Comments on: Basketball: Hartford game thread

By: uh oh

uh oh — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:03:37 +0000

Dave – the Smith misses I was referring to were his misses from the line. I would have said he was 2 of 4 from the line, not 8 of 10.

Coming into the game, Smith was shooting 13 of 40 (32.5%) from the floor with zero 3PT FG’s, and only 15 of 25 (60%) from the FT line. Any basketball player under 6’0″ tall has to be able to do several things well:
1. break the press and initiate the offensive set thru superior dribble and pass ball-control
2. shoot, so as to keep defenders honest and not sagging off you
3. hopefully be able to dribble penetrate and kick to open man once help arrives to stop your penetration

because short guys are typically always at a disadvantage:
1. rebounding
2. defending

I have been harsh on Smith b/c he has not excelled at 1, 2, or 3, though he is possibly our best at item 1. Last night he showed great improvement in shooting, and that’s exactly what I expect with him. Perseverance! Shut me up! Gotta love it!

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:30:31 +0000

Uh-Oh…according to ESPN, Brandon Smith had ‘a’ miss from the field(3-4). As a DLS alum, I was glad to see him play well. People have been too harsh on him

By: Mitchie V

Mitchie V — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:20:51 +0000

Did Franklin play many minutes? His stats were pretty invisible.
Hope My Sore Feets is ready to go Sunday.

By: Jeff Faraudo

Jeff Faraudo — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:36:33 +0000

The crowd did get bigger. Hardly a soul there 10 minutes before tipoff, but considering the circumstances, not terrible. Still no Straw Hat Band, no cheerleaders, and a recorded national anthem . . . that was a little weird.

By: K1W

K1W — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:38:37 +0000

The “atmosphere” was all wrong with the Cal Band, Cheerleaders, and Rally folks not there… weirdly quiet at times. At least Oski made an appearance. I think the most significant thing about this game was Coach Montgomery getting #600, although it would have been a lot more memorable if it happen on Sunday, at StanFURD. I hope he can get started on his next 100 there instead.

By: uh oh

uh oh — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:13:55 +0000

Barely a crowd?
I thought there were a good number of people there, considering.

I was happy for Powers and Thurman to get on the board the way they did.

Glad that Smith hit those early shots, and then was also 8 of 10 from the line? Wow. I only noticed his misses! But his ball control still needs improvement. But, good game for him!!

Bak was not ready, but you can see how Monty is working Solomon over for improvement before he’s going to give him the honor of starting. Tough love for sure!!! Solomon gets yelled at more than anyone.

Crabbe had his best shooting game since maybe the first exhibition. He looked loose and comfortable again.

Franklin looks like he’s just having hardly any fun at all. A sad sight to see him looking so “down” emotionally. At least compared to early on. He’s just looking to catch, dribble, pass right now. I felt sorry for him.

Kamp is the undisputed leader of this team in my mind. He’s the Bears best player.

Gut made some ridiculous turnovers. And does he get credit for that 10 second call? He should.

Carter apparently feels more comfortable in his place on the bench – didn’t assert himself much again tonight.

Fun to watch Coach yell and chastise various players throughout the contest!

And now that you mention it, the band – oh, that’s why I felt I could hear everything all game and my nerves weren’t frayed. Let’s do that again! Uh oh, I guess that simply means I’m getting old!!!