With no Chris P in the house, hopefully we will get some great fans posting about the games. Today I didn't want to get into the game reviews because we are still working out the kinks. I really just wanted to give a quick overview of what I have seen through two exhibition wins.
It looks like Bennett will be playing the 2 mostly and responded with 28 and 25 pt games. He looks close to unstoppable when he is hitting three's at the rate he is. I love him coming off the high screens and being able to create or make his own shot. He looks fired up and like he really cares.
Crook is playing smart. He was able to work the paint today and it showed off with dunks and layups plus some excellent rebounding work. he got blocked by Pierre pretty bad (his 5th of 6) but otherwise I liked most of the defense and spirit he showed today. Be interesting to see if he starts but it looks like he will for now. The free throw shooting has not improved to say the least and it really needs to if he wants those minutes.
Strick has not played much. We know what we should get and he is still a huge fan favorite and assistant coach.
New Additions
Devon Norris- Played 2 mins today and scored his first bucket. Probably won't see much time.
Garry Gallimore- Added some great intensity on defense and can get the hoop as a 3. He started a fight with Jeanty and Pierre which fired up the crowd and got the team going. He could be a great player coming off the bench in a league where defense is not valued as highly.
Adris DeLeon- Coming in at point he has looked very good. He has control of the team when he is bringing the ball up. He was able to penetrate and get to the line and played tenacious defence. As a combo with Bennett I think this will give us a phenomenal 1-2 punch and good leadership.
Gary Ervin- Has looked excellent in two games coming in for Deleon. Another PG with great range and ability to get into the lane. He works very hard defensively and gives another great scoring option.
Gordon Malone- I haven't seen enough of Malone yet but I have a feeling he will be a very solid player starting centre or backup to McCarroll. Both a stepup from having Strick or Crook playing the 5 last year. More to come on Malone.
Jevohn Sheppard- Saw relatively limited action as the 2/3 guard and worked well on the permieter draining a couple threes and also getting in the lane. Would love to see his stats from the weekend.
Shagari Alleyne- Not sure about the big guy. His career stats are not great but in the first game he changed a bunch of shots from the perimeter. He has limited hands but seems nice. If he can stay central and block some shots and get a little more physical, he could give some minutes off the bench.
Mark McCarroll- Has some range for a big man and some very solid moves inside. He had a few boards and worked the glass well against Pierre today, giving at least a push with the big man. He looked to have a couple blocks as well and runs the floor decently.
Lonnel Shuler Jones- Saw some good minutes today and moved the ball well and got aggressively to the hoop. Liked what I saw today and will be interesting to see how he works into the rotation.
Desmond Ferguson- Moneyball has looked very assured and surprisingly quiet. He had a good scoring day in game one but didn't play as much in game two. He will be the starting 3 unless something weird happens.
The Team
Andre and Coach Berry have built an extremely strong and diverse team. It seems to be built around tenacious defense and fast breaking, but when they slow down, they can strike the three or get to the rack. There are options inside with Strick, McCarroll and Crook, while all of the guards can hit from distance. At least we know if one thing is not working, Coach Berry won't be afraid to change the team and the style of play. There is already some good attitude with The Fist Gallimore and Moneyball. They will definitely work hard for each other and effort should not be the reason that this team loses any games this year.
Coach Berry threw in some full court presses and some doubleteaming defence which has obviously been a priority in training. There are more than enough players to put points on the board and it will be interesting to see how the minutes get divided up. We may see a lot less of Strick this year and Norris will be on the bench. There are a lot of players that will need to play and if Berry can keep them team oriented, this will be an incredible year.
Other Teams
Manchester- Will be strong competition this year and I can't help but think they would have won had their coach and not their owner been on the bench. They should have put us away and have amazing three point shooters. I think we can hurt them downlow, but it will be tough for our threes to chase their guards on the perimeter.
QC- Jeanty and Pierre are good professionals. There is not a lot else on the squad that is really worrying. Glad I didn't have to buy Pierre that drink tonight..
Showing posts with label Eric Crookshank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric Crookshank. Show all posts
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Rainmen Highlights
Here is a quick view on the season as a first year ticket holder brought in by BDP:I enjoyed every game, even the one where we got blown out by the Kebs because of our ongoing conversations with the bench. That pretty much makes the season. Sweats and Bling were on fire. The vermont game where we sucked in free throws thanks to Striquille and the rest of the team, while long, was another highlight. Beating manchester! Trash talking "Moneyball" Ferguson, you know he is remembering that against us next game. Sorry Rainmen. The double Bailey/ Crook dunk.. Pre-game at the Elephant and castle, postgame at Boston Pizza and some great new friends and fans. An excitable message board- Hilarious at times.
Having conversations with Simplice, Bryant, white chocolate and others makes for great talking points and stories. Being able to get "into your head" with white Chocolate makes me laugh. He was terrible because the crowd remembered his reactions to the last game when he cleaned us. Halifax doesn't like a bad winner.
Growing crowds and some good atmosphere.
A picture of me heckling in the paper in front of Darrell Dexter. Section 23 highlight!
Knowing Strick would make at best 1 out of 2. At Best and telling the QC bench the same thing.
The crazy trade/ free agent signings in the last 6 weeks - I guess there is no deadline.
