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       #Post#: 45125--------------------------------------------------
       Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Checkmate Date: January 31, 2025, 11:19 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       UNC WILMINGTON (17-5, 7-2 CAA)
       Last Game: UNC Wilmington 83, North Carolina A&T 59 on 1/30/25
       Last Game vs SBU: Stony Brook 86, UNC Wilmington 78 (OT) on
       1/27/24; Clarke/TSM combined 43; TSM two late FTs to force OT
       Last 10 games: 8-2
       Checkmate Guess the Line: UNC Wilmington -14.5
       NET Ranking: Stony Brook 343, UNC Wilmington 105
       KenPom Rating: Stony Brook 334, UNC Wilmington 106
       KenPom Prediction: UNC Wilmington 79, Stony Brook 62
       Olaniyi GoFundMe:
  HTML https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-elijah-with-medical-bills-and-therapy
       Watch:
  HTML https://flosports.lin
       k/3O0u9uZ
       Listen: N/A
       Notables:
       6-1/185 gr G Donovan Newby 15.8 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.1 spg, .389 3-pt
       FG%, .870 FT%
       6-9/210 rjr F Khamari McGriff 11.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .671
       FG%
       6-7/210 jr F Noah Ross 8.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, .500 FG%
       6-5/205 gr G Bo Montgomery 8.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
       7-0/280 jr F Harlan Obioha 8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg, .620 FG%
       6-7/190 jr F Sean Moore 8.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.6 spg
       6-3/190 gr G Joshua Corbin 7.7 ppg
       This is an exceptional team we're going up against. I mean,
       they're unbelievably deep, unbelievably experienced, they
       defend, they rebound, they can shoot it ... it's hard to find a
       flaw in this version of Siddle's team, which I thought would
       play second or third fiddle to Charleston/Towson but that has
       not proven to be the case.
       Above you see seven guys, but that doesn't include Nolan Hodge
       (6.5 ppg), who's played 70 games for UNCW, or Greedy Williams
       (5.0 ppg), who played the final nine minutes in UNCW's win at
       Charleston and hit a season high 29 last weekend. So they're
       easily nine deep. I didn't think Newby would ever be "the guy"
       at UNCW, but he's emerged into that. You look around though and
       it could almost be anybody. Moore was a good piece for D-II STAC
       before transferring to FDU, which he helped to beat #1 seed
       Purdue in the NCAA tournament, scoring 19 points in that
       historic game. Montgomery had some big games playing alongside
       Octave (and Dorsey from Campbell) at Holy Cross last year, and
       Obioha, who's from Kansas and somehow ended up at Niagara, is a
       hulk inside alongside the rangier McGriff.
       For us, it's been cool to see O'Connor and Nahar develop a bit.
       O'Connor went into a shell a little bit offensively in December,
       but he's been forced to go into attack mode these last couple
       games. The percentages aren't terrific, but we've definitely
       needed him and you can see there's something there. He played
       all 40 minutes last night, and played 37 on Saturday. He's just
       too valuable a ballhandler to take off the floor, especially if
       he's seizing the opportunity to score. Nahar's going to have his
       gaffes on the defensive end, but he's also this big who can lure
       the opposing center out of the paint.
       Assists the last two games, ones that I'd argue were our two
       best all year: 33. Previous four games: 32. Yesterday, nine of
       our 12 threes were assisted. We've taken so many threes in
       isolation and/or off the dribble, and there was less of that
       last night. As Giannini said on the broadcast, Luster is more
       dangerous without the ball than with it, and we've done a good
       job finding him. Yes, in defeat, but for us to be successful,
       he's gotta be productive.
       I really wondered if we'd ever had a shooter like Luster, who if
       he took 100 threes in an empty gym, I feel like he'd make 110.
       But nope – not the best, at least numbers-wise. He's making 42.5
       percent of his threes, which would place him behind two
       Woodhouse seasons (.458 and .449), TSM last year (.435), Ricky
       Lucas back in 2007-08 (.430) and a notch above Dougher in
       2009-10 (.424). TSM and Dougher had comparable volume whereas
       Woodhouse and Lucas didn't shoot nearly as many. Thank goodness
       he's here.
       A couple other tips of the cap: Philip is playing his tail off
       defensively, and Snoddy's giving us everything he can.
       And they say that players get credit when teams win, and coaches
       get blamed when they lose. And we did lose, but still, Geno's
       had them ready the last two games.
       I really think we'll have our hands full with this one, with the
       waves of guys that UNCW throws at you, two days after emptying
       the tank against Charleston. Maybe we get Frey back if he was in
       fact out with an illness rather than something physical (I
       didn't notice whether he made the trip or not). If we gave both
       of these teams hell on this southern swing, that would really be
       something. Just seems like a lot to ask.
