MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[BigRedGrad]

Excellent points.

It is a catch 22 for Denison.  They are screwed no matter what they do.  It does all come down to the talent you have.  And I am afraid Denison is lacking in the talent department.

Good players make  good coaches.   

[ScotsFan]

Reading about taking fewer shots in a game reminded me of reading over the box-score for a local HS boys basketball game from Saturday night.  One of the Wooster area's best teams played keep away for an entire quarter in what turned out to be a scoreless 3rd quater.   Talk about an exiting brand of basketball?    After reading the article, it reminded me why I really would rather have my teeth pulled than watch HS basketball...

That is, until they implement a shot clock anyways...

[woosterbooster]

Maybe it's just that nearly everyone seems to get pumped up when playing Wooster, but I was pretty impressed with Earlham on Saturday.  I was expecting to see a horrible team, a team that had deservedly lost the fifteen straight games that they have.  Hence, in our little live courtside "pick the score" contest, I chose the Scots in a rout, 106-56.  My guess was that the Quakers would try to run, increasing the game's possessions, but be very unsuccessful at it and get killed.

After just five or six possessions, it was clear that I was way off base.  Earlham's defense was solid, even against Wooster's generally good ball movement.  Wooster, in their offensive sequences, would try four or five different attempts at isolating someone and it just wasn't working.  This was far different than when the Scots played Denison and open looks were readily available.

Although the outcome was never in doubt, Wooster could not score at will and the Quakers, who probably had a better than average shooting night, kept it an interesting game.  Big post Nick Welsh played well inside and a redheaded freshman, Mark Yost, did his best Devin Fulk impression, going 5-5 from behind the line.  Earlham certainly isn't a good basketball team, but they played hard and with some skill all game long.  It's very surprising to me that they've now lost 15 straight.

And, in my mind, they are the current record holders for having the longest shorts.  Individual honors, thanks to what appears to be a "one-size-fits-all" plan, go to 5'10" guard Leo Bautista, who had little or no gap between shorts and shoes.

[smedindy]

No shot clocks! I lamented when college went to shot clocks.

Nothing wrong with Keep Away if you can get away with it. At Western Boone High School, Howard Leedy's team went to the Semi-State by playing keep away effectively.

[smedindy]

Earlham's main issue is that they have no depth. They have just eight players that see any time, and if one is hurt or sick, they just trim the rotation to seven.

[ScotsFan]

Sounds like the Big Red gave them all they wanted.  But it certainly didn't help scoring 8 points in the final 14:30.  That isn't going to get it done.  If they can put it together for 40 minutes and not 25 they will get the W.

With Earlham and Oberlin at home gives them the best shot.

As poorly as Allegheny has looked lately, might we add them to the list when they make the trek to Granville?

[ScotsFan]

After just five or six possessions, it was clear that I was way off base.  Earlham's defense was solid, even against Wooster's generally good ball movement.  Wooster, in their offensive sequences, would try four or five different attempts at isolating someone and it just wasn't working.  This was far different than when the Scots played Denison and open looks were readily available.

I agree and I think Denison will have a tough time beating The EC judging from what I saw from both of these teams vs. Wooster last week.  If The EC plays with the same intensity they brought to Timken, there's no reason they should lose to Dension.

And, as far as those shorts go...  Who is feeding these kids the notion that it looks good???   I thought the Quakers looked like a bunch of clowns.  They were closer to capris than they were shorts...

[David Collinge]

And, in my mind, they are the current record holders for having the longest shorts.  Individual honors, thanks to what appears to be a "one-size-fits-all" plan, go to 5'10" guard Leo Bautista, who had little or no gap between shorts and shoes.

I saw the opposite of this on Saturday from Allegheny's Andrew Barker.  Now, he wasn't exactly dressed like Jerry West, but his shorts were a good 6" above his knees, which is so out of place in today's game that it looked odd.  AC's road jerseys are dark blue (or whatever; color-blind so don't sue me) but have wide yellow panels on the sides which has a very slimming effect.  Put that together with the short-ish shorts, and the big mop of curls atop Barker's 6'9" frame, and you end up with someone who looks like a little boy that grew two feet since the time he got dressed.