Watching a player like Bennett in full flight, Sanders working the boards, Crook throwing down, Bailey battling, Ramey's killer passes and strong D, Silverhorn lighting a few threes, Dandridge shooting from half, SirVal getting drunk and going off against the team, Jimmy's dependability, heckling Freiburg, drinking with Freiburg and Dick and Linda from vermont, Strick with the goggles, the hand, the prayers, the talk - awesome, I hope he stays one last year, Millien, Brown, Anderson coming in for the last burst and spending time with my wife and friends at the games.
Section 23- AWESOMEChad Lucas- AWESOME- we won't heckle if you bring your four year old to our section.. I kid, I kid.. Metro News- Cheeky- well done and good reporting by Wuest.
Lastly, although the franchise has had some issues and bad PR, overall this is par for the course at this level of ball. I think overall the franchise is in good shape and if we can keep some of our players to next year, we should have a solid squad. A little less revolving door next year and some early wins shoudl stand us in good stead.
Having conversations with Simplice, Bryant, white chocolate and others makes for great talking points and stories. Being able to get "into your head" with white Chocolate makes me laugh. He was terrible because the crowd remembered his reactions to the last game when he cleaned us. Halifax doesn't like a bad winner.
Growing crowds and some good atmosphere.
A picture of me heckling in the paper in front of Darrell Dexter. Section 23 highlight!
Knowing Strick would make at best 1 out of 2. At Best and telling the QC bench the same thing.
The crazy trade/ free agent signings in the last 6 weeks - I guess there is no deadline.
Watching a player like Bennett in full flight, Sanders working the boards, Crook throwing down, Bailey battling, Ramey's killer passes and strong D, Silverhorn lighting a few threes, Dandridge shooting from half, SirVal getting drunk and going off against the team, Jimmy's dependability, heckling Freiburg, drinking with Freiburg and Dick and Linda from vermont, Strick with the goggles, the hand, the prayers, the talk - awesome, I hope he stays one last year, Millien, Brown, Anderson coming in for the last burst and spending time with my wife and friends at the games.
Section 23- AWESOMEChad Lucas- AWESOME- we won't heckle if you bring your four year old to our section.. I kid, I kid.. Metro News- Cheeky- well done and good reporting by Wuest.
Lastly, although the franchise has had some issues and bad PR, overall this is par for the course at this level of ball. I think overall the franchise is in good shape and if we can keep some of our players to next year, we should have a solid squad. A little less revolving door next year and some early wins shoudl stand us in good stead.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Rainmen blow chance to make playoffs
It is going to be a hard road forward from here. Playing with a starting lineup including Millien, we started slow. The ball movement has been much better of late but it seems like there are some basic things still missing from Rainmen play.
1) Crashing the boards. The team still looks surprised at some of the shot selection and is not crashing bodies in there. Sanders is missed. Also, we seem to lose our fair share of tipped balls on rebounds that the other team wants more than we do. As a fan, that is so frustrating. Guys have already started running up the floor instead of staying to ensure possession. Silverhorn looked extremely guilty of that. Crook and Millien and Bailey worked hard in there, but couldn't turn what they did get into boards.
2) Why do we continue to leave the PG alone to inbounds and it seems a surprise when people have to rush back to get the ball and get it up the floor? That blows my mind. I figure the 1,2,3 are first on the list to bring up the ball.
3) Foulshooting except to millien, everyone missed key shots that should have won the game. Nuff said on this blog about that.
4) Dandridge doesn't even look interested. He gave away two key passes on fast breaks and passed up his usual threes. Do him a favour and cut him now.
5) What has Hammack done? Pasted to the bench, no minutes. I understand we want more time for the other players, but Hammack creates off the dribble and doesn't take bad shots.
6) Players overplaying on defense. Ramey got burned three or four times playing right up on their point guard leading to points inside. Crook does the same thing inside.
7) Jimmy shooting the last three with 3 secs left. We could have gone inside to Millien, Silverhorn on the cut or even bennett in the lane. I was surprised by that.
8) The Voice heaving up some shots.. yikes..
Positives: Workrate is much better with this team, unfortunately we are still making mental mistakes.
FS can only get better.. lol
Millien has looked good.
Ball movement has been better and some good interior passing leading to higher percentage shots. We just need to focus on hitting the layup/ dunk when we are inside.
I like our four big set with ramey on ball, Crook, Millien, Bailey, Strick. We seemed to get some good movement inside and lots of fouls shots obviously. That leads me to think the game planning was very good, but the execution poor.
It's going to be very tough to make playoffs with this little run as we need to win out and have a little help from everyone else to knock Vermont and Wilmington down. We have a couple tough games coming up as well with Kebs.
Notes; CP was on the IR so we tried to carry the heckling load. That was tough
Collier was on fire as was Sanders. He is only like 21 by the way.
My boy, Bryant, missed a massive dunk, but so did we.
Saw the lads at Boston Pizza after the game. vermont guys we decent fellas as we partied with the Super Fans Dick and Linda. Bryant and Sanders had a bad case of flu, they were hurting units so Sanders game was even more impressive.
Good luck on the road Rainmen, it seems like it is coming together but maybe too late.
