Game 9, 2022-23: UMass Lowell (12/8)

[baseline47]

UMass Lowell vs. UMass Amherst was a great game to watch. I hope it is a portend of future future rivarly games!
Our defense was suspect. Lowell ran its sets and seemed to always get an open look. Theoir 3 pointers killed us;' no team should be able to shoot 50+ percent of 3's.

[NilesGold]

I miss Noah

Yup +1000

Alright, can o worms here. How is Rahsool Diggins not seizing this moment? 2nd year in college hoops, 59th in his class. I don't get it.

Maybe the recruiting consensus was wrong

[NilesGold]

They’ll listen to FM now. If they learn from this game we should see a different team on Sunday.

I think this is probably right, and the loss last night didn't come as a surprise, you could see it in how UMass played vs Harvard and Albany, it was only a matter of time.

Frank's yelling and being stern with players doesn't bother me. BUT... maybe Frank is seeing something I'm not, but his substitutions, who starts, and who they run plays for, are really questionable.

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

They’ll listen to FM now. If they learn from this game we should see a different team on Sunday.

I think this is probably right, and the loss last night didn't come as a surprise, you could see it in how UMass played vs Harvard and Albany, it was only a matter of time.

Frank's yelling and being stern with players doesn't bother me. BUT... maybe Frank is seeing something I'm not, but his substitutions, who starts, and who they run plays for, are really questionable.

bottom line, if you don't run the right play or you lose your man defensively, you are coming out! Last night Luis lost his guy on D and his man scored, he then scored 4 straight points but the guy was already at the scorers table waiting to check in for Luis. Frank wants you to know you screwed up and make you accountable. Seems like the only one he will give a little leash to is Cross. I have no problem with this at all - he doesn't hold it against the player all game - in most cases said player is back in within minutes. Now if you continue to make the same mistake (Wildens) you may not get back in

[Jack]

Tough loss. Umass was outplayed and outreached by a good Riverhawks team last night. UMass didn't earn the W. Pretty Simple.

[natwam2547]

They didn't play their best game, but I think some of you aren't giving Lowell enough credit. 11-21 on threes (and yes you can blame the D) is impressive. A lot of college teams still miss wide open threes. They didn't for the most part. They are a good team. Let's go 2-1 in the next 3 and enter our apparently shitty conference schedule 9-3 and make some noise there. I think their L comes Sunday, but I think they'll get some Springfield magic next weekend against North Texas and then they'll take care of business against Dartmouth as expected.

[DanaDingle3]

Lowell shot 52.4% from 3. Last night. That is hard to beat.

It was really the way in which they shot - as others have said, mostly wide open rhythm 3s. It was mostly because their PG repeatedly broke down our defense, forcing help and leaving shooters open. That's going to be a big issue while Noah's out, and moving forward, too. Guys gotta be able to guard their position. Bottom line.

I also agree it's getting tedious reading posts about Frank's style, or people's reaction to his style. The guy didn't just fall off the turnip truck. Everyone knows the deal. Get over it.

[bobolink]

I think some of the reaction (over reaction?) to the loss is two fold:

1. Attendance. Fans are so hungry for a full or nearly full arena that another home loss to a small program sets us back in terms of getting fans and students in the seats.
2. March Madness. Since the ultimate goal of a college basketball team is to dance in March, we're constantly looking at resume and SOS and net rankings, etc. If this was a professional sports team, you just look at it as a bump in the road but we can still improve and reach our goals. In college, you wear this loss around your neck for the whole season. It's part of your "resume".

Exactly right. Very few outside of P5/P6 will make the NCAAT and Towson and Lowell have schedules that could easily get them in position to claim a rare mid-major at large. Hofstra and rest of the CAA have been very successful vs A10 this year. It's a nightmare A10 season, as several teams with high expectations (Dayton, VCU and now UMass) lost star PGs to injury. They'll be back to beat each other up in conference play, but those OOC losses loom huge. UMass could progress as we hope, get Noah back, and still find a committee (maybe NIT) looking at head-to-head and taking a mid-major that beats UMass.

[NilesGold]

bottom line, if you don't run the right play or you lose your man defensively, you are coming out! Last night Luis lost his guy on D and his man scored, he then scored 4 straight points but the guy was already at the scorers table waiting to check in for Luis. Frank wants you to know you screwed up and make you accountable. Seems like the only one he will give a little leash to is Cross. I have no problem with this at all - he doesn't hold it against the player all game - in most cases said player is back in within minutes. Now if you continue to make the same mistake (Wildens) you may not get back in

Sure, but how do you explain who starts each game & half? You can't convince me that's our best lineup, and the players on the bench didn't make a mistake yet. Frankly, my biggest issue is with Brandon Martin starting , playing as much as he is, and what is either plays being run to get him the ball, or the team being told to get him the ball so he can look to score.

