I tried to stay away from basketball threads today but you guys have some good discussions going. I'd just like to add that Charlie Thompson seems like a good kid but only goes for the "safe" play too much. Dupree was open when Thompson had the ball begging for it but Thompson didn't give it to him. Sometimes you have to play to win rather than not to lose. Lloreda was horrible. The elbow was uncalled for. I think he can improve next year on the court. The adjustment he's going through is tough, especially for a big man. I have no idea what kind of guy he is but I hope it was a one-time act of frustration. As far as Nelson, you have to let him shoot. He's gone downhill every year since his freshman year and struggled with his shot. If he plays like he does 99% of the time, it's a close game. Oh well, maybe Collis breaking out of his slump will pay some dividends.
When Thompson was at the point I felt like we were playing 4 on 5. He's not going to shoot and they know it so it's doubly hard to get the ball inside.
At one point last night, due to foul trouble our lineup was Bridgewater, Hudson, Charlie Thompson, Thomas Davis and Darrel Mitchell. Needless to say the offense didn't run too smoothly and I think that was when Florida made the 20-3 run in the 1st half.
I don't have too much to say about the game itself, except for the fact that my team learned how to beat a 2-3 zone in high school, so I can't believe that a major D-1 team can't do it. But, I'm not going to get too frustrated, because after all, it's just a game. My main complaint is with that stupid halftime show. I hope that hypnotist wasn't paid out of athletic department funds (actually I hope he wasn't paid at all). All he did was wear a shiny shirt and stand in the middle of the chairs and yell. The volunteers were the ones that did all of the performing. That was a complete waste of time (although the one guy at the end was pretty funny). One more comment about the team, the only thing that really bothers me is the fact that the players that have been in the program for a number of years seem to be regressing instead of progressing.
They beat the zone several times but just couldn't knock down the wide open 3 pointer. And that hypnotist is full of it. He came like 2-3 years ago too and he had the EXACT same routine. Also, one of the guys in it was sitting right in front of me and said the whole thing was a fake. what makes me believe that was sometimes, the sound quality was so bad that you couldn't hear what he was telling the participants to do. And unless he told them beforehand, they wouldn't have known. The best halftime show that I have seen at LSU was Quick Change.