1) Crashing the boards. The team still looks surprised at some of the shot selection and is not crashing bodies in there. Sanders is missed. Also, we seem to lose our fair share of tipped balls on rebounds that the other team wants more than we do. As a fan, that is so frustrating. Guys have already started running up the floor instead of staying to ensure possession. Silverhorn looked extremely guilty of that. Crook and Millien and Bailey worked hard in there, but couldn't turn what they did get into boards.
2) Why do we continue to leave the PG alone to inbounds and it seems a surprise when people have to rush back to get the ball and get it up the floor? That blows my mind. I figure the 1,2,3 are first on the list to bring up the ball.
3) Foulshooting except to millien, everyone missed key shots that should have won the game. Nuff said on this blog about that.
4) Dandridge doesn't even look interested. He gave away two key passes on fast breaks and passed up his usual threes. Do him a favour and cut him now.
5) What has Hammack done? Pasted to the bench, no minutes. I understand we want more time for the other players, but Hammack creates off the dribble and doesn't take bad shots.
6) Players overplaying on defense. Ramey got burned three or four times playing right up on their point guard leading to points inside. Crook does the same thing inside.
7) Jimmy shooting the last three with 3 secs left. We could have gone inside to Millien, Silverhorn on the cut or even bennett in the lane. I was surprised by that.
8) The Voice heaving up some shots.. yikes..
Positives: Workrate is much better with this team, unfortunately we are still making mental mistakes.
FS can only get better.. lol
Millien has looked good.
Ball movement has been better and some good interior passing leading to higher percentage shots. We just need to focus on hitting the layup/ dunk when we are inside.
I like our four big set with ramey on ball, Crook, Millien, Bailey, Strick. We seemed to get some good movement inside and lots of fouls shots obviously. That leads me to think the game planning was very good, but the execution poor.
It's going to be very tough to make playoffs with this little run as we need to win out and have a little help from everyone else to knock Vermont and Wilmington down. We have a couple tough games coming up as well with Kebs.
Notes; CP was on the IR so we tried to carry the heckling load. That was tough
Collier was on fire as was Sanders. He is only like 21 by the way.
My boy, Bryant, missed a massive dunk, but so did we.
Saw the lads at Boston Pizza after the game. vermont guys we decent fellas as we partied with the Super Fans Dick and Linda. Bryant and Sanders had a bad case of flu, they were hurting units so Sanders game was even more impressive.
Good luck on the road Rainmen, it seems like it is coming together but maybe too late.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Rainmen roll...over
This was a devastating loss for the Rainmen. A win would have put them comfortably in the seat for playoff birth as a wildcard. Instead, they laid a dud for coach Berry. The crowd was pumped but the players didn't respond. It was the first game in a while that it seemed like players just quit.
I have spoken before about how hard it is to build a fanbase with a constantly changing squad. It will be tough as I imagine the turnover of players could be large again. To be honest, I would see Bailey, Crook, Jimmy and maybe Ramey, McNeal and Silverhorn coming back for another year. If Millien plays well he could move up and Bennett seems bound for greater things, while Dandridge and Hammack have seen a major reduction in minutes and will go elsewhere for time.
The offense was poor from the beginning with Bennett continuing his terrible 3 point shooting this weekend ending up 3-16 over two game. It is amazing because his points in the paint cause all kinds of problems and allow other players to scratch for boards and points. Lets get the reigns on him and get him in the paint and kicking out. Our 3 pt shooting was horrendous all weekend with Silverhorn, Jimmy and Bennett missing many. Today we shot 20%, brutal. Hammack and Dandridge look like they have lost all confidence from the Lewis era.
That being said, the Kebs hit everything it seemed like. While they were only 46%, a lot of those misses came in the 4th when the game was done. EC again got exposed defensively and we were weak inside defensively. Our inability to get him in the offence showed today. The loss of Rob is showing in the paint. Bailey had a solid game with 12-9 and a couple assists and steals. Zach played some good defense today and Millien showed his 1v1 skills. I was also surprised the jeanty only had 7 points as he added instant impact to the game as did Strick. Strick worked hard but I would rather see him get the points than draw the fouls. That shooting is ugly Striquile!
The running commentary with their bench for the fourth quarter kept us entertained as Sweatpants, Bling and Simplice were hilarious. so it looks ike Hammack, Dandridge and Tyrone are getting mostly frozen out, making us a 9 player squad right now. I don't know if that is enough to carry us to the playoffs, but hopefully. It was hard to find many positives from the games at all as jean Phillippe and Anderson killed us.
Here's to hoping another week of practise gets us right.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Rainmen roll continues
I will continue on what CP had to say. Gill is a dirty player. He was taking cheapshots at Bennett especially when the play was done and the game was near over. He is obviously a talented player, but his mindset is all wrong. I really felt like Sections 22-24 got in his head and it sounded like there was good help from across the floor. Too many unnecessary threes.
I was happy at halftime when they closed to 8 points down and felt like they were going to win. With a coach like Les Berry, I feel so much more comfortable that adjustments will be made. He got them working around the zone with quick ball movement and more layups and short range Js plus fastbreak than in the first half. I didn't realise til afterwards that most of Bennett's points came in the paint as "The Voice" was 2-10 from 3. Dandridge-esque. Speaking of which, why, why, why? Why does he continue to heave up three balls. If he can work within the offence, I am sure he will get minutes and the points will come. Great game from EC with 19 and 12 and I felt Bailey played ok with some stats that don't show up on the sheet- defending his man and changing shots in the paint. I hope we don't lose too many minutes from him when Millien shows up. Hopefully with him playing the five, he will continue to thrive, but I can see minutes going elsewhere.
