1/15 Duke at 7:00 PM on ESPN

[Notsince1985]

I think Coach L is a good coach. He's not one of the best in the nation. I think he excels with good assistants around him. I don't think he has that now. Maybe when Konkol gets fired at La Tech, we can bring him back to run the offense, because whoever is doing it now, ain't cutting it. I know Knokol was what L called the "offensive coordinator" and Huger was the "defensive coordinator" and L was more of the CEO type. Not sure if he needs to be more hands on, or get better assistants, but we're doing **** right now. Hopefully Lykes emerges as a Larkin/Rodriguez type PG, because our offense is crap without one.

I still think this team can make the NCAAT this year, but we're obviously not as good as the hype. Brown and Walker can't seem to have a good game, the same game as each other, and we need that. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if they both left despite what they're doing (or not doing this year). At this point, I don't really know what to say, except I'm just going to continue to watch and hope the team and L figure this out.

 

[406Cane]

Brown and Walker would be best served coming back for another year....same with Huell, though I think he's probably gone.

That said, people calling for Coach L's head at this point are idiots.

 

[tcgrad1014]

I think Coach L is a good coach. He's not one of the best in the nation. I think he excels with good assistants around him. I don't think he has that now. Maybe when Konkol gets fired at La Tech, we can bring him back to run the offense, because whoever is doing it now, ain't cutting it. I know Knokol was what L called the "offensive coordinator" and Huger was the "defensive coordinator" and L was more of the CEO type. Not sure if he needs to be more hands on, or get better assistants, but we're doing **** right now. Hopefully Lykes emerges as a Larkin/Rodriguez type PG, because our offense is crap without one.

I still think this team can make the NCAAT this year, but we're obviously not as good as the hype. Brown and Walker can't seem to have a good game, the same game as each other, and we need that. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if they both left despite what they're doing (or not doing this year). At this point, I don't really know what to say, except I'm just going to continue to watch and hope the team and L figure this out.

You're on the bashing train too? Coach L isn't a great coach anymore? A loss in Hawaii after crazy travel and no rest to a 15-3 NMSU team that isn't bad. Three conference losses. The first on the road to a GT team (after more crazy travel) that turned out to be not that bad. The second on the road to a very good Clemson team. The third to a Duke team that has at least 4 guys that should be playing in the NBA this year if not for dopey 1 and done rule. I'm very far from jumping off the ledge on this season.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

If you were coach we wouldn't do anything at all. You can't get better at anything, so why even practice at all? But you've hinted you have a gambling problem so I'm not surprised that you have issues with logically thinking through remotely complicated topics.

As usual, you miss the point while taking an immature personal shot. If we're weak in an area, it's because that area had not previously been addressed. It's past the point of "let's make sure we cover that in practice".

And a gambling addiction is nothing to joke about. It is a disease that destroys families. Don't mock it until you've suffered through two bouts of rehab.

 

[hotshot]

Don't think we're gonna do better. Coach L is the man. Only negative at all is his age but ... can't have everything.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Bottom line is the team isn't as good as the hype. They'll make the tourney but that's about it.

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

Is it "kunty" because Mullen actually accomplished more while at Mississippi State? Is that where I went wrong?

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Coach L has taken Miami to 2 Sweet Sixteens and won the ACC regular season and conference tournament in 2013 and he's done this all within his first 6 years of being here! He's done all this with inferior talent to the big boys in the ACC. He also reeled in the best recruiting class in school history last year. Realistically what more do you want from the guy?!?

LMAO.

In other words, he is Dan Mullen. Literally the same types of comments. "Inferior talent"...."best recruiting class in school history". And we're celebrating Sweet 16's the way Dan Mullen's teams celebrated bowl wins.

Someone tell me how Jim Larranaga is better than Dan Mullen.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Don't think we're gonna do better.

Why? Why is the University of Miami settling for being a program that admits it can't play with the big boys?

 

[Hemsleysalmons]

Don't think we're gonna do better.

