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Post by municup14 on Mar 4, 2024 11:46:30 GMT -6
I will give my opinion on Chuck if he decides to leave
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Post by ad1770 on Mar 4, 2024 11:53:51 GMT -6
Here's what my guy has told me, so don't blame the messenger.... Tourmi isn't coming back for his covid year, he wants to return to France and play pro ball with his brother. Chuck isn't coming back or is Braylon.
If you are correct, then Ben, Tanner, Cam and Josh make up the core coming back. General thought is that with this group there are a lot of holes to fill. As AcesHigh mentioned, we'll find out what kind of recruiters we have on staff.
From asking around and talking with Toumi, I get the sense he is still undecided and focused on finishing the season out before making a decision.
I don’t like talking about who is leaving (potentially) in an open forum like this, I will say this. No matter if Toumi leaves or stays, we need to get a bruiser down low. Too many times, we had to double down on the post leaving shooters wide open or causing late rotations because Toumi and Hughes got abused by opposing bigs backing them down like they were not there. Another year for Hughes to put on the weight would help immensely, but if we can have a second who can’t be moved, or can actually push the opposing big off of the block, defense would improve greatly.
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Post by Aces&Eights on Mar 4, 2024 12:40:47 GMT -6
I don’t like talking about who is leaving (potentially) in an open forum like this, You started this thread. Did you really think that no one would speculate who's leaving, either based on "my guy's" insider knowledge or any other insane rant? In my opinion this thread shouldn't have started until the Aces' season was over.
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Post by ad1770 on Mar 4, 2024 13:10:45 GMT -6
I don’t like talking about who is leaving (potentially) in an open forum like this, You started this thread. Did you really think that no one would speculate who's leaving, either based on "my guy's" insider knowledge or any other insane rant? In my opinion this thread shouldn't have started until the Aces' season was over. I said I didn’t. I never said anything about anyone else. Talk about it until you are satisfied, but I put this up as a place to try to catch the news early on not only our guys, but all valley teams. I have actually said it twice now in this thread, but who needs to bother with it. I’ll say it until the cows come home if need be.
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Post by ATP on Mar 4, 2024 15:05:13 GMT -6
Perhaps we can modify the content a little by modifying the approach.
So heading into Thursday, which teams are looking good, which ones are struggling, and who do we think will win the thing? Best players predictions, coaching genius, terrible officiating, best fan base ... grinningest cheerleaders. How about, starting a poll. Let's see who thinks what. It ain't like we're depending on inside sources.
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Post by ATP on Mar 4, 2024 15:11:21 GMT -6
Arch Madness First round schedule, Thursday March 7 Game 1: No. 8 Murray State vs. No. 9 Missouri State, 12 p.m. Game 2: No. 5 Belmont vs. No. 12 Valparaiso, 2:30 p.m. Game 3: No. 7 Illinois State vs. No. 10 Evansville, 6 p.m. Game 4: No. 6 Southern Illinois vs. No. 11 Illinois-Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals schedule, Friday March 8 Game 5: No. 1 Indiana State vs. Winner 1, 12 p.m. Game 6: No. 4 UNI vs. Winner 2, 2:30 p.m. Game 7: No. 2 Drake vs. Winner 3, 6 p.m. Game 8: No. 3 Bradley vs. Winner 4, 8:30 p.m.
Arch Madness semifinals schedule, Saturday March 9 Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7, 2:30 p.m. Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 5 p.m.
Arch Madness championship game, Sunday March 10 Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
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Post by sect3purple on Mar 4, 2024 15:43:51 GMT -6
This is my opinion ...not so much just for this past year, but for the future. I truly felt we played better ball at the beginning of the season, and not just because of the games played in Ben's absence or because of the non-conference weaker competition. The hard work and high expectations (that came from early wins) gave us a confidence that results from winning and a lot of "noise" from the basketball community about "those ACES." The culture that Ragland speaks often about restoring here seemed to have a spark that renewed optimism. Then came Ben's injury and players never adjusted. IMO some players were under-utilized at the the expense of the team's performance. Instead of development, some just were benched while others (and I'm not naming names) actually should have improved due to their favored play, but they didn't. Later, even with Ben's return, we just seemed to forget the play of the early season - play was often sloppy and uninspired, turnovers were our trademark, and we were sliding back to the recent ACES culture that no one in our conference feared. Cuff is a good example of what I saw happening to our team. Anyone else remember his smart passing to Hughes or Ben under the basket? Somewhere that just disappeared from our game. So much wasted talent on a team that has no Super Stars and relies on smart offensive play and blue-collar defense. So, here we are again - another Thursday team, with little hope for an extended stay in St. Louis!
My concern for the future is how do we convince a good player/s to come be an ACE? How do we get a Balentine, or a Colt Ryan, or a Parrish Casabier sp? to want to come here? Or any like the young men who played on the team that beat the Oregon Ducks in the Big Dance? Ragland's wish to return to the past culture of Evansville basketball is one many of us share. but sometimes now it seems we just serve to offer a free college education to players.
I do not mean this to be a put-down to anyone. I'm sure some will just call me a non-fan for being "critical" - I want the best for our team and I hope improvement shows up soon for our future chances. Maybe it will come on Thursday in ST. Louis. We just can't keep "waiting till next year."