[Upstate10]

Frank going on a UMass twitter blocking spree if you mention a certain player getting too much run

[minutefanjsf]

bottom line, if you don't run the right play or you lose your man defensively, you are coming out! Last night Luis lost his guy on D and his man scored, he then scored 4 straight points but the guy was already at the scorers table waiting to check in for Luis. Frank wants you to know you screwed up and make you accountable. Seems like the only one he will give a little leash to is Cross. I have no problem with this at all - he doesn't hold it against the player all game - in most cases said player is back in within minutes. Now if you continue to make the same mistake (Wildens) you may not get back in

Sure, but how do you explain who starts each game & half? You can't convince me that's our best lineup, and the players on the bench didn't make a mistake yet. Frankly, my biggest issue is with Brandon Martin starting , playing as much as he is, and what is either plays being run to get him the ball, or the team being told to get him the ball so he can look to score.

I have no problem with whoever starts. It’s who finishes. It’s who gets the most minutes. The philosophy of starters being the best players does not seem to be Frank’s philosophy. He gets about 13 minutes in more competitive games. With a guard heavy lineup and Gapare getting more time this makes sense. 13 minutes will probably fall to 10 minutes or so. When your philosophy is to go as hard as you can when on the court subs are needed. I don’t think plays are run for him. When the offense runs plays through the high post whoever is the four will have the play run through them. DD and Cross can play both 3 and 4 (DD can also be a 5 with a small lineup). Gapare is a 4 it seems, who plays more like a 3. (He doesn’t rebound well, yet) 40 minutes need to be filled for each position. With only two guys as fives, unless Frank wants to go small, which he doesn’t ever seem to want to do, figuring how to divide 80 minutes between essentially 4 guys focused on rebounding, Martin gets the minutes he has. Max minutes for Frank seems to be about 27-30 minutes for any player.

[Juice Stand]

^ I mostly agree with what you have here, but I think that in certain games the starters do matter. When you're trying to set a tone and get out to a good start, you can't have him out there. I'm sorry, really, but he just doesn't bring enough to the table. I'm happy to see him in against CCSU or Albany, teams we should, and did smoke.

Hofstra is going to be a tough game, and I want to see our best lineup out there (minus Noah) and try to start strong.

[PreecherJenkins]

Here is the thing about having your son on the team. They need to fall into one of these buckets

1. The star

2. The 6th man

3. The walk-on who is never playing.

The coach's kid needs a clearly defined role to take the perception of nepotism out. The limited action we have seen of Brandon Martin he gives off vibes of a Winston Smith, game is defense and 15 feet and in.

[minutefanjsf]

^ I mostly agree with what you have here, but I think that in certain games the starters do matter. When you're trying to set a tone and get out to a good start, you can't have him out there. I'm sorry, really, but he just doesn't bring enough to the table. I'm happy to see him in against CCSU or Albany, teams we should, and did smoke.

Hofstra is going to be a tough game, and I want to see our best lineup out there (minus Noah) and try to start strong.

Part of my point is he is going to get ~10-13 minutes a game no matter what based on the numbers and Frank’s philosophy, which I tend to agree with. He’s not going to be out there in crunch time. The best times to have him out there, with the main goal of using minutes to get the most out of the other fours, starting and then playing around the midway point in each half makes a lot of sense. He doesn’t get extended runs, plays about 2-2.5 minutes at a time. He will get 4-5 times on the floor. These times on the floor are necessary. Foul trouble and energy levels, etc of DD, Cross, etc. will dictate his usage. He delivers the same every game. Hustles, rebounds and plays fairly solid D.

[minutefanjsf]

Here is the thing about having your son on the team. They need to fall into one of these buckets

1. The star

2. The 6th man

3. The walk-on who is never playing.

The coach's kid needs a clearly defined role to take the perception of nepotism out. The limited action we have seen of Brandon Martin he gives off vibes of a Winston Smith, game is defense and 15 feet and in.

He is playing sixth man minutes and contributing in the same role. Frank’s philosophy, based on his interviews, indicate the same. His view of sixth man or starters is somewhat reverse of traditional thinking.