First off, I'd like to say that I simply cannot believe that we lost that game to the Dead Hookers (We don't love them Hose). Stackhouse really shit the bed last night and even though there were a lot of excuses, I thought he needed to call a timeout when we got down 5 (when that Church League short fat guard hit his first of 3 straight 3 pointers, which effectively ended the game). If Stack calls a timeout there, we probably get refocused defensively, he can get the walk on off the court, and we probably run a nice set with Filet getting to the basket. I think Stack deserves blame for handling that particular stretch extremely poorly and I hope he'd tell you the same thing.
As far as what happened. We shot it poorly and if we fix that, we blow them out but we let them in the game and then we got exposed because they had a matchup against our bigs. Being without our starting and backup center means we're screwed unless we out execute them and out score them. Last night our 3rd and 4th string centers had nothing and our offense was terrible.
Grades:
Coaching: F - Probably the worst coached game I've seen from Stack in 4 years and a game. He got frustrated with Colin Smith and Evan Taylor, deservedly so, but when he benched them, the Dead Hookers went on their run. You don't fire a coach after 1 game, but if Stackhouse wants to stay here, he really needs to turn this thing around immediately.
Filet Manjon - B - Despite having 19 points, in a game we really needed him to be the man in, he got 2 dumb fouls early and had to sit the most of the first half. He had some big free throw misses when we needed him to make. All of that said, he played with great effort and heart as he always does, but he got no help for sure.
Paul Lewis - C - Lewis was good early but when we needed him most, he got cramps. Lewis took a couple of really bad three's and overall, he can be better.
Evan Taylor - F - I want to be nice, but this young man deserves a lot of criticism. He and Colin Smith should be running suicides until they puke for the next week. Taylor, a 5th year senior, was as weak mentally as I've seen in a long time. He came out and played nervous basketball, and when his team needed him, he just shriveled up. I talk a lot about mechanics and technique in sports and why it's so important to have good mechanics and last night was a good example of why. When you have good shooting mechanics, you don't have many off nights due to nerves and even when you are nervy, you can rely on said mechanics. Evan Taylor has atrocious shooting mechanics, his shoulders are at least 45 degrees open (and his footwork was terrible) and you can tell that when he gets nervous like he was last night, he's going to struggle. I couldn't be more disappointed in him. I hope he has enough character to never let that happen again.
Colin Smith - F minus - I really can't believe how bad Colin was last night. He let his teammates and his coaches down last night. I sincerely hope that Colin goes on to have a fantastic career at Vanderbilt and beyond and he can look back at last night as a turning point. I believe in Colin as a player though, he's a hard worker, now he just needs to learn how to be a leader.
Tasos Kamateros - B - I like this guy's game and think he can help us as more of a complimentary player. Dude isn't a center, he's a stretch 4, and in that role, he'll do well. I don't think Stack had any intention of playing Carter Lang more than 5 or 10 minutes, but with Dort and VLube's injuries, Tasos had no chance physically against either of the Hose's centers so he had to. I think we will like Tasos and he's going to help win us some games this year.
Malik Presley - B - I like Malik's game but he wasn't meant to be in that position in his first college game. He was meant to be a complimentary / matchup dependent player, but found himself playing a lot because Taylor and Smith were so bad and Malik plays hard. I'm fine with this guy playing a lot this year, but he needs guys around him that can score and we were devoid of that last night.
Jason Rivera-Torres - C - Like Malik and others, he wasn't ready for the role he had to play last night. You build teams by creating roles and he was another victim of the two starters being out last night. We needed 12 points from him last night and he gave us 4. I'm not down on this kid though, he works hard on his skill and defensively, he got his hand on 6-7 balls, dude creates havoc on that end of the floor. I think he's going to be a very important player for us moving forward.
Carter Lang - B - As mentioned above, Carter was another thrust into a role he wasn't ready for and yet, did the best he could. Lang had 11 rebounds and 7 points, went to the line 8 times going 5-8 and used his body well on the defensive end at times. I really don't know what to make of Lang because I don't think he is ready for this level, but he cleaned up the boards defensively and got 3 offensive rebounds, so I'd have to say he played above expectations and certainly wasn't the reason we lost.
Isiah West - C - Isiah played fine, had a nice layup in the first half. He needs to put in a lot of work at the free throw line because he's going to be the type of guard that uses his body well and gets to the stripe both during and at the end of games so he needs to be an 80% guy. Again, he was asked to do more than what he was ready for...
JQ Roberts - C - JQ didn't show much last night other than he isn't ready for the speed of the game at this level and the skill required to succeed. JQ has a great body, big strong dude and a decent stroke, but I think he's one that will just need to have a big year working on his game on both ends. I do think he will be a nice player for us down the road, but I'd be kind of surprised if he played much of a role this season.
Overall, it was the perfect storm of injuries, poor shooting, poor coaching and giving a team life and belief that we didn't need to give them. They will be better than they were last year, but that's still a dreadful team that we lost to. The team played like they found out when we did about Lawrence and VLube being unavailable because we had several guys that found themselves in roles they just weren't ready for. We'll find out what kind of character these kids have though, they're either going to just roll over and quit or they're going to work harder and turn things around and never let that happen again.
Is the season over? Last night, it felt that way but injecting some logic into things, we will need to get to 10-3 or 11-2 in the non conference portion of the schedule. If that happens, all is good and then 9-9 or 10-8 in conference play gets you a bid. We know that for that to happen, we need VLube and Tyrin Lawrence back. I still think this team can get it's act together and have a good season, but they lost their margin for error last not, so they'll have to play tougher and better moving forward.
