Is UW a lousy ball team with a sissy schedule?

[PorkerPoke]

There doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for the basketball program. I agree that the schedule is not impressive, but some of the opponents have played good games against ranked opponents. Some opponents have been blown out by programs that are not too impressive themselves.

The fact is at least we are winning these games. Why have a schedule where a team is under .500 before conference play? Would a tough schedule make the team a better team? It sure did not under that former guy - I forgot his name already but I think he is an assistant at some perpetually poor program that is at the bottom of their league right now.

It seems like most posters around here are more negative towards the program than positive.

I like the feeling of being 8-1. Ratings only mean so much until head to head games are played. For example, Utah has this really tough rated schedule but lost to a non-D1 team at home! I will wait to see how our really really bad schedule goes against Utah's really really tough schedule on Jan 3rd. Because for those who think the program is bad with a sissy schedules that means Utah should blow us out without much of an effort. I think we might win that game on the road.

[McPeachy]

The schedule could quite possibly be the biggest cupcake of all time at UW. That is a fact, and I don't think any of us dispute that. Although from a fan perspective (and RPI situation) it sucks, it may be a huge benefit for this team, to learn and grow from prior to MWC games.

I think the team has great potential, and solid skills. I think Heath has assembled a team of athletes that are better than what we have seen (as fans) for 4 or 5 years. The key will be coaching, and how the team matures. I don't think we are world beaters, but I would bet we win more than 1/2 our conference games...and finish the season right above 20 wins. Does that translate to post-season, probably not (because of the RPI) but we'll see.

[WYCowboy]

What I am seeing in this team is a team that only plays hard enough to end up ahead of the team they are playing - which bit them in the ass at Boise. It doesn't seem to matter how much better we are than the opposition, we don't put them away until right at the end of the games. I haven't seen this much athletisism or talent on a Wyoming team in many, many years. In my opinion, our guards (1 & 2 positions) are the best in the conference and would rank high nationally. Our 3 & 4 positions rank very high in the conference and got a boost when Thiam became elgible. Muojeke is still making some freshman mistakes, but wow, what an athlete and talent. I think Adam Waddell was sick last night. He is really an athlete too and is still learning the footwork, but he has great hands and can jump. Mikhail Linskens is improving, but does not have great hands or jumping ability. This team is gelling pretty well. We are not a real deep team, so we can't afford to have anyone get injured. This is not a lousy team and has the potential to be very, very good - could finish in the top 3 of this conference.

[PokeNer]

What I am seeing in this team is a team that only plays hard enough to end up ahead of the team they are playing - which bit them in the ass at Boise. It doesn't seem to matter how much better we are than the opposition, we don't put them away until right at the end of the games. I haven't seen this much athletisism or talent on a Wyoming team in many, many years. In my opinion, our guards (1 & 2 positions) are the best in the conference and would rank high nationally. Our 3 & 4 positions rank very high in the conference and got a boost when Thiam became elgible. Muojeke is still making some freshman mistakes, but wow, what an athlete and talent. I think Adam Waddell was sick last night. He is really an athlete too and is still learning the footwork, but he has great hands and can jump. Mikhail Linskens is improving, but does not have great hands or jumping ability. This team is gelling pretty well. We are not a real deep team, so we can't afford to have anyone get injured. This is not a lousy team and has the potential to be very, very good - could finish in the top 3 of this conference.

I agree, I think we have been playing down to each team. It seems they are often just doing enough to win right now. I saw flashes of a team last night that can be really good. When they started running last night, Western couldn't even come close to keeping up. Sure they're still making some bonehead mistakes, and the D needs to improve big time, but there are some athletes on the team. Come conference tourney time, if the team has jelled like I think they can, the MWC better watch out.

However, Linskens not only doesn't have great hands, he doesn't have any hands. He is flat out horrible. He got raped by the seven footer from Northern Iowa, and will get raped again by Neville and other bigs in the MWC. Linskens needs to stay on the bench and only come off when Wadell is in foul trouble or tired. Thiam and Wadell should be able to hold down the post pretty well through the season.

We'll learn a lot in the next couple weeks against teams like UCLA, and Utah State. Hopefully we are 12-2 heading into conference play.

[GetRealMan]

This team is loaded with more talent than I've seen in 20 plus years in Laramie. That alone will not translate into wins but at least there is a foundation of incredible potential to build on.

What I'm seeing now is a team that likes to run and shoot, we haven't taxed the shot clock this year from what I recall. But in the process of run and gun and moving up and down quickly, we tend to get sloppy on both sides of the ball.

There is a structured offense in place but to the naked eye it appears ragged and street-ballish. I'm hoping this changes as the team grows and pays more attention to the coaching staff. Defensively, some players are in a mindset that they should be able to relax after a workout on the offensive end, especially in a zone situation.

As we saw last night, a good three point shooting team will make them pay from the perimeter if they let that laziness linger. These guys need to radically pick up their zone defense fundamentals. When they switched to man they seemed more effective and were able to capitalize more effectively on steals and transition points. So it still comes down to coaching. Can Shroyer get them to understand how good defense will carry them to the promise land?

I think our O will be fine, albeit somewhat inconsistent and frustrating at times, but to finish in the top 3 of the MWC and make some noise in Vegas and beyond, our defense will need serious improvement. Got my fingers crossed. Pauley Pavillion and Logan will give us a better gauge than anything we've seen to this point.