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Post by purpleorange on Nov 19, 2023 10:44:47 GMT -6
At a minimum.....Aces basketball is fun again.
It's not just that we have good size, we have size that can get out and run, handle the ball, distribute and when we go to the bench we don't lose much if anything. The 8 man rotation yesterday is a really solid core that competes and really seems to enjoy playing together.
Something else this team has shown is the ability to put runs together. They seized control mid 2nd half against Miami, jumped out early and never really looked threatened at SEMO, and then honestly destroyed the will of Ball State with the 15-0 run to start the 2nd half. That core 8 held them to 15 points in 17 minutes in the 2nd half. Once they got rolling they didn't slow down until the job was done.
Really impressed with Thomas these last couple games, settling into his own and leading the team. He's got really good timing poking balls away, creating turnovers and if he can knock down some jumpers like the 3 he hit in the 2nd half, he's going to be a key piece.
Congrats to Kenny hitting 1,000 points on Saturday. He's not going to average as many points as last year but he's going to contribute more to the team that way. Seeing him get recognized and throw up a heart to the crowd as they did the postgame lap, that's part of what makes Evansville special. The greater Evansville community supports the program and it's great to see the players feel that.
It's early in the season but it's a complete 180 from last year, just the vibes around the program and it's fun as a fan to be a part of, enjoy in person at games. This will be an interesting trip in Chattanooga, getting the host on their floor and then the rematch vs SEMO and how they handle the best team they've faced thus far and a rematch of a comfortable victory before opening Valley play.
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Post by wildbill on Nov 19, 2023 12:07:09 GMT -6
wildbill. You should have been there. It was a great game to watch. Yes sir, it sure was. I enjoyed it very much on TV. I will be back next season. I am still a great fan. I didn't see Bobe in there either, hope he's not hurt. Glad he didn't play. I am thinking about traveling to Chattanooga later this week and enjoy the event.
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Post by ad1770 on Nov 19, 2023 12:17:16 GMT -6
A couple of interesting tidbits on this young season.
1. Through four games, we have had four different leading scorers, and at least three different players in double digits, with two more pushing double digits in every game. That makes it impossible for a team to focus their defense on one or even two particular player(s) on a given night.
2. We are grabbing rebounds and being tough down low, especially on the offensive end, averaging 11 offensive boards a game (44 total), and converting them into almost 14 points a game (55 points total). Long gone are the days of take a shot and run to the other end so we don’t get beat down the court.
3. Lastly, we are 238 in kenpom, but we are the lowest ranked undefeated team in kenpom, with Tulsa being the next closest at 218. Been a long road, but still a long way to go.
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Post by lawrencevgibson on Nov 19, 2023 12:25:58 GMT -6
A couple of interesting tidbits on this young season. 1. Through four games, we have had four different leading scorers, and at least three different players in double digits, with two more pushing double digits in every game. That makes it impossible for a team to focus their defense on one or even two particular player(s) on a given night. 2. We are grabbing rebounds and being tough down low, especially on the offensive end, averaging 11 offensive boards a game (44 total), and converting them into almost 14 points a game (55 points total). Long gone are the days of take a shot and run to the other end so we don’t get beat down the court. 3. Lastly, we are 238 in kenpom, but we are the lowest ranked undefeated team in kenpom, with Tulsa being the next closest at 218. Been a long road, but still a long way to go. I noticed several times that 3-4 guys were crashing the boards. I've never seen that from a UE team in a long time.
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Post by bballjunkie on Nov 19, 2023 13:08:41 GMT -6
I just watched the replay....love the toughness, attitude, and physicality of the Aces. They have length, athleticism, and speed that all have been missing the last 5 years or so. It is nice seeing the Aces dominate teams and develop a mental swagger and the ability to get inside the heads of opponents.