Lastly, one parting shot at Evan Taylor and Colin Smith. You let your team down last night but it's over, both of you need to man up and get your shit together.
As far as what happened. We shot it poorly and if we fix that, we blow them out but we let them in the game and then we got exposed because they had a matchup against our bigs. Being without our starting and backup center means we're screwed unless we out execute them and out score them. Last night our 3rd and 4th string centers had nothing and our offense was terrible.
Grades:
Coaching: F - Probably the worst coached game I've seen from Stack in 4 years and a game. He got frustrated with Colin Smith and Evan Taylor, deservedly so, but when he benched them, the Dead Hookers went on their run. You don't fire a coach after 1 game, but if Stackhouse wants to stay here, he really needs to turn this thing around immediately.
Filet Manjon - B - Despite having 19 points, in a game we really needed him to be the man in, he got 2 dumb fouls early and had to sit the most of the first half. He had some big free throw misses when we needed him to make. All of that said, he played with great effort and heart as he always does, but he got no help for sure.
Paul Lewis - C - Lewis was good early but when we needed him most, he got cramps. Lewis took a couple of really bad three's and overall, he can be better.
Evan Taylor - F - I want to be nice, but this young man deserves a lot of criticism. He and Colin Smith should be running suicides until they puke for the next week. Taylor, a 5th year senior, was as weak mentally as I've seen in a long time. He came out and played nervous basketball, and when his team needed him, he just shriveled up. I talk a lot about mechanics and technique in sports and why it's so important to have good mechanics and last night was a good example of why. When you have good shooting mechanics, you don't have many off nights due to nerves and even when you are nervy, you can rely on said mechanics. Evan Taylor has atrocious shooting mechanics, his shoulders are at least 45 degrees open (and his footwork was terrible) and you can tell that when he gets nervous like he was last night, he's going to struggle. I couldn't be more disappointed in him. I hope he has enough character to never let that happen again.
Colin Smith - F minus - I really can't believe how bad Colin was last night. He let his teammates and his coaches down last night. I sincerely hope that Colin goes on to have a fantastic career at Vanderbilt and beyond and he can look back at last night as a turning point. I believe in Colin as a player though, he's a hard worker, now he just needs to learn how to be a leader.
Tasos Kamateros - B - I like this guy's game and think he can help us as more of a complimentary player. Dude isn't a center, he's a stretch 4, and in that role, he'll do well. I don't think Stack had any intention of playing Carter Lang more than 5 or 10 minutes, but with Dort and VLube's injuries, Tasos had no chance physically against either of the Hose's centers so he had to. I think we will like Tasos and he's going to help win us some games this year.
Malik Presley - B - I like Malik's game but he wasn't meant to be in that position in his first college game. He was meant to be a complimentary / matchup dependent player, but found himself playing a lot because Taylor and Smith were so bad and Malik plays hard. I'm fine with this guy playing a lot this year, but he needs guys around him that can score and we were devoid of that last night.
Jason Rivera-Torres - C - Like Malik and others, he wasn't ready for the role he had to play last night. You build teams by creating roles and he was another victim of the two starters being out last night. We needed 12 points from him last night and he gave us 4. I'm not down on this kid though, he works hard on his skill and defensively, he got his hand on 6-7 balls, dude creates havoc on that end of the floor. I think he's going to be a very important player for us moving forward.
Carter Lang - B - As mentioned above, Carter was another thrust into a role he wasn't ready for and yet, did the best he could. Lang had 11 rebounds and 7 points, went to the line 8 times going 5-8 and used his body well on the defensive end at times. I really don't know what to make of Lang because I don't think he is ready for this level, but he cleaned up the boards defensively and got 3 offensive rebounds, so I'd have to say he played above expectations and certainly wasn't the reason we lost.
Isiah West - C - Isiah played fine, had a nice layup in the first half. He needs to put in a lot of work at the free throw line because he's going to be the type of guard that uses his body well and gets to the stripe both during and at the end of games so he needs to be an 80% guy. Again, he was asked to do more than what he was ready for...
JQ Roberts - C - JQ didn't show much last night other than he isn't ready for the speed of the game at this level and the skill required to succeed. JQ has a great body, big strong dude and a decent stroke, but I think he's one that will just need to have a big year working on his game on both ends. I do think he will be a nice player for us down the road, but I'd be kind of surprised if he played much of a role this season.
Overall, it was the perfect storm of injuries, poor shooting, poor coaching and giving a team life and belief that we didn't need to give them. They will be better than they were last year, but that's still a dreadful team that we lost to. The team played like they found out when we did about Lawrence and VLube being unavailable because we had several guys that found themselves in roles they just weren't ready for. We'll find out what kind of character these kids have though, they're either going to just roll over and quit or they're going to work harder and turn things around and never let that happen again.
Is the season over? Last night, it felt that way but injecting some logic into things, we will need to get to 10-3 or 11-2 in the non conference portion of the schedule. If that happens, all is good and then 9-9 or 10-8 in conference play gets you a bid. We know that for that to happen, we need VLube and Tyrin Lawrence back. I still think this team can get it's act together and have a good season, but they lost their margin for error last not, so they'll have to play tougher and better moving forward.
Lastly, one parting shot at Evan Taylor and Colin Smith. You let your team down last night but it's over, both of you need to man up and get your shit together.
