Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Official Game 28 Thread: Western Michigan
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OhioCatFan
2/25/2025 9:18 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
As sobering reminder, in a recent game:

WMU 78, Miami 70
Kalamazoo, Mich.
University Arena

I know that Miami sucks, but still one must grudgingly admit that they are one of the better teams in the MAC this year, and they lost to WMU in Kalamazoo. If we don't bring our A game, we could easily lose.

Also, consider this we are 11-2 at home and 3-8 on the road. We are not exactly road warriors.

I do think we've got positive momentum and are better now -- as a team -- than we were a few weeks ago, so I'm hopeful. But a "W" is, unfortunately, not a given.
Nostradamus quotes himself, to point out his brilliant powers of prophecy.*

-------------------------------
*Like all good charlatans only when he's right.
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Casper71
2/25/2025 9:21 PM
Hell, look at the box score. I would take Vic over AJ C tonight. Again, if he is injured, he should be rested for the tournament. We are already in and if he’s not closer to 100%, we won’t win a game. Besides, Vic had as good a night as AJC tonight.
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MonroeClassmate
2/25/2025 9:23 PM
What a defensive let down allowing WMU to score more than the then undefeated in conference play Zips.

Where was the intensity?

Sheet the bed when Flashes take down Toledo for us.
Last Edited: 2/25/2025 9:24:05 PM by MonroeClassmate
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OhioCatFan
2/25/2025 9:24 PM
FormerMember wrote:expand_more
. . .this is the most disappointing Bobcats squad I've watched since I first came to Athens in 2009. . . .
Got you beat there. I've been watching OHIO basketball regularly since I was a high school junior in 1960, and this is the most frustrating, inconsistent squad that I can remember.
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giacomo
2/25/2025 9:32 PM
When I was on BobcatAttack
I asked the board what lies ahead
Will there be rainbows day after day?
Here’s what the board all said
Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be
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FearLeon
2/25/2025 9:36 PM
Casper71 wrote:expand_more
Again, if he is injured, he should be rested for the tournament. We are already in and if he’s not closer to 100%, we won’t win a game. Besides, Vic had as good a night as AJC tonight.
I will say that if we lose to Miami on Saturday…Clayton has no business playing the final week of the season. Lose to Miami and we will most likely finish 6th…hell maybe even 7th. If we have no chance at finishing third in the conference by winning the last two games then Clayton has to sit and rest for the tournament.
Last Edited: 2/25/2025 9:36:56 PM by FearLeon
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OhioCatFan
2/25/2025 9:49 PM
Its been my observation that AJC has been very inconsistent game to game in his 3 point shot accuracy most of this career. I don't think what we've observed recently necessarily has anything to do with his plantar fasciitis.

[I had this ailment a few years ago, so I'm sympathetic and understand the pain it can cause. It took me a few months to get over it. In a younger man, like AJC, I suspect the recovery time is often much less.]
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BillyTheCat
2/25/2025 9:56 PM
Casper71 wrote:expand_more
Newsflash… I have plantar fasciitis and a heel spur right now. I know it is painful. There is only one way for it to heal and that is to take a couple weeks off. If Clayton really has this problem, he should’ve been on the bench for two weeks so he was ready for the tournament. At this rate, he will never be 100%. Less than hundred percent he is just an Average MAC player.

By the way, we lost because our defense sucked and we can’t rebound.
Two weeks? Not even close for an athlete to perform. He’s getting no credit to try and fight through. He made some plays.
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BillyTheCat
2/25/2025 9:58 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
Its been my observation that AJC has been very inconsistent game to game in his 3 point shot accuracy most of this career. I don't think what we've observed recently necessarily has anything to do with his plantar fasciitis.

[I had this ailment a few years ago, so I'm sympathetic and understand the pain it can cause. It took me a few months to get over it. In a younger man, like AJC, I suspect the recovery time is often much less.]
Your alignment at 70+ trying to play pickle ball at the tennis center is not the same.
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M.D.W.S.T
2/25/2025 9:59 PM
Sheldon couldn’t hit a bulls ass with a handful of rice.

It’s malpractice having him out there at this point.
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Casper71
2/25/2025 10:05 PM
I could have added that Cortizone makes a world of difference too. And he might’ve made a couple plays but Vic did that too. I still say, resting, give him Cortizone, have him stretch, use ice and heat, and get better for the tournament. If that is the issue. I’m not sure anyone is 100% that is the case?
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FearLeon
2/25/2025 10:44 PM
M.D.W.S.T wrote:expand_more
Sheldon couldn’t hit a bulls ass with a handful of rice.

