Random Thoughts on the Niagara Loss

[.44caliberkiller]

1. I thought we actually did okay rebounding. After losing the rebounding battle in the first half 24-18 we managed to out rebound Niagara 24-15 in the second half, so overall for the game Wyoming won the rebounding margin 42-39. That's two games in a row where we have won the battle of the boards, and for a team lacking an interior presence and (42-33 against Grambling) who in recent years has been a poor rebounding team that is progress. Unfortunately we did give up a couple of late offensive rebounds that helped Niagara close out the victory, but overall offensive rebounds wasn't a huge issue (10-9 in favor of Niagara).

2. I actually thought our defense was solid for the most part. We played a zone almost the entire game which sounds like the game plan at least until Thompson and Naughton come back from injury. We held Niagara to 37.9% shooting from the field and 33% from the arc. Wyoming actually out shot Niagara from both the field (40.3%) and from beyond the arc (35%). Also we were able to hold their leading scorer James Towns to 2-9 shooting from the field, and he came into the game averaging 18.5pts. But give credit where credit is due, every time Wyoming cut the lead to a few points or even managed to take a small lead Niagara always had the answer hitting several clutch threes. Niagara also did an excellent job closing out the game from the free throw line, on the night they shot 80% and went 6-6 from the stripe to ice the game at the end.

3. Turnovers for the first time all season were a major issue. Coming into the game Wyoming was averaging 11 turnovers a game, for example last season we averaged 14 turnovers per game. From my eye it didn't seem like anything specific Niagara was doing, Wyoming just was sloppy and careless with the ball. Much like almost every aspect of this game Wyoming was worse in the first half committing 9 turnovers as opposed to just 6 in the second half.

4. Early on in this season Wyoming has a bad habit of getting off to slow starts. Niagara started off on a 5-0 run and essentially maintained the lead for the entire game. Wyoming shot 30% from the field in the first half and 50% in the second half. Basketball is a game that momentum and confidence can have a huge impact and bad starts to games can tend to linger throughout the entire game. I know a major complaint amongst fans is that Wyoming just shoots a lot of three point shots and isn't very good at them. While that is probably true, that wasn't necessarily the case against Niagara. Overall on the night of Wyoming's 62 shot attempts only 20 of them were 3pt attempts, and we shot a somewhat respectable 35% on those attempts. And for the most part I thought we just missed open looks, particularly from inside the paint.

5. Maldonado really struggled shooting from beyond the arc, he was 0-6 and missed the potential game tying shot with 6sec to go. I do believe that he will be a solid three pointer shooter for us this season and he just had an off night shooting. Other than his poor shooting from deep Maldo continues to blossom into a star. He may be the best finisher at the rim on the team and that's saying something considering Justin James is sill on the team. He also has taken it upon himself to fill the rebounding void with the absence of Thompson and Naugthon, in back to back games Maldo has set a career high in rebounds with 12 against Grambling and 15 against Niagara.

6. If we have Thompson and Naughton this would have been a victory. I know were long past any moral victories but the truth remains that with our two big men in the fold this could be a much improved team. I'm not sure how good we would be with a full roster but I do believe we would be 3-1 right now. Unfortunately that isn't the case and hopefully both Thompson and Naughton can come back fully healthy sooner rather than later.

7. I know Edwards is under siege with Wyoming fans right now and to an extent it's understandable. His rotations continue to be mystifying. It seems like he is very rigid and sticks to his pregame plan no matter whats happening during the game. For example T.J. Taylor hardly plays against Oregon State because Edwards deemed that a poor match-up for him. Against Grambling Taylor is the first guy off the bench and he has a magnificent game (20pt/7reb/3stl/1blk), and then against Niagara he is back to playing sparingly. Taylor isn't the only guy who's playing time is confusing, Brandon Porter plays 6min in the first half and goes 2-2 from the arc and has a block shot, yet he doesn't play at all in the 2nd half. I'll give Edwards credit where credit is due, bringing Taylor in against Grambling when and how he did may very well have set him up for success, but unfortunately this seems to be an exception instead of the rule. I do think there is some potential with this team but it is frustrating when we continue to lose and were not playing the new guys. Playing the new guys seems to me to be the best way to improve exponentially. A lineup and rotation of James/Maldonado/Hendricks/Thompson/Naughton/Porter/Taylor playing the majority of the minutes would seem to me to be an at least average MTN West team.

