as any young team I've seen and maybe as any NU team I've seen. Plenty of mental lapses on the offensive boards and shots not falling, but I love watching how they hustle and keep their heads up.
This team plays as hard...
- Thread starter torque-cat
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Spencer sets the tone. Love his tenacity.
Even if this season has been miserable as far as wins and losses, taking a chance on him could pay dividends in the years to come as he set the standard for the young guys.
Even if this season has been miserable as far as wins and losses, taking a chance on him could pay dividends in the years to come as he set the standard for the young guys.
Isn’t it kind of a problem though? In Year 7, Collins needed a grad transfer from lacrosse to help try to establish some semblance of a culture?
Spencer has been awesome, and a really fun story this year. Way better than expected. But on the flip side, he’s the best player on the team and seems to be the heart and soul. As a grad transfer. Who has only been on campus for like 8 months. And hasn’t played basketball since high school. As much good as that says about Spencer, I think it says even more about Collins, the rest of the roster he built, and the kind of culture he’s built. Or maybe I’m way off, hell I don’t know.
Spencer is arguably the greatest athlete in the history of his sport. Not shocked that a team loaded with frosh and soph can learn from his swagger. You could also say that CC has kept this team playing its heart out despite massive growing pains. Focus on the positive
Young is not only going to be adequate. By the time he's an old man he will be a very good player.
Nance is showing a lot. But don't want to get my hopes up as we've also seen him flourishing in the beginning of the season. And he went into a dark period after that.
Where did Buie 3 pt shot go?
Unlike some here, I believe we are pretty decent on defense. Our lack of experience has hurt us a lot on the boards. And we surely lack strength. But, for a young group, we are fine on the defensive end.
Nance is showing a lot. But don't want to get my hopes up as we've also seen him flourishing in the beginning of the season. And he went into a dark period after that.
Where did Buie 3 pt shot go?
Unlike some here, I believe we are pretty decent on defense. Our lack of experience has hurt us a lot on the boards. And we surely lack strength. But, for a young group, we are fine on the defensive end.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I appreciate people supporting our team. That said...
Are you being sincere that you think think our team plays as hard as any NU team you've seen?! What am I missing? We were out-rebounded on both ends of the floor. We were beaten more often than not on 50/50 balls... Wisconsin only had 8 turnovers the whole game, so we weren't disruptive on defense. Wisconsin's winning % never fell below 90% at an point during the game last night...
Wisconsin is a good team, but they sleepwalked their way to victory over us. We never put any appreciable pressure on them. What is the evidence of this exceptional NU effort and hustle? I am not seeing it.
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Let me caveat that this team plays incredibly hard for a young team that faces a brutal schedule night in and night out and who have lost tons of heart-breakers. They keep their heads up, supporting each other, hustling on defense. Other teams are stronger and more athletic and we have some mental lapses on the boards. We hustle for loose balls but sometimes the other teams are just quicker and stronger. But the energy and passion is there. I am impressed and grateful for how they are showing up every night despite adversity and killer opponents.
I also need to add something to GCG's comments above.
There have been several times this year when this team didn't show up. I know it's been a tough season. But for me, the second you do that, you're just another team. These guys don't have the talent to take any time off.
I hope it's something Collins can coach out them before next November. It should be an expectation from day one.
You got to remember that one of the key guys, Anthony Gaines, was lost for the season. Collins was counting on him to be a leader and provide the toughness that luckily Spencer was able to do. The only other scholarship senior on the team, Turner, has proven to be a decent 7th or 8th man, but that's it. I'm not counting Tino, the other senior. We had 3 rising seniors transfer out before the season - Benson, Falzon, Ash. So that is on Collins, in several ways. But if the baptism-by-fire for this young group helps NU get back to The Dance in a year or two, it would've been worth the pain of this season.
I’ve rarely seen any team not come out flat on some nights. The only exceptions may be veteran teams fighting for a tourney bid or something like that. Athletes aren’t robots.
I don’t know the inside story in Spencer, but I’m confident his toughness, swagger, and competitive drive are exactly why Collins recruited him.
I suspect his actual basketball success has been a pleasant surprise, but I believe Collins wanted his super young group to have the day to day experience of working with an older veteran athlete who is used to playing hard and winning, knows what that takes, and leads by example as best he’s able.
I suspect his actual basketball success has been a pleasant surprise, but I believe Collins wanted his super young group to have the day to day experience of working with an older veteran athlete who is used to playing hard and winning, knows what that takes, and leads by example as best he’s able.
I'm pretty sure they are listed by basketball eligibility, so yes, rising seniors.