A few concerns. After a week of practise, we still don't have the offense as crisp as possible.
Strick, Jeanty and EC got taken to school by their forwards yesterday.
Our best defenders are Bennett, Jimmy, Zach and Bailey.
Lots of missed rebounding opportunities.
Focus dropped off after a great start to the game.
Outrebounded again. Millien/ Bailey can probably take care of this.
Highlights: 1) Zach pass to Hammack for layup
2) Zach/ bennett's D on Gill
3) Highlight plays including the 2 man alley-oop- amazing
4) EC starting to get back to form
5) Great work rate
Lets hope for another big win Sunday!
I was happy at halftime when they closed to 8 points down and felt like they were going to win. With a coach like Les Berry, I feel so much more comfortable that adjustments will be made. He got them working around the zone with quick ball movement and more layups and short range Js plus fastbreak than in the first half. I didn't realise til afterwards that most of Bennett's points came in the paint as "The Voice" was 2-10 from 3. Dandridge-esque. Speaking of which, why, why, why? Why does he continue to heave up three balls. If he can work within the offence, I am sure he will get minutes and the points will come. Great game from EC with 19 and 12 and I felt Bailey played ok with some stats that don't show up on the sheet- defending his man and changing shots in the paint. I hope we don't lose too many minutes from him when Millien shows up. Hopefully with him playing the five, he will continue to thrive, but I can see minutes going elsewhere.
A few concerns. After a week of practise, we still don't have the offense as crisp as possible.
Strick, Jeanty and EC got taken to school by their forwards yesterday.
Our best defenders are Bennett, Jimmy, Zach and Bailey.
Lots of missed rebounding opportunities.
Focus dropped off after a great start to the game.
Outrebounded again. Millien/ Bailey can probably take care of this.
Highlights: 1) Zach pass to Hammack for layup
2) Zach/ bennett's D on Gill
3) Highlight plays including the 2 man alley-oop- amazing
4) EC starting to get back to form
5) Great work rate
Lets hope for another big win Sunday!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Rainmen's new coach rings the changes
What a game again! The difference between a nice guy and a bball coach is obvious. I am trying to get my fingers going here. Had a couple few and it was a good time. Section 22-24 were representing all night. Les Berry = More wins is a common chant. Les went with the players who we thought would be contributors in his system. Bailey, Jimmy, Bennett, Cordell, Silverhorn, Zach and EC performed at the expected levels. I have some issues with the scoring and not just for the Bailey bias. I know he had a couple blocks during that game and even though they went to other teams, they should be his. I remember at least 2.
We all have a feeling that it will take a couple weeks. I thought that Hammack and EC looked lost but that after a few practises they will be up to speed as the rest of the team will. Overall the defensive intensity was amazing even though we got outrebounded. The ability of all our players to get loose in the paint led to free points for all players. I am sure that EC had more than 2 points as I remember a dunk and a three point play, can't wait to see the boxscore tomorrow.
Big losers in the new system seem to be Dandridge and Strick. I think that both players will get more minutes overall but are being encouraged with defensive intensity and playing smart. I think they have the capability and need to show it. I did miss Ec's crazy dunks, but that will start to come along with the free baskets that this offense will bring.
Great work les and team, we look forward to an even better game next week.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Rainmen finally make the change
A short version today as the papers and Parsons are all over this. The Rainmen fired Lewis and are looking for a new head coach. I loved what Lucas and Parsons wrote today and the positivity in the building could be amazing if Andre pulls the trigger and brings back EC. This could be a huge midseason boost to the squad and hopefully propel them to the playoffs. I know it hurts to fire a coach at any level, but I think everyone knew this needed to be done now rather than at the end of the year. The return of EC should boost attendance. A new coach can bring new dynamics to the team. We now have four weeks left to gel and make playoffs. Lets make it happen.
PS.. Starting lineup, EC , Strick, Sanders, Silverhorn and Jimmy. The subs become easy as you bring Kevin/ Tony for Jimmy, Cordell/ Bailey for Sanders, Dandridge for Brian and Ramey/ Bailey for EC when you want to go smaller.. Come on Rainmen.
PS.. Starting lineup, EC , Strick, Sanders, Silverhorn and Jimmy. The subs become easy as you bring Kevin/ Tony for Jimmy, Cordell/ Bailey for Sanders, Dandridge for Brian and Ramey/ Bailey for EC when you want to go smaller.. Come on Rainmen.
Friday, January 30, 2009
SirVal comes clean
So everything that we all knew has been confirmed by a released player. SirVal (not so shockingly) claims that we have no plays, that Lewis can't managed his bench and that EC did nothing wrong. Surprise, not. But judging from what he said about Andre, that is surprising. I would hope players coming here get correct feedback from the owner, but I would like to hear Andre's side. Val played ok at a few points this year, but was still throwing up crazy shots, like the rest of the team, because we don't run enough plays. How is this possible at this level?
