Post Tulane thoughts

[dmarsh1985]

1. Shoot FT and 3 pt % like that for the rest of the year and see what happens.
2. Loved the rotation tonight, everyone contributed, but going forward...still unsure (I need to trust coach more)
3. Still wish Shaq could shoot the 3
4. Twenty wins did not seem possible in Dec and in a new league
5. We beat the teams we are supposed to beat in conference, true growth and great focus
6. Now have 3 toss up games, need 2...take it one game at a time and don't give up, weird things can happen
7. Worried about depth, suprised Dew did not play above all

 

[youngblood223]

Originally posted by dmarsh1985:
1. Shoot FT and 3 pt % like that for the rest of the year and see what happens.
2. Loved the rotation tonight, everyone contributed, but going forward...still unsure (I need to trust coach more)
3. Still wish Shaq could shoot the 3
4. Twenty wins did not seem possible in Dec and in a new league
5. We beat the teams we are supposed to beat in conference, true growth and great focus
6. Now have 3 toss up games, need 2...take it one game at a time and don't give up, weird things can happen
7. Worried about depth, suprised Dew did not play above all

I believe Dew suffered a head injury in the ECU game. Perhaps a minor concussion, probably just being careful with him tonight.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Shaq's missed 3s looked better than Marquels recent attempts. I think he will have a big game knocking down 3s in a game this year.

 

[TUBballJunkie]

I was wondering what happened with Dew last game...

I agree that Shaq's shot LOOKS good.

Smith's FTs looked great tonight too. Seems like he dawdled around less than usual once he got the ball.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[TU_BLA]

We sit right behind the basket TU shoots at second half. You could see the focus and fire in Smith's eyes. If we could somehow play like this night in and night out no one in AAC beats us. Defense was very good. Only Dabney hit anything of consequence and some of those shots were crazy difficult. Our guards passed the ball great. Our off the ball movement from the bigs was great and even Mr. Steed sort of disappeared in the 2nd half when he realized he wasn't going to influence the outcome of the game.

I like Smith's game when he is playing with this confidence. Tough matchup for anyone. He's going to eat Shaq Goodwin alive on Saturday.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[TUBballJunkie]

Both Smith and Shaq are two of the most tremendous overall athletes I've ever seen in a Tulsa uniform.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[youngblood223]

We might be ready to peak. We didn't peak in that 10-0 start, that was the best part about it. But look at that box, tons of guys giving us production. We weren't getting it from many sources in the 12 game streak. We relied so heavily on Woodard and Shaq. Tonight it was Woodard and Smith... Other nights Swanny and Smith... The balance is finally showing up.

 

[Steve Zissou]

When Smith is balanced at the line he makes more than he misses. Sometimes he starts to lean back/fade away on his free throws and he throws up bricks.

 

[TU_BLA]

One more thing was the aggressiveness and quick move to the basket by Dre. No hesitation. And it wasn't that out of control aggressiveness we have gotten used to with Dre.

I would like to see him stand strong in his space. It's OK to try and draw a charge, but the knee bend to collapse before contact is getting old and refs are going to call him for a block every time because they see it as flopping. When Sparks drove the baseline toward the basket...you see Dre flex his knees and start falling backwards before any contact. Stand tall, stand strong, arms up. If you don't move and stand with a firm foundation, not every drive is going to knock him over and the guard is going to have to pick himself up off the ground a little battered.

 

[Tu Geo]

My thoughts are that if Tulsa shoots the three at that high of a percentage and hits its FT's like it did last night, it is a recipe to beat Memphis on Saturday. Cincy at home and perhaps SMU on the road.

We will see. Tulsa is a very quick team we get a lot of fast break buckets.

I love our style of basketball. Fun, fun!!!!

GO TU!!!

 

[youngblood223]

Originally posted by Steve Zissou:

When Smith is balanced at the line he makes more than he misses. Sometimes he starts to lean back/fade away on his free throws and he throws up bricks.

You are 100 percent correct.

 

[youngblood223]

Originally posted by Tu Geo:
My thoughts are that if Tulsa shoots the three at that high of a percentage and hits its FT's like it did last night, it is a recipe to beat Memphis on Saturday. Cincy at home and perhaps SMU on the road.

We will see. Tulsa is a very quick team we get a lot of fast break buckets.

I love our style of basketball. Fun, fun!!!!

GO TU!!!

Probably safe to assume we aren't going to shoot 75 percent in a half Saturday, but if we can shoot the ball around 45 percent, make our free throws... I believe we will win.

 

[barrister1602]

Originally posted by TUBballJunkie:
Both Smith and Shaq are two of the most tremendous overall athletes I've ever seen in a Tulsa uniform.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

Eric Coley says wassup.

 

[HuffyCane]

Originally posted by barrister1602:

Originally posted by TUBballJunkie:
Both Smith and Shaq are two of the most tremendous overall athletes I've ever seen in a Tulsa uniform.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

Eric Coley says wassup.

Agreed. I'll go with Don Royster too. He could put all three of them on his back and still dance the finale of La Bayadere

 

[TUBballJunkie]

Yup, Coley is up there as well. Tis why I said two of the most. I'm not sure I would add anyone else to those three.

Is Don Royster a real person? People I've seen in a TU uniform only dates back twenty years.

 

[youngblood223]

Originally posted by TUBballJunkie:
Yup, Coley is up there as well. Tis why I said two of the most. I'm not sure I would add anyone else to those three.

Is Don Royster a real person? People I've seen in a TU uniform only dates back twenty years.

I know we had a guy named Royster. There's a dude on this board that you should ask about this... LTUspots...Best TU hoops historian on this board.

 

[HuffyCane]

He played in the mid 80s. He had a field goal percentage in the upper 80s. Barnett never let him get more than 4 feet from the basket, but he could dribble and shoot with the best of them. In terms of strength to muscle mass, an absolute freak. We never really saw what he could do until academics got him, as I recall.

 

[youngblood223]

Originally posted by HuffyCane:
He played in the mid 80s. He had a field goal percentage in the upper 80s. Barnett never let him get more than 4 feet from the basket, but he could dribble and shoot with the best of them. In terms of strength to muscle mass, an absolute freak. We never really saw what he could do until academics got him, as I recall.

I've only seen video of him. I have no idea what his contributions were, but he was in a ton of highlight reel footage that I had several years ago.

 

[TU_BLA]

Whoever mentioned Smith's deficiencies at the FT line is spot on. Watched the Temple game over and he bails on the shot early. I think this is also why all of Curtis' 3-pt attempts seemingly come up short as well. Will have to look at it a little more closely but Curtis seems to shoot the outside shot...almost all of them as sort of a fall away. Pretty sure he is not intending to do from the 3pt line.

Michael Ruffin was a freak athlete as well. The springs in his calves reloaded quicker than a semi-auto gun. And no one was pushing him off the block on either side. There's a reason why he stayed in the NBA for so long as a spot defensive player and usually always guarded guys who were taller than he was.

 

[cbonham]

Michael Scott has to be the #1 freak of nature athlete TU has seen since the 80s. He played from 1987-1991 and was the MVC Defensive POY in '89 and '91. Dude was chiseled, could fly out of the gym and (at least according to what he told me back in the day) never worked out.

Some might remember that a bout with spinal meningitis nearly took him out during the '90 season, but he was miraculously able to fight through it and finish strong.

cb