Game 4, 2023-24: Central CT (11/22)

[TheOFFSeason]

All of us on here have seen or been to games like yesterday in the past where we either lost or left the game disappointed in how close it was against a team we felt we should have blown out. Usually we could look at a lack of effort or a lack of cohesiveness among the players as the reason. There was none of that yesterday or in any of the 4 games so far this year. These players have flaws like just about every player in college basketball but effort, togetherness, buying into the coaching staff and team above individual are not any of the flaws they have at this point and that, to me, is why they are fun to watch again. Free throw shooting is one of the flaws and it cost us a game against a good team that we actually outplayed the whole game that night.(for those saying that Harvard isn’t that good because they were picked 6th in the Ivy, you are not taking into consideration that preseason there was no way to accurately predict how good the freshman guard would be or how connected their players would be).
UMass has leadership on the court both non vocal(Cross) and vocal(Cohen and Jayden) and that’s been missing since Gaffney.
Davis has been excellent so far in my opinion because here is a kid that is thought of as a shooter and it’s 4 games into the season and he hasn’t been able to get good looks too often and hasn’t made many of the looks he has gotten but he has been valuable to the team with his effort, toughness, selflessness and being a good teammate…he is always cheering from the bench and is out a half court at timeouts giving guys support…more often than not a kid in his position would be sulking and calling their AAU coach asking him to find someplace for him to transfer to.
Curry has speed and ability that others don’t have but he has to figure out how to play while contributing to a winning team…any kid with talent can put up numbers on a losing team.
I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him. I think Frank would admit that benching him for the last 7-8 minutes of the Harvard game to send him a message after his second violation for being out of bounds while catching the ball was 1. A secondary reason why we lost the Harvard game and 2. Not necessary because Jayden is not the type of player that you need to send a message to…I don’t think Frank would do that again.

Anyway, this team is not perfect and there will be plenty of things to nitpick throughout the year but if they keep up this level of effort and cohesiveness they will be worth watching and supporting all year.

[capezona]

Great team effort. Fun game to watch. I noticed that Majok was trying to cover the ball on defense from corner to corner leaving the area under the basket open. He just has to remember that he has teammates. It will be fun to watch him develop.

[debache]

Matt Cross is a beast (nothing new, he gives it his all every game).
Josh Cohen 5-6 on foul shots (confidence is everything)
Enjoy watching the younger players getting more confident and adjusting to Div 1 basketball.
Go UMass

[UMassfan_19]

I think Foster is going to be a good one ! Also , Cohen and Cross are as good a front court as any in the A 10 !

Think foster going end up transfering

Well Hopefully not ! Why do you think ?

Believe we have over recruited so someone will have to go and he gets the least minutes. He was also a last minute add

[inthescoop]

I think Foster is going to be a good one ! Also , Cohen and Cross are as good a front court as any in the A 10 !

Think foster going end up transfering

How are we making such outrageous claims 4 games into a season, holy fuck

[SignMan]

All of us on here have seen or been to games like yesterday in the past where we either lost or left the game disappointed in how close it was against a team we felt we should have blown out. Usually we could look at a lack of effort or a lack of cohesiveness among the players as the reason. There was none of that yesterday or in any of the 4 games so far this year. These players have flaws like just about every player in college basketball but effort, togetherness, buying into the coaching staff and team above individual are not any of the flaws they have at this point and that, to me, is why they are fun to watch again. Free throw shooting is one of the flaws and it cost us a game against a good team that we actually outplayed the whole game that night.(for those saying that Harvard isn’t that good because they were picked 6th in the Ivy, you are not taking into consideration that preseason there was no way to accurately predict how good the freshman guard would be or how connected their players would be).
UMass has leadership on the court both non vocal(Cross) and vocal(Cohen and Jayden) and that’s been missing since Gaffney.
Davis has been excellent so far in my opinion because here is a kid that is thought of as a shooter and it’s 4 games into the season and he hasn’t been able to get good looks too often and hasn’t made many of the looks he has gotten but he has been valuable to the team with his effort, toughness, selflessness and being a good teammate…he is always cheering from the bench and is out a half court at timeouts giving guys support…more often than not a kid in his position would be sulking and calling their AAU coach asking him to find someplace for him to transfer to.
Curry has speed and ability that others don’t have but he has to figure out how to play while contributing to a winning team…any kid with talent can put up numbers on a losing team.
I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him. I think Frank would admit that benching him for the last 7-8 minutes of the Harvard game to send him a message after his second violation for being out of bounds while catching the ball was 1. A secondary reason why we lost the Harvard game and 2. Not necessary because Jayden is not the type of player that you need to send a message to…I don’t think Frank would do that again.