If this is the case, I am surprised that AL (Andre) has taken such as stance on Eric and backed his terrible coach. The talent is definitely on this team but we need better coaching to move us forward. AL seems to be at every event, so he is probably at practise as well. He is smart enough to know if they are running any kinds of sets and so are the basketball fans. At this level of sports, there isn't a lot to choose between the best and worst teams. The only key variable that can determine a season is coaching.
I am dissappointed in the organization that this has happened now and hopefully this doesn't stop free agents from coming here. Maybe McGriff and people like that saw the lack of coaching and decided they needed more. The fans need more for sure and I hope that SirVal is exagerrating, but I am afraid he is probably not.
If this is the case, I am surprised that AL (Andre) has taken such as stance on Eric and backed his terrible coach. The talent is definitely on this team but we need better coaching to move us forward. AL seems to be at every event, so he is probably at practise as well. He is smart enough to know if they are running any kinds of sets and so are the basketball fans. At this level of sports, there isn't a lot to choose between the best and worst teams. The only key variable that can determine a season is coaching.
I am dissappointed in the organization that this has happened now and hopefully this doesn't stop free agents from coming here. Maybe McGriff and people like that saw the lack of coaching and decided they needed more. The fans need more for sure and I hope that SirVal is exagerrating, but I am afraid he is probably not.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Rainmen take over first
OK, so we won. I am excited. But we were up by 25 on one of the best teams in the league and we allowed it to dwindle to 4 pts before putting it away. Lewis has made some weird decisions this year, but this was the topper. It is understandable that a team will go on runs. How do you change the momentum? Take a timeout, run a different play, make a sub or watch the lead dwindle to 11 pts before doing anything? You got it, it's the Sub from the stupid Subway commercial. IE.. it is so blatantly obvious that you need to do something that you don't do it.
Lewis is a good guy in public. We hear more and more about what goes on behind closed doors and I watch his decisions and I wonder why? Why leave Jimmy, shooting less than 50% at the time from the line in the game when they were fouling? Why not get the ball to Dandridge, who was spotless from the line until late in the fourth? Why not run the clock down and kill the game?
All questions I can't answer. it becomes apparent that he has his favorites and although he has now added in some plays, he is not that basketball astute. I know it is easy to criticise, but there are times as a coach you have to do something. This isn't fair play leagues where you have to give players crunch time minutes. You need to notch the wins and get to playoffs. He needed to call a timeout and everyone in the crowd, including Darrell Dexter agreed. Go coalition, lol.. !
Now for the positives, and there were many. What an amazing third quarter running a 10 point lead to 25 at one point. We defended doggedly and got some steals and forced bad shots. It was awesome to behold as a fan. We need to continue to bury teams when they are down.
Dandridge had what I felt was his best game so far. He shot under control, he came off screens and he got to the rim a couple times, drawing fouls. He got a few boards and looked very good overall, ending up with 23 pts and a couple boards. When he gets to the hoop and pulls up, he has a very good shot. He only took one crazy shot. Also, they assigned him to guard Ferguson "moneyball" and he kept him relatively quiet.
Strick continues to develop as a great low post option. He scored some points, riled the other team and had some wicked assists. His foulshooting is terrible but amusing. Hilarity when he is on the floor. I may have to make a binocular sign for next game!
Sanders was a beast. 30 points on 10-13 shooting, putting them in foul trouble in a dominant third period. 16 boards, a few swipes at people's heads and brought some fire to the team. He is a great player and I regret saying he had no heart last year.. but he does. How could they let him go.
Bailey had another solid game and I would love to see more of him. He is a utility guy that bangs inside, goes for boards and gets some blocks. With Rob, Strick, Silverhorn playing well, it ate up some minutes. Brian's return was key but I don't like the lack of running back, especially on the home court, make some effort, but a good return overall with 22 and 6. Overall the foulshooting seemed better and the three point percentage was way up from 26 to 38% owing to getting wide open looks which I do have to credit Lewis for as the team is running some new plays and getting the ball to where people can have a look at the hoop. It seems Dandridge is out of the funk and hopefully he stays there. Still love to see more Ramey and Cordell wasn't getting much run tonight after a good game on the weekend.
Premier Rodney Mayes added some great hustle off the bench and it was good to see Coach Strick working with Tyrone and getting him inside. new guy Bennett added some spark and he could be a valuable addition slashing and driving and dishing. Looks like another good pickup.
Now the scary.. They lit us up for threes in the end making it extremely uncomfortable for the team and the fans. Lewis needs to keep us with big leads to keep the fans from losing their minds. He had no plan to stop the threes and CP had a great idea to foul their players and make them hit the 1 and 1 but they were shooting from the line really well.
Taunting
Our favorite guy today was number 33, Scary Carey who started doing some yapping during the game which got us into it.. We were so in his head. Not a bad player, but he should have been going against Strick all night. That was a fun matchup. also we gave him the gears for being very tired after running the court three times and then getting subbed. Hilarious and he was even looking over afterwards when he got a couple points... Scoreboard...
