Chicago State Observations

[praetorfenix86]

I don't mind a missed dunk, that can happen to anyone, but when you miss two dunks and follow both of them with fouls, that is just foolish. Mickey had some clutch rebounding and we need him on the floor.

Marchello Vealy keeps coming along, I love his defense and rebounding, I'm hoping that his offense catches up soon.

Caleb Green once again showed why he is a man among boys.

Great comeback win by the women, I was proud of the way they held it together down the stretch to come back and win.

Scott Sutton's intensity was freakin' amazing. I don't mind coaches getting technicals, and his was a good one. It not only got the team going, it really got the fans going. Even after that technical, he stayed crouched right behind that coach line on the floor and just kept working the officials. This might be the best coaching job I have seen him do.

I saw Nathan Binam and started thinking about that 3 against Tulsa. That sure does always put me in a good mood.

[orumom]

Coach Sutton was amazing tonight. I understand this is the intensity that he usually coaches with on the road.

His technical was timed perfectly, it resulted in a change in the way the calls were going, stopped Chicago State's run and motivated our team and fans with a passion that had not been present until then.

Every game I watch Scott Sutton coach I am more impressed than ever. When I am even older and grayer I know he will be a household name like his father.

And the fans!!!!! It didn't take cheerleaders or someone on the team waving their arms to get us involved. We were involved before the technical, but after the technical the fans rose to a whole new level

[tmh8286]

Tonight I lost some faith in my favorite ref, J.D. Collins. He made some bad calls and some bad no-calls.

Caleb "only" took 19 free throws - he should have had 30 or more. He was being fouled EVERY shot he took, hard, but it was only called in a relatively small number of his shots. That's frustrating to me to watch; It must be doubly so for Caleb.

In spite of that he still manages to get 25 points on the night - 17 by free throws. Good thing he's a good free throw shooter - the rough treatment he's receiving at the hands of other Mid-Con teams is cutting down on his scoring by field goal.

[TrueBlue82]

Tonight I lost some faith in my favorite ref, J.D. Collins. He made some bad calls and some bad no-calls.

As you said in a previous thread, tmh, even "Duke" has an off night every once in awhile!

[tmh8286]

It was interesting to me how he seemed to be in complete control of what was going on tonight. After Scott was called for the technical foul by one of the other refs J.D. came over and talked to Scott, seemingly to smooth ruffled feathers. After one of the other refs made a call that brought the ire of the crowd, he was over talking to him about it. He was the one that called the intentional foul late in the game, and the double foul that involved JB.

But he also was responsible for the no-calls that allowed Chicago State to absolutely maul Caleb under the basket. That drives me crazy.

[richieoru]

Whats the deal with us not being able to get a charge against the other team these past 3 or 4 games. Our guys look like their set and then block block block, i just don't understand why we can't get a charge called. Bluitt is a master at taking the charge and its a very nice part of his game and now he can't get one called. Just frustrating. And after the technical even Lindsay Roberts was yelling out at the refs...she just went up a notch in my book.

[ORUTerry]

Random thoughts....

1. Mickey, there is a reason they say white guys can't jump. The first missed dunk was sorta okay - the second one was ugly. Lay the ball in the hoop. He made some lazy passes, inlcuding his obligatory turnover to start the game. He did provide some strong rebounds though.

2. CSU played their patented slow down game - running the clock down to 10 seconds and then setting their offense up. The two guards are quick and pretty good. They play a type of street ball similar to IUPUI.

3. The refs have to do something about opponents just mugging Caleb down low. He is going to get hurt. They let the game get out of hand by not calling fouls. Kudos to Scott for sticking up for his players and getting the T. It changed the complextion of the game. I know Green was only 4 for 10, but several of those shots were highly contested and he was being bodied or clubbed. I wonder if the refs are hesitant to call the fouls because they would blowing their whistles all night? In the first half, Caleb missed a shot after getting hit in the forehead.... no call. He came down the court holding his head. He actually handles it much better than I would.

4. We had too many turnovers... 16 for the game. We have got to do a better job protecting the ball and not lose possession.

5. Defense won the game for us. They (#3 - Holston) drained some long threes but we typically had them shooting off-balance shots. They grabbed a fair amount of offensive rebounds but a lot of them were a result of long bounces off the rim.

6. We out rebounded them 41 to 34. We also had 17 assists - versus Chicago State's total of only six. That is an indicator of the style of basketball they play.

[EaglEyes]

Scott Sutton's intensity was freakin' amazing. I don't mind coaches getting technicals, and his was a good one.

When the call was made it seemed like the whole crowd was cheering. I agree Coach Sutton's technical was good for the team.