Anyway, this team is not perfect and there will be plenty of things to nitpick throughout the year but if they keep up this level of effort and cohesiveness they will be worth watching and supporting all year.

Phew...
Thought I was reading Ch 1 of a would be 425 pg book.

[Zeke]

Since we're into insulting people on this site, I have to say that if you are "The Sign-man" who has haunted mens basketball game sidelines for 30 + years, then more painful than a 425 page book assessing the teams strengths and weaknesses - are your usually silly but sometimes awful puns.

[stevemaz]

Since we're into insulting people on this site, I have to say that if you are "The Sign-man" who has haunted mens basketball game sidelines for 30 + years, then more painful than a 425 page book assessing the teams strengths and weaknesses - are your usually silly but sometimes awful puns.

although the time he dressed as Moses and carried tablets was brilliant!

[stevemaz]

All of us on here have seen or been to games like yesterday in the past where we either lost or left the game disappointed in how close it was against a team we felt we should have blown out. Usually we could look at a lack of effort or a lack of cohesiveness among the players as the reason. There was none of that yesterday or in any of the 4 games so far this year. These players have flaws like just about every player in college basketball but effort, togetherness, buying into the coaching staff and team above individual are not any of the flaws they have at this point and that, to me, is why they are fun to watch again. Free throw shooting is one of the flaws and it cost us a game against a good team that we actually outplayed the whole game that night.(for those saying that Harvard isn’t that good because they were picked 6th in the Ivy, you are not taking into consideration that preseason there was no way to accurately predict how good the freshman guard would be or how connected their players would be).
UMass has leadership on the court both non vocal(Cross) and vocal(Cohen and Jayden) and that’s been missing since Gaffney.
Davis has been excellent so far in my opinion because here is a kid that is thought of as a shooter and it’s 4 games into the season and he hasn’t been able to get good looks too often and hasn’t made many of the looks he has gotten but he has been valuable to the team with his effort, toughness, selflessness and being a good teammate…he is always cheering from the bench and is out a half court at timeouts giving guys support…more often than not a kid in his position would be sulking and calling their AAU coach asking him to find someplace for him to transfer to.
Curry has speed and ability that others don’t have but he has to figure out how to play while contributing to a winning team…any kid with talent can put up numbers on a losing team.
I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him. I think Frank would admit that benching him for the last 7-8 minutes of the Harvard game to send him a message after his second violation for being out of bounds while catching the ball was 1. A secondary reason why we lost the Harvard game and 2. Not necessary because Jayden is not the type of player that you need to send a message to…I don’t think Frank would do that again.

Anyway, this team is not perfect and there will be plenty of things to nitpick throughout the year but if they keep up this level of effort and cohesiveness they will be worth watching and supporting all year.

I think to myself when i watch him play that Jayden is an A+ defender..

[minutefanjsf]

All of us on here have seen or been to games like yesterday in the past where we either lost or left the game disappointed in how close it was against a team we felt we should have blown out. Usually we could look at a lack of effort or a lack of cohesiveness among the players as the reason. There was none of that yesterday or in any of the 4 games so far this year. These players have flaws like just about every player in college basketball but effort, togetherness, buying into the coaching staff and team above individual are not any of the flaws they have at this point and that, to me, is why they are fun to watch again. Free throw shooting is one of the flaws and it cost us a game against a good team that we actually outplayed the whole game that night.(for those saying that Harvard isn’t that good because they were picked 6th in the Ivy, you are not taking into consideration that preseason there was no way to accurately predict how good the freshman guard would be or how connected their players would be).
UMass has leadership on the court both non vocal(Cross) and vocal(Cohen and Jayden) and that’s been missing since Gaffney.
Davis has been excellent so far in my opinion because here is a kid that is thought of as a shooter and it’s 4 games into the season and he hasn’t been able to get good looks too often and hasn’t made many of the looks he has gotten but he has been valuable to the team with his effort, toughness, selflessness and being a good teammate…he is always cheering from the bench and is out a half court at timeouts giving guys support…more often than not a kid in his position would be sulking and calling their AAU coach asking him to find someplace for him to transfer to.
Curry has speed and ability that others don’t have but he has to figure out how to play while contributing to a winning team…any kid with talent can put up numbers on a losing team.
I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him. I think Frank would admit that benching him for the last 7-8 minutes of the Harvard game to send him a message after his second violation for being out of bounds while catching the ball was 1. A secondary reason why we lost the Harvard game and 2. Not necessary because Jayden is not the type of player that you need to send a message to…I don’t think Frank would do that again.