It’s malpractice having him out there at this point.
He’s on this team to make the 3 point shot. He’s missed a ton of open 3’s all season. He’s shooting 23% from 3 in conference play (11-47). It’s problematic and Boals is going to have a tough decision to make about Sheldon moving forward in 2025-2026.
Last Edited: 2/26/2025 12:13:13 AM by FearLeon
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Clown Ohio Fan
2/25/2025 11:10 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
. . .this is the most disappointing Bobcats squad I've watched since I first came to Athens in 2009. . . .
Got you beat there. I've been watching OHIO basketball regularly since I was a high school junior in 1960, and this is the most frustrating, inconsistent squad that I can remember.
That's saying something!
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Bobcat1998
2/26/2025 5:39 AM
Bobcat Tattoo wrote:expand_more
And Rob Murphy is a HORRENDOUS color guy.
Just had to chuckle and shake my head when he ended the broadcast by saying "Ohio came off a big win against Akron and gave the Broncos their best shot."
Or when he said we hit a bump with a few injuries but now we're completely healed. I would say that Hadaway's 10 and 5 every night is missed. Murphy was an awful coach and sucks on TV.
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Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
2/26/2025 7:19 AM
GraffZ06 wrote:expand_more
Fact: It's just life on the road with Jeff Boals! How many opposing players have had career nights against Jackson Paveletzke? Seems like it has happened a lot.
Jeff doesn't play defense anymore sadly. I fixed it for ya.

Find me a decent guard, and I'll find you a career night when Pavs comes to town.
The extent you reach to blame Pavs for things is pretty ridiculous.

First, how much time did Pavs spend guarding Wills last night? Outside of switches -- which are built into Boals' scheme -- basically none.

And if that had been the matchup, wouldn't that be an indictment of Boals? He has EJ4, Brown, Elliot, and Mitchell to throw at Wills, and you think he chose Pavs?

We're 358th in the country defending the three. Pavs isn't the only problem, my man. What scheme changes have we made?
Last Edited: 2/26/2025 7:37:13 AM by Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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greencat
2/26/2025 8:00 AM
Sheldon actually played more minutes than EE?? Not only did he miss every shot, he missed the front end of a 1-&-1 that was crucial. Coaching staffs use all sorts of complicated metrics but a simple look at the box score shows how ridiculous Sheldon getting 18 minutes was.

Actually the FT shooting from the entire team was really poor.
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GraffZ06
2/26/2025 8:01 AM
Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:expand_more
Fact: It's just life on the road with Jeff Boals! How many opposing players have had career nights against Jackson Paveletzke? Seems like it has happened a lot.
Jeff doesn't play defense anymore sadly. I fixed it for ya.

Find me a decent guard, and I'll find you a career night when Pavs comes to town.
The extent you reach to blame Pavs for things is pretty ridiculous.

First, how much time did Pavs spend guarding Wills last night? Outside of switches -- which are built into Boals' scheme -- basically none.

And if that had been the matchup, wouldn't that be an indictment of Boals? He has EJ4, Brown, Elliot, and Mitchell to throw at Wills, and you think he chose Pavs?

We're 358th in the country defending the three. Pavs isn't the only problem, my man. What scheme changes have we made?
Pavs isn't the only bad defender on this team for sure. He's just the worst of a bad bunch. Statistically, the next 2 worst guys in the rotation are EJ4 and AJC.

It's not all his fault, but it's also not a coincidence we've had about 12 guards have career scoring nights against us this year.

Sadly, Sheldon is actually a pretty good defender but he's still been a net negative this year because of his offensive shooting woes. His offense is so bad he's almost unplayable.

As for what we've done scheme wise? Well for one, we inserted E26 into the rotation. It looks like an obvious move now, but certainly wasn't when the move was made to replace Hadaway. If you recall we tried Evans first.

Second, we're playing a lot more zone than Boals traditionally likes. It's worked well for stretches and really mitigated our guards slow feet on D allowing dribble penetration. We've also played some match up and extended zone to mitigate the 3 ball. I honestly think this team is a much better zone than man team in general. Problem is it's just so hard to rebound out of for an already poor rebounding team that what we gain on stopping the drive and 3, we tend to give up in offensive boards.

