Shockers vs Lipscomb (Monday, Nov 6th)

[Regul8te]

Pleasantly surprised, as I am sure most on here are, with the game last night. What a difference a coach with an actual offensive and defensive scheme can make. Much more enjoyable game to watch.

Guard play was above average with Bell and Rogers. Only 10 TO's. Bell with a 5/1 A to TO ratio.

Way more alarming than the guard play was our bigs (supposed strength) inability to finish at the rim on easy shots. Particularly Pohto.

51 to 33 rebounding margin is outstanding. The hustle on the boards was great to see. Reminded me of some FHCGM teams.

All around great defensive game. Perimeter, help side, and on ball defense was really good. Forgot what a beauty it is to watch a team that is engaged.

Abidde was impressive off the bench.

Rogers is who I thought he was, and that is a good thing.

The three point shooting has to improve and I think it will. Chaulk it up to first game jitters / adrenaline.

Need to work on breaking zone defense.

Overall, it was just one game against an inferior opponent, but a good start to the season.

I really liked the way our defenders funneled the Liipscomb wings into baseline drives…. Right into the teeth of our long athletic post defenders.

It’ll be interesting to see if it works as well against bigger and more athletic teams. Great defensive scheming and execution though.

[Atxshoxfan]

Rogers worries me a bit. I am just basing this on one game, so it's not in stone yet. His 9 minute streak was great, but after that he went cold and looked to force several shots. Even some of those shots in that 9 minutes we're a little forced.
I hope to see him as a more consistent scorer across 40 minutes without forcing anything.
It was great seeing that streak but I think he believed that the game was on his shoulders to win.

KP still hasn't impressed me. He's a 6'11" guy playing like a 6'3" guy inside at times. He should have been able to rise above anyone on Lipscombs team to hit those short shots inside. The likelihood of him getting fouled would have increased as well.

[shocktown]

Rogers worries me a bit. I am just basing this on one game, so it's not in stone yet. His 9 minute streak was great, but after that he went cold and looked to force several shots. Even some of those shots in that 9 minutes we're a little forced.
I hope to see him as a more consistent scorer across 40 minutes without forcing anything.
It was great seeing that streak but I think he believed that the game was on his shoulders to win.

KP still hasn't impressed me. He's a 6'11" guy playing like a 6'3" guy inside at times. He should have been able to rise above anyone on Lipscombs team to hit those short shots inside. The likelihood of him getting fouled would have increased as well.

After watching KP for two plus seasons, I can assure you that he doesn’t rise above anyone. He is not a power player, finesse is what he is and will be.

[Atxshoxfan]

After watching KP for two plus seasons, I can assure you that he doesn’t rise above anyone. He is not a power player, finesse is what he is and will be.

Agree, but that is a problem. A 6'11" guy needs to go up when he has the ball inside, not drop down and make moves to get around smaller player. He could draw several fouls if he would just go up with it.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

I really liked the way our defenders funneled the Liipscomb wings into baseline drives…. Right into the teeth of our long athletic post defenders.

It’ll be interesting to see if it works as well against bigger and more athletic teams. Great defensive scheming and execution though.

I noticed that too. Was smart and very effective. As you said though, remains to be seen if it’ll work against AAC teams.

[pogo]

I enjoyed the game and the sparse but loud fans. The most telling difference in this game was we had multiple players crashing the offensive boards as opposed to a shot going up and everyone turning to run back down court to guard. A fun game to watch. Go Shocks. Hope to see more of my fellow Shocker fans Thursday.

[Aargh]

Pohto has virtually no vertical that I've seen. He's going to struggle going up against a 6'7" defender. We've got Abidde and Ballard to compete in the paint against bigs. Pohto will get points on putbacks. He's decent about creating his own shot near the basket. He's not decent at making the shots he can create for himself.

[molly jabali]

This isn't an indictment on the program or Coach Mills. It is what it is. We have a small collection of mostly misfit toys. Colby & Kenny belong. Everyone else we're going to lean on is a piece. We're going to need each of those pieces to excel at the one or two things they do well, and not kill us with everything else. And stay healthy. And not get tired.