8. I've been hard on Mueller so far in the early going, and it's nothing about him in particular I don't like. He's problem is two fold, first he is playing out of position, and second he is forced into playing too many minutes. Mueller could be a very solid end of the rotation guy playing 10-15 minutes a game but instead he is playing 30+ minutes a night. Having said all that Mueller has been playing better in the last two games as opposed to the first two. He doesn't provide much scoring but he does have 6stl in the last two games. Hopefully he continues to improve and starts playing a role more suited to his capabilities.

9. I really like what I've seen in Hendricks. Quite simply he just seems like a basketball player. He doesn't seem to have any glaring weaknesses. He is more athletic than you think and he's not just a spot up shooter, nor is he a liability of defense. I think Hendricks will have a very productive two year career in Laramie.

10. It may be unfair but for Wyoming to be a good team, which so far we haven't been even close to, Justin James needs to play better than he has. James has been solid and if he were most any other player you would say he is playing great, but James has so much talent and ability that he can be a lot better than he has been so far in the early going. His patented mid range game has been a little off and he doesn't seem to be finishing at the rim like he is capable of. But the good news is that in the 2nd half against Niagara his shot looked much better and he managed to his several jump shots including a couple of three's. If James plays like we all know he can Wyoming can still have an exciting and entertaining season.

[FarmerPoke]

Fairly depressing first 4 games for the Pokes

[Pokes fan 24-7]

I think they will get better as the year goes on. The biggest thing is figuring out the rotation.

[Coeur d' Alene]

Porter was such a positive in his few minutes that they should've had to run him back out the second half. He also took a ball to the basket and got fouled but no call. He looked so smooth on the drive.


Clearly they made a mistake in building a team without a third big. And forcing the #1 assistants kid into too big of a role is the other thing holding the team back b

[Vt poke]

I think they will get better as the year goes on. The biggest thing is figuring out the rotation.

When all the guys are back, we will be a much better team for sure. My fear is that Edwards will continue playing Redding and Meuller a ton. Redding plays decent D, but has zero offensive game. It’s like playing 4 on 5 our there and add Meuller and we have very little scoring threat. I would love to see .44’s suggested rotation

[LanderPoke]

I think they will get better as the year goes on. The biggest thing is figuring out the rotation.

When all the guys are back, we will be a much better team for sure. My fear is that Edwards will continue playing Redding and Meuller a ton. Redding plays decent D, but has zero offensive game. It’s like playing 4 on 5 our there and add Meuller and we have very little scoring threat. I would love to see .44’s suggested rotation

I can guarantee Edwards will continue to play Redding and Mueller a ton. When has he ever made adjustments his whole time here? It will be the same rotation until the last game of the season. Maybe when Hunter T gets back he will play some, but he seems super injury-prone. basically AE is intrinsically incapable of playing the correct, players, constructing an offense or making adjustments

[TSpoke]

Very good post. I agree with your points. Its too early to write this team off. They got talent but got some bad luck to start the season with our bigs going down forcing us to play small. ALso this team will take a while to gel and figure out roles. We would have won the game if Maldo didn't have a horrid shooting game.

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

6. If we have Thompson and Naughton this would have been a victory. I know were long past any moral victories but the truth remains that with our two big men in the fold this could be a much improved team. I'm not sure how good we would be with a full roster but I do believe we would be 3-1 right now. Unfortunately that isn't the case and hopefully both Thompson and Naughton can come back fully healthy sooner rather than later.

I fear this is a pipe dream. It will be the Thompson show going forward. I have no confidence that Naughton can stay healthy for any amount of time. I hope I am wrong, but recovering from an earlier injury and he tears up his knee stretching... Poor guy seems cursed.

[Pokes fan 24-7]

One other positive thing is that the shot selection has been better the last two games. Guys are making good off ball cuts and smart passes to get good looks. The problem is we have been missing allot of layups and wide open threes. I feel like this will correct itself if they keep staying active off the ball and keep executing.

That being said, until they get the best combination of players on the floor, we are never going to maximize our potential.

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

One other positive thing is that the shot selection has been better the last two games. Guys are making good off ball cuts and smart passes to get good looks. The problem is we have been missing allot of layups and wide open threes. I feel like this will correct itself if they keep staying active off the ball and keep executing.

That being said, until they get the best combination of players on the floor, we are never going to maximize our potential.

Just like the Rockies offense is gonna hit, this offense is gonna score. Right? God I hope so...

[McPeachy]

In summation? We looked like dog poop.