Why? Why is the University of Miami settling for being a program that admits it can't play with the big boys?

Not shocked that you are a low life addictive gambler. Based on the contents of many of your posts I am sure you have other psychological problems and they have made you a miserable hate filled unhappy neurotic.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Don't think we're gonna do better.

Why? Why is the University of Miami settling for being a program that admits it can't play with the big boys?

Not shocked that you are a low life addictive gambler. Based on the contents of many of your posts I am sure you have other psychological problems and they have made you a miserable hate filled unhappy neurotic.

Notice how none of you can explain why we're happy being Mississippi State. My addictions and psychological issues have nothing to do with the fact that we have a ceiling with Coach L at the helm.

 

[Pentagon Cane]

Bottom line is the team isn't as good as the hype. They'll make the tourney but that's about it.

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

Is it "kunty" because Mullen actually accomplished more while at Mississippi State? Is that where I went wrong?

He did? Did Mullen's win a conference title? No. Did he finish in the Top 10? No. How many years did he have a winning record in conference? 1 out of 9.

Let's see. Jim Larranaga. 1 conference championship--regular season and tournament. 2 Top 10 finishes. 5 out of 6 years with winning conference records.

Question for Miami is whether Brown, Walker and Huell stay one more year. You add Vernon Carey, Jr. and our front court is something to reckon with next year and a legitimate Elite Eight team.

Quite honestly, we were overrated coming into the season with the expectation that Walker was going to play like a lottery pick as a true freshman. Last night was a bad loss, but I still think this team matures by March. We shall see.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Bottom line is the team isn't as good as the hype. They'll make the tourney but that's about it.

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

Is it "kunty" because Mullen actually accomplished more while at Mississippi State? Is that where I went wrong?

He did? Did Mullen's win a conference title? No. Did he finish in the Top 10? No. How many years did he have a winning record in conference? 1 out of 9.

Let's see. Jim Larranaga. 1 conference championship--regular season and tournament. 2 Top 10 finishes. 5 out of 6 years with winning conference records.

FYI - records in football and basketball are different.

Mullen and Lullenaga have the same history and reputation: name school with a mediocre history and a fan base that accepts their place in the sport. You people are thrilled that we have made it to the Sweet 16 twice. Embarrassing.

 

[Pentagon Cane]

You can say that bolded part in just about every Coach L season at this point. This is year SEVEN. Seven years. He is like a Dan Mullen at Mississippi State.

This is laughable and extra kunty. Let me know if you need help understanding why this is extra atrocious.

Is it "kunty" because Mullen actually accomplished more while at Mississippi State? Is that where I went wrong?

He did? Did Mullen's win a conference title? No. Did he finish in the Top 10? No. How many years did he have a winning record in conference? 1 out of 9.

Let's see. Jim Larranaga. 1 conference championship--regular season and tournament. 2 Top 10 finishes. 5 out of 6 years with winning conference records.

FYI - records in football and basketball are different.

Mullen and Lullenaga have the same history and reputation: name school with a mediocre history and a fan base that accepts their place in the sport. You people are thrilled that we have made it to the Sweet 16 twice. Embarrassing.

Don't change the topic. You were dead wrong with your comparison. The expectations for this year's team is very high. Duke went zone the last nine minutes and we got exposed. Also on Jim last night as I think he had the wrong mix on the floor. He clearly blew it last night. Lots more season to play out. Just need to peak the last 10.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Don't change the topic. You were dead wrong with your comparison. The expectations for this year's team is very high. Duke went zone the last nine minutes and we got exposed. Also on Jim last night as I think he had the wrong mix on the floor. He clearly blew it last night. Lots more season to play out. Just need to peak the last 10.

Nothing is wrong with my comparison.

Which team am I talking about: decent expectations, occasional big wins against established programs, too many losses to make a run at a title, never a threat to get into the top four.

Seriously, you can't tell which team is being described, Miami basketball or Mississippi State football.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

The team with high expectations that can't be compared to Mississippi State is about to be unranked.

