Hard to figure

[89rabbit]

I must say this year's Jackrabbit Men's Basketball team is hard to figure out.  They went into this weekend 25-3 ranked #2 in the Nation and in 1st place in the NCC.  The team has many impressive wins outside of the region.  They have beaten the #1 team from the South Atlantic Region Kennesaw St., they have beaten two #2s, Michigan Tech from the Great Lakes Region and the University of Philadelphia from the Northeast, and even a #10 from the Great Lakes Northern Kentucky.  Yet we looked bad on the road again within our own conf.  losing to the # 5 and # 6 teams within our own region.

This team is perhaps the most talented team that SDSU has ever put on the floor.  Not to take anything away from the 1963 NCAA Champion or 1985 NCAA Runner-Up teams, but you could make that argument.  When this team is on they blow people away, when they are off they look like just another NCC team.  I can tell that it frustrates Coach Nagy by listening to him on the radio.  He is a fantastic coach (look at the job he did last year when we had everyone hurt and he still got us to the NCAA tourney) and yet he is not sure what to do with the boys.

Maybe its an expectation thing, maybe they are not as good as we all think they are.  I for one have not lost faith, but I am very disappointed that we did not win the NCC Regular Season Crown with the team we have this year.  I hope Scott can get their heads on straight because from this point forward its playoff time and if they are going to be all that they should be the time to get it done is now.  Good luck Jackrabbits, I will be pulling for you all the way to the end of the journey!

There got that off my chest, maybe now I can get some sleep.

Go South Dakota State Univeristy!

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Hard to figure

I could not agree more about this team and its talent, but motivation has not been consistent when playing on the road. Four out of Five losses were on the road. In the past winning the road games got a championship and home court advantage in the playoffs.  Thats what makes this year different so far.  

The game has changed too much to compare this year with 1963.  Back then they were kind of on a roll after starting out real slow in the non conference part of the season.  They had one let down on the road at Morningside, but other than that they were consistent. They won at Vermillion, after both benchs joined in a brawl on the court. So it was different then as the refs calmed the guys down on both sides and the game went on without anyone dejected from the game.

I do think this team is probably the most talented in history. Its been a motivation problem and being consistently at a high enough level on the road to win.

Derrick Schantz had a horrible road trip. I doubt very much it was planned  that way by Derrick but he just did not seem to be able to do the things he normally does. Derrick probably cant figure it out either. Its got to be confusing and frustrating for the guys too. I dont think they wanted to lose.

I think this weekend was as tough as any in history and the hostile crowds may be a factor. In both Omaha and Vermillion, the opponents had a sixth player in the crowd.  I have never seen a more vocal and hostile crowd in Omaha like I saw this year, mostly students, but usually they have not been a factor in prior years but they were this year.  When Q got his fifth foul in Omaha, the students started the left-right routine and Q continued to stand after the game resumed so these rowdies could not shout "Sit Down".  The students were standing about 5 feet from the SDSU bench and at the end of the court which was different too.  Not as many as someplaces, but very noisey and obstructive. Maybe our guys could have been a little intimidated by this. I would hope not. The nice thing when in the parking lot a couple about my age saw my SDSU apparell, and said said good game to which I replied "Thank you". So there are lots of classy people in Omaha.

I just think our guys have had a hard time staying focused. Trying to adjust their shooting to the depth preception that they are used to at Frost plus both home teams played good defense which made for low shooting percentages. As a result, we did not get the good looks to make baskets fall.
I cant speak about the USD game since I heard the game on the internet, but UNO really played good defense besides having offensive punch.

I dont know either but at least these are some of things that I think that affected us this weekend.  We still have at least one more game to play and maybe the home court can restore us to where we were in terms of motivation.

[Jack]

Re: Hard to figure

This is a talented team. They have a 25-5 record. That's a great record. But, in the last 13 games they are 8-5. That's not how you want to go into the postseason. Nagy's frustration could be heard in his post game interview last night as he seemed to have a nervous cough during every sentence. I feel bad for him. The players win or lose games. They have to step it up. If they don't they'll just be another good Jack team. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Hard to figure

This is a talented team.  They have a 25-5 record.  That's a great record.  But, in the last 13 games they are 8-5.  That's not how you want to go into the postseason.  Nagy's frustration could be heard in his post game interview last night as he seemed to have a nervous cough during every sentence.  I feel bad for him.  The players win or lose games.  They have to step it up.  If they don't they'll just be another good Jack team.  I suppose there is nothing wrong with that.

Any team that can win 25 is a good team, but motivation is always a task for any good team. Its easy to be satisfied along the way and not  do that extra effort.  Just based on the Omaha game they just did not get that transition game going and they did not get any easy baskets. They worked for them all and sometimes there was a hand in the face that caused the shot to miss.
I think between now and Tueday a team meeting without the coaches would be a good idea.

 One neat thing that is still going on is Andy Moeller charging for the other end when a defensive rebound is picked up and that forces thee opponent from playing a half court game.
I think the guys need to get their minds back into the game 100 per cent.  Coach Nagy really cant do much at this point in the season. I think the guys have earned their scholarship money, but they need to think about the pride in winning the conf tourney, the regional and the National tourney. Lets hope the guys start wanting these things this week.