Jan. 17th-18th Games

[Wufan]

Definition of insanity - going to the ACES game against a better opponent and hoping Marty does something different.

I was embarrassed to drive 4 hours round trip to see the same thing again.
The team in white was not prepared to play. The game plan was the same as always, dribble round and hit DJ trying to curl in the lane. Have poor spacing so the decision to double is naturally made and there are no lanes to the basket.

Play man on D, with piss poor match-ups. Why wasn't Brzoja or Benzon on Baker? Instead it was Blake (slow) and Gibson/Brown (too small).

Play zone 3-2 to guard against the drive and 3, Mock could handle the boards.

The table was set-up nicely early in the game, FVV picked up 2 quick fouls, Baker picked one up early, yet there was no effort to try and get his second.

Was Boo Gibson hurt (I remember him twisting an ankle/knee late in the 1st) or was it another dose of playing well in the first half gets you pine time in the second?

**** edit, i just looked at the stats, Boo started the 2nd half and played 3:00 before sitting the rest of the game.

This team has the talent to be a solid 3rd place/fight for 2nd, but Thursday here we come.

queue 6th ace and his troll comments. I know they are coming.

I am interested in your opinion of player Simmons.

No one asked me, but my opinion is that since Marty has no PF, Simmons should be the third man in a three man rotation with Mislav and Wing starting at the two forward positions. Those two, when healthy, should play 60 mpg and Simmons about 20.

[pafan]

No one asked me, but my opinion is that since Marty has no PF, Simmons should be the third man in a three man rotation with Mislav and Wing starting at the two forward positions. Those two, when healthy, should play 60 mpg and Simmons about 20.

No one asked me, either, but I think your assessment is fair.
Brzoja is clearly the best ball handler and shooter (from all over the floor) of the three players. Also the fastest on defense.
Wing may be stronger than Brzoja and arguably fights better on the interior.
Simmons has the best long game by a smidge but is the least athletic, and in Marty's system a long game isn't really valued anyway.

[aceslifer]

Simmons continues to get plenty playing time, Wing was out injured 6 games, now Mislav out about 4 weeks, Wiley was redshirted and Coach Simmons refuses to play either Howard or Moore along Egidius at the same time. When on the court Simmons is usually 4th or 5th option offensively. Yet continues to average 8-9 per game. Look at the MVC sophomore class and you'll notice it would be difficult to name 5 player for an all sophomore team. Marshall is gone, Doyle is steady, Simmons-Ruder-Lynch!!!! When this class gets to be seniors, it may be the weakest senior class in the MVC for the last 25 years.

[rlh04d]

Simmons continues to get plenty playing time, Wing was out injured 6 games, now Mislav out about 4 weeks, Wiley was redshirted and Coach Simmons refuses to play either Howard or Moore along Egidius at the same time. When on the court Simmons is usually 4th or 5th option offensively. Yet continues to average 8-9 per game. Look at the MVC sophomore class and you'll notice it would be difficult to name 5 player for an all sophomore team. Marshall is gone, Doyle is steady, Simmons-Ruder-Lynch!!!! When this class gets to be seniors, it may be the weakest senior class in the MVC for the last 25 years.

That's interesting given how young the league was last year -- you would think it was going to be a great senior class later on, but Marshall leaving definitely changes that.

Morgan's had flashes for UNI. Ruder. O'Brien.

WSU doesn't have a single (non-walkon) sophomore on the roster, so I guess that's good news for us Also for Illinois State.

[UE-grad]

I am interested in your opinion of player Simmons.

I thought he played too many minutes last year (however with the roster I think he had to). This season, before the conference season started I said to myself, self - It seems like Blake was getting about the right amount of time - which I thought was in the 24 mpg range based on my recollection of his impact and time I thought he was in the game. I was shocked to see he was averaging over 33 mpg at that time.

He is at his best when he is aggressive at the offensive end (dunks against Ohio & UNI) & also kept the ACES in one game in the first half that was eventually won (Ohio maybe? I missed that one). He CAN drive the ball into the lane and hit the pull-up 8-12 footer.

When he is in hide/pass first mode he isn't a positive. His rebounding leaves a lot to be desired, but it is hard to get many when you're parked on the 3 point arc.

On defense I think he would benefit greatly if the ACES would play a zone. He is too slow to handle a guard, too short to handle a PF.

Ultimately I think he could be a Kyle Wiltjer type player while he was in Kentucky. He has the shot to bomb away from the outside and enough of a first step to keep his man honest on the drive.

Thoughts?

[UNIFanSince1983]

Simmons continues to get plenty playing time, Wing was out injured 6 games, now Mislav out about 4 weeks, Wiley was redshirted and Coach Simmons refuses to play either Howard or Moore along Egidius at the same time. When on the court Simmons is usually 4th or 5th option offensively. Yet continues to average 8-9 per game. Look at the MVC sophomore class and you'll notice it would be difficult to name 5 player for an all sophomore team. Marshall is gone, Doyle is steady, Simmons-Ruder-Lynch!!!! When this class gets to be seniors, it may be the weakest senior class in the MVC for the last 25 years.

Morgan is a stud at UNI. He may not have the numbers you want to see offensively, but he is an OUTSTANDING defender. He will get in foul trouble by being too aggressive sometimes. Overall, he can do it all on defense. Probably our best defender.

[uniftw]

Simmons continues to get plenty playing time, Wing was out injured 6 games, now Mislav out about 4 weeks, Wiley was redshirted and Coach Simmons refuses to play either Howard or Moore along Egidius at the same time. When on the court Simmons is usually 4th or 5th option offensively. Yet continues to average 8-9 per game. Look at the MVC sophomore class and you'll notice it would be difficult to name 5 player for an all sophomore team. Marshall is gone, Doyle is steady, Simmons-Ruder-Lynch!!!! When this class gets to be seniors, it may be the weakest senior class in the MVC for the last 25 years.

Morgan is a stud at UNI. He may not have the numbers you want to see offensively, but he is an OUTSTANDING defender. He will get in foul trouble by being too aggressive sometimes. Overall, he can do it all on defense. Probably our best defender.

He is to UNI what Johnny Morgan was a couple years ago.

The guy that is going to take the best offensive guard from the other team and be stuck to him like glue. LIkely not going to put up a ton of points (no one in UNI's system does) but is more than able to if needed.

[PantherSigEp]

After Cotton graduates this year I'd be confident in saying that Morgan will be the top defensive guard in the Valley. His speed, length and athleticism are a huge reasons the Panthers have caused more turnovers than assists this year (.70 opposing Assist/TO ratio in MVC play; .74 overall) and I'd love to see just how many are a result of Morgan being aggressive and stripping a ball or tipping a "safe" pass. I'd wager he's been involved in about 60-70% of our "steals" this year even if he wasn't the one who came up with it. The only real flaw in his game is that his aggressiveness has gotten him into foul trouble the past 2 years. It will be interesting to see him step up and take on a greater offensive role next year when Deon and Seth graduate and Wes will be our main scoring threat. Guys like Morgan, Lohaus and Koch will need to "grow up" fast and be willing to be a bit more selfish with the ball. Those 3 are all really promising talents at the moment.

[bleach]

Marcus Marshall isn't/wasn't a Sophomore.

[glm38]

Marcus Marshall isn't/wasn't a Sophomore.

He would be if the medical red shirt comes through for last year. My understanding is he can apply for that at the end of this year.