Strick is going to be trouble if he has to pop on on the screen and rolls, his guy scored a few long range Js. That is going to need coaching work. Ferguson "mOneyball " got great abuse due to his angry face, his one week in the NBA comment, his teammates wearing his shirt (lol), taunting them for how hard it was to play in front of 2000 instead of 50 in manchester, the lack of him playing any crunchtime minutes and the fact that one of our worst defenders was guarding him. I am glad we didn't pick up Mitchell with his diving antics. Number 7 drew our ire for throwing the ball hard off Bailey for which he got Teed up for. That was a terrible call. Chris was on him for not living like a Christian and not acting as Jesus wanted him too.. We will have to talk to that guy. BDPhil was on Salsheider for walking like someone from Deliverance..that one took a while Phil?? And of course, the coach took some abuse for always standing. CP was wondering when the goon squad was coming in and we all enjoyed the full line change. Sadly it changed the game to them for a while.
Note: I am not convinced on the stats because new guy Bennett had five points I am sure.
Highlights: Dandridge alley oop from Jimmy
Jimmy with a massive block
Strick's googles
EC's chain
Lewis finally calling timeout after a 14 pt run..
New guy bennett splitting the defence with crazy dribbles
Lastly, the huge putback dunk by Sanders.. that was awesome.. How did they let him go??
Last word: Consistency will be key in our next game. Dandridge continuing to hit the easy J's and stretching the defence, Silverhorn's contribution, and defensive intensity.. Keep it going Rainmen.
Lewis is a good guy in public. We hear more and more about what goes on behind closed doors and I watch his decisions and I wonder why? Why leave Jimmy, shooting less than 50% at the time from the line in the game when they were fouling? Why not get the ball to Dandridge, who was spotless from the line until late in the fourth? Why not run the clock down and kill the game?
All questions I can't answer. it becomes apparent that he has his favorites and although he has now added in some plays, he is not that basketball astute. I know it is easy to criticise, but there are times as a coach you have to do something. This isn't fair play leagues where you have to give players crunch time minutes. You need to notch the wins and get to playoffs. He needed to call a timeout and everyone in the crowd, including Darrell Dexter agreed. Go coalition, lol.. !
Now for the positives, and there were many. What an amazing third quarter running a 10 point lead to 25 at one point. We defended doggedly and got some steals and forced bad shots. It was awesome to behold as a fan. We need to continue to bury teams when they are down.
Dandridge had what I felt was his best game so far. He shot under control, he came off screens and he got to the rim a couple times, drawing fouls. He got a few boards and looked very good overall, ending up with 23 pts and a couple boards. When he gets to the hoop and pulls up, he has a very good shot. He only took one crazy shot. Also, they assigned him to guard Ferguson "moneyball" and he kept him relatively quiet.
Strick continues to develop as a great low post option. He scored some points, riled the other team and had some wicked assists. His foulshooting is terrible but amusing. Hilarity when he is on the floor. I may have to make a binocular sign for next game!
Sanders was a beast. 30 points on 10-13 shooting, putting them in foul trouble in a dominant third period. 16 boards, a few swipes at people's heads and brought some fire to the team. He is a great player and I regret saying he had no heart last year.. but he does. How could they let him go.
Bailey had another solid game and I would love to see more of him. He is a utility guy that bangs inside, goes for boards and gets some blocks. With Rob, Strick, Silverhorn playing well, it ate up some minutes. Brian's return was key but I don't like the lack of running back, especially on the home court, make some effort, but a good return overall with 22 and 6. Overall the foulshooting seemed better and the three point percentage was way up from 26 to 38% owing to getting wide open looks which I do have to credit Lewis for as the team is running some new plays and getting the ball to where people can have a look at the hoop. It seems Dandridge is out of the funk and hopefully he stays there. Still love to see more Ramey and Cordell wasn't getting much run tonight after a good game on the weekend.
Premier Rodney Mayes added some great hustle off the bench and it was good to see Coach Strick working with Tyrone and getting him inside. new guy Bennett added some spark and he could be a valuable addition slashing and driving and dishing. Looks like another good pickup.
Now the scary.. They lit us up for threes in the end making it extremely uncomfortable for the team and the fans. Lewis needs to keep us with big leads to keep the fans from losing their minds. He had no plan to stop the threes and CP had a great idea to foul their players and make them hit the 1 and 1 but they were shooting from the line really well.
Taunting
Our favorite guy today was number 33, Scary Carey who started doing some yapping during the game which got us into it.. We were so in his head. Not a bad player, but he should have been going against Strick all night. That was a fun matchup. also we gave him the gears for being very tired after running the court three times and then getting subbed. Hilarious and he was even looking over afterwards when he got a couple points... Scoreboard...
Strick is going to be trouble if he has to pop on on the screen and rolls, his guy scored a few long range Js. That is going to need coaching work. Ferguson "mOneyball " got great abuse due to his angry face, his one week in the NBA comment, his teammates wearing his shirt (lol), taunting them for how hard it was to play in front of 2000 instead of 50 in manchester, the lack of him playing any crunchtime minutes and the fact that one of our worst defenders was guarding him. I am glad we didn't pick up Mitchell with his diving antics. Number 7 drew our ire for throwing the ball hard off Bailey for which he got Teed up for. That was a terrible call. Chris was on him for not living like a Christian and not acting as Jesus wanted him too.. We will have to talk to that guy. BDPhil was on Salsheider for walking like someone from Deliverance..that one took a while Phil?? And of course, the coach took some abuse for always standing. CP was wondering when the goon squad was coming in and we all enjoyed the full line change. Sadly it changed the game to them for a while.
