Marshall game thread 12/19/2017

[skyhops]

He was a Pg in high school but he could over power and blow by smaller players. I think they like to have Q at the 2 so he can take it to the hoop. Scrugg’s poor decisions tend to lead transition baskets but so did Tre’s. Not having Gate’s D didn’t help either.

[muskieman]

Guys don't get out of sorts over this game. X was down 2 starters and by half time they also lost Naji and BTW Naji was having a possible great game and was a different maker. Because of that they doubled the post and ran their best defenders at Tre and he had no catch were he didn't have a guy within a foot or two and Tre played 39 minutes, I believe the stat sheet will show. Twice Jones went off the floor with a limp and once he went off the floor and when he came out at the half with both knees wrapped...although he played quite a game. 3 guys had to play 34 minutes or more. Granted, if JP and Gates can not go against NI at their place X might be in big trouble.

As a sidebar: I don't think I have ever seen Tre miss threes by so much, some shots were downright ugly so I hope it was only because he was tired. If you note Tre didn't take many shots toward the end of the game. Still X scored 81 points and held Marshall under their aver of 90+.

[kyzrex]

I believe that the team is much closer to what we saw in the 1st half, than it is what we saw in the 2nd half. I’m not worried about how good this team is, Only about how healthy they are. If they are healthy they are going to be OK. Same thing can be said about most other teams. Fatigue in the 2nd half was certainly a factor. But they gutted it out and it really wasn’t ever in serious doubt IMO.


It wouldn’t surprise me if they struggle against No. Iowa, even if they have everyone back. They may be a little rusty, and a road game on a holiday weekend is always tough anyway. It’s more important that they be healthy for league play than it is that they do well in this coming game. If there is any doubt about anyone’s health, rest them.

[longliveskip]

Guys don't get out of sorts over this game. X was down 2 starters and by half time they also lost Naji and BTW Naji was having a possible great game and was a different maker. Because of that they doubled the post and ran their best defenders at Tre and he had no catch were he didn't have a guy within a foot or two and Tre played 39 minutes, I believe the stat sheet will show. Twice Jones went off the floor with a limp and once he went off the floor and when he came out at the half with both knees wrapped...although he played quite a game. 3 guys had to play 34 minutes or more. Granted, if JP and Gates can not go against NI at their place X might be in big trouble.

As a sidebar: I don't think I have ever seen Tre miss threes by so much, some shots were downright ugly so I hope it was only because he was tired. If you note Tre didn't take many shots toward the end of the game. Still X scored 81 points and held Marshall under their aver of 90+.

what was Marshall shooting from 3 coming in?

because man did some of their 3's look downright abysmal. and their offense is awful. literally looks like they play on a 15 second shot clock and just jack up the first open look they get. i don't know what they normally shoot, % wise, but i'm glad they were "off".

[X-lucidity]

We take the "W" and now on to UNI. I would ask all those MM contributors that have any inside scoop to let us know if you hear anything of substance about Naji. Hopefully some sleep and a deep massage will have him able to play but lower back/muscle issues are tricky. Also hoping that either JP or Gates can return Friday. Really need Naji and at least one of the other two.
As for Scruggs, my take anyway, is he will be fine but needs this early PT and coaching to settle in. Right now he is attacking and driving without any real purpose. I'm sure this worked wonderfully in HS, but D-1 defenses are played by stronger & thicker men who hedge more quickly. Paul seems to see an angle & slash, only to be cut off sooner than he anticipates, causing panic passes as well as a few traveling violations. Q made those errors early last season as well. I did like seeing Paul make a couple pull-up 12 footers last night, at least some glimmer of his potential. I am confident his learning curve will mirror Q's as the season progresses.
OK, on to UNI, no looking back. Here's hoping we get decent news from the training room......

[muskieman]

Guys don't get out of sorts over this game. X was down 2 starters and by half time they also lost Naji and BTW Naji was having a possible great game and was a different maker. Because of that they doubled the post and ran their best defenders at Tre and he had no catch were he didn't have a guy within a foot or two and Tre played 39 minutes, I believe the stat sheet will show. Twice Jones went off the floor with a limp and once he went off the floor and when he came out at the half with both knees wrapped...although he played quite a game. 3 guys had to play 34 minutes or more. Granted, if JP and Gates can not go against NI at their place X might be in big trouble.