Third, we've started picking up pressure full court and 3/4 court. Sometimes for steals, but mostly to eat into the shot clock and give us less time we have to defend in the half court.
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ohiocatfan1
2/26/2025 8:18 AM
FearLeon wrote:expand_more
Clayton mug on a milk carton again. If you are going to miss every 3, you better play defense.
Play defense? Not happening.
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FJC31
2/26/2025 8:39 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
Its been my observation that AJC has been very inconsistent game to game in his 3 point shot accuracy most of this career. I don't think what we've observed recently necessarily has anything to do with his plantar fasciitis.

[I had this ailment a few years ago, so I'm sympathetic and understand the pain it can cause. It took me a few months to get over it. In a younger man, like AJC, I suspect the recovery time is often much less.]
Your observation is correct. His contributions live and die by the 3, while being grossly inconsistent. We’ve got a handful of games left with him. It might sound harsh, but I wish the kid well and look forward to a different presence at the 5 next season.
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spongeBOB CATpants
2/26/2025 8:41 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Newsflash… I have plantar fasciitis and a heel spur right now. I know it is painful. There is only one way for it to heal and that is to take a couple weeks off. If Clayton really has this problem, he should’ve been on the bench for two weeks so he was ready for the tournament. At this rate, he will never be 100%. Less than hundred percent he is just an Average MAC player.

By the way, we lost because our defense sucked and we can’t rebound.
Two weeks? Not even close for an athlete to perform. He’s getting no credit to try and fight through. He made some plays.
I agree, PF is crippling and unpredictable, one day it could feel 100% and the next you may not be able to walk. The fact that he's out there shows his toughness and I commend him for that. Basketball has to be the toughest sport to play though this type of injury.
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FJC31
2/26/2025 8:47 AM
We’re just really bad on the road, as that’s been mostly the case over the last few seasons. No idea how that gets fixed.

We’re 4-11 on the road this season, with only one of those wins coming against a top 200 KenPom team. WMU is ranked 309th by KenPom, btw.
Last Edited: 2/26/2025 8:48:43 AM by FJC31
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Andrew Ruck
2/26/2025 9:01 AM
15-13 I can hardly believe it. The road performance this season is just startingly awful.

Wins:

Central Mich 185
Bowling Green 296
Buffalo 348

Losses:

Memphis 46
Akron 101
Kent 116
Illinois St 141
James Madison 147
Miami 162
Marshall 179
Eastern Mich 300
Western Mich 302

The Eastern & Western losses, and the home loss to Toledo...are far and away the most upsetting components of our disappointing season. If you flip those we are 12-3 and feeling OK. I'm comfortable in the Convo too but come on, how can we not win any of these damn road games? Unfortunately the MAC Tourney is in Cleveland, not the Convo.

I bet Akron is happy with the result, I really think they do not want to see Central in that 1/8 game. I still think they are sneaky good and apparently KenPom agrees and has us ranked basically even.

Don't have much to add about the game itself. Bad rebounding, bad outside shooting, bad defense. The usual pain points.
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Casper71
2/26/2025 9:15 AM
I agree too. Playing on shard surface with that injury has to be really difficult. If he can’t produce and is in pain he shouldn’t play. “Gutting it out” annd playing him is not necessarily smart or good in my opinion.
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Alan Swank
2/26/2025 9:18 AM
BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
Its been my observation that AJC has been very inconsistent game to game in his 3 point shot accuracy most of this career. I don't think what we've observed recently necessarily has anything to do with his plantar fasciitis.

[I had this ailment a few years ago, so I'm sympathetic and understand the pain it can cause. It took me a few months to get over it. In a younger man, like AJC, I suspect the recovery time is often much less.]
Your alignment at 70+ trying to play pickle ball at the tennis center is not the same.
That would be 80+ Billy.
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M.D.W.S.T
2/26/2025 9:34 AM
ohiocatfan1 wrote:expand_more
Clayton mug on a milk carton again. If you are going to miss every 3, you better play defense.
Play defense? Not happening.
Losing Hadaway was always going to be bad. Did not think quite this bad. But yes - when you have no inside presence and AJC is still playing his fav defacto 3 man spot, Hadaway was HUGE and our only threat. At this point you can just play shell defense against us and win. Who is gonna post up? Brown?
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