NDSU v. Montana State -- Chapter 2!

[BelgradeBobcat]

We ain't that good-but I think we've all figured that out by now.

NDSU played great and deserved the win. They move the ball around, and they move without the ball, and we spent all night trapping the guys who can't shoot so they could throw it to the guys who could shoot who knocked down wide-wide open threes all night. Then with about a 6 second dif on the shot clock we let them run the clock all the way down and give them a wide-wide open three for their winning basket. Durham hit a three to give us a little hope, but he missed another three at the buzzer.

Marvin Moss was something like 2-10 from the field and had 5 turnovers-but he was in there all night. How about we try Taylor Pratt a little more-he couldn't do any worse.

Dissly got some rebounds and a few assists-but he otherwise completely disappeared on offense-so why not put Edmonds out there a little longer?

San Jose State is bigger, faster and stronger than NDSU-but they're not as skilled-especially outside. But I'm afraid they're going to light us up tomorrow-we'll see.

I think it's going to be nip and tuck with this team making the Big Sky tourney. Unless somebody other than Jefferson (Moss) gets going.

[grizzh8r]

One more thing. With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, there is time to drive the entire length of the floor (see UCLA, 1994, final four, against UW, I think). Instead, Casey puts up a leaner 3 with 2 seconds left...... I was not impressed.

[BelgradeBobcat]

One more thing. With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, there is time to drive the entire length of the floor (see UCLA, 1994, final four, against UW, I think). Instead, Casey puts up a leaner 3 with 2 seconds left...... I was not impressed.

We completely stopped thinking when the clock went under a minute. We're behind by one and let them stand near half court and run the clock way down and then hit a wide open three. Casey then comes down and hits a nice three. NDSU left the door open by missing the front of the one and one and Casey puts the blinders on and shoots the three with time left and only a 1 point deficit.

[Swilly3224]

Marvin had a night to forget.....

2-11???

ouch

[94VegasCat]

NDSU was lights out all night. They couldn't miss it seemed.

Dissly is so streaky. Moss couldn't have hit the broadside of a barn, even if he was inside it. He was way off of his game.

Beye and Morris made it seem like the CATS had an inside game. Those two quietly kept the CATS in the game in the first half.

Bombs away. I guess if you keep throwing them up, they will eventually go in, see Ja' Ron Jefferson. (he did a great job getting the boys back in the game!!!)

[eagle43]

Moss played like crap tonight. He was letting #44, I can't remember his name, it might've been Andre Brown or something, anyways, he was letting him do whatever he wanted down low, I think the kid had like, 20 or so points. They need to get the ball to Al when he's posting up more, and I don't get why they would double down on a big guy and leave some of their best 3-point shooting guys open, it just made no sense. The refs were awful though, couldn't call ******. By the way, does anybody know what that ref just stopped play right when NDSU crossed half court and had them take it out from there? None of the people by me could figure it out.

[Helcat72]

We ain't that good-but I think we've all figured that out by now.

NDSU played great and deserved the win. They move the ball around, and they move without the ball, and we spent all night trapping the guys who can't shoot so they could throw it to the guys who could shoot who knocked down wide-wide open threes all night. Then with about a 6 second dif on the shot clock we let them run the clock all the way down and give them a wide-wide open three for their winning basket. Durham hit a three to give us a little hope, but he missed another three at the buzzer.

Marvin Moss was something like 2-10 from the field and had 5 turnovers-but he was in there all night. How about we try Taylor Pratt a little more-he couldn't do any worse.

Dissly got some rebounds and a few assists-but he otherwise completely disappeared on offense-so why not put Edmonds out there a little longer?

San Jose State is bigger, faster and stronger than NDSU-but they're not as skilled-especially outside. But I'm afraid they're going to light us up tomorrow-we'll see.

I think it's going to be nip and tuck with this team making the Big Sky tourney. Unless somebody other than Jefferson (Moss) gets going.

I agree with everything you said. Moss had a horrendous night, but #44 who he was playing against was very athletic "he definitely had hops!" and could put the ball on the floor and score going to the basket. He was much quicker than Moss. We did not have an answer for him. We had to double down on him inside and that opened up the outside for their shooters.

Dissly was again totally lost. He played decent defense but has no idea how to create a shot for himself...and Mick's offense doesn't help create anything for him because it's seemingly predicated on players having enough athletic ability and basketball skill to create their own shots. We have exactly one player who can do that...Jaron Jefferson. Dissly hasn't gotten one bit better since he was a freshman. Frankly I don't think he can...and this is not to "diss" him (excuse the pun) but if I was Dissly I would switch to football for the next two years (if he's tough enough) I think he could be one of the premier receivers in the BSC as a senior in two years. His talent is really suited for football...running flat out catching the ball and stuffing it in the basket...or over the goal post!

