11.11 - South Carolina

[Jimmy Lemke]

We're out hunting some Gamecocks.

The Milwaukee Panthers have already touched down in Columbia, South Carolina, and the team has practice today and a game tomorrow against South Carolina as part of Homecoming Weekend.

Frank Martin had a press conference on Wednesday:

Link: Frank Martin presser (http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110712aab.html)

[Jimmy Lemke]

Predictions:

Score?
MVP?
Things to watch?

[DKelly28]

Predictions:

Score?
MVP?
Things to watch?

I'll say Milwaukee 74, South Carolina 64. MVP James Haarsma with 15 points and 8 boards. Watch for how long it takes Frank Martin to blow his first gasket as South Carolina coach.

[Jimmy Lemke]

Good predictions, Derick. I too am wondering where Haarsma gets back on track scoring, hopefully it's today.

[Spirit of Bruce]

73-69 Milwaukee

MVP: Jordan Aaron

Watch for: Aaron's coming out party against high-major competition.

[CoachC]

The 3s are hitting today!!! Nice "heat check" by Aaron

[Jimmy Lemke]

Jordan Aaron is feeling it. This team really started playing well late.

[Jimmy Lemke]

Have to play much better in the second half. Can't expect Milwaukee to stay as hot or SC to stay as cold.

[Jimmy Lemke]

What does Milwaukee have to do to avoid the upset in the second half?

[Tyrunner0097]

More steady offensive possessions. SC will shoot better 2nd half, that's a given. No mental mistakes and clean ball handling.

[CoachC]

Cut down on turnovers, finish around the basket, and stop having 8 second possessions.

[BrewCityItalian]

no movement at all in the 2nd half...sloppy screens,,,individual play....

defense has become non existant

Jordan Aaron saving us right now


need to stop page and carrera

ball movement is everything here...

[BrewCityItalian]

that was a homer call,,,haarsma had the spot , should of been a no call

[BrewCityItalian]

need some inside buckets,,,

[BrewCityItalian]

got lucky on the transition steal,,,good bounce pass.....and got carrera his 4th

[BrewCityItalian]

huge 3 by bobo

[BrewCityItalian]

interior d has to improve here last 3 min

[BrewCityItalian]

south carolina ...yet to hit a 3 today...tells ya something

[CoachC]

Way too many quick and easy baskets given up inside....

[BrewCityItalian]

gotta hold defensively.....and watch carrera inside....page outside

[Kyle Rawling]

Tough one to lose. Frank Martin choked off the swing and we couldn't really get anything else going. Aaron and Bobo were great. That 4th foul on Haarsma really hurt as he had strung together a some great possessions on both ends. The lack of post presence may not be as noticeable in the Horizon, but it's concerning. Aaron was the only one slashing into the hoop and was totally outmatched, I still want to see what Evan Richard is capable of, we've seen flashes, but there may be a reason why Jeter isn't putting him in that spot.

[Jimmy Lemke]

The thing that really stuck in my craw was that following Carrera's fourth foul, they didn't attack him at all and he continued to be killer on both ends.

Made free throws would have won this game. Missed ones lost it. That's the difference. Again. I'm getting very tired of this narrative.

[Jimmy Lemke]

If Milwaukee plays like they did in the first half, they've got a shot to beat Davidson. If they play like they did in the second half, Davidson is going to win by 30. No room for mistakes against that team.

[illwauk]

If Rob Jeter ever expects to get out of Bruce Pearl's shadow, he needs to actually prepare his team for games like this and have them knowing they have to play well enough to beat a team AND their conference's refs. One good half of basketball is unacceptable; as was the teams lack of mental preparation, which showed down the stretch.

Still, f**k the SEC refs and the ignorant, bed-pissing Gamecocks "fans" who'll abandon them as soon as the new NASCAR season starts.

[Jimmy Lemke]

If Rob Jeter ever expects to get out of Bruce Pearl's shadow, he needs to actually prepare his team for games like this and have them knowing they have to play well enough to beat a team AND their conference's refs. One good half of basketball is unacceptable; as was the teams lack of mental preparation, which showed down the stretch.

Still, f**k the SEC refs and the ignorant, bed-pissing Gamecocks "fans" who'll abandon them as soon as the new NASCAR season starts.

