and Moton not eligible (Roc's fault too?).  The loss of Hopkins and Todd really hurt because Roc didn't bring in any good 3-point shooters (maybe that was suppose to be Moton's role?).

Like always, there's potential, but the big question is can Roc put it together?

The athletic department should employ more academic advisors.  Granted Lamar doesn't have the budget to hire an army of em', but with football starting there is definitely a need.  It wouldn't necessarily be full-time, either, but sufficient enough to monitor student-athletes' academic progress. 

[tyree]

Just curious, why is Moten's inelgibility Roc's fault? I agree with all the posts about the disappointment of this season. I'm sure Roc is the most disappointed of all. Still, the injury factor was huge as in Nuevo all year and Dawkins for the heart of conference (not counting all the games he played hurt). Going into the season, these we the team's leaders and two best players. I think there is reason to be optimistic about next year. Unlike many others on this post, I have confidence in the coaching staff and the recruiting class appears strong. My only complaint is that Billy Tubbs always seemed to favor recruiting perimeter shooting guards...despite a lot af athleticism, I think we have weak 3-point shooting guards. I would be curious as to the combined 3-point percentages of returning guards Harper, Williams, and Miles, all of which can drive and penetrate. I bet its below 20%. When he was 100%, Dawkins could do it all. Not sure if there's a perimeter sharpshooter in the new class or not...seems to be more small point guards and inside players.

[Guest coachacola]

Just curious, why is Moten's inelgibility Roc's fault?

I just meant did Roc know that he wouldn't be able to play this year?  This team really needed another 3 point shooter and I think Moton would have filled that role.  I could be wrong on all this and Roc knew he wasn't playing this year and was counting on the other guys to shoot better from the outside.

3-point stats from Pomeroy:

Miles:    9-46 .196

Hall:      15-52 .288

Williams: 5-21 .238

http://kenpom.com/team.php?y=2009&team=Lamar

[tyree]

Despite all the reasons to be excited about Miles, you can't have more than 1 guard on the floor with that kind of shooting percentage...so who plays the wings next year and can hit 3's? Guess its all about Moten? ...Hall maybe? Williams and Harper just don't look like outside scoring threats to me.

[Guest coachacola]

Moton shot 41% from behind the arc last year for Angelina CC and averaged 11.5 points per game.  Last year in high school Anthony Miles shot 33% from behind the arc.  I would think Moton should at least shoot above 30% for Lamar next year and Miles should improve upon his average too.  I don't know much about EB Davis except he played for UTSA his freshman year and didn't play much for them.

[tyree]

41% from behind the arc and 11.5 points per game? Not sure what that means...maybe good shot selection as in wide open? That's not all bad I guess. So do you think Moton's our #2 guard next year?...with Miles at point?...that of course is a loaded question...but I enjoy your posts and would be curious about your opinion...since the season is over for us, we get to speculate for the next 6 months...oh by the way, I live in Houston and know some folks that know Joshua Wesley at HIGHTOWER...they tell me we got a good kid...and strong.......

[Guest coachacola]

I really don't know much about Moton except for what I read, so I suspect he'll either play the 2 guard with Miles at point or come off the bench like Todd did last year.  The point guard from Arizona, Nuno, seems like the real deal so he may end up starting in the backcourt with Miles, but that would put two 5-11 guys in the backcourt.  The 3 big guys appear to be on the raw side so they'll probably come off the bench and not score much but could help out defensively.

I'm guessing Nwevo and Custer will man the post position, with Hall and Nabors the starting forwards.  Neither one is a power forward so maybe the new guys will get a lot of playing time inside.  Miles is probably the starting PG next year, but Nuno Muandumba should see a lot of playing time.  I guess Roc can go small with Mile and Nuno in the backcourt, or go with Moton, Williams or Harper for a big shooting guard. 

There's also 6-5 G/F EB Davis, a JUCO player who played very little as a freshman at UTSA so I don't know how much he'll contribute.  If nothing else, Roc will have a lot more options as far as his lineup goes.  There's no reason why they can't be competitive next year.  If not then we'll really have to question Roc's coaching and recruiting skills.