Beye and Morris were great tonight in the paint and were the reason the game was close. Durham played a gutty game. For not much natural talent he lays it all out there. He is the only starter who is actually getting better. He started to penetrate and create offense for Beye and Morris. When Moss got the ball down low he was double-teamed and threw the ball away time and again trying to get the ball to Beye or Morris in traffic.

We cannot win games with two offensive players...even if they both score 20 points a game. We need double figures from Moss and Dissly. Moss does not jump very well and cannot compete with an athletic forward. He played with his back to the basket in Jr College and has not developed a mid range or power game that can serve him against quicker taller forwards. I would bet that opposing coaches will let him shoot threes all night if he wants!

The dilemma is that we need Moss and Dissly for defense and we could use Miller and Edmonds for offense. Maybe we should "change on the fly" like in Hockey! Dissly and Durr can shoot if we create some shots for them, but I have never seen a play run for either one of them...or for anyone else specifically either! I think Mick should take a good look at the NDSU offense and see what his team could be if they would set some screens and run plays for their shooters.

Jeez I really rambled on! I just got home and all of this stuff just boiled over in my head all the way from Bozeman! I'll have to look at it tomorrow and see if anyu of it makes sense!

[Cat Pride]

Dissly was again totally lost. He played decent defense but has no idea how to create a shot for himself...and Mick's offense doesn't help create anything for him because it's seemingly predicated on players having enough athletic ability and basketball skill to create their own shots. We have exactly one player who can do that...Jaron Jefferson. Dissly hasn't gotten one bit better since he was a freshman. Frankly I don't think he can...and this is not to "diss" him (excuse the pun) but if I was Dissly I would switch to football for the next two years (if he's tough enough) I think he could be one of the premier receivers in the BSC as a senior in two years. His talent is really suited for football...running flat out catching the ball and stuffing it in the basket...or over the goal post!

I've been saying that for a full year now. The kid needs a swift kick in the hind quarters, what an athletic waste. I think Dissly would be better suited coming off the bench, but then again his fragile psyche may throw him into even further regression.

Grow a set Nick, make yourself a little more assertive out there would you

ps: Nick is not tough enough to play for a womens lacross team, less likely football. The kid shies away from contact on the basketball court with kids 3-4 inches shorter and 20 pounds less. What do you all think would happen when a 225 lb linebacker is gunning for him?

[Cat Pride]

One more thing. With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, there is time to drive the entire length of the floor (see UCLA, 1994, final four, against UW, I think). Instead, Casey puts up a leaner 3 with 2 seconds left...... I was not impressed.

And why is Casey taking this shot anyways? I give the ball to Ja'Ron, or insert Jaques Wilson for some quickness to get down the court. Casey is a roll player, not a starter, and definitely not a kid you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

[whitetrashgriz]

One more thing. With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, there is time to drive the entire length of the floor (see UCLA, 1994, final four, against UW, I think). Instead, Casey puts up a leaner 3 with 2 seconds left...... I was not impressed.

And why is Casey taking this shot anyways? I give the ball to Ja'Ron, or insert Jaques Wilson for some quickness to get down the court. Casey is a roll player, not a starter, and definitely not a kid you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

a role player who who played better than anybody in the second half. jaron had a couple nice buckets to get us in the game, but after he scores a couple, you can forget him passing the ball again. he had two charges called on him in five minutes, and it could/should have been 3! casey made smart decisions, penetrated and made good passes to the big guys. several of which went right through their hands. his defense was the best on the team, especially when it mattered the most. not to mention his 2 huge threes with under 2 minutes to play that kept us right there. what did he finish with? 10 points, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 3 turnovers? it was something like that which i would take every game. as far as the 4.4 seconds thing, it is enough time to drive the length of the floor. although i think comparing tyus ednys speed to caseys might not be fair. but let me ask you this. do you think that to win the game, casey wouldn't have WANTED to have a closer shot, or even a layup? let's try to remember the four players from ndsu that were zig zagging in front of him to eat time. good coaching on their part. far enough to not make contact, but close enough to get in his way. it's funny how even when casey is one of the best players on the court, some guys always find a way to come back at him for the reasons for a loss.

[wbtfg]

The big thing that our team needs to get over are the 6-8 minute lulls in the second half. We will be playing well, and then all of a sudden we won't make a shot for a 8 minute span and the other team will either catch up, or pull away...it usually happens at about the 15 minute mark of the 2nd half. If we can avoid these cold streaks that have been a problem this season, I think we'll do very well.