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Post by daddysboy on Mar 4, 2024 15:55:42 GMT -6
I just think scouting caught up to us, Period. We have 1 on 1 players without the general ability to pass to multiple open guys. Tanner's passing was great, but it was always a lob to someone at the basket. Teams have stopped that. We will have 4/5 new guys and I think that's being generous. If we get some speed, IQ, shooting and bulk, we will be okay. I believe the coaches have a good strategy and formula. They just have to get players that can execute. I just don't know if they're able to identify talent to make that happen. We shall see.
And before you jump on me about not being able to identify talent, think about who our best players are and who brought them in. And if you don't think we have any good players, then that's even more of a concern on talent evaluation.
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Post by aceloverlarry on Mar 4, 2024 16:06:54 GMT -6
I just think scouting caught up to us, Period. We have 1 on 1 players without the general ability to pass to multiple open guys. Tanner's passing was great, but it was always a lob to someone at the basket. Teams have stopped that. We will have 4/5 new guys and I think that's being generous. If we get some speed, IQ, shooting and bulk, we will be okay. I believe the coaches have a good strategy and formula. They just have to get players that can execute. I just don't know if they're able to identify talent to make that happen. We shall see. And before you jump on me about not being able to identify talent, think about who our best players are and who brought them in. And if you don't think we have any good players, then that's even more of a concern on talent evaluation. I agree on the scouting report part, but Marcus wasn’t the only one that found good talent. I still believe in our staff to find talent without him. I would think it’s got to be significantly easier to recruit to a 15 win team than a 5 win team. That should go in our favor this offseason. We’re guaranteed to have 3 new guys, and I think it’s pretty likely we are going to have 5 new guys, maybe even 6. Hitting the portal hard over the next month is going to be critical. I believe in the staff to add a few more pieces to get us to the next level.
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Post by aceloverlarry on Mar 4, 2024 16:07:40 GMT -6
Not sure why you would think that. That’s been his role all year. Maybe he doesn’t see a bigger role for himself next year and enters the portal, but I don’t think yesterday will have any effect on his decision. I hope he’s back and puts in the work to be a contributor next year. No reason he can’t have a role off the bench next year if he puts in the work this offseason. Wasn't Braylon eligible to be redshirted until yesterday I don’t think so. He’s already played in way too many games. His shot at a redshirt was ruined a long time ago.
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Post by ATP on Mar 4, 2024 17:46:21 GMT -6
I don't think I can agree or disagree on whether the staff can identify good talent and get those players signed and into the program. The process is ongoing. This team was largely defined by its "length" but beyond that, there are times when the other parts of their game worked well. Sometimes they get good shots and make them. At times, they rebound well, play good interior defense, make great passes, use their depth. Overall, what beat this team down was its inability to play perimeter defense and stop making unforced turnovers. No amount of scouting can fix that. It's up to the players.
To that end, this team isn't terrible and it's trending upward. Ragland and his staff have shown the ability to find players from other countries -- and that is a major plus for mid-majors that need committed players with specific skill sets.
These guys would win 20 next year, or they could lose 20. Guess what? It's the way of the world for mid-major programs that aren't fully steeped in the traditions that Wardle, Jacobson and DeVries have had years to build. I'd suggest taking a deep breath, appreciating the 15 wins they got this year (and the 3 or 4 near-wins that would have really rocked the boat!).
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Post by municup14 on Mar 4, 2024 18:23:14 GMT -6
Our teams biggest downfall is being outscored from the 3 point line.We had games that we lost by 20 plus points and were ours cored by 20 or more points from the 3 point land.
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Post by austinace on Mar 4, 2024 21:35:50 GMT -6
Our teams biggest downfall is being outscored from the 3 point line.We had games that we lost by 20 plus points and were ours cored by 20 or more points from the 3 point land. Through 31 games we made 213 3-pointers while our opponents made 290. That is approximately 2.5 more a game for our opponents or close to eight points a game. That equals to about 9.5 3’s a game versus seven made 3’s a game for us. gopurpleaces.com/documents/2024/3/3/UEMBBStats.pdf
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Post by thevampire5 on Mar 4, 2024 21:47:42 GMT -6
Here's what my guy has told me, so don't blame the messenger.... Tourmi isn't coming back for his covid year, he wants to return to France and play pro ball with his brother. Chuck isn't coming back or is Braylon. Too bad, Toumi has really improved in his time at UE. With another year in the weight room and shorting, he would be a difference maker CB4 is disappointing as well bc he physically is capable, just needs to add some moves Hard to say w BJ5, just didn’t get the opportunity to show enough. Lol's Toumi never put any time in the weight room, the news I heard was he told the Coaching staff that he wasn't interested in weight training 🤦♂️🤷♂️
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Post by ATP on Mar 4, 2024 21:49:13 GMT -6
Our teams biggest downfall is being outscored from the 3 point line.We had games that we lost by 20 plus points and were ours cored by 20 or more points from the 3 point land. Through 31 games we made 213 3-pointers while our opponents made 290. That is approximately 2.5 more a game for our opponents or close to eight points a game. That equals to about 9.5 3’s a game versus seven made 3’s a game for us. gopurpleaces.com/documents/2024/3/3/UEMBBStats.pdfSo if all other parts of the game are dead equal, we should expect to lose by 8-to-10 points most nights.
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