DECKS
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Post by DECKS on Jan 16, 2010 22:23:34 GMT -5
So what's the problem? I think we have talent, but could it be the coaches game plan or what? i haven't seen the men play enough, so i can't really say for sure what the problem is. but from a distance, i would start with all of those 3's we shoot. as a rule, i just don't believe you can live by the 3... When analyzing why we lost a game you can indeed begin with how poorly we shoot three pointers (28%) and how poorly we defend the three pointer (50%). Everyone in the MEAC knows how to defend us!!
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Post by Bornthrilla on Jan 17, 2010 10:54:58 GMT -5
AGGIES ATTACK, BEAT BISON
GREENSBORO, January 16, 2010 – The biggest difference between Howard and the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team Saturday afternoon was championship experience.
Three-year starter Jaleesa Sams and seniors Tweet Cook and Lamona Smalley, owners of two MEAC regular-season championships, used their play to break open a close game in the second half. They went on to lead the Aggies to a 79-69 win over an up and coming Howard squad.
Cook led the Aggies with a career-high 29 points. Sams finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Smalley, who leads the conference in field goal percentage, added 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting. The Aggies have won 19 straight over conference opponents at home, and have not lost at home to a conference opponent since 2007.
The three Aggie veterans earned the win by executing the game plan – attack.
N.C. A&T (9-7, 4-0) opened the game with an aggressive pace that appeared to catch the Bison off-guard. The Aggies ran out in transition, knocked down open threes in transition and used a 17-0 run fueled by Cook’s 12 points during the run to take a 29-10 lead 10 minutes into the game.
But the Bison, who used freshmen Saadia Doyle and Portia Deterville to hurt the Aggies on the boards Saturday, would not make it that easy. Not only did the Bison use rebounding (out-rebounded the Aggies 40-28), but the Bison also slashed to the basket to get layups and open jump shots in the paint.
Defensively, the Bison’s matchup zone began causing the Aggies problems. When Deterville hit two free throws seven minutes into the second half, the Aggies lead had been sliced to one, 48-47.
“We weren’t moving the ball quickly,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “We really became stagnant and started standing around on offense. There were gaps in that zone, so my question was why aren’t we attacking? We practiced attacking their zone. We just we’re executing. Jaleesa and Tweet got us going again because they were attacking.”
Smalley scored six points and dished out two assists during a 12-4 run that gave the Aggies a 60-51 lead with 9:16 remaining. Cook, who had 18 first-half points, was silent during the first 11 minutes of the second half. But when she scored a layup on the break and hit a 3-pointer in back-to-back possessions, the Aggies lead swelled to 13 at 70-57 with five minutes to play.
“I just wanted to use my speed to get to the basket and finish,’’ said Cook who ranks 11th in the nation in 3-point shooting. “A lot of people look for me to shoot the three. So I have to use other aspects of my game to score.”
Howard dropped to 6-9 overall and 2-2 in the MEAC. Doyle led the Bison with 29 points and 14 rebounds. Deterville had nine points and eight rebounds with six of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. The Aggies host Hampton Monday night at 6.
On Saturday, the Aggies wore black ribbons on the right shoulder of their jerseys in honor of Hennie Floyd, the former executive assistant to the director of athletics at N.C. A&T. Floyd retired from the N.C. A&T athletics department in November and died in December. The women’s basketball team has dedicated the 2009-10 season to Floyd.
“She was our No. 1 fan,’’ said Bibbs. “Everywhere we played, if she and her husband could get there, they were there. We loved her, and she truly loved Lady Aggies basketball.”
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Post by Bornthrilla on Jan 17, 2010 10:58:28 GMT -5
SLOW AGGIE MEN START LEADS TO BISON WIN
GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team has had an eerily familiar theme to its games this season.
Slow starts are followed by rallies. But those rallies are matched with a small run by the opponent, putting the Aggies in situations where they are fighting an uphill battle for 40 minutes without getting over the hill.
Count Saturday afternoon’s game against Howard as another one of those occasions. Howard shot 66.7 percent in the first half, and then held on to defeat the Aggies 82-77 at Corbett Sports.
Calvin Thompson led the Bison with a career-high 33 points. Thompson was 9-for-15 from the floor and 12-for-15 from the free throw line. Tavarus Alston led the Aggies with 19 points and five assists. Nic Simpson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15.
“We’ve started slow so many times it’s starting to become mundane,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. “It makes it really, really difficult to win. We have to find a way to insert a decent starting group that can get us off to a decent start. We have to find a group of young players mixed in with veteran players that can play solid basketball at the beginning. Half the time we get ourselves so far behind that we put pressure on ourselves. We’re constantly in catch up mode.”