Note: I am not convinced on the stats because new guy Bennett had five points I am sure.
Highlights: Dandridge alley oop from Jimmy
Jimmy with a massive block
Strick's googles
EC's chain
Lewis finally calling timeout after a 14 pt run..
New guy bennett splitting the defence with crazy dribbles
Lastly, the huge putback dunk by Sanders.. that was awesome.. How did they let him go??
Last word: Consistency will be key in our next game. Dandridge continuing to hit the easy J's and stretching the defence, Silverhorn's contribution, and defensive intensity.. Keep it going Rainmen.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The future of the Rainmen!
Ok, after having read just about everything on the Crook story, I am happy that there is something much deeper than just words with the coach that have brought us to the place we are at. One thing I dislike about this is the constant referencing of how they would discipline a child. This is a 27 year old man and should be treated as such. I want to reiterate that if for the long term stability of the club, they needed to do this, that is fine, but we need to find that voice for the Rainmen. All of the players are talented, but we need that rim-rocking, crowd raising player. Where is that going to come from?
One thing that did get fired up is the message board! Wow, Section 23 was rocking from the afternoon through the late evening. At least people are still excited about the club which is great. But the Rainmen need to find their "new" identity quickly. Hopefully Strickland can help with the grit and points downlow. I would love to see a starting 5 of SirVal, Twyman, Bailey, Sanders and Jeanty. That gives us good depth/ size downlow and then some amazing three point threats coming off the bench with Ramey and Dandridge. When Brian is healthy, he can slot in for Cordell. I hope that the players will step up their games now and push to see who can take the title of team leader. I honestly hope it is Bailey when Brian is out.
One thing that did get fired up is the message board! Wow, Section 23 was rocking from the afternoon through the late evening. At least people are still excited about the club which is great. But the Rainmen need to find their "new" identity quickly. Hopefully Strickland can help with the grit and points downlow. I would love to see a starting 5 of SirVal, Twyman, Bailey, Sanders and Jeanty. That gives us good depth/ size downlow and then some amazing three point threats coming off the bench with Ramey and Dandridge. When Brian is healthy, he can slot in for Cordell. I hope that the players will step up their games now and push to see who can take the title of team leader. I honestly hope it is Bailey when Brian is out.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Crookshank Canned!
I am shocked. There are no words to describe the sinking feeling one gets. This is like when Brady got taken out.. a literal stomach punch. I am not debating that Eric was out of line, but wow, professional players say this all the time and get a slap on the wrist. Where is the player's union on this one? I am seriously debating getting a refund on my season tickets.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Rainmen lose tight game to Sasquatch
A tough 105-103 loss in this game. The end tale of the tape will show many missed free throws ended up costing us the game, coupled with some very poor three point shooting decisions. I had to think about this game for a while to give it a fair review. The play of Bailey and Brown was definitely a highlight for me (except the silly fouls when they were in the bonus in the third quarter). Brown was able to press up the court as was Twyman and it made it hard for the 'Squatch to get in rythm during the second half. SirVal had a couple good drives, a couple good passes and a couple threes. Bailey had a remarkable 8 blocks including passages of play where he blocked two consecutive by Montreal's top scorer. When he went out injured, I was worried as to where the energy would come from.
I still don't know why Crook was benched. I have no problem benching players, but usually a couple shifts is good. To sit down your star player for over 2 quarters is extreme and I hope Lewis had good reason. I am all for it if it keeps the team in line. In reality, we are missing a special piece of coaching. Overall the product is better than last year, but that is due to player abilities. I saw 2 plays run, a high screen (usual play) and then some high/ low screens. Even at higher levels, they run specific clearouts for specific players to hit the mismatches. For a few minutes Sanders was matched against a much smaller player and we could not take advantage. Whereas the Montreal players were constantly moving to support the ball and get open. In the fourth quarter, our intensity was high, stopping perimeter play, but our down low players could not stop the layups and second chance points.
Here is what I liked about the game: Full Court man to man press got them out their rythm
Play of Bailey and Sir Val was good and Cordell mostly came inside instead of focussing on jump shots. Jimmy was also solid. Sanders did as expected, Ramey was solid although he shot an airball.
Ran at least two plays including some screens off the ball
Less heave and hope three pointers
Defensive intensity
Shorter game intro...
Their coach was funny!
What I didn't like: Randy Gill- classic whiteboy syndrome, he was an assho....
What is going on with Kevin? In preseason (injured) he was getting to the hoop and took over the third quarter in one game.. we need that back at the point to open lanes for shooters
No adjustments for mismatches
No Eric
Tyrone trying to strip their 7 footer- play him straight up!
Random Rant:
Not starting our top lineup..Why is Dandridge still starting? The team needs to understand when the players are working to their best ability. Who shoots well coming off screens? Who needs to have a set shot? Can anyone work downlow? To me, it looks like Crook, Sanders, Silverhorn (or Cordell/Bailey if we want to go big), Jimmy and Kevin (when fit). I know it doesn't give you a pure shooting guard, but most of these players can hit that long 2...Zach does not shoot well from the cornersor middle but is light's out from the right and left of the key...I have not seen one player post up yet, not even our 7 footer, everyone wants to attack off the dribble..what a great pass to Ramey from Val for the alley oop...where was the interior D in the fourth...Why does Dandridge shoot at will..we missed Silverhorn...