 

[obfan]

Duke went zone the last nine minutes and we got exposed.

Thats a wrap folks.

Everyone knows this is the way to beat us because........................................we don't have a 1/2 court offensive plan

 

[JgDaCane]

Nothing better then being a Miami bball fan. Zero expectations & making the tourney is a great year. So peaceful.

 

[edge3241]

Coach L has spoiled us with the talent he has brought in and the program he has built here. But it's ok to criticize him on a message board and he deserves criticism after this game. We've had issues with zone defenses for years now. And I get we don't have good shooting which kills zones. But there is absolutely no excuse for our offensive approach against a zone. We play like we've never practiced it before. We either dribble or slowly pass the ball and don't move the defense at all. Then we either force a drive or force a bad shot because the defense is set and it's scrambling. This leads to awful shooting and 8 for 22 on lay ups because everything is contested. All we have to do is move the ball quickly around, pass to the guy in the middle, and make swing passes and this will make the defense scramble and will allow plenty of lanes for easy lay ups and wide open shots(those we may miss and aren't Coach L's fault).

It's time to fix this now. This team is too talented to miss out on the tournament. Moving the ball around against a zone is something than can be changed over night. If somebody doesn't want to move the ball around then bench them. It's time to start playing smart basketball.

 

[theibisrules]

Just my observation....But the team would be a ton better if they played more as a team. Coach L does a great job of making them a team, but the actual players have to be a team on the court. Too many loose pieces playing in different directions. Duke has the same issue from year to year. Too many guys want to be the man all the time. Miami has a quality hoops team though and that can't be taken away.

 

[HLSCane]

Coach L has spoiled us with the talent he has brought in and the program he has built here. But it's ok to criticize him on a message board and he deserves criticism after this game. We've had issues with zone defenses for years now. And I get we don't have good shooting which kills zones. But there is absolutely no excuse for our offensive approach against a zone. We play like we've never practiced it before. We either dribble or slowly pass the ball and don't move the defense at all. Then we either force a drive or force a bad shot because the defense is set and it's scrambling. This leads to awful shooting and 8 for 22 on lay ups because everything is contested. All we have to do is move the ball quickly around, pass to the guy in the middle, and make swing passes and this will make the defense scramble and will allow plenty of lanes for easy lay ups and wide open shots(those we may miss and aren't Coach L's fault).

It's time to fix this now. This team is too talented to miss out on the tournament. Moving the ball around against a zone is something than can be changed over night. If somebody doesn't want to move the ball around then bench them. It's time to start playing smart basketball.

Thanks for the intelligent post, Edge. I've read several today, most not on this board, calling for the firing of Coach L, blowing up the program, etc. Interestingly, what has been bothering me most about our play this year -- our unwillingness to push the ball and play aggressive O and D to take advantage of our athleticism -- was actually solved for the first 32 minutes of this game. Moreover, if we had just played even with Duke down the stretch, we would all be praising Coach L and this team, thinking that we had righted the ship.

Of course, by Duke going into a zone, it merely highlighted some of our major issues -- our inability to shoot from outside, as well as our lack of passing. Our lack of 3-point shooting is pretty obvious -- we currently rank 194 in the nation at 34.7%. Of course, if we look at ACC-only games, we were second to last in the league at 28.9% prior to last night! (We did improve somewhat last night by shooting 36% for the game.) Based on the blueprint that Duke gave the rest of the league last night, expect a lot of zone going forward.

Unfortunately, to your point, we are even worse moving the ball. Currently, we sit at #249 (out of 347) in assists per game at 12.8. In the ACC, we were 3rd from last (above only Pitt and Syracuse) at 10.5 assists per game before last night. Our 10 against Duke doesn't help matters.

Unless we can find a way to improve on those numbers, we aren't going to effectively attack a zone. And, to point out the obvious, you aren't effectively attacking a zone (especially a 3-2 zone) when you pass the ball among the 3 guards at the top of key for the first 20 seconds of each possession.