We had a big time cold streak from about the 18 minute mark to the 12 minute mark. During this time NDSU really pulled away. We have done this pretty much every game...If we could somehow figure out a way to avoid these, we would be a totally different team.

We actually put up a pretty good fight considering we were playing 5 against 4. Moss didn't show up on the offensive or defensive end.

What happened to dissly? I believe he went scoreless the entire second half (i could be wrong about that).

A lot of people were getting on Durham for playing too many people early in the season, but I really don't think he played enough people tonight. I would have like to see Edmonds play more at the 3, and move Dis to the 4 and take Moss out. OR just play Durr for Moss and Edmonds for Dis. Either way, Moss needed to be sitting.

Our trap needs work. I think we are using it too often, and for some reason our players aren't committing to the trap. They are pretty lazy and ineffective.

Free throws still need a lot of work. This game was another prime example of how every freethrow and every possession counts.

Good things: NDSU was making everything they threw up. Apparently they weren't a very good 3 point shooting team, but I don't know if I remember them missing a 3. They shot the lights out.

Casey Durham played VERY well defensively during our run in the 2nd. He caused 2 or 3 turnovers in a row down the stretch.

Big Guys. WOW...Al and Ted came to play last night. They were unstoppable. Al should have had a few more points, but Moss was shooting over triple teams (Al was wide open), and Moss also thought he was Brandon Miller tonight. He shot a ton of forced up 3s off the dribble. I don't know what the hell he was doing out there.

Jefferson: Typical night for him. A very quiet 23 (or so) points.

[wbtfg]

One more thing. With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, there is time to drive the entire length of the floor (see UCLA, 1994, final four, against UW, I think). Instead, Casey puts up a leaner 3 with 2 seconds left...... I was not impressed.

And why is Casey taking this shot anyways? I give the ball to Ja'Ron, or insert Jaques Wilson for some quickness to get down the court. Casey is a roll player, not a starter, and definitely not a kid you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

Jaques in there instead of Casey? Were you at the game last night? Casey was maybe the biggest reason why we made the run. I'm not a huge Casey Durham fan, but he won the game against Portland for us, and he damn near won this one for us.

It looks like someone has a case of sour grapes.

[Helcat72]

One more thing. With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, there is time to drive the entire length of the floor (see UCLA, 1994, final four, against UW, I think). Instead, Casey puts up a leaner 3 with 2 seconds left...... I was not impressed.

And why is Casey taking this shot anyways? I give the ball to Ja'Ron, or insert Jaques Wilson for some quickness to get down the court. Casey is a roll player, not a starter, and definitely not a kid you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

Jaques in there instead of Casey? Were you at the game last night? Casey was maybe the biggest reason why we made the run. I'm not a huge Casey Durham fan, but he won the game against Portland for us, and he damn near won this one for us.

It looks like someone has a case of sour grapes.

I agree... Casey has the balls to get in someone's face, and to take charge. I am really impressed with his progress. Jaron would take the final shot also, but he's not asked to bring the ball up the court so Casey gets the nod in that case when there is only a couple of seconds left. I don't know how much more you can ask of the kid!

[El_Gato]

But isn't it about time we start asking more of this team & this program?

Just wondering.

[Helcat72]

But isn't it about time we start asking more of this team & this program?

Just wondering.

I just don't konw how you do that given the booster base that supports Mick. I assume he gets some "constructive criticism" even from them...but we don't have any real influence...which is frustrating in itself.

[Cat Pride]

I wasnt at the game last night, and obviously didnt see the game Casey put forth. I dont question his desire and the defensive effort he puts forth every night, (imagine if Casey had Dissly's athletic abilities... ).

I just dont think he is the one who should be taking the winning shot at the end of the game... but maybe there are no other viable options.

I apologize for being a bit hard on Casey, especially since I wasnt there to witness the game... but it still seems strange to me that our best player and only playmaker (Ja'Ron) doesnt have the ball in his hands at this junction of the game.

[bozbobcat]

I figured I'd wait and post today instead of last night. These are some of my observations from last night, both negative and positive.

What is going on with the 3 point defense? NDSU had too many of them last night and it seemed like they couldn't miss. If a zone defense is being used, it needs to disappear. Maybe man-to-man would help.

Marvin, Nick, and JaRon did not have good nights. JaRon came on at the end. The truth is, we can't survive a night where all 3 of these players don't have a good night. And when is Nick going to wake up?