Rick Lewis
I want to say that Lewis is a very well spoken man with a great ability to relate to people and create a connection. I would imagine this is why he has done so well til now as a coach. It must be hard to coach players that are trying to get a good statline in order to try and make it to the show. To think we can get players to give up for the greater good, may not be possible in this league. I don't believe that because we didn't see QC or MTL take really poor shots. Our team, while talented, is selfish. We seem to have a great team spirit (all credit to coach and owner) but are not basketball smart as a team. We need to really play to our players strengths. Lets get some movement to open lanes and get our feet moving instead of chucking up threes when noone is under the net to rebound. That part is frustrating to fans and players alike. I hope that by the second half of the season, Lewis will allow the team to evolve and get them playing better as a team, instead of just individuals.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Rainmen win Home Opener
The Rainmen continued their hot start to the season with a 124-112 win over Quebec. Overall this was a very solid game for the Rainmen. We saw what Sanders brings to the squad including 10/10 shooting (most in the paint), defence and tenacity. I think he was the only player to hit the floor today (saving #9 on QC, the flop king). He made some sweet inside passes and set up Eric for some great finishes. Rob also seems to be the only one who isn't afraid to foul to stop a break by the other team. Jimmy Twyman gave us a great boost from the bench and his slashing to the hoop opened up a couple great 3 point looks as well.
I really liked the team today when we had Sanders, Crookshank, Twyman, Brown and Dandridge out there. Realistically, I think tonight the best players we could have runout together were Sanders, Crookshank, Twyman, Bailey and Silverhorn. The QC team didn't have a lot of speed and were focusing on threes and quick penetration. Dandridge and Brian were ok tonight but not great. Silverhorn is going to need to get going at the rim with more intensity. I find he hits seams well and can penetrate off the dribble but shies away from contact. We know he has the shooting game, but that finishing threat would really help round out the game. Bailey was playing well around the hoop and hustling. With him and Rob in the squad, we shouldn't get out hustled by any team.
Sir Val is obviously explosive and can score but shoots at will. I think this is a team philosophy, maybe like Dantoni's 7 seconds before a shot goes up. There were too many spot up shots without an attempt to pass at all. if you look at the total assists stats (11), that is terrible. The team looked like we were shoot first and run a play second. The high pick with Sanders and any guard was working well and creating opportunities, while any isolation play produced results with Rob and Eric especially. There were too many first look shots with no rebounder even in the key. This needs to be corrected.
So the negatives- too many needless turnovers at the top of the 3 point line, allowing about 20 reverses with no help in the game, ridiculous 3 pointers, no second option on a play/ movement.
Positive- help defence got better after a flat start, some good passing movement, intensity, coaching (getting the players who were performing out for the end of the game to close), great shooting and free throw shooting, ENTERTAINING!
The Halifax crowd was dead for the LONG opening sequence. Halifax has a rep for being a tough place to play and even the QC coach mentioned this after the game. Teams don't look forward to coming to a big, loud barn. So Halifax, it is time to cheer, yell, shout, taunt and have some fun. This is going to be an exciting year.
For other great pieces on this check out Section 23 by Chris Parsons and the Lucas Blog (linked above) on the Herald page.
I really liked the team today when we had Sanders, Crookshank, Twyman, Brown and Dandridge out there. Realistically, I think tonight the best players we could have runout together were Sanders, Crookshank, Twyman, Bailey and Silverhorn. The QC team didn't have a lot of speed and were focusing on threes and quick penetration. Dandridge and Brian were ok tonight but not great. Silverhorn is going to need to get going at the rim with more intensity. I find he hits seams well and can penetrate off the dribble but shies away from contact. We know he has the shooting game, but that finishing threat would really help round out the game. Bailey was playing well around the hoop and hustling. With him and Rob in the squad, we shouldn't get out hustled by any team.
Sir Val is obviously explosive and can score but shoots at will. I think this is a team philosophy, maybe like Dantoni's 7 seconds before a shot goes up. There were too many spot up shots without an attempt to pass at all. if you look at the total assists stats (11), that is terrible. The team looked like we were shoot first and run a play second. The high pick with Sanders and any guard was working well and creating opportunities, while any isolation play produced results with Rob and Eric especially. There were too many first look shots with no rebounder even in the key. This needs to be corrected.
So the negatives- too many needless turnovers at the top of the 3 point line, allowing about 20 reverses with no help in the game, ridiculous 3 pointers, no second option on a play/ movement.
Positive- help defence got better after a flat start, some good passing movement, intensity, coaching (getting the players who were performing out for the end of the game to close), great shooting and free throw shooting, ENTERTAINING!
The Halifax crowd was dead for the LONG opening sequence. Halifax has a rep for being a tough place to play and even the QC coach mentioned this after the game. Teams don't look forward to coming to a big, loud barn. So Halifax, it is time to cheer, yell, shout, taunt and have some fun. This is going to be an exciting year.
For other great pieces on this check out Section 23 by Chris Parsons and the Lucas Blog (linked above) on the Herald page.
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