Bucky playing really really well. Up 29-22 at the under 8 time out in the 1st. Trice with 13 already.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Badgers still up 9 with 7:00 to go. Bucky 10-21 on 3's.
Play great all game and then in danger of choking it away in the last minute. Trice misses the front ends of two one and ones.
Badgers get out of Ann Arbor with a great win. Michigan missed some front ends as well to help them out.
MichiganPacker2 posted:Play great all game and then in danger of choking it away in the last minute. Trice misses the front ends of two one and ones.
How in the hell can you complain about that when trice is 5-6 on 3's.
Got a little interesting there... but they really need to talk about help defense. Pritzl was not going to stop that guy, and no one comes over to rotate help?
ammo posted:MichiganPacker2 posted:Play great all game and then in danger of choking it away in the last minute. Trice misses the front ends of two one and ones.
How in the hell can you complain about that when trice is 5-6 on 3's.
That's why I said he played great all game. He's one of the main reasons they won. He was hitting contested 3s and then missed FTs in the final minute.
Surprised both at the win and how well they've played since King left the team.
I was ready to move on from Gard but something changed in the last month, he seems to be letting the guys play a bit more and letting them take what is there. Ford and Pritzl seem like players now and the addition of Potter has been huge.
In short he deserves credit for righting the ship.
Pikes Peak posted:I was ready to move on from Gard but something changed in the last month, he seems to be letting the guys play a bit more and letting them take what is there. Ford and Pritzl seem like players now and the addition of Potter has been huge.
In short he deserves credit for righting the ship.
Maybe Kobe King was the problem? Even if guys liked him personally, just getting rid of all that drama and tension maybe just makes things more fun. Instead of worrying about whether he's happy in terms of getting his touches and shots, guys can just play the game.
Yup, as the song goes, little things mean a lot.
MichiganPacker2 posted:Pikes Peak posted:I was ready to move on from Gard but something changed in the last month, he seems to be letting the guys play a bit more and letting them take what is there. Ford and Pritzl seem like players now and the addition of Potter has been huge.
In short he deserves credit for righting the ship.
Maybe Kobe King was the problem? Even if guys liked him personally, just getting rid of all that drama and tension maybe just makes things more fun. Instead of worrying about whether he's happy in terms of getting his touches and shots, guys can just play the game.
But there was no indication that was the case on the court. There was some concern that he was up and down, but you’re describing what amounts to a prima donna who was squeezing everyone else... I sure didn’t see that, so I don’t suspect this recent streak has really anything to do with King.
One thing that is notable was the call for Gard’s job after King left. That reached a fever pitch. Now was that a galvanizing factor? Did the team play harder? Did Gard coach harder? Was the reality a wake up call for the program? Did the senior leadership rally?
My fear is these little boosts always end- in the end, you are what your record says you are, but the psychological effects of your coach getting walked to the plank, and rallying around that has an endpoint. The Badgers we’re losing to terrible teams in bad ways- that cannot just be forgotten. Potter has been a big boost to their improved play, and that reveals clearly why Gard and Co were so pissed at the NCAA when they didn’t allow him to play. They knew they needed him. That also has nothing to do with King...
C-Boy has to eat some Trice crow. Dude has been ballin'...
If Greg Gard had been unfairly critical of Kobe King and King was a popular guy in the locker room, I don't think the team would have rallied around Gard in this case. The Badgers may have been losing to bad teams in bad ways - but it's possible that they had a malcontent on their hands. In the interview he did with the Madison paper to do damage control on his way out, he said he talked to 6-7 teammates about this and said they all supported him. Maybe they did, but maybe they just wanted him to STFU and stop whining.
Maybe the kid has some mental health issues he needs to get under control. If so, we should wish him the best. But he set off a chain reaction on his way out that got a strength coach unfairly fired (at least I would say). He accused the coaching staff of "treating him like a servant." He came fairly close to implying that there were a lot of other guys on the team that felt like he did. If there are no mental health issues as I stated above, he's nothing but a selfish POS. Let him go to Nebraska and run and gun and loaf on defense.
I want King out of the big ten conference.......banish him to some other conference. JMHO.
I am going to eat some Gard crow. I believe he's doing what good college coaches do. Recruit the best mix of talent, potential and commitment and coach them into an effective team. For a program that does not pursue one and done talent aggressively (unethically) it's the only way to stay consistently relevant. If they luck into a Kaminsky/Dekker/Koenig stretch they show on the national stage.
Almost every year is a new team; key seniors graduate; underclassmen move into pivotal roles and newcomers slot in as they prove themselves. The early going should look worse than the end of season. I don't think the Badgers should try to compete with the Kentuckys and Kansas nor can they compete with Dukes and Gonzagas.
The games may not be as exciting as they could be but the result is satisfying to me.
The 2 main Si writers have the Badgers as a 6 seed. One has them vs. Northern Iowa in the Midwest and the other has vs. East Tennessee State in the East. Not sure where those games are played tho.
I just don't understand why Bucky is not getting much recognition as far as rankings. The swept Ohio State, Beat ranked teams Penn State, Michigan State and Maryland, yet they are barely getting votes in either poll. What the HELL?