If you compared strictly on jump shots how would it look?
Sure do wish we'd have cut our 48% 3 point shooter like you not only advocated, but blew the boards up over, about this time last year. What am I "purposely ignoring" on that?
They also tend to lead to points too durrrrrrr
#25 nationally among ALL FBS GUARDS last year isn't what you would call good?
I'd hate to know your actual standards for field goal percentage from the 2 spot...
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If he managed to again show the same improvement that he saw from year 1 to year 2(which I readily admit is virtually impossible), he'd be the #1 FG% guard in the country...
If you compared strictly on jump shots how would it look?
When Sword stars averaging 30, then check back with me. Until then, 45% is not high average, no matter how you want to cherry pick the stats. It's not BAD, but it's not high average. It might be high average for this team....but it's not high average.
Produce it *****. You keep making this accusation so 17ing produce it you lying 17ing ****.
Thomas is a worse ball handler than he is a shooter and we all see how he is as a shooter. Pollard will be a junior next year and so will Thomas. If y'all can call for Milton to move in football I'm calling for Thomas in basketball. Jacoby Davis can join him.
THANK GOODNESS WE ARE FOLLOWING THE MEMPHIS MODEL AND DROPPING GAMES TO CHRISTIAN BROTHERS...Dawg61;131331[B said:]Davis, Bloodman, Thomas and one other player HAVE TO GO though.[/B] Which is more important to Ray? Fielding his ****** team for 4 years or finding another job after 4 years? If he replaces those 4 players with GOOD shooters we will be in the NCAA next year! Look at Memphis's commits. Memphis is ranked right now and they are bringing 3 jucos and 1 high school player in next year. They are adding immediate help. If Ray would just do the same we won't have to find another coach 2 years from now. http://memphis.scout.com/a.z?s=350&p=9&cfg=bb&c=4&yr=2014
I'm not asking him to bring in Kentucky/Florida type talent. Just bring in 4 players better than Davis, Bloodman, Thomas and ? (Black or Ndoye maybe) with 4 players that can shoot and score. That's it. College basketball is not four year commitments anymore. It hasn't been for 10+ years now. It's one year scholarships that can be renewed. Eventually Ray can get a more secure and talented roster that it can become longer commitments for him and his players but definitely not right now. GO GET FOUR BETTER PLAYERS.
I'm not bashing Cunningham. I think he's better than Davis straight up. I'm not buying that Thomas is an elite defender either but it doesn't matter because he's a huge liability on offense. Sword has been very good until this 5 game slide. He's been struggling mightily recently though. I also realize Ray isn't playing with the full deck he thought he'd have but I'm not focusing on the ones he doesn't have I'm saying he can upgrade 4 of the ones he has right now. There's better players within 200 miles of Starkville than those four. I'd go get them for you if I could. I can't. He has to do it.
What's irrational is expecting Ray to fill 13 scholarships and develop any sort of functional shooting amongst his players. He needs help. Lots of it.
LOLWhose going to shoot .37% from 3 next year? Fred Thomas? You must be joking right. Because he went from putrid .24% to an ugly .30% he's going to magically shoot .37% next year? Engie I like you and you have many fantastic posts but COME ON MAN. Fred Thomas is more likely to grow 6 inches and become a 7footer than he is to shoot .37% from 3.
You're skewing the numbers. Fred Thomas has shot 269 threes and made 70 of them. That's 26%. That means STOP SHOOTING THE 17ing BALL. He's terrible Engie. Good luck to him at Jackson State. He has no business playing SEC basketball nor does Davis and Bloodman. We will be hiring a new coach in 2 more years if y'all keep up this continued love affair with the current players we have. I'm not saying drop all of them. Just 4 of them. I don't have the patience to be some **** basketball team for 2 more seasons. This can be fixed before next season. That's all I see as the option. Not some long drawn out process where we pat Fred Thomas on the back during senior night because he got us to 7 wins in SEC play his last year and he doubled the all-time 3point attempts record for MSU. We've been 17ed over by hundreds and hundreds of players before Fred Thomas so what makes him so special for MSU to suddenly become the Mother Teresa of basketball that's only concerns are to be fair to the players (as long as Ray likes them) and stick with them no matter how bad they are? Tevin Moore is a better basketball player than Jacoby Davis and Bear Wilson needs more minutes as well. Ray doesn't like those two for some reason though. Y'all are out your ******* skulls if you're trying to turn basketball into 4 year commitments. It's one year and renews. And the biggest problem with that plan is Ray CAN'T DEVELOP BETTER PLAYERS FOR ****. Transfers and jucos for the MSU4 for 2015 please. Oh and Tweeder you can just pick a 4th guy. I don't give a **** which one it is as long as the new guy can shoot.
HAHAHAHAHAEngie Fred Thomas is horrible. You wanting him to keep chucking threes tells me all I need to know about your basketball IQ. Stick to baseball and jerking off to stats bud. He'd blow at East Mississippi.