       #Post#: 45126--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Chairman of the Board Date: January 31, 2025, 12:28 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       lots of thoughts here- first, great post, and thank you.
       yes, looking better these days, and moving the ball.  wondering
       if injuries shake up the lineup and then unintentionally create
       chemistry.
       pass pass pass!  it works.  i'd say last night was an
       improvement, and clearly, it works for CoC.  why do anything
       else???
       perhaps CoC just got caught sleeping at home against lowly SBU,
       and when crunch time came- 6 minutes left in the game- they
       decided they wanted to win.
       nevertheless, we looked good for the most part.  i thought we
       shot well but left open some layups, couldnt keep up with CoC's
       passing (who can), and while the shots fell many were completely
       off balance (the 2s too, not just the 3s).  if you saw, you know
       what im talking about.
       i had the same exact thoughts on nahar- we have a use for him,
       mostly on offense, but yet not really in the paint, and he isnt
       quite the defensive presence of typical 6'10ers.  but, there is
       a role for him- as a shooter, and he draws bigs out of the key,
       sets good high ball screens.  so we have to use him effectively.
       
       i like the historical comparisons- but can we really compare
       shooting % back to the 07/08 campaign?  just a question; maybe
       we are starting to get so far from that, that the stats arent
       meaningful, due to the competition changing.
       o'connor has shown more confidence penetrating.  philip has been
       a good contributor, and he had an awkward fall last night that
       didnt look so good.  hope he's ok.
       side note- anyone notice when the CAA standings graphic came up
       last night, it's nearly an exact split of southern teams on top
       and northern on bottom?
  HTML https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/standings<br
       />(depending on how you qualify the philly area teams of course)
       #Post#: 45127--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Accelerator Date: January 31, 2025, 1:25 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I'm wondering now if the injuries are making us share the ball
       more and leading to better results.
       It sucks that Charleston spotted us 15 points and we still lost,
       but going into the game I expected a 30 point wallop like the
       2023 season finale. We got it to a 2-point game with 4 minutes
       to go and then of course we fell apart. I hate the transfer
       portal era so much because ideally Luster is a piece you want to
       build upon, but with everything being 1-year contracts it's all
       meaningless.
       #Post#: 45128--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Chairman of the Board Date: January 31, 2025, 2:50 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       yep, college sports is effectively over, unless you are one of
       the already-built brands.  we are simply the minor leagues, a
       feeder program.
       #Post#: 45129--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: sbu1991 Date: January 31, 2025, 3:09 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Chairman of the Board
       link=topic=1154.msg45128#msg45128 date=1738356601]
       yep, college sports is effectively over, unless you are one of
       the already-built brands.  we are simply the minor leagues, a
       feeder program.
       [/quote]
       Luster is almost certainly out-of-here once the portal opens.
       Frey and O'Connor may stick around another year. If Nahar hits a
       few more three's, he may be gone too  ;D
       #Post#: 45132--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Accelerator Date: February 1, 2025, 7:45 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       We were down 16 with five minutes left in the first half, but
       have cut it to 4. Luster had to sit with 2 early ticky tack
       fouls.
       #Post#: 45133--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Checkmate Date: February 1, 2025, 8:31 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       27 points from the freshman PG. Confidence is on a steep upward
       trajectory. A very welcome development given how we've struggled
       offensively.
       I think a lot of us thought these were both 20 point games,
       especially as we're shorthanded, but we played hard. It could
       have easily gotten away from us in that first half. And our legs
       didn't fail us late either.
       Three minutes from Nahar is puzzling.
       Now Towson comes into our building having won eight straight. At
       least we're seeing some signs of life.
       #Post#: 45134--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: Accelerator Date: February 1, 2025, 10:15 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Is it a coincidence that we're playing this much better with the
       injuries?
       We just can't expect Luster to do everything for us, opposing
       coaches are going to specifically make sure he doesn't get the
       ball down the stretches. It was a 4-point game with 8 minutes
       left. We're not dead for rights like our record would indicate.
       #Post#: 45135--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: OldSeawolf Date: February 2, 2025, 7:14 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Accelerator link=topic=1154.msg45134#msg45134
       date=1738469727]
       Is it a coincidence that we're playing this much better with the
       injuries?
       We just can't expect Luster to do everything for us, opposing
       coaches are going to specifically make sure he doesn't get the
       ball down the stretches. It was a 4-point game with 8 minutes
       left. We're not dead for rights like our record would indicate.
       [/quote]
       We're improving.....we're getting better, but we're not there
       yet.  No doubt, we're a better team with Octave out as we share
       the ball more.
       #Post#: 45136--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Game 23: at UNC Wilmington, 2/1 7pm
       By: sbu1991 Date: February 2, 2025, 3:00 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Definitely seeing improvement, but it's hard to win when your
       opponent is shooting over 50% from the field.
       O'Connor, Luster, and Frey should all be able to compliment one
       another on the court, so maybe SB might win another game or two
       during the season, and may even upset a higher seeded team
       during the tournament.
       O'Connor is legit. He may leave at the end of the year with
       Luster the way he's playing.
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