[Guest EagleBackr]

When the call was made it seemed like the whole crowd was cheering. I agree Coach Sutton's technical was good for the team.

...I noticed that, too. That ref was probably wondering why the home crowd CHEERED when THEIR OWN COACH got "T"ed up! I guess he wouldn't know how much we all want to see Scott quit being such a nice guy and start giving these rinky-dink Mid-Con zebras the grief they so richly deserve!

Other observations:

1. I'm pretty fed up with Yemi's total lack of offensive aggression. He's gotten where he won't even pass the ball into the post, and Caleb seems to be getting really frustrated with that. All Yemi does in the offense is catch the ball deep on the wing, dribble toward half court, and fire it back to the point. Heck, I could do that - and I suck! Would it kill him to just drive to the hole ONCE?

2. When I saw Andrew Meloy enter the game in the first half, I thought "Oh, great - this won't work. How is Andrew going to keep up with this crowd, and with a bum knee?" But, I got to hand it to the guy - he battled hard and made a difference in the run that gave us our big lead. What cracks me up is how CONFIDENT the guy seems now - where the heck did that come from? Must be the hair...

3. Speaking of confidence, Moses and Chris truly have it now. They're not afraid to fire the 3 at any time, which is great. Anybody still wish we had not pulled Moses' redshirt? I told you when we did it that it's a long season and he would prove to be very valuable, even if Andrew came back. Hey, look - I'm right again!

4. If Mickey EVER tries to dunk again, I'm coming down out of the stands and pulling him from the game myself! Seriously, those two lapses in judgement overshadowed what was arguably one of his best defensive games. He got a number of critical rebounds, blocked a couple of shots, and generally ate up a lot of space. But, two words for you, my friend: FINGER ROLL.

5. How about Veally's save right in front of press row that led to Larry's sweet dunk from Caleb? Marchello is really a special athlete - like Larry, he provides at least one "Did You See That?!?" moment each game now. The more minutes, the better for him (and the team) the rest of the way.

6. Loved the effort from the line - looked like Caleb was much more focused tonight on the first free throw of each trip to the line, and it paid off. But one downer - Eric Fowlkes can't be allowed on the floor down the stretch in a tight game if we need to make a free throw. Neither can Yemi. Or Marchello. That leaves JB, Caleb, Mickey, Chris, Larry, Moses, and Andrew. I'm serious - those other three are gonna cost us a close game if we're not careful.

7. Fourth straight game an opponent has scored under 60 points, though it could be argued Southern Utah and Chicago State held themselves under 60 with their deliberate styles. Still, have to love the defensive effort of late. That might just carry us through a game or two if the offense sputters, especially on the road...

8. Nice bling on the Maniacs tonight, though I could do without the baseline taunting of the opposing team under their basket during warm-ups - that's an ugly incident just waiting to happen...

9. On a fashion note, why does Sylvester Spicer wear Mickey's XXXXXL polo shirts at the games? And why does itty bitty Darren Jordan wear Sylvester's?

10. Equally important, where DOES Glenn Smith buy those ties??

[oruvoice]

Smitty gets his ties from the Salvation Army thrift shop at 45th & Peoria.

The Maniacs dress last night was HILARIOUS...politically incorrect, but hilarious! The Chicago St. guys thought it was funny and were laughing about it during their lay-up drills before the game.

Chicago St.'s head coach is the biggest whiney baby in the league. Foul count was even and his guys were MAULING Caleb every trip down. He was complaining about Caleb's 19 free throws. But, he should have shot 40 free throws last night.

Which brings me to the officials. As many of you know, I hate it when fans complain about officiating. It can be a tough job. But, last night was HORRIBLE, ATROCIOUS, HOORIFFIC, and without question the worst officiated game I have ever seen. I could site dozens of examples, but the best is the "oldest trick in the book" as Scott described it. Where the CSU player (when on offense), grabs his defender by the arm and then seperates himself by flinging his arms out and pretending to be pushed. It would have been one thing for the CSU player to do it once, but they got fouls called on ORU TWICE with that same play and the refs fell for it BOTH times! And, it was obvious. It wasn't even done well.

Oh yeah, one other thing for the refs...just because a 5-6 guy runs into a 6-11 guy and falls down doesn't mean that it is a blocking foul. Mickey was set for several seconds in the lane with hands straight up and the CSU guards runs directly into Mickey's chest and sure enough...block.

Once again, I don't usually speak ill of the refs, but last night was a joke.

[ORUTerry]

The refs let things get too rough and almost lost control of the game. Poor job on their part. Can't blame Chicago State.... they just took advantage of the way the game was called.