I am/was right in line behind C34 in wanting Stansbury gone. I wanted Stansbury fired and every single one of us had visions of a different coach than Stricklin. Ray wanted that pressure. He said he was the man for it. I'm holding him to that but I'm not going to sit back and let Ray turn back the clock to 1974 when players stayed for 4 seasons. College basketball is 1 year and renews. Ray has 4 that don't need renews. I'll settle for 2. Go get TWO SHOOTERS and I'll shut the 17 up.
You have nothing to base the "vastly improved" assessment on, do you.
Prepare to be surprised. He had zero help on the perimeter last year. This year, he has some. He was also zero threat to shoot -- something that has improved notably. Teams aren't going to be able to back 2 steps off of Sword and double Ware low and consistently beat us this year...It will be surprising to see him at 48% this year without the benefit of the complete slate of OOC games to pad those numbers like he did last year, when he shot 56% before posting a 42% rate in conference play.
Fred Thomas, IJ Ready, and Maurice Dunlap can't shoot? Sword will share time at the 2 this year -- it was almost exclusively his last year. Thomas has adjusted to the spot very well. This is also why we've tried Sword at point -- it's how we get our best players on the floor together...45% is not bad. Most teams would like their shooting guard to be able to.....shoot. Ours can't.
And Fred Thomas could do none of the above.... 6 months ago....He's a driver with no outside game whatsoever. Get your head out of the spreadsheet and watch some games man.
Dang. Not to get in the middle of a good squabble, but a tip of the hat to Engie for "producing" it. Hard to take 61 serious after that.
One. Friggin. Thread. I'd be happy to link -- but it's on the other site. If I had the time or patience, I might read a couple more threads containing the other couple hundred instances of you advocating for the cutting of Fred Thomas....
Your Thomas statement was the only one that was total, outright stupidity. And we did have some "positive forced turnover" -- or did you forget about that already? You were the guy bitching about it not happening -- then you were the guy bitching because it did. It's really just bitching for the sake of bitching and impossible to be taken seriously.I notice that you have zero issue with my proposal to cut the other three. You just like Flat Shot. Fine. Maybe you're from Jackson. Maybe I don't give a 17. My point stands regardless. We'd be a much better team with some positive forced turnover.
Smarter attempts is part of maturing as a player. He improved across the board. Drastically.LOL at engie still. You would think someone who improved a whole 8% from freshman to sophomore year wouldn't see his 3 pt attempts drop by about a third in that same time frame. You know why that happens....because 27% still sucks from three.
So do you think what happened half a career ago is a better reference for what will happen in the future -- than the most recent past? I'm confused why you are attempting to refute the fact that Sword looked to actually have some potential as a shooter late last year. I've yet to see a player experience a drop-off year under Ray. Pardon me if, until I do, I expect them to continue to improve.And 6-14 from three over his last 8 games (it was actually 9) is the most engie statement ever. Spans two years, ignores two full years of data for a small cherry picked sample, and hopes that it won't be pointed out that prior to that hot streak, Sword was 3 for 22.
SweetI love it when you start going statement by statement.
Where did I say they had started lights out for us this year? In fact, I've said quite the contrary. Do you truly believe they are 15% shooters? If not -- then you also expect them to improve. Which is what I said they'd do. Both are 30-40% jumpshooters. It's just a matter of time. And so is Daniels and Houston for that matter. If you can't see shooter potential in all 4 of those guys, you need "to get your head out of the stat book and go actually watch a game" like you told me to do.The perimeter help he has this year is off to a blazing 29% start from three this year. Ready and Dunlap are 3-20.
I would as well. We've got to step up. The last two have been total shitburgers.I would play nothing but zone against us and DARE everyone on the team to make me get out of it.
I was careful in my initial wording on purpose.Even with all of that, I was referring solely to Sword as the 2 guard who can't shoot.
Because what happens when a kid shows up at MSU is a direct indication of what he will always be? What good is "two true PGs" when they are your 7th and 8th best players? The overall goal is to get our best 5 on the court together -- with Fred being our best shooter from the 2 -- and Daniels being our best 3 -- thus basically relegating Sword and Thomas to spelling each other if both are to play the 2. Fred is our best defender and Sword is our best guy in transition. Bloodman has improved, but Ready is a huge defensive liability. Ideally, you get both of their threats on the floor together -- and you don't sacrifice the lineup size and diversity that comes with Fred at the 3 over Daniels. The only way to have your cake and eat it too is for Sword to grow into a role at point.I forgot about the grand plan to play him at point, where he was a turnover machine two years ago, and we have two true PGs on the roster already, but whatever Ricky Ray. It's your world.
A top 25 FG% Guard is a "high percentage guy".Is a "serviceable shooter" the same thing as a "high percentage guy"? Doesn't sound like the same thing to me.