We've seen similar thoughts about his approach to the game, but this is from last week.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-dantoni-basketba... /

And his fashion sense...

The first team I remember that was known for shooting a ton of 3s was the 1986-87 Providence Friars coached by Rick Pitino with Billy Donovan and Delray Brooks. That team took 665 threes in 34 games. Their opponents took 349. Fast forward 30 years. We've taken 638 in 26 games. That puts us 5th in the MAC and 101st in the nation. Central has taken 983 to put them 3rd in the nation. Akron is 6th with 780. Only 3 teams out of 351 have taken as few as the 349 taken against Providence in 1987.

There's a line somewhere in my mind that says attempting on average 35+ three point shots a game isn't a good thing. I feel like often times, Ohio's 3pt attempts are generally within the offense. They also get into the lane a lot. 35+ a game seems like there have to be a dozen per game that are forced and under defensive pressure.

You would think the players and coaches would eventually stop and consider, "why are our players so wide open beyond the arc."

Or maybe the team is made up of players like that wannabe down at the Y that hits 1 out of 11 shots from 3, thinks he's the next Steph Curry because of that one made attempt, and keeps chucking.

I was ON FIRE once that first one went down. FEED THE BEAST.

Good piece on D'Antoni. I enjoyed it and thanks for sharing. He makes some good points.

Dan Dantoni has exceeded my expectations. I was very skeptical of the hire, but it has turned out well.

ITs hard to argue with the numbers, but I wonder about the quality of the research.

cbus cat fan, it's certainly possible that there were players who didn't make the flight at the airport waiting there to pick up friends who were on the plane. I had never heard that story that I can remember, but it strikes me as probably accurate. I'm sure that if there were such players at the airport that they would have become distraught beyond measure. I will have to admit that unlike some of my colleagues in the journalism department I did not go out to the airport that evening. The authorities were urging everyone to stay away until the situation was under control. I watched with horror the TV coverage. Several of our student reporters went to the airport, as well as a few faculty members. I was one two advisers of the student newspaper that year. We were both junior faculty members in our first year at Marshall. It was the senior faculty members who accompanied the students to that awful scene. I have often second guessed my decision not to go to scene immediately. I do not believe it was one of my finest moments. For the next several weeks after that I worked like hell to help the student reporters do the best job possible of reporting the many, many stories needed to cover all the aspects of this multi-faceted tragedy.

I'll take this opportunity to announce to the BA masses, some of whom may remember a previous post that I made about our efforts to raise $15,000 to endow a sportswriting scholarship at Marshall to honor Jeffrey Nathan, the sports editor of the student newspaper, who was killed in the crash, that I've just learned we are now within about $1,500 of reaching that goal. We have identified a few other donors who should put us "over the top" within the next few months. Jeff Nathan, by the way, was a native of Parkersburg and is buried there. It has been a long, long struggle to accomplish this goal, and we are now almost there. In a strange way this will relieve a burden that I've been carrying for a long time. I already feel a great sense of release. I hope I don't receive a bill from BA for psychological counseling as I sit here on the BA couch and babble on in Freudian fashion.

Ohio Cat Fan, a very thought provoking post. I do remember the gentleman told me that he and his brother, both of whom were still in high school, took the family pick up truck as far as they could go, before the authorities stopped traffic. It sounds like it was a chaotic scene and they could see the fire and smell the smoke.

As best as I can remember after they left the scene, they spotted a young black man and a young white man aimlessly walking along the road back to Huntington. They recognized them as a player and possibly a student trainer? Both young men had indicated that they had not made the trip--the player due to injury and the trainer due to lack of space. The gentleman told me that he and his brother feared for their safety and implored them to get into the back of the pick up truck, since they seemed in a daze. They took them back to campus. I am sure I am missing some more details, but that's what I remember.

OUcats82, I do have some of the materials you are requesting. Please PM me and I will give some names, publishers, etc.