[David Collinge]

Sounds like the Big Red gave them all they wanted.  But it certainly didn't help scoring 8 points in the final 14:30.  That isn't going to get it done.  If they can put it together for 40 minutes and not 25 they will get the W.

With Earlham and Oberlin at home gives them the best shot.

As poorly as Allegheny has looked lately, might we add them to the list when they make the trek to Granville?

Earlham's main issue is that they have no depth. They have just eight players that see any time, and if one is hurt or sick, they just trim the rotation to seven.

(Based on one viewing only) Allegheny is also thin.  They play nine guys, but really depend almost entirely on Bill Babe and George Raftis, after whom there's a big drop-off.  That's not enough to win with any frequency, but it might be enough to do in Denison.  Babe is a deadly shooter when he's open, and I don't think either Jeremy Stuhlfauth or Brian Elder will be able to keep up with Raftis. 

DU's games this week (at Earlham and home vs. Allegheny) are winnable, but if Pat Sullivan is still out, I wouldn't make them the favorite in either.  Furthermore, by most accounts, the Big Red's best performances this season were at OWU and at Wabash, and perhaps the second half of their home game vs. Witt.  That suggests to me that they get up for the "big" games better than the ones against the other second-division teams. 

[wally_wabash]

No shot clocks! I lamented when college went to shot clocks.

Nothing wrong with Keep Away if you can get away with it. At Western Boone High School, Howard Leedy's team went to the Semi-State by playing keep away effectively.

That sounds downright unwatchable.  I can't imagine it being fun to play in a system where the goal is to win by not playing.  Yuck.  It can't be fun for fans either...if I'm going to watch somebody dribble around for minutes at a time without shooting, the Washington Generals better be on the floor and somebody better get hit with a bucket of water. 

[smedindy]

No shot clocks! I lamented when college went to shot clocks.

Nothing wrong with Keep Away if you can get away with it. At Western Boone High School, Howard Leedy's team went to the Semi-State by playing keep away effectively.

That sounds downright unwatchable.  I can't imagine it being fun to play in a system where the goal is to win by not playing.  Yuck.  It can't be fun for fans either...if I'm going to watch somebody dribble around for minutes at a time without shooting, the Washington Generals better be on the floor and somebody better get hit with a bucket of water. 

The kids had fun because they won. And the fans were into it because they knew they could beat the big boys that way. To each their own...

[Li'l Giant]

That is, until they implement a shot clock anyways...

There are no shot clocks in HS hoops in Ohio? Whoa.

That sounds downright unwatchable.  I can't imagine it being fun to play in a system where the goal is to win by not playing.  Yuck.  It can't be fun for fans either...if I'm going to watch somebody dribble around for minutes at a time without shooting, the Washington Generals better be on the floor and somebody better get hit with a bucket of water.

This. It's the opposite extreme of the Grinnell-style "system" and in that vein is just as close to "real" basketball in my humble opinion. I mean, to just sit there and watch the clock run isn't a sport or a strategy. It's a cop-out. Seriously, there's a reason a shot clock was created. Hoops without it is boring.

[woosterbooster]

AC's road jerseys are dark blue...but have wide yellow panels on the sides which has a very slimming effect.

Allegheny is also thin.  They play nine guys...

Ok, so, what you're saying is, if the Gators eliminated the yellow panels, they would have more depth? 

[smedindy]

Seriously, there's a reason a shot clock was created. Hoops without it is boring.

Oh, I love it when the youngin's come over and talk the newfangled talk...

Actually, the conspiracy theorist in me says that the Villanova / Georgetown final game was a reason the shot clock was approved. You know, there was a big time upset AND WE JUST CAN'T HAVE THAT! Georgetown was supposed to win and be the best team of the 80's.

[woosterbooster]

I watched some terrific high school basketball last weekend; 13 games worth.  Girls, with no shot clock.  The only game that was absolutely horrible, the first game on Monday morning, was when the opponent of one slow-down team decided that they could play even slower.  In a game with eight-minute quarters, whichever team had the ball with two minutes to go in a period was playing for the last shot.  I began wondering why I got out of bed, and moreso, why these two teams did.

I grew up playing and watching basketball without a clock, and loved it.  But I'm over it.  I feel the 35-second clock provides ample opportunity for a team to run an offense and try to get a decent look.  If they can't, then the defense has done their job and gets rewarded with either a tough shot or infraction.