Anyway, this team is not perfect and there will be plenty of things to nitpick throughout the year but if they keep up this level of effort and cohesiveness they will be worth watching and supporting all year.

There are no players above being sent a message. If you allow players to make mental mistakes and do not send a message, they will continue to make those mistakes. Some may only need the message once. Others may not ever receive a message, however, no one is above or the type of player immune from receiving a message IMO. Mike Williams comes to mind. I also saw coach Cal bench Lou Roe at times.

[GOODY]

Since we're into insulting people on this site, I have to say that if you are "The Sign-man" who has haunted mens basketball game sidelines for 30 + years, then more painful than a 425 page book assessing the teams strengths and weaknesses - are your usually silly but sometimes awful puns.

although the time he dressed as Moses and carried tablets was brilliant!

I was a season ticket holder 1992 til 2013 when I moved to Florida I love loved sign man ! Still get up to a game on occasion! Follow them closely still !

[wmmmfan]

All of us on here have seen or been to games like yesterday in the past where we either lost or left the game disappointed in how close it was against a team we felt we should have blown out. Usually we could look at a lack of effort or a lack of cohesiveness among the players as the reason. There was none of that yesterday or in any of the 4 games so far this year. These players have flaws like just about every player in college basketball but effort, togetherness, buying into the coaching staff and team above individual are not any of the flaws they have at this point and that, to me, is why they are fun to watch again. Free throw shooting is one of the flaws and it cost us a game against a good team that we actually outplayed the whole game that night.(for those saying that Harvard isn’t that good because they were picked 6th in the Ivy, you are not taking into consideration that preseason there was no way to accurately predict how good the freshman guard would be or how connected their players would be).
UMass has leadership on the court both non vocal(Cross) and vocal(Cohen and Jayden) and that’s been missing since Gaffney.
Davis has been excellent so far in my opinion because here is a kid that is thought of as a shooter and it’s 4 games into the season and he hasn’t been able to get good looks too often and hasn’t made many of the looks he has gotten but he has been valuable to the team with his effort, toughness, selflessness and being a good teammate…he is always cheering from the bench and is out a half court at timeouts giving guys support…more often than not a kid in his position would be sulking and calling their AAU coach asking him to find someplace for him to transfer to.
Curry has speed and ability that others don’t have but he has to figure out how to play while contributing to a winning team…any kid with talent can put up numbers on a losing team.
I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him. I think Frank would admit that benching him for the last 7-8 minutes of the Harvard game to send him a message after his second violation for being out of bounds while catching the ball was 1. A secondary reason why we lost the Harvard game and 2. Not necessary because Jayden is not the type of player that you need to send a message to…I don’t think Frank would do that again.

Anyway, this team is not perfect and there will be plenty of things to nitpick throughout the year but if they keep up this level of effort and cohesiveness they will be worth watching and supporting all year.

Your insight is always a great read.

[NilesGold]

I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him.

"Top 5-man lineups in the country at http://EvanMiya.com, adjusted for strength of opposition, minimum 50 possessions:"
https://twitter.com/EvanMiya/status/1727749051293307108

UMass' starting lineup, including Jayden, ranks #3 in the country as of yesterday.

[inthescoop]

I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him.

"Top 5-man lineups in the country at http://EvanMiya.com, adjusted for strength of opposition, minimum 50 possessions:"
https://twitter.com/EvanMiya/status/1727749051293307108

UMass' starting lineup, including Jayden, ranks #3 in the country as of yesterday.

Nice find Niles!

[eldonabe]

I won’t go into something about every player at this point but I do want to say something about Jayden who has become a fan favorite for his all out play, his defense and toughness. When I first started doing evaluations for a scouting service I was told by a veteran to always watch for players that can run the plays, on both offense and defense, that the coach has put in…these guys are very valuable and you don’t have winning teams without these guys…Jayden is one of these guys and Frank has extreme confidence in him.

"Top 5-man lineups in the country at http://EvanMiya.com, adjusted for strength of opposition, minimum 50 possessions:"
https://twitter.com/EvanMiya/status/1727749051293307108

UMass' starting lineup, including Jayden, ranks #3 in the country as of yesterday.

That's great - wake me up when they play a good team.