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MBB Game 21: @ Pitt - Wednesday - 7 pm - ACCN

Still in disbelief that we probably would have won despite everything if (i) they made the correct call on that ridiculous charge when Hildreth drove the lane and hit that bucket and (ii) if he hadn’t clanked those free throws.
 
WRS said:
Still in disbelief that we probably would have won despite everything if (i) they made the correct call on that ridiculous charge when Hildreth drove the lane and hit that bucket and (ii) if he hadn’t clanked those free throws.
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or Tyree nails the final shot.

The fact that they made 18 3's and we had several things that could've won us the game is incredible.
 
Deacsfan27 said:
or Tyree nails the final shot.

The fact that they made 18 3's and we had several things that could've won us the game is incredible.
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Yeah that one for sure. It was a good look. You take that and live with it. Just felt like we could have tipped the scales a little earlier and held them off. I was in disbelief that they took a shot clock violation at the end of the game. Unreal.
 
Deacsfan27 said:
or Tyree nails the final shot.

The fact that they made 18 3's and we had several things that could've won us the game is incredible.
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It's one of the more frustrating things about this team. They are relentless in the fight to claw back in games. Just the quicksand moments get us so deep. I hope that the following things come out of the second half last night:

1) Williamson is out of his slump, and Appleby is out of his mini-slump.
2) We figured out some things that work with the 1-3-1.
 
Our perimeter defense has to improve, that's obvious. I think the effort is mostly there, but many of our players are either undersized or too slow. Next year, assuming we have no unanticipated departures, I would kind of like to see a 2-3 zone with Monsanto and Bobi at the wings. They both have the athletic ability and size to defend the wings. Hildreth seems like he would be pretty solid on the perimeter, in addition to the star PG that Forbes finds in the portal.

That said, I must complain about the officiating in the last two games. While some of the open looks are certainly on us, many against UVA and Pitt were the result of some blatant moving screens and holds that prevented our guys from reaching the shooter. The most blatant might have been the forearm that Appleby got hit with last night. I don't know how those are not called, but the charges against Monsanto and Cam get whistled. I thought the officiating against UVA was mostly fair. I thought we got jobbed against Pitt.

At the end of the day, I just don't think this team is good enough for a meaningful run in the ACC Tournament or to make any noise in the NCAA if we somehow got there. Forbes has done a great job of making the team better than its individual parts, but he's working with some serious limitations.

I continue to think next year's team will be better because I expect: (1) Forbes will bring in a very good PG to run the show, especially for what could legitimately be an NCAA Tournament team; (2) we will have a solid backup PG with Ituka healthy; (3) Cam will develop into an absolute force on both ends with a more dangerous outside shot; (4) Keller and Bobi will take significant leaps when the game slows down for them a little, allowing us to play much bigger than most of our opponents; (5) Monsanto learns to keep his cool and continues to be the man; and (6) probably most importantly, I expect Forbes to find one or two great players in the portal. In other words, I think our returning roster is a solid base, but Forbes will improve the overall talent level significantly.
 
WRS said:
I really am worried about Monsanto leaving. We are going to need his shooting ability badly next year. He’s going to be 23 in October which isn’t ancient in this era but still pretty old.
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I have no idea what will happen, but you should certainly expect unplanned departures. That's the nature of college basketball these days.
 
Where is Monsanto going? He seems very close with Forbes and he's not ready for pro basketball. He needs to develop his defensive game and his offense outside of jacking up 3s, which I love.
 
wakelaw13 said:
Forbes has done a great job of making the team better than its individual parts, but he's working with some serious limitations.
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Yup - Which would have been glaring and obvious to anyone who objectively analyzed this roster in the offseason.

I had this team pegged for 10 ACC wins with breaks so heading into Feb with an outside shot to make the NCAA's is why I'm not popping a cyanide capsule after the loss @Pitt.
 
wakelaw13 said:
Where is Monsanto going? He seems very close with Forbes and he's not ready for pro basketball. He needs to develop his defensive game and his offense outside of jacking up 3s, which I love.
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Idk man but as Sig said you just really don’t know what’s going to happen in this environment. Maybe he gets an ILLEGAL pay for transfer offer from somewhere else (jk). All I know is he’s not necessarily guaranteed to be here next year and it would really hurt to lose his shooting ability given that we don’t have much outside scoring from the returning group.
 
wakelaw13 said:
Where is Monsanto going? He seems very close with Forbes and he's not ready for pro basketball. He needs to develop his defensive game and his offense outside of jacking up 3s, which I love.
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In this day age, just enjoy the player for each season.

Monsanto graduated from HS in 2019. Hope he returns to WF next season, but would not be shocked if decided to see where a pro career takes him. He turns 23 next year. Age is a factor when the professional teams look at a prospect.
 
I think I'll honestly be shocked if we have Monsanto next year. Hate to say it but he's going to go get paid, whether from someone like Kansas or a pro team I'm not sure.
 
BeachBumDeac said:
I apologize to whoever it was we convinced to hammer the over 2.5 on Monsanto's threes
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He was 2-5 in 13 minutes of action. The expectation was he would play ~30 mins and that would have been an easy bet if true. I still am confused as to why he let him sit for 13 minutes with 4 fouls to only bring him in for the final 6 seconds.
 
wakelaw13 said:
At the end of the day, I just don't think this team is good enough for a meaningful run in the ACC Tournament or to make any noise in the NCAA if we somehow got there. Forbes has done a great job of making the team better than its individual parts, but he's working with some serious limitations.

I continue to think next year's team will be better because I expect: (1) Forbes will bring in a very good PG to run the show, especially for what could legitimately be an NCAA Tournament team; (2) we will have a solid backup PG with Ituka healthy; (3) Cam will develop into an absolute force on both ends with a more dangerous outside shot; (4) Keller and Bobi will take significant leaps when the game slows down for them a little, allowing us to play much bigger than most of our opponents; (5) Monsanto learns to keep his cool and continues to be the man; and (6) probably most importantly, I expect Forbes to find one or two great players in the portal. In other words, I think our returning roster is a solid base, but Forbes will improve the overall talent level significantly.
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Our returning roster next year is a solid base IF they return. We need to expect that some won't, which is going to be a challenge for Forbes most years. If we don't make the tournament this year, my guess is Forbes has 5 years (2 more to go) to get us in the NCAA tournament based on the dumpster fire he inherited AND the nature of college basketball today (transfer portal, new roster every year). I think he'll get it done ultimately but nights like last night are frustrating.
 
Lots of really bizarre shit happened last night. Keller appearing from absolutely out of nowhere for no apparent reason. Williamson all the sudden playing a ton of minutes. Monsanto’s night was just weird all around. He sat for a long time in the first half too when we desperately needed scoring.
 
When Keller came in I thought Bradford must've been hurt, then he came in and played a lot (to his credit he was solid in his time there minus the free throw miss).

I actually think Forbes substitutions and game to game roster management are some of his better traits as a coach. I trust what he was doing, but any close loss is going to cause scrutiny.
 
At the end of Forbes' presser he gets a question about Keller that he kind of mumbles something and shuts down (I think he hates questions about the center position this year and "who is/isn't playing" questions -- snapped at someone earlier asking a perfectly legit question about Ituka). Can anyone make it out? Seems like maybe "just thought he could help us," or something, but couldn't tell.

 
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