The Diehard Breakdown: WVU 96 Loyola-Maryland 47

[WvuDieHard]

Anytime a basketball team puts 5 players in double figures, they either A) have a lot of talented players or B) are playing smart basketball by finding the open man or C) getting a ton of offensive rebounds. I will take choice C as WV moved the basketball well and destroyed the opponent on the glass 62-22. Maybe 29 offensive rebounds helped get all of those players in double figures? It helped Adrian with 11pts and 9 boards and it helped Noreen with 13pts & 8 rebounds. Rebounding wins games and that is a statistical fact. Huggins has been preaching rebounding for the last month--well it got a fuck load of it tonight and the resulting score is evidence of that. This team wont get 62 rebounds in Big 12 play but getting 35-40 will get you a win on most nights. If this team learns to rebound against bigger opponents, they will compete against any Big 12 opponent you throw at them.

Scoring was balanced tonight with Dibo leading the way with 19, Henderson 16, Harris 14, Noreen 13, Adrian 11, and Williams with 8 pts. Ironically the point guard (Staton) was the leading rebounder for the Mountaineers with 10. WV shot 43% from the field on this night, well below the 50+% we have seen in previous games. The Mountaineers did hit 13-22 3's tonight so that in itself brought some people away from the basket and opened up the offensive rebound chances. One thing I have learned about College Basketball is that a good 3 point shooting team can break down a defense to the point where it gets of sync. I think that was the case here tonight because when you are running at the 3 point line you have a tendency to not block out as much. Again WV's assist -to-turnover ratio is astounding (19 assists/9 Turnovers). I don't know for sure but I would think that for the season WV leads the Big 12 in that category.

In conclusion, this poster was very satisfied with the 40 minutes this club came with tonight. The hustle and energy was there and it makes you excited for the upcoming games because we are going to win a few. Back at it the Mountaineers go on Thursday as they travel to Missouri for a Big12/SEC challenge game. This will be a monumental test for this young club. Will they be up to the task of pulling off an upset? Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your country road has taken you!

 

[DCWV4life]

You love hoops! Lol

Good stuff man.

 

[JIMKOON]

Anytime a basketball team puts 5 players in double figures, they either A) have a lot of talented players or B) are playing smart basketball by finding the open man or C) getting a ton of offensive rebounds. I will take choice C as WV moved the basketball well and destroyed the opponent on the glass 62-22. Maybe 29 offensive rebounds helped get all of those players in double figures? It helped Adrian with 11pts and 9 boards and it helped Noreen with 13pts & 8 rebounds. Rebounding wins games and that is a statistical fact. Huggins has been preaching rebounding for the last month--well it got a fuck load of it tonight and the resulting score is evidence of that. This team wont get 62 rebounds in Big 12 play but getting 35-40 will get you a win on most nights. If this team learns to rebound against bigger opponents, they will compete against any Big 12 opponent you throw at them.

Scoring was balanced tonight with Dibo leading the way with 19, Henderson 16, Harris 14, Noreen 13, Adrian 11, and Williams with 8 pts. Ironically the point guard (Staton) was the leading rebounder for the Mountaineers with 10. WV shot 43% from the field on this night, well below the 50+% we have seen in previous games. The Mountaineers did hit 13-22 3's tonight so that in itself brought some people away from the basket and opened up the offensive rebound chances. One thing I have learned about College Basketball is that a good 3 point shooting team can break down a defense to the point where it gets of sync. I think that was the case here tonight because when you are running at the 3 point line you have a tendency to not block out as much. Again WV's assist -to-turnover ratio is astounding (19 assists/9 Turnovers). I don't know for sure but I would think that for the season WV leads the Big 12 in that category.

In conclusion, this poster was very satisfied with the 40 minutes this club came with tonight. The hustle and energy was there and it makes you excited for the upcoming games because we are going to win a few. Back at it the Mountaineers go on Thursday as they travel to Missouri for a Big12/SEC challenge game. This will be a monumental test for this young club. Will they be up to the task of pulling off an upset? Have a great day Mountaineer fans wherever your country road has taken you!

Thank you for the breakdown. Was there a height advantage for WVU tonight, or were we just that much better at positioning for the offensive rebounds. It has been a weakness, but no matter the opponent, hunting down the rebounds is, as you said, the heart of winning consistently.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Thank you for the breakdown. Was there a height advantage for WVU tonight, or were we just that much better at positioning for the offensive rebounds. It has been a weakness, but no matter the opponent, hunting down the rebounds is, as you said, the heart of winning consistently.

Jim --Loyola was a guard oriented team and yes we did have a size advantage on them. This team is making a lot of 3's but remember the credo: you live and die by the 3 point shot. If you remember back in the Gansey/Pittsnogle days, I think (if I remember correctly)the most they ever made was 16 in a game. Making 13 tonight is taking me back to those days of the fundamental half court sets and the sharp 3 pt shooting. If WV keeps shooting the ball well and rebounds a little better, they will sneak up on a few teams this year.

 

[bbwvfan]

This year's team has taken care of the ball, shot the ball, passed the ball, and run offense very similar to a Beilein team. The nice thing with the guard play... although the starters didn't score as much last night...is they're more athletic than Beilein's.

Dibo has a sweet stroke...

Now the schedule is 'bout to get real...