As a sidebar: I don't think I have ever seen Tre miss threes by so much, some shots were downright ugly so I hope it was only because he was tired. If you note Tre didn't take many shots toward the end of the game. Still X scored 81 points and held Marshall under their aver of 90+.

what was Marshall shooting from 3 coming in?

because man did some of their 3's look downright abysmal. and their offense is awful. literally looks like they play on a 15 second shot clock and just jack up the first open look they get. i don't know what they normally shoot, % wise, but i'm glad they were "off".

the problem they have is they are not a patience team in their O sets. Some of could have been the 1-3-1, they looked like they were trying to figure it out and their impatience grew speeding up their shots. Toward the end of the game when they made their run they passed the ball more and didn't just take the quick outside shot. Lucky for us Q made a couple drives in a row which got him to the rim. Unlike Scruggs, who also got to the rim but did not finish, which was the way Q played his first year. Now Q's problem is he sometimes drives too deep and has no where to go with the ball. While Scruggs is frustrating at times I see a potential to be a good PG when he gets rid of his fancy passing and becomes fundamentally stronger.

[longliveskip]

Guys don't get out of sorts over this game. X was down 2 starters and by half time they also lost Naji and BTW Naji was having a possible great game and was a different maker. Because of that they doubled the post and ran their best defenders at Tre and he had no catch were he didn't have a guy within a foot or two and Tre played 39 minutes, I believe the stat sheet will show. Twice Jones went off the floor with a limp and once he went off the floor and when he came out at the half with both knees wrapped...although he played quite a game. 3 guys had to play 34 minutes or more. Granted, if JP and Gates can not go against NI at their place X might be in big trouble.

As a sidebar: I don't think I have ever seen Tre miss threes by so much, some shots were downright ugly so I hope it was only because he was tired. If you note Tre didn't take many shots toward the end of the game. Still X scored 81 points and held Marshall under their aver of 90+.

what was Marshall shooting from 3 coming in?

because man did some of their 3's look downright abysmal. and their offense is awful. literally looks like they play on a 15 second shot clock and just jack up the first open look they get. i don't know what they normally shoot, % wise, but i'm glad they were "off".

the problem they have is they are not a patience team in their O sets. Some of could have been the 1-3-1, they looked like they were trying to figure it out and their impatience grew speeding up their shots. Toward the end of the game when they made their run they passed the ball more and didn't just take the quick outside shot. Lucky for us Q made a couple drives in a row which got him to the rim. Unlike Scruggs, who also got to the rim but did not finish, which was the way Q played his first year. Now Q's problem is he sometimes drives too deep and has no where to go with the ball. While Scruggs is frustrating at times I see a potential to be a good PG when he gets rid of his fancy passing and becomes fundamentally stronger.

agree on this. not giving up on him but he and Harden are obviously the biggest disappointments up to this point. not sure what is holding Harden back. bball IQ? he looks lost when he's out there. Scruggs just doesn't take care of the ball very well and his decision making at this point, for a PG, is not very good.

hopefully he can improve on that. Harden seems to be following the path of someone where we hear the phrase "he's going to explore options elsewhere and we wish him the best"

[Anti-Homer]

We take the "W" and now on to UNI. I would ask all those MM contributors that have any inside scoop to let us know if you hear anything of substance about Naji. Hopefully some sleep and a deep massage will have him able to play but lower back/muscle issues are tricky. Also hoping that either JP or Gates can return Friday. Really need Naji and at least one of the other two.
As for Scruggs, my take anyway, is he will be fine but needs this early PT and coaching to settle in. Right now he is attacking and driving without any real purpose. I'm sure this worked wonderfully in HS, but D-1 defenses are played by stronger & thicker men who hedge more quickly. Paul seems to see an angle & slash, only to be cut off sooner than he anticipates, causing panic passes as well as a few traveling violations. Q made those errors early last season as well. I did like seeing Paul make a couple pull-up 12 footers last night, at least some glimmer of his potential. I am confident his learning curve will mirror Q's as the season progresses.
OK, on to UNI, no looking back. Here's hoping we get decent news from the training room......

Agreed on Scruggs. His shot looks ugly, but hopefully, it will improve over time. I also think he looks to drive often, whether there is a lane or not, and to your point, it's probably due to the fact that he made a living off doing so in high school. He has great athleticism, a big body, and has the potential to be a very good defender, I think he tends to dribble way too high and wide, which is why he gets a lot of balls swatted away, or he loses control of it.

[Anti-Homer]

He was a Pg in high school but he could over power and blow by smaller players. I think they like to have Q at the 2 so he can take it to the hoop. Scrugg’s poor decisions tend to lead transition baskets but so did Tre’s. Not having Gate’s D didn’t help either.

Speaking of Tre, I think his dribbling skills have regressed. He is a very defensive dribbler, especially when he doesn't have a p[ick to work off of. I'm afraid this will be his biggest hindrance to making the NBA. His deep shooting ability will get him many looks though. Hopefully, that will be enough.