The Aggies difficulty in finding the right combination at the beginning is made harder by the fact that senior forward Robert Johnson missed his fourth straight game with a shoulder injury. Eaves said until Johnson returns he is open to a number of ideas, including starting both his point guards in Alston and Marc Hill. He could also start both centers in Thomas Coleman and James Porter.
Over the last four games, Eaves has started the game with a three-guard lineup in Simpson, Alston and Dwane Joshua. It provides him scorers, but Eaves said it isn’t his best defensive unit. Howard’s fast start illustrated that. Dadrian Collins hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Bison a 45-29 lead with 3:40 remaining in the first half.
“We did not rotate back,’’ said Eaves. “We did not pick up our people in transition. We did not play good solid defense. We gave them opportunities to hit shots and they did. We put ourselves in too much of hole and never got out.”
The Bison’s lead extended to 17 in the second half before Howard decided to cool off. The Bison missed five straight shots, and the Aggies took advantage. They went on a 10-0 run capped off by a Joshua steal and layup that moved the Aggies to within seven at 55-48. The Aggies fortunes changed on the next play, however. Collins was fouled on a made 3-pointer to set up a 4-point play for the Bison that pushed its lead out to 11 with 12:50 remaining in the game.
The Aggies fought back over the next six minutes. When Alston completed his 3-point play the Aggies found themselves down 68-64 with seven minutes remaining. “Marc Hill came in and gave us energy,’’ said Eaves. “I think that got Tavarus going. But over the first 30 minutes, Tavarus didn’t play well. When he starts slow, that really hurts us.”
After the Aggies run, the Bison used the “can’t get over the hill” portion of the Aggie theme. Howard continued to hit big shots, going 4-for-6 over the next four minutes, to keep the Aggies at a distance. After missing twice, Curtis White’s third attempt at a layup finally went through the basket to give the Bison a 75-68 with 2:40 to play.
“Our young kids want to do well, but they get down on themselves quickly,’’ said Eaves. “Our veterans are not playing well early, so it makes for a double whammy.”
Howard improved 4-14 overall and 3-1 in the MEAC. The Aggies dropped to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in the MEAC. The Aggies will try to get off to a better start Monday when they invite the Hampton Pirates into Corbett Sports Center at 8 p.m.
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Post by pj on Jan 17, 2010 19:15:07 GMT -5
This game took the wind out of corbett. I have not found out about what's going on in the Dawg Pound. Man, the gym just seemed confused. The Pound needs to come back!
Marc Hill impressed me by going to the basket. We must attack the zone. He was doing it and everyone else said 'ok' let me try it. And the team got back into the game. The need a Jason wills type player who will go to the hoop at any time!
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Post by thefriscotxaggie on Jan 17, 2010 20:04:36 GMT -5
PJ,
To many guys on this team wear white lab coats. No blue collar players except Porter and he certainally can't create his own shot.
The three first mentalty problems makes them even softer. Just my opinion.
But I sort think I understand why Eaves went to the current set. Rememeber last year how many times our post players would turn the ball over with a bad pass or mishandle the entry pass into the post.
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Post by faithfulaggie on Jan 18, 2010 2:49:38 GMT -5
This game took the wind out of corbett. I have not found out about what's going on in the Dawg Pound. Man, the gym just seemed confused. The Pound needs to come back! Marc Hill impressed me by going to the basket. We must attack the zone. He was doing it and everyone else said 'ok' let me try it. And the team got back into the game. The need a Jason wills type player who will go to the hoop at any time! Well I don't know about the rest of the gym but I know the Aggie Maniacs are currently on suspension but that shouldn't stop some of them from coming to the game anyway, I had some people telling me that the game was too early...sounds like a lame excuse for not supporting your teams to me.
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Post by Trueaggie on Jan 18, 2010 10:15:58 GMT -5
It may be a lame excuse; but I wasn't there because it was to early for me to make it. Add that with the team is boring to watch, no excitement in the gym, and tired of watching Eaves pull people out when they hit three shots in a row, and you have another no show at the game. The gym was more excitement in Corbett when we were 0 and 19. I was there everygame; I just don't understand this team. I wish them well; I will be at the game tonight and hopefully it will be more exciting.
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DECKS
Official BDF member
2008 Poster of the Year
Charter Member of the BDF
Posts: 10,425
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Post by DECKS on Jan 18, 2010 11:49:04 GMT -5
This is a crucial game for the men. I hope they will play to their strengths and leave the 3 pointers alone. They must also play better perimeter defense.