One thing I learned about Ball State today is that their #1 is too little LOL
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Post by E-Villan on Nov 19, 2023 13:44:04 GMT -6
wildbill. You should have been there. It was a great game to watch. Yes sir, it sure was. I enjoyed it very much on TV. I will be back next season. I am still a great fan. I didn't see Bobe in there either, hope he's not hurt. Glad he didn't play. I am thinking about traveling to Chattanooga later this week and enjoy the event. I have no idea what kind of idiotic point you think you are making with your self-imposed boycott. Trust me, no one notices. What I do know is you have been warned repeatedly, and you can't lay off the kid. There are so many positives this year and yet, here you are doing nothing but taking shots at him...post after post. What we also know is there is a post from you a couple of years back, stating you lived too far away to get season tickets. Certainly contradicts your 30-year season ticket holder until this year narrative. I have suspected this to be a troll account and that confirms it in my eye. It's certainly personal and weird regardless.
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Post by evilleintentions on Nov 19, 2023 14:05:20 GMT -6
I don’t understand how you can watch that game and then your main comment afterwards is focused on Gage Bobe. Time to give it a rest. It really is stalkish at this point. I don’t think anyone wants to hear it anymore. Just cheer on the team.
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Post by Ace78 on Nov 19, 2023 14:34:11 GMT -6
UE is one of them! ... and, as of this afternoon, IU is now off this list.
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Post by purpleaces on Nov 19, 2023 17:26:29 GMT -6
This team is so much fun to watch. They won't back down from anybody either. The days of getting kicked around in the Valley are about done with. They play with a chip on their shoulders. When they got Ball State down they put the foot to the throat. We'll be averaging around 7k pretty soon if they keep it up.
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Post by ATP on Nov 19, 2023 18:31:20 GMT -6
It's time we separated into two groups -- the people who think Gage Bobe an all-right person, and everybody else.
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Post by Incognito on Nov 19, 2023 20:31:21 GMT -6
It's time we separated into two groups -- the people who think Gage Bobe an all-right person, and everybody else. I'm in the all-right camp. He is also in a tiny group of Aces who have played 5 years at UE. The other two are Noah and Evan.
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Post by Incognito on Nov 19, 2023 20:42:18 GMT -6
Worth noting, this team appears to be better than we imagined possible and the roster rebuild is effective in large part because of players acquired from the land down under (Josh), the JUCO ranks (Tanner), NAIA (Ben), and DII (Antonio). Those four important pieces came from the land of the overlooked and under-appreciated. The coaching staff has shown an eye for off the radar talent. That bodes well for the future.
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Post by 83Ace on Nov 19, 2023 20:46:19 GMT -6
It's time we separated into two groups -- the people who think Gage Bobe an all-right person, and everybody else. I'm in the all-right camp. He is also in a tiny group of Aces who have played 5 years at UE. The other two are Noah and Evan. This makes me wonder - surely there were a couple of players or more in earlier years who redshirted (either sat out the year or medical redshirt) and were with the team for five years, but none are coming to mind immediately. Can anyone think of other players with the team for 5 years?
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Post by austinace on Nov 19, 2023 21:17:00 GMT -6
I'm in the all-right camp. He is also in a tiny group of Aces who have played 5 years at UE. The other two are Noah and Evan. This makes me wonder - surely there were a couple of players or more in earlier years who redshirted (either sat out the year or medical redshirt) and were with the team for five years, but none are coming to mind immediately. Can anyone think of other players with the team for 5 years? I think Evan and Noah might be the only players that were here for five years in the last ten years and obviously that was due to the Covid year. Seems like Rokas C was here for five years but he didn't play after he got hurt and might have dropped off the team, not sure. Ryan Sawvell was in college for six years (three at UE and three at Wofford with one of those being a transfer year), so that probably doesn't meet the criteria either since he transferred out. Eric Ottens was here for five years if you go back to 2001-2006. Eric is the only one I can think of this century that meets the criteria of being at UE five years (other than Noah and Evan). Of course, in the old days, you had five years to play four.
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Post by ATP on Nov 19, 2023 22:38:10 GMT -6
I'm in the all-right camp. He is also in a tiny group of Aces who have played 5 years at UE. The other two are Noah and Evan. This makes me wonder - surely there were a couple of players or more in earlier years who redshirted (either sat out the year or medical redshirt) and were with the team for five years, but none are coming to mind immediately. Can anyone think of other players with the team for 5 years? Feit and Newman. More or less.
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