Hoops weekend in Milwaukee

[euphoenix99]

Any chance we can leave Matheny in Milwaukee? He's not capable of taking the program where we'd like it to be. More of the same coming in next year.

Charlotte Smith has put a better, more exciting brand of basketball on the floor. I hope she's getting the big office with a view at the Schar Center.

Go Phoenix!

[Phoenix15]

Preach euphoenix99. Our football and women's basketball teams have shown where competent coaches can bring Elon. Hope Mr. Blank sees the same thing.

[Tommy Boy]

Waited before responding because of my emotions watching the disappointing final eight minutes. Our bench made some contributions 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Eberhardt had 5 assists. The freshman left-handed post #33 hit two big three pointers. The only thing I would call a coaching decision which effected the game was the decision to not go with a back-up point guard following Swoope's fourth foul. Our perimeter was Meech, Santa Ana, Eberhardt no ball handlers which didn't work well for us. The lack of ball handling skills by Meech and Santa Ana were exposed then and during our final possession. We are getting miles out of the ability of Swoope's limited ball skills. He is only a catch and shoot player. You can't blame Coach Matheny for not calling timeout during a live ball. He isn't permitted by rule. Swoope could have made the call for timeout when trapped or could have when he saw Santa Ana panic. Two wins and one loss for the weekend was my expectation from the start. After halftime I was feeling 3-0 for the weekend. Milwaukee team beat Iowa State but lost to a poor DII school. We should have lost on Friday night to an inferior team and won after our fantastic first half tonight. We pulled it out Friday just like Milwaukee did tonight. The comeback began when Milwaukee perimeter began penetrating and we gave up two many second chance rebounds which kept the game within reach the first half and was the reason Milwaukee was able to score the game winner on a put back. The end of the game was Milwaukee's only lead. I really enjoyed watching the perfect offensive execution the first half. I still think zone needs to be utilized defensively to prevent dribble penetration and fouling. If we didn't get in foul trouble tonight with Dawkins and Swoope that would have been a win. We don't rebound anyway so what would be giving up?

[Dougie]

I agree with fc and euphoenix. There are reasons for every loss but just too many of them for me to sit back anymore. This loss was gut-wrenching and awful, but you know what hurts just? We are going to lose more like this. These type of late game implosions are far too common and coaching is absolutely killing us in close games.

[euphoenix99]

Was just looking at the box score. UWM had 16 offensive boards to our 6. Nze had one more than our entire team. UWM had 20 more shots.

I know the guys are playing hard and it seems execute the game plan pretty well, but I feel like every team is faster and more active on the boards. Radford, Towson, CofC, UNCW, Hofstra, etc. will all present the same challenge. Elon will win some games along the way no doubt, but is 4th/5th in the CAA the best we can expect each year?

Regarding my earlier post about Charlotte Smith, it's funny that she has a style more suited to the men's game and it's working. Matheny's system seems more suited for the women's game.

If we don't see 4th or above in the CAA and a win or two in the conference tourney, I'm all for a fresh start in the Schar Center. I hope he proves me wrong, but as others have said here we are in year 9 and we always seem to be about to turn a corner, but don't.

Go Phoenix!

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2017 20:32:16 GMT -5 euphoenix99 said:

Was just looking at the box score. UWM had 16 offensive boards to our 6. Nze had one more than our entire team. UWM had 20 more shots.

I know the guys are playing hard and it seems execute the game plan pretty well, but I feel like every team is faster and more active on the boards. Radford, Towson, CofC, UNCW, Hofstra, etc. will all present the same challenge. Elon will win some games along the way no doubt, but is 4th/5th in the CAA the best we can expect each year?

Regarding my earlier post about Charlotte Smith, it's funny that she has a style more suited to the men's game and it's working. Matheny's system seems more suited for the women's game.

If we don't see 4th or above in the CAA and a win or two in the conference tourney, I'm all for a fresh start in the Schar Center. I hope he proves me wrong, but as others have said here we are in year 9 and we always seem to be about to turn a corner, but don't.

Go Phoenix!

I have been a big proponent of Matheny since he got here. Great guy, good coaching demeanor, I could add numerous additional accolades. But when he first came, I thought that in 3-4 years our program would be up there with Davidson's. The first disappointment was the 13-14 season when the "Fab Four" were all seniors, we were predicted to win the SoCon and go to the NCAA, possibly winning a game or two there. We all know what happened there. Then we had another disappointing season for 14-15. The excuse there was we had just joined the much tougher CAA and had graduated the Fab Four. We've had a couple of meh years since then. Now we have a fairly seasoned team, picked second in the CAA in the preseason. But now, this year has the same feel as the 13-14 season in the early going. I really hope this season doesn't play out that same way.

I have heard the excuse that our venue - Alumni - was hurting our recruiting, which I actually believe. But all I see now, is more of the same. We should certainly be able to "pre sell" the Schar, right?

I have also wondered over the years what has happened to a couple of our more athletic players. Kevin Blake, the kid could jump through Alumni's roof. Sebastian Koch - he was a great guard but never used for his athletic ability, (which was substantial), only for his perimeter shooting. Christian Hairston - I watched him dunk over a 6'8" forward on a fast break early in his freshman year, but never saw it again. Now Meech, He actually drove the lane last year numerous times and had some pretty spectacular plays... We've seen none of that so far this, his senior season, when he should be absolutely lighting it up. This is a phenomenon I can't understand or explain.

One of the most profound statements I have heard, with regard to Elon Sports was made by Coach Cignetti. He said, "I saw no reason Elon shouldn't be able to win conference championships". I totally and completely believe him. So if we can do that in football with 63/100 scholarships, why can't we do it in basketball, where we have 12/15 full scholarships, where we will soon, (possibly by the end of the year), have the premier venue in the CAA, a beautiful campus, top notch academics, etc., etc.? I'm at a loss.

Of course, I'm really hoping that we're just getting a slow start and everything will come around by conference time. That's about all I can say right now, I'm clinging to hope.