Like I said a week ago… It’s the Solich program in basketball. Good but seldom defeating the big dogs

Watched the game with a friend. He said OHIO wins if Evans sits and Wiznitzer had his minutes!

I liked Vic tonight with his 8 rebounds and a few easy baskets off nifty feeds. But he sees Simmons just brick two free throws and then lets him take it to the hoop and feebly foul him--he bricks the +1--of course. Vic should have cleanly body slambedx him into the bleachers. No way a stiff from the line gets to put up a close shot like that again late.

What's with Sheldon's basketball sense? He had time to dribble two more times--the light didn't go off till the ball was reaching the board.

James, the strongest guy on the floor should have had the final look. (he made two early thees) Brown is who Toledo would have probably thought would get it.

Good hustle. toledo made some really clutch HUGE shots.

Sheldon 4-30 from three in MAC play. Really need him to step up in the absence of Clayton.

His steal late vs Kent St. (helping from behind) was one of the biggest plays of the game. Added 8 points of win probability.

BRod lost his 3-point shot his Junior year.
Sheldon lost his 3-point shot his Junior year.

Somebody mentioned it earlier, why are Sheldon's legs going 10 different directions on his release?

How do you go from being one of the best 3-point shooters in the country to arguably one of the worst from one season to the next?

Something is off and the coaching staff can't fix it apparently.

Not good.

Huh?

Did I say Sheldon's shooting slump was Jeff's fault....no. I'm just drawing the comparison between BRod and Sheldon's Junior years as being very similar with 3 point shooting.

The coaching staff can't make the shots for Sheldon, but they sure can try and figure out why his legs are flying everywhere on his 3-point shot.

Toledo men's basketball coach Kowalczyk's contract extended through 2027-28 season
Photo of Kyle Rowland
Kyle Rowland
The Blade
krowland@theblade.com
May 24, 2024 9:44 PM
5
The University of Toledo has extended men’s basketball coach Tod Kowalczyk’s contract through the 2027-28 season.

His base salary will remain at $361,000 and marketing compensation will be $225,000, with several incentives that can increase his pay.


The salary information above for Toledo's coach was published in The Blade in May of 2024. Groce at Akron is making 650 K and is eligible for a 75K retention bonus this summer to push him to over 700 K. Last season Sendek at Kent was making 375 K and his extension runs through 2028-29. Boals just renewed his contract. Anyone aware of what he is making? I have heard over 800 K. If so, Groce and Kowalczyk are underpaid. Ohio's administration had no problem rewarding the basketball coach, yet the most successful football coach the last four seasons in the league was the 6th highest paid in the MAC. Yep that makes sense!

When you start conference play 4-30 from 3 it sure feels like he hasn’t made a 3 since HS. Sarcasm. In an earlier post, I said he was one of the best three-point shooters country last season.

Hope he can turn it around soon.

I give a lot of credit to Toledo. I know they aren't a good defensive team, but I really don't think they were leaving us wide open or giving us easy buckets much. Offensively they swished a lot of tough shots, seemingly every time we drew even or about even. It was really frustrating.

The jump ball call at the end was terrible. That was our ball and a timeout. I'm angry we were deprived of our chance at a buzzer beater there.

Crowd was pretty shitty for a big game on national TV. Student section getting worse as the season goes on. Take out the Brazilians and the football players and it was extremely paltry.

Credit Searls for what he does, but he is in over his head in this prominent role. He can get a few nice finishes every game, but he is not a natural rebounder and is not quick enough on defense.

It is clear Boals really does not like AJB's defense considering he subs him out at the end of the game any chance he gets to make a switch as the opponent has the ball. On the flipside he really likes Elliott's defense as he is the one he usually puts in for him.

Elliott has great rebounding ability for a guard and plays versatile defense. He definitely has some reckless drives to the hoop, probably moves he could execute in high school but he just gets eaten up. He will learn on this and get better. I think he is a well rounded excellent player.

Great game from JP & AJB of course. Flying down the court and getting to the rim effectively. And did a great job taking care of the basketball overall.

The disappearance of Sheldon's shot can not be overstated. This is yet another game where the outcome could have been different if he hit 1 or 2. I agree this is some mechanical stuff going on with his bottom half that needs to be addressed in practice. Reef's mid-range jumpers were not falling which was also big.

A win at Miami could make up for this. I know Miami has looked good this year but I still say the jury is out on them and our banged up Bobcats winning in Oxford may not be as far fetched as it seems right now.

AJB finally played with a little more aggression and contributed on the glass, ended up with 8 boards with 3 of those being offensive. We need that out of him on a nightly basis moving forward. We all know he can shoot but standing in a corner all night doesn't a whole lot for us, he was much more active.

It was obvious from the start of the game that our strategy was to run, which I think is our best bet. Toledo is pretty skilled offensively and matched our 3 point shooting but I don't see the lesser opponents being able to keep pace. Only 14 turnovers between both teams so a much cleaner game, we only had 5.

Points in the paint continues to be a concern, ended up being 40-40 due to us living in the key off the break and being ultra aggressive. Toledo struggled with transition defense.

All in all it was a encouraging game and I think we will be able to win against the lower tiered teams but going up against the top half of the league will be a struggle.

AJB sat for the final 9 minutes of the first half and played only 26 minutes and wasn't in foul trouble. Let me repeat...in one of the biggest games of the season...Boals played AJB 26 minutes when we are missing Clayton and Captain Chaos. How is this even possible? The guy needs to be playing 34 minutes against the Akron's-Kent's-Toledo's. You can easily say sitting AJB that long in the first half cost us the game. It's when Toledo went on its big run to end the half. I just don't get it and this is coaching malpractice to only play him 26 minutes in a game like this.

And AJB didn't get a shot off in the last 5 minutes of the game? But Sheldon got three shots.

Makes no sense.

Our roster, at full health, only really works if we're an elite shooting team. I get the vision Boals had -- between Clayton, AJB, Sheldon, and Pavs -- you had 4 guys who were pretty elite from 3 in previous seasons. Then you have others who are good enough to stretch defenses and keep them honest in Reef, Elmore, and Hadaway.

Two of those guys who were supposed to be elite (Pavs and Sheldon) are in shooting slumps, and while Reef and Elmore are outshooting their career levels, the volume of shots isn't making up for Sheldon/Pavs' struggles.

If his goal is to become the reverse Monroe, it's important to ruin each thread.