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Post by aggiejazz on Jan 18, 2010 12:18:13 GMT -5
It may be a lame excuse; but I wasn't there because it was to early for me to make it. Add that with the team is boring to watch, no excitement in the gym, and tired of watching Eaves pull people out when they hit three shots in a row, and you have another no show at the game. The gym was more excitement in Corbett when we were 0 and 19. I was there everygame; I just don't understand this team. I wish them well; I will be at the game tonight and hopefully it will be more exciting. You hit it right on the button. Yeah, Corbett was a lot more exciting when the men had won only 6 games than what it is now. This team has to win and the marketing department has to jazz up (no pun intended) the gym. Really today's game on MLK Holiday with kids and parents off at home, should have been a marketing bonaza. The game should have had marketing with family packs, low cost food at throwback prices, with lively music and dancing during halftimes and between games.
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Post by aggiedog on Jan 18, 2010 12:51:35 GMT -5
Eaves said slow starts has been a problem this year because of his inability to insert a decent starting group. After playing over 16 games and not know who your starting lineup is sends a strong message about his ability as a coach. I've never been a coach so maybe I"m being too critical of his dicision making. Also, I know he is dealing with Johnson being out of the lineup. If I'm being too critical please some of you coaches "reel me in" because I don't understand what is going on.
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Post by JeffAggieFan on Jan 18, 2010 13:21:16 GMT -5
Aggiejazz,
I agree about the marketing. I wonder how many people are going to show up for the Dudley vs Oak Hill game at the Colsieum today at 4:30
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Post by Bornthrilla on Jan 18, 2010 13:35:07 GMT -5
We have no marketing department right now. Not since Joya Cook left.
I figure this will continue to be the case until right before football season.
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Post by thefriscotxaggie on Jan 18, 2010 13:40:33 GMT -5
Aggiedog,
I guess he keeps playing with the lineup because outside of Alston and Coleman nobody plays consistant. He did elude to starting Porter and Coleman plus Hill and Alston. Fifth player would probably be Whitter or Upchurch. Hopefully we will see that tonight.
Although Joshua is the leading scorer he is a true sixth man type of player and seems to play very well coming off the bench.
At some point though you have to start the five you feel are best capable and stick with it.
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Post by aggiedog on Jan 18, 2010 13:57:03 GMT -5
Thefriscotaggie, thanks for the insight
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Post by pj on Jan 18, 2010 15:49:39 GMT -5
PJ, To many guys on this team wear white lab coats. No blue collar players except Porter and he certainally can't create his own shot. The three first mentalty problems makes them even softer. Just my opinion. Frisco, you are on it. Maybe it just me, but anyone with any sort of handle, can break down a zone that is shifting towards you (trying to recover). I have seen us get the ball inside (1-on-1), and we are looking to pass! Man I just yell 'take him'! Shucks, to me the play worked at that point. Every play does not get you a lay-up. Another thing, I did not think that Marc Hill's game was the greatest. But I saw him come in and attack the defense. the team also has to 'play closer to the basket whenever he comes in. He goes to the hoop. Watch him. He really broke up that Boston Celtic weave type vibe with everybody outside handing the ball off. He even would pass out to someone with an uncontested '3. To me he should start. Even T. Alston plays better when he attacks. Porter has been blocking more shots and doing the little things. Lets' face it, He is not going to dunk, off of one step. He needs a head of steam. >Coleman is different. He will dunk on you if we set him up. He will not get you twenty Pts. He will get you some rebounds and put-backs. He will block/alter about 8 shots during the night and get a few picky fouls. Really He is already the Greatest Shotblocker in our history. I just watch him 'look around from his man and take one step and get it'. >D Joshua is best at slashing ( just taking one dribble past the defender and drawing a foul/or jump-stoping). I can live without his 3' game, unless the shot clock is getting low or something. Even the open three has not been consistant. Maybe I was was spoiled by S Rush. Whitter has a nice stroke. Well tonight, Hampton must lose. Coppin is at the bottom of the league 0-3 & we are 1-3. We must win this game. Eaves will have the team playing better tonight. I would start Marc, Tavarus, Coleman, Porter & Duane. I would tell the ball-handlers to go to the hoop the first 5 touches. ( if they are not trapped). I would tell Porter to take the ball out after a made basket and every body runs (the first five touches). I would say to the first Freshman that gets in that 'I want a steal that first time your guy gets the ball, and I dont mind If you get a foul'.
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