I enjoyed and appreciated the effort last night. I thought we made a concerted attempt to share the ball (at times) meaning there were glimpses of good passing (among the more than glimpses of poor motion). We also bullied them offensively, which is absolutely something we should have done to win the game. I'm not complaining about that, I am celebrating that, but it's not repeatable when the competition gets better.

Going tomorrow to see in person.....I think long term IS the key.....I remember when more ballyhooed coaches (Pitino and Williams come to mind) came to new places with 'misfit toys'(though better than these but, for better or worse(depending on if you like these guys...I don't) they set the framework...

[asiseeit]

Can't believe I am having to defend KP. Guy was a point short of a double double. Finished last season VERY strong. Plays smart. Seldom turns the ball over and a great passer. Gives us a lot of minutes on a team with a short bench. Returned from the portal. HCPM high on him yet many of you are looking for faults. Don't get it.

[molly jabali]

Can't believe I am having to defend KP. Guy was a point short of a double double. Finished last season VERY strong. Plays smart. Seldom turns the ball over and a great passer. Gives us a lot of minutes on a team with a short bench. Returned from the portal. HCPM high on him yet many of you are looking for faults. Don't get it.

I 1000% agree....sometimes I'm stunned at the basketball IQ here...even my own at times...

[pinstripers]

KP is a really nice player, a foundational piece for HCPM. No, he's not much of a leaper, and not a power player. Glad he stayed, certainly.

[newshock1234]

Im actually surprised how many on here were unimpressed with QB. I thought he was the 2nd best player on the court. He blocked a couple of shots early, and Lipscomb quit trying to go to the rim, instead, they just shot 3's

[WuDrWu]

The three point shooting has to improve and I think it will. Chaulk it up to first game jitters / adrenaline.

I'm not challenging you MKR, but I'm curious where you think the improvement will come from, exactly?


I was thinking generally the same thing, then I started looking at where.....

I think we all agree it's not coming from Germany or Joy so that leaves our top 7.

Quincy should never shoot one. 6. We all like Kenny's skill set but is there any history here that makes you think he'll be a part of it? 5


Rogers, Abidde, Bell, Beverly & Ridgnal. And I get it's a small, 1 game, sample size. One more make and we're 31%. I just don't see big improvement from these 5. I'll be pleasantly surprised if we end up around 30%. No doubt Colby can shoot, but he's going to be the focus of every team we face. Bev is basically a set shooter. Bell's jumper is slow and not his strength. Isaac and Dalen do provide some upside I believe, but I don't think you can bet on it.

I do think we'll shoot a lot more 3s over the course of the season, so we better make more lol. Anyway, I'm legitimately curious where you think the improvement comes from.

[WuDrWu]

Rogers worries me a bit. I am just basing this on one game, so it's not in stone yet. His 9 minute streak was great, but after that he went cold and looked to force several shots. Even some of those shots in that 9 minutes we're a little forced.
I hope to see him as a more consistent scorer across 40 minutes without forcing anything.
It was great seeing that streak but I think he believed that the game was on his shoulders to win.

KP still hasn't impressed me. He's a 6'11" guy playing like a 6'3" guy inside at times. He should have been able to rise above anyone on Lipscombs team to hit those short shots inside. The likelihood of him getting fouled would have increased as well.

I understand your consternation, but I think Rogers did what exactly was needed in the moment. They realized the guy guarding him couldn't stop him, and he was being successful. Don't fix what's not broken. It may not be your (or mine for that matter) favorite brand of basketball, but it worked and essentially decided the game. Taking full advantage of matchups where we actually HAVE an advantage works for me every time.

And we probably should get used to enjoying every shot Colby can take, because we're going to need a lot of them. I expect he will be a high volume shooter/scorer all season. Like the highest we've seen in decades.

[WuDrWu]

A fun game to watch. Go Shocks. Hope to see more of my fellow Shocker fans Thursday.

Agreed. I have zero problem supporting and cheering for the effort those kids put forth Monday. That works every time.