I thought Casey played relatively well. Al Beye and Ted Morris had very good production inside. Derrick Edmonds did ok, too. I think Jacques Wilson and maybe Taylor Pratt need more playing time.

The Cats rallied from 10 down in the second half to take a brief lead. That shows grit and determination and it was a good effort. But I think you only get so many buzzer beaters in a year. We've had to use a lot of them already.

Also, I have to give some credit to North Dakota State on playing a very good game. To me, they looked like the Bobcats of a few years ago, not much inside game and lots of 3 pointers. Anyway, let's look forward to San Jose St. tonight and hopefully a victory. The team is really starting to worry me. I have serious doubts that we'll wake up and make a 12-2 or 11-3 run in conference play.

[gocats77]

Do we really wnt Casey Durham taking the final shot in a tight ballgame with the following stats?
FGA: 70
FGM: 22
Pct: .314

There is only one player on the current roster with a worse FG percentage thank Casey and that is J. Wilson, a true frosh who has only played 26 minutes this season!

3 pt FGA: 55
3 pt FGM: 15
Pct: .273

There is only one player on the current roster with a worse 3 pt FG percentage than Casey and that is Marvin Moss, not exactly a 3 pt specialist!

Casey plays hard on defense and I believe he is an intelligent player but let's face it he is just not a Div I caliber player and that is not a knock on the young man! It is what it is!

[wbtfg]

Do we really wnt Casey Durham taking the final shot in a tight ballgame with the following stats?
FGA: 70
FGM: 22
Pct: .314

There is only one player on the current roster with a worse FG percentage thank Casey and that is J. Wilson, a true frosh who has only played 26 minutes this season!

3 pt FGA: 55
3 pt FGM: 15
Pct: .273

There is only one player on the current roster with a worse 3 pt FG percentage than Casey and that is Marvin Moss, not exactly a 3 pt specialist!

Casey plays hard on defense and I believe he is an intelligent player but let's face it he is just not a Div I caliber player and that is not a knock on the young man! It is what it is!

Were you at the game? It's not like we could call a time out to set up the final play. They missed a free throw, dissly got the rebound (w/ 4 seconds and no timeouts), got the outlet pass to casey who actally got a great look and it just didn't go in.

Jefferson was streaking down the right side of the court, but they had two guys next to him.

This game was not lost by Casey taking the last shot. It was a 1pt game, and really could have gone either way. NDSU shot lights out, and we didn't do a good job of getting to their shooters.

I ask again...were you at the game? Because I don't know how anyone there could have been pissed that Casey got the ball at the end.

[whitetrashgriz]

Do we really wnt Casey Durham taking the final shot in a tight ballgame with the following stats?
FGA: 70
FGM: 22
Pct: .314

There is only one player on the current roster with a worse FG percentage thank Casey and that is J. Wilson, a true frosh who has only played 26 minutes this season!

3 pt FGA: 55
3 pt FGM: 15
Pct: .273

There is only one player on the current roster with a worse 3 pt FG percentage than Casey and that is Marvin Moss, not exactly a 3 pt specialist!

Casey plays hard on defense and I believe he is an intelligent player but let's face it he is just not a Div I caliber player and that is not a knock on the young man! It is what it is!

Were you at the game? It's not like we could call a time out to set up the final play. They missed a free throw, dissly got the rebound (w/ 4 seconds and no timeouts), got the outlet pass to casey who actally got a great look and it just didn't go in.

Jefferson was streaking down the right side of the court, but they had two guys next to him.

This game was not lost by Casey taking the last shot. It was a 1pt game, and really could have gone either way. NDSU shot lights out, and we didn't do a good job of getting to their shooters.

I ask again...were you at the game? Because I don't know how anyone there could have been pissed that Casey got the ball at the end.

good post. just typical casey haters. all i have to say is that if we want to take a look at stats, then i think that it'd prove my point that caseys not the problem. to say that he isn't d-1 material because of his shooting percentage right now proves my point even more, because i have seen him shoot. i have seen this kid hit almost 20 threes in a row. he can shoot. so, if the argument is that he doesn't belong because of his shooting then i feel good about where he's at. anyone remember justin browns slump that lasted about 6 games in the middle of conference his junior year? did he not belong? it's such bs that caseys name get's brought up after every loss. casey plays harder than anyone on the team. if you have paid attention you have noticed that his shot selection has improved a lot this season. he looks to get others involved, does a good job penetrating, and plays harder on d than anyone, and takes care of the ball. if you ask me, once his shot falls, and he consistently gets us 10 or so a game, and makes all his free throws, he's a perfect guard at this level.