MBB: Great South Athletic Conference

[mattgrubb]

the scots are not playing any defense at guilford right now

[mattgrubb]

36 to 27 GC at the half and the scots look awful

[hasanova]

36 to 27 GC at the half and the scots look awful

Hey, Matt.  I attended the Guilford/Maryville game tonight in Greensboro.  The Quakers took the second half 46-26 to complete an 82-53 win.  Sanborn and Henson led the way for GC, with 20 (17 rebounds) and 22, respectively.  Hernandez is a good player, but I don't think he'd faced anyone this season as big and strong as Sanborn.  I could tell Hernandez was getting a little frustrated, but finished with a very nice 16 points - Watson added 13.  All in all, the Quakers won this game on shooting percentage and rebounds (49-28).  The Scots were a better free-throw shooting team, but they only got 10 attempts.   I can tell Maryville will have a fine season, but I think they'd take their lumps from 4 or 5 teams in the ODAC.  Good luck to the Scots this year!

[mattgrubb]

Hasanova,
I agree.  I think the murvul team we saw last night is typical of the way they have been playing for the past 2 months.  Half of a game.  I will say they have a great coach and he will remedy this.  Sanborn is a beast b/c greg is a very smart player but he has not seen size like that and quite frankly did a poor job.  The scots motion was terrible and their defense was worse.  I have a great opinion about motion offense, if you can't shoot then you need to work together to get buckets and the scots have not been shooting well.
I wish the scots had tougher conference games and it is nice to see them playing a strong nonconference team but they are now 1-2 against ranked opponents.  The scots have the athletic ability but are not playing well which is unusual for a murvul team.  Quite frankly, I was embarrased last night.  I am sure they are using the words but, should, could, and would a lot today and those words are embarrassing.  i know my phone blew up last night after the game and it was hilarious but Randy and kendal will fix this and they have their work cut out for them.
I still think MC should go ahead and give Randy the contract for life like Duke gave Coach K.  the job should officially be his until he decides to leave.
Good Luck to Guilford this season.

[hasanova]

Matt -

Sanborn is a beast - that's why he double/doubles every game and why he was a preseason All-America selection.  His strength and hoops savvy have grown exponentially since he was a freshman.  With 2007 DIII POY Ben Strong, Sanborn and two tall guys (Stafford and Best) in the wings, Guilford's become Big Man U.

Fortunately for Guilford, and unfortunately for opponents, Guilford's not a one-dimensional team.  If you watched the video last night, you know Henson or Bonner or one of the younger guards can take over a game.  There's at least a three-headed scoring monster there and you never know which one will be the leader.  It starts, though, with a strong inside game.  Then, if the guards are also hitting, who do you defend?  

Maryville's a good team, they just didn't have the size and overall speed to compete last night against a Guilford team with deep and talented stars.  The Scots will be in the playoffs!

[scottiedoug]

I did not see the game or video (can't get broadband 7 miles from town!).  But if the people who are shooters can't do better than the Scots' shooters last night, then we've got problems.  Were Ben and Eryk and Wes and Jordan missing "good looks"?  Statistically, Greg did ok against someone like Sanborn but it was the lack of much from anybody else on offense that must have contributed to the thumping.

I agree with Grubby that the Scots need to play more teams like Guilford just to learn what the deal is for success regionally and nationally.  Not that RDL does not know this....

[hasanova]

I did not see the game or video (can't get broadband 7 miles from town!).  But if the people who are shooters can't do better than the Scots' shooters last night, then we've got problems.  Were Ben and Eryk and Wes and Jordan missing "good looks"?  Statistically, Greg did ok against someone like Sanborn but it was the lack of much from anybody else on offense that must have contributed to the thumping.

I agree with Grubby that the Scots need to play more teams like Guilford just to learn what the deal is for success regionally and nationally.  Not that RDL does not know this....

It was a mixed bag:  missed open looks, missed tough shots and good defense/rebounding by GC.  I know MC normally shoots more than 30%.  Watson and Hernandez probably accounted for over 40% MC's 63 shots - I know Greg was 6 of 12 and I think Watson was 4 of 14.  That means the rest of the team was 9 of 37 - don't hold me to that because I don't have the box in front of me.  I'm pretty sure MC was 6 of 26 on treys .... so all around, not a good shooting night.  It was a tough outing for the Scots, but I'm giving them a little bit of a break since they played Rust in Maryville on Saturday, Averett in Danville (VA) on Monday and stayed over to play Guilford in Greensboro last night.   That's almost an NBA-type stretch, but not unlike what they'd see in tournament play.  All in all, probably a good move by Lambert to let them know where they stand.

BTW, is #11 Coach Lambert's son?

[mattgrubb]

Yes
Wes is Randy's youngest son and one heck of a hard worker.  The guys will get it going with hard work.  But them even mentioning the words Final Four, i think they saw what a final four team looks like last night.
the good thing about a maryville team is that they always get better as the season goes along.

[coachwgh]

Merry Christmas to everyone. 

I hope you all get what you need, if not all that you want.

[MCSID]

Scots vs TWC tonight on radio at AM1470 WBCR and internet at: www.truthradio.tv.....GO SCOTS!

[Spencer Beaty]

The Scots won against an outmatched TWC, but it was not easy.  The Scots struggled in the second half and lost the lead in the second half.  Randy rallied the troops to a fifteen point victory, and I believe that a turning point occurred late in the second half.  I think the MC scots have come to realize that they shouldn't be thinking ahead.  Hopefully this will propel them to a great 2010.

[mattgrubb]

yea they have got to learn that there are not a lot of intelligent basketball teams on their schedule and that the top d3 teams are very intelligent.  I hope they are learning their lessons.
a W is a W and we will take it

[old_lion]

Nice Christmas Season for the Lion Nation ...

Piedmont wins tourney on Staten Island ...
http://www.piedmontlions.com/index.aspx?tab=basketball&path=mbball

Former Lion, Kris Watkins, in his first year as head coach at South Cobb high school, wins the title at prestigious Deep South Classic tournament ...
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/highschool/headlines/80389912.html

And for good measure, his Dad, Tony Watkins, also won the Christmas tourney at North Gwinnett ...
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/highschool/headlines/80390112.html

Happy New Year to all!

[Spencer Beaty]

The Scots had a tough game against Bryan College, but came away with the 85-82 win.  Jared was absent due to illness, but Jordan came up big, as did Wes, Eryk, and Brandon.  This was the best overall game I have seen the Scots play thus far in the season.  Hopefully they can continue this to a solid January.

[mattgrubb]

while the grubby one was not in attendance yesterday, he did listen to the sweet sounds of the the truth radio broadcast of the scots game.
In 2010 the scots need to live by this statement, if you are better than someone, then be better than them and let them know about it.