Interesting Lazerus Perspective

[wh]

VU moving the right direction
VU has responded well to the collapse in Toledo, but there's still cause for concern

www.post-trib.com/sports/2982994,mlazerus-1223.article

[vuweathernerd]

sounds like he's publicizing the major concern that many of the posters here have expressed. if we can't break the camel's back, we could be in for some serious heartaches at the hands of butler, csu, and maybe some others.

[lowposter]

I like Bugg's defense abilities. His offense and most importantly his free throw shooting ability is going to be a major issue in close games, unless solutions are found.

Not sure if Jay Harris is ready to handle the point at times, and while Kenny is a good athlete and defender, can he handle defending the point? Not sure if he is quick enough for that.

I have a feeling this discussion will continue during the conference season. We should have enough firepower to win against certain teams, but crunch time against the above mentioned 3 teams, plus decision making abilities during the game will tell.

Never thought I would say this...but do we have enough guards on this team?

lowposter

[milanmiracle]

Dec 26, 2010 13:43:58 GMT -5 lowposter said:

I like Bugg's defense abilities. His offense and most importantly his free throw shooting ability is going to be a major issue in close games, unless solutions are found.

Not sure if Jay Harris is ready to handle the point at times, and while Kenny is a good athlete and defender, can he handle defending the point? Not sure if he is quick enough for that.

I have a feeling this discussion will continue during the conference season. We should have enough firepower to win against certain teams, but crunch time against the above mentioned 3 teams, plus decision making abilities during the game will tell.

Never thought I would say this...but do we have enough guards on this team?

lowposter

I don't think the quantity is the problem, it's the quality. That's not to say our guards are bad because they are not, but all of them have glaring flaws, save for Brandon Wood. Buggs can't hit a free throw, Kurth (when healthy) outright refuses to shoot...I think you get the idea.

In the end, I do think something has to be done with Buggs at the end of games. You just can't leave him in there knowing he's likely to miss free throws. We'll see what if anything is done about this problem.

[vu72]

Dec 27, 2010 11:52:55 GMT -5 milanmiracle said:

Dec 26, 2010 13:43:58 GMT -5 lowposter said:

I like Bugg's defense abilities. His offense and most importantly his free throw shooting ability is going to be a major issue in close games, unless solutions are found.

Not sure if Jay Harris is ready to handle the point at times, and while Kenny is a good athlete and defender, can he handle defending the point? Not sure if he is quick enough for that.

I have a feeling this discussion will continue during the conference season. We should have enough firepower to win against certain teams, but crunch time against the above mentioned 3 teams, plus decision making abilities during the game will tell.

Never thought I would say this...but do we have enough guards on this team?

lowposter

I don't think the quantity is the problem, it's the quality. That's not to say our guards are bad because they are not, but all of them have glaring flaws, save for Brandon Wood. Buggs can't hit a free throw, Kurth (when healthy) outright refuses to shoot...I think you get the idea.

In the end, I do think something has to be done with Buggs at the end of games. You just can't leave him in there knowing he's likely to miss free throws. We'll see what if anything is done about this problem.

I don't quite understand the coaches leaving Erik in at the end of games when we have a proven FT shooter in Jay Harris.

This from the post-game report after the Corpus Christi win:

Then it was the free throw shooting that stepped up, as Harris hit four straight to give Valpo a 64-57 lead with 1:32 to play. Kenney then came up with a huge steal on the defensive end, and Broekhoff calmly sank a pair of freebies with 45 seconds to play to extend the lead to nine. The Islanders scored back-to-back baskets within a 15 second span after a Crusader miscue to crawl back within four points, but Harris nailed the final two free throws of the game to cinch the victory for Valpo.

“You have to look at the free throw line for our success today,” said Drew. “Jay was huge down the stretch, and Ryan and Matt hit some big free throws as well to keep our lead at two or three possessions. I thought our defense was really good today as well, considering how quick and athletic Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is.”