I'm 100% with you on this one.

Looking over the box score, here is the big one:

17-24 2nd half FG by SC. Unacceptable. Can't let a team shoot 71%.

[lutzow10]

The biggest problem with us letting them shoot 71% is that almost all of those points were from shots in the lane, be it post plays, dumps, or driving on us. It honestly baffles me why we didnt clog the paint and make them throw up perimeter shots. They obviously knew they weren't hitting. I think they only attempted 2 3-pointers in the second half. One was a complete air ball the other was Kelm's "foul". Teams that want to win make adjustments. SC did after the 1st half. We didn't. And it cost us.

[MU/Panther]

Why is Evan & JJ getting no time?

[royalty414]

Ok....

I have let my anger about the loss subside, re-watched the game and came to a few conclusions.

1.) You never deserve to win when you shoot under 50% from the line.
2.) You should NEVER lose when you hold a team without a three-pointer for an entire game!
3.) I still have no idea what the roles of some of our bench players are. (JJ and Evan most notably)
4.) I hope our fan base never stoops to the basketball IQ level of South Carolina fans.
5.) Yes, the refs gave South Carolina life, but we were up too much to have that matter.
6.) How is it that we let Carrera go the entire second half and overtime without fouling out?
7.) Everybody but Bobo and (at times) Jay O were scared to get in the post.
8.) Kelm can't play 34 minutes, only take 3 shots and only get 2 rebounds. Unacceptable.
9.) We have no idea how to make a pass to a player making a back door cut. Austin tried it twice and resulted in 2 turnovers.
10.) Davidson Saturday. It's a must win for a chance at an at-large bid. A loss would almost certainly mean we have to win the HL Tourney to make it to the dance. This team will lose some games, but you can expect a Rob Jeter coached team to make a strong run for a regular season conference title come mid-January and look unbeatable for a stretch.

[Jimmy Lemke]

I'm having trouble figuring out what kind of player JJ is. It seems he's a taller, quicker Tony Meier that can block shots, but that's oversimplifying it.

With Evan, I think his handles still aren't there. He's better but it's not perfect, and it needs to be really good if he's going to be on the court a lot in this up-tempo offense.

[royalty414]

Evan doesn't look for his shot and when he does, like in the South Carolina game, he forces it. He had an open jumper and tried to turn it into a layup, drove into a double team in the paint and lofted up a bad attempt. That's not going to get him playing time.

I think JJ needs playing time in order for us to find out what kind of player he is. I want to say he's a faster Tony Meier with defensive instincts, but he hasn't produced in the first few games and now he's going to have to show more in practice in order to earn playing time.

I like Austin, but it's obvious he needs a lot more conditioning. It also doesn't help that it seems like he gets beaten by a good first step too easily. He's very much like Tobias Harris for the Bucks in a way that he has tremendous offensive ability, is streaky, but when he's hot, he's unconscious, but defensively, he's lacking. Luckily for him, what he's lacking in foot speed on defense he can make up for in size in this league most of the time.

Mitch looked quick with the ball last year, but when you have Kaylon to compare to, everyone looks fast. It was clear as day that Mitch really has no business handling the ball in close games because Bobo and Jay O are light years ahead of him in that department. I just don't feel comfortable having the ball in Roelke's hands in close games and I hope Jeter realizes that and won't be quick to pull a starter, as he sometimes is when they're turning the ball over.

[MU/Panther]

I think JJ's pass that got him a turnover is why he saw the bench.

[Spirit of Bruce]

Just a little observation on JJ: He won't be as valuable as he can be until he stops trying to shoot 3's like he's Jon Leuer. He needs to be around the basket.

[Jimmy Lemke]

He needs to be stronger offensively.

[lutzow10]

I honestly don't think he should be shooting 3's at all. Frankly I don't think he is that good at it. What I have seen from him that I like is his defense in the post and his post game. He should stick to that. Needs to work on passing though. I agree that awful pass he had was probably one of the reasons he didnt go back out there.

[Jimmy Lemke]

JJ was a 45% three-point shooter his senior year of high school. I think you can pretty much close the book on whether or not he can shoot.