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Post by Trueaggie on Feb 7, 2010 10:52:18 GMT -5
This team could have been playing like this all year; look at the box scores to see the changes. For the first time this season Eaves played 5 key players the majority of the game; shot open shots vs. three pointers, and went inside more. It really isn't that hard to figure out; maybe WB had a conversation with Eaves. "Eaves thanks for listening and changing some of things you had been doing with the team."
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oleschoolaggie
Official BDF member
2009 Poster of the Year, 2009 Most Knowledgeable Poster
Posts: 24,207
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Post by oleschoolaggie on Feb 7, 2010 13:23:46 GMT -5
but jazz, for the first time, i saw good pressure being applied on defense. and i can't believe i actually saw "help and recover" defense being played when we were in man-to-man. and get this, we actually played defense in the proper stance for a change! i don't know if dsu played down or not, but we definitely played much better defense... Oleschool, I don't disagree about the intensity of the players but look at the boxscore stats. It is truly an aberration from previous games. A&T shot 56% from the field; 57% from the 3-pt line and a lousy 55% from the freethrow line. Del State only shot 7 freethrows while A&T shot 20. A&T only shot 14 times from the 3-pt line and hit 8 of them. Get this, Del State took 63 shots to A&T's 41 shots. Truly an aberration. rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201002060410I care more about how this team plays at this point because I believe if they play hardnose basketball and become more traditional and more fundamentally sound, this team can reach the semi-finals in the Tournament and possibly could reach the championship game if they don't face Morgan State before then. Of course the Aggies need more work before they get to that level of consistency of good play. i really think johnson has been the key. we're 3-2 since he returned to the lineup. and we should be 4-1 considering we should've won the wssu game. let's keep our fingers crossed that we're about to go on a run in february like we did last year. last year the turning point was when alston knocked down that game winning shot against hampton. this year i think the turning point has been that gawd awful wssu game. hopefully we'll take out umes tomorrow night. and then we go on the road to howard and hampton. if we beat umes and fair well on the road next weekend, then there'll still be some hope for a strong finish...
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Post by Bornthrilla on Feb 7, 2010 14:07:43 GMT -5
AGGIES SHOOT THEIR WAY TO VICTORY
GREENSBORO – A place that has been so good to the North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team over the last 32 years had suddenly become a house of horrors.
Not only were the Aggies missing numerous shots at Corbett Sports Center, but they were also falling behind by double figures which made life at home even scarier. In their previous four home games, the Aggies were shooting a combined 27 percent from 3-point range. In two of those games, they went to the half down by double figures.
But on Saturday evening, the Aggies put together their best shooting performance of the season to knock off the No. 2 team in the MEAC – Delaware State – 65-54. Senior Robert Johnson was the hottest of the Aggies as he knocked down all six of his shot attempts. He finished with 17 points, while Thomas Coleman added 10 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for his seventh double-double of the season.
“It makes a big difference when the ball is going through the basket,’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves. “I thought we got a 40-minute effort tonight. But it all comes down to hitting shots. If we’re hitting shots on a consistent basis, I feel like we’re going to be a tough team to beat in March.”
The Aggies shot 56 percent from the floor. Only once in the last seven games, have the Aggies shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range. They were 8-for-14 on Monday.
“I personally feel like this is the best we’ve played at home since I’ve been here,’’ said senior guard Tavarus Alston, who finished with 11 points and four assists. “We’ve had a lot of guys in shooting slumps. They snapped out of that tonight. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”
One of those players was senior guard Dwane Joshua. Joshua had connected on just four of his last 27 shots. But he finished with 16 points against Hornets and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range. The Aggies hit their first three 3-pointers against the Hornets, and took a 30-26 lead at the half.
The Aggies grew that lead to 49-36 with 9:22 to play on an Alston layup. Delaware State trimmed that lead to eight on a Brandon Baylor 3-pointer. Joshua answered with a three followed by another three from DSU’s Marcus Neal to cut the Aggies lead to 52-44.
But Johnson put the finishing touches on the Hornets with a 3-pointer that he initially hesitated to take. Johnson’s wise decision to take the shot gave N.C. A&T a 55-44 with lead with a little less than five minutes remaining in the game. The Hornets never got any closer than nine the rest of the way.
“At first I didn’t want to pull it,’’ said Johnson about the jump shot. “But I thought at the time we needed a basket, so I just shot it.”
Neal led the Hornets with 16 points, and Marques Oliver had 10 rebounds. The Hornets dropped to 11-9 overall and 6-3 in the MEAC. The Aggies are 9-15 overall and 4-5 in the MEAC. They play again Monday night at 7 from the now beloved Corbett Sports Center. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
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