[ORUHomer]

Everyone, say it with me:

"WE'VE GOT SPINNERS!! WE'VE GOT SPINNERS!!"

I must admit that the Maniac get-up last night was straight-up HILLARIOUS! Albeit, as Voice so eloquently put it, "politically incorrect," my wife was still laughing about it after church this morning. Now that is saying a lot!! Even better was the back-and-forth between the Maniacs and the Chicago State Women's team...including a reference to their loss earlier in the day.

I, like others in section M, had a clear view of the play in question where Sutton got T'd up. It was indeed a classic acting job, worthy of a Golden Globe, People's Choice, SAG award, Oscar, and any other acting accolade possible. Kudos to Coach Sutton for giving an earful to the refs. The atmosphere following his Technical was the most electric I've seen all year, and I was dang proud to cheer for our "composed" coach following and his fine accomplishent.

A few other comments of note:

I was perplexed somewhat by the substitutions in the second half, particularly at one point when we had, I think, Riouse, Meloy, Caleb, Owens, and Mickey(?) on the floor (no Fowlkes or Bluitt)...an puzzling combination and I'll leave it at that. Also, I thought Fowlkes should have been put in earlier than he was when Halston caught fire and JB certainly never proves to be a difficult player to shoot over...

Generally, our three point shot selection has been very good and we seem to be capitalizing on those opportunities. One or two times Riouse and Ehambe pulled the trigger from a good distance behind the arc and might have been better to show more patience, but all in all I say keep firing away.

I agree with Backr in Yemi can sometimes be frustrating on the offensive end. He showed a bit of offensive confidence early in the game and hit a nice open jump shot. He also put the ball on the floor once on the way to the basket, which really caught Chicago St. off guard, only to see him pull up and pass the ball when I thought he had the lane wide open...all this to say that I hope he develops more in this area.

I still really like the "more athletic" line up when Fowlkes, Riouse, Vealy, Green, and Ownes are on the floor. They are a lot of fun to watch.

Is it just me, or does Vealy look funny when he runs up and down the court? He never seems to be in a hurry to get up and down, but by the same token is rarely the last one down the floor and makes it look effortless. Just not sure what it is....but it seems to be working.

All in all, I had a great time last night. It was the most fun I think I've had all year at a game...eaglebackr must have put something in the water, eh? (for all you Canucks out there)

[tmh8286]

Hey, look - I'm right again!

A line right out of oruvoice's playbook!

If Mickey EVER tries to dunk again, I'm coming down out of the stands and pulling him from the game myself!

That would be GREAT. We would at last know who you are! You know, you can't keep your identity a secret forever. We WILL figure you out one of these days. And believe me, many are trying.

[Sterns78]

"I must admit that the Maniac get-up last night was straight-up HILLARIOUS! Albeit, as Voice so eloquently put it, "politically incorrect," my wife was still laughing about it after church this morning. Now that is saying a lot!! Even better was the back-and-forth between the Maniacs and the Chicago State Women's team...including a reference to their loss earlier in the day."

Hey guys, for us out-of-towners, be more specific. What were the Maniacs doing/wearing? The atmosphere of the ORU games is something I miss being down in Dallas.

[tmh8286]

They dressed up "Gansta", complete with spinner wheel cover bling bling. You probably would have to see it to understand - or believe - it.

[tmh8286]

Chicago St.'s head coach is the biggest whiney baby in the league. Foul count was even and his guys were MAULING Caleb every trip down. He was complaining about Caleb's 19 free throws. But, he should have shot 40 free throws last night . . .

Once again, I don't usually speak ill of the refs, but last night was a joke.

One of the reasons I've become completely cynical about basketball officiating is that there is apparently no recourse that can be taken, no matter how horrible the job is - as in the Missouri State game.

But here's an example of an official actually getting disciplined for a bad call, probably because it was on television.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2321279

I wonder if we would have seen the same poor officiating in the Missouri State game if it had been a televised "BracketBuster" game.

[bballmangc]

Hey guys, for us out-of-towners, be more specific. What were the Maniacs doing/wearing? The atmosphere of the ORU games is something I miss being down in Dallas.

To see more pictures of the maniacs you can check out our site http://www.mabeemaniacs.com and the pictures page of each game at http://www.mabeemaniacs.com/pictures.html

After each game we upload the best dressed and then a bunch of group pictures so others can log in as well as other sections on our site....check it out.

[ORU Eli]

GC - I think you've gotten more awesomer over the years since I've left and I didn't really think that was ever possible.

http://www.mabeemaniacs.com/images/oruchistate/gabe.jpg

You gotta teach me how to spit mad game.