So, I'm not going to write a game story about another poor performance by the EMU men's basketball team. Instead, I'll just point out some of my key observations of the game.
Eastern Michigan, which lost the game 66-53 to the Grizzlies of Oakland University, came out of the gates deflated and lethargic. They never led. EMU let a known bomber from 3-point land, Erik Kangas , open the game with two 3-pointers to put the Grizzlies up 6-0, and it was over from there. Kangas came into the game shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc and having made four or more treys in the each of the last four games. He had 25 points and continued the streak by hitting 6-12 3-pointers last night.
This was really only a game for about four minutes toward the end of the first half. The Eagles got it to within two points once, but even when it was a two point game it wasn't close. (I know that sounds weird, but trust me, the game was ugly.)
The turnover story is getting old now, too. Solomon Farris had six turnovers in 18 minutes. Horrible. Two of his passes went nowhere near the person he said they were intending for. One landed in Swoop's lap and another in the front row of the student section. Brandon Bowdry had one of those moments, too. He had a great defensive play on one end where he stole the ball, got into the open court, then threw the ball to a phantom guy camped out in the corner. (Seriously, no one was within 10 feet of his pass. Not a ref, or a fan, or a Swoop or a basketball player.)
I'm not saying OU isn't a good team. They were a preseason favorite to win the Summit League and, at 8-6, they have the best record in their conference. But seeing as how Eastern jumped out to an 8-0 lead against then No. 10 Purdue and a 6-0 lead against a top 30 Michigan team, I expect more from Eastern against teams closer to our caliber.
A lot of these types of losses come as a result of underperformance. After the game I asked EMU Head Coach Charles Ramsey about junior center Justin Dobbins playing up to his potential.
"Plain and simply, he's not," Ramsey said. "If he doesn't start real soon, someone else will be taking his spot. I don't know who, but someone else will. There was a crucial point in the game when we were down six. We dump the ball down to Dobbins and he blows a two, three foot layup. [Oakland] gets out in transition, hits a 3-pointer and gets fouled and makes the free throw. If he hits that layup we're down four, but now we're down 10. That's a six point swing on one play."
Looking at Dobbins points and rebounds numbers, he had 10 and eight, respectively. But he only went 4-9 from the field and had three turnovers in more than 30 minutes of play. There were a few times when he was the last guy up the court on made baskets by Oakland. There were times when he couldn't establish position in the post when Oakland was playing a 3-2 zone. And he didn't convert on two or three baskets that were within five feet of the rim. When Carlos Medlock went down for the season, it was supposed to be Bowdry/Dobbins, 1-2 punch, bada bing-bada boom. But no dice. Bowdry is doing all he can to keep this team afloat until the MAC season rolls around, but a 2-9 record going into the break doesn't cut it.
Other notes: I really liked what I saw out of Will Cooper. He didn't shoot well from the field, but the guy is super energy. He had three blocks and a steal, all of which were hustle plays (rotating on defense and playing passing lanes). He also had eight points, and the mid-range jumpers he hit would've been timely had the rest of his team (not just him, Bowdry and Tyler Jones) been playing at his level.
Swingman and lone 3-point threat Zane Gay didn't suit up for the game. According to Ramsey, Gay severly sprained right his ankle the morning of the game and was on crutches and had a cast on his foot.
"It was the worst sprain I've ever seen," Ramsey said. "It was the size of a grapefruit or a softball right after it happened."
Eastern Michigan, which lost the game 66-53 to the Grizzlies of Oakland University, came out of the gates deflated and lethargic. They never led. EMU let a known bomber from 3-point land, Erik Kangas , open the game with two 3-pointers to put the Grizzlies up 6-0, and it was over from there. Kangas came into the game shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc and having made four or more treys in the each of the last four games. He had 25 points and continued the streak by hitting 6-12 3-pointers last night.
This was really only a game for about four minutes toward the end of the first half. The Eagles got it to within two points once, but even when it was a two point game it wasn't close. (I know that sounds weird, but trust me, the game was ugly.)
The turnover story is getting old now, too. Solomon Farris had six turnovers in 18 minutes. Horrible. Two of his passes went nowhere near the person he said they were intending for. One landed in Swoop's lap and another in the front row of the student section. Brandon Bowdry had one of those moments, too. He had a great defensive play on one end where he stole the ball, got into the open court, then threw the ball to a phantom guy camped out in the corner. (Seriously, no one was within 10 feet of his pass. Not a ref, or a fan, or a Swoop or a basketball player.)
I'm not saying OU isn't a good team. They were a preseason favorite to win the Summit League and, at 8-6, they have the best record in their conference. But seeing as how Eastern jumped out to an 8-0 lead against then No. 10 Purdue and a 6-0 lead against a top 30 Michigan team, I expect more from Eastern against teams closer to our caliber.
A lot of these types of losses come as a result of underperformance. After the game I asked EMU Head Coach Charles Ramsey about junior center Justin Dobbins playing up to his potential.
"Plain and simply, he's not," Ramsey said. "If he doesn't start real soon, someone else will be taking his spot. I don't know who, but someone else will. There was a crucial point in the game when we were down six. We dump the ball down to Dobbins and he blows a two, three foot layup. [Oakland] gets out in transition, hits a 3-pointer and gets fouled and makes the free throw. If he hits that layup we're down four, but now we're down 10. That's a six point swing on one play."
Looking at Dobbins points and rebounds numbers, he had 10 and eight, respectively. But he only went 4-9 from the field and had three turnovers in more than 30 minutes of play. There were a few times when he was the last guy up the court on made baskets by Oakland. There were times when he couldn't establish position in the post when Oakland was playing a 3-2 zone. And he didn't convert on two or three baskets that were within five feet of the rim. When Carlos Medlock went down for the season, it was supposed to be Bowdry/Dobbins, 1-2 punch, bada bing-bada boom. But no dice. Bowdry is doing all he can to keep this team afloat until the MAC season rolls around, but a 2-9 record going into the break doesn't cut it.
Other notes: I really liked what I saw out of Will Cooper. He didn't shoot well from the field, but the guy is super energy. He had three blocks and a steal, all of which were hustle plays (rotating on defense and playing passing lanes). He also had eight points, and the mid-range jumpers he hit would've been timely had the rest of his team (not just him, Bowdry and Tyler Jones) been playing at his level.
Swingman and lone 3-point threat Zane Gay didn't suit up for the game. According to Ramsey, Gay severly sprained right his ankle the morning of the game and was on crutches and had a cast on his foot.
"It was the worst sprain I've ever seen," Ramsey said. "It was the size of a grapefruit or a softball right after it happened."
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