 

[JIMKOON]

Jim --Loyola was a guard oriented team and yes we did have a size advantage on them. This team is making a lot of 3's but remember the credo: you live and die by the 3 point shot. If you remember back in the Gansey/Pittsnogle days, I think (if I remember correctly)the most they ever made was 16 in a game. Making 13 tonight is taking me back to those days of the fundamental half court sets and the sharp 3 pt shooting. If WV keeps shooting the ball well and rebounds a little better, they will sneak up on a few teams this year.

Having not done a lot of research, can you tell me if we have teams within the Big 12 that we will be at a dis-advantage from purely a height view? We were just bad in so many area's last year that I didn't pay attention to that during the season. Do we have a true "Big Man" this season? If I recall correctly, we don't have anybody 6'8" ish, or do we?

 

[Slaton10]

Wv looked good last night.......but honestly...Loyola looked terrible!.

But anytime you see a Wv team make fouls shots its got to warm your heart!!...:rollseyes:

 

[bbwvfan]

Wv looked good last night.......but honestly...Loyola looked terrible!.

But anytime you see a Wv team make fouls shots its got to warm your heart!!...:rollseyes:

Hell yeah! Making 13 3's is pretty sweet too!

 

[WvuDieHard]

Having not done a lot of research, can you tell me if we have teams within the Big 12 that we will be at a dis-advantage from purely a height view? We were just bad in so many area's last year that I didn't pay attention to that during the season. Do we have a true "Big Man" this season? If I recall correctly, we don't have anybody 6'8" ish, or do we?

Jim it is good to see you a little nicer over here on the basketball thread but we still love your passion for WVU athletics. Yes Texas, OK ST. Baylor all have bigger front courts. Devein Williams and Kevin Noreen is all you got. Williams is a Freshman and Noreen hasn't jumped more 6 inches off the ground since high school. So the point here is clear--we like size in the middle and it will be our ultimate demise at some point.

 

[JIMKOON]

Jim it is good to see you a little nicer over here on the basketball thread but we still love your passion for WVU athletics. Yes Texas, OK ST. Baylor all have bigger front courts. Devein Williams and Kevin Noreen is all you got. Williams is a Freshman and Noreen hasn't jumped more 6 inches off the ground since high school. So the point here is clear--we like size in the middle and it will be our ultimate demise at some point.

Has Huggins ever had a true bigman? I can't seem to recall any, yet going back to his Cincy days, he seemed to have fast teams with no real height. I have been impressed by many of his teams that seemed to lack height. Hopefully it serves us well this year too.

I am not a mean person until pushed by people. I attempt to keep my mind clear given my present condition, and I generally care less about how people speak of me, but I don't like no it all jerks. I speak my mind, I always have and it has served me well. It really makes no difference what we think, our opinions mean absolutely nothing to Luck, Holgerson or Huggins, their talk of respect of the fans ends when they are not in public, so I should not get myself all worked up. Doctor told my wife if I didn't calm down, the computer goes. I'm gonna leave this world fighting to the last breath for my family, my friends and my Mountaineers. I don't care what these other so called fans think, because their opinion means nothing more than mine.

 

[DCWV4life]

Hell yeah! Making 13 3's is pretty sweet too!

BB...I saw where we already have 6 games with 10 or more threes where we had 8 all of last year (sorry if not completely accurate on the road and cant check) Looks like we are shooting way better than last year, now we have to do it against some real good teams coming up.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Has Huggins ever had a true bigman? I can't seem to recall any, yet going back to his Cincy days, he seemed to have fast teams with no real height. I have been impressed by many of his teams that seemed to lack height. Hopefully it serves us well this year too.

I am not a mean person until pushed by people. I attempt to keep my mind clear given my present condition, and I generally care less about how people speak of me, but I don't like no it all jerks. I speak my mind, I always have and it has served me well. It really makes no difference what we think, our opinions mean absolutely nothing to Luck, Holgerson or Huggins, their talk of respect of the fans ends when they are not in public, so I should not get myself all worked up. Doctor told my wife if I didn't calm down, the computer goes. I'm gonna leave this world fighting to the last breath for my family, my friends and my Mountaineers. I don't care what these other so called fans think, because their opinion means nothing more than mine.

WV and good big man used in the same sentence is a rarity in and of itself. I consider a "Big man" to be a true center. When I came though Motown, it was Phil Collins '80. Junius Lewis was good before him. We have had Calvin Bowman '01, Dior Fisher '05, Phil Wilson 94' and Gordon Malone '97. That is really the best of what we have had in the last 35 years. Malone and Fisher has a season or two in the NBA.

Opinions are rampant on the internet and everyone is entitled to theirs, be it right or wrong. Contary to your belief, I am a fan and I have had "a prominent" WVU Coach listen to my opinion. Now, I tell it like it is always have, always will. Unfortunately, my opinion will never guide a coach making 3 million a year. Plus, I could be wrong, though in my mind, I am always right just as everyone thinks they are always right. And that Jim, is what makes the world turn. After 2 stents and heart attack, I just go with the flow.

 

[JIMKOON]

As my father continues to drift, I hope that none of you will take much that he says to heart. He is failing, faster than we want, but it will reach it's inevitable end. I have read much of what he wrote these last couple of weeks, and it hurts, because this is not the man we have all loved. I had never heard him cuss in my entire 40 years, neither in our home or his work.

I noticed that he fell asleep writing in another place. His breathing is more labored tonight. I am going to sign him off and take away the computer.

 

[WvuDieHard]

Get well JimKoon--I will be hoping for your recovery.