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PSU vs Eastern Washington

http://www.bigskyfans.com/2007/12/22/psu-vs-ewu-preview

Alright everybody, are you ready? It is time for Big Sky basketball. Though this game is only a tease into the conference season, it should be a good gauge in how they might fare the rest of the season.

Saturday marks the first shot a Big Sky team has had against the Eastern Washington Eagles in the post-Rodney Stuckey era. All signs indicate that opponents will like what they see. They are 3-1 at home, but the teams they beat in those three games have won a combined 6 D-I games all year. The Eagles are lead by senior Kellen Williams, who averages an astonishing 35 minutes per game. In the first game last year, the Vikings lost 88-70 at home to a strong team led by Stuckey and senior Paul Butorac, and beat the same team 92-88 in Cheney later in the season.

So far this season the Vikings are 3-4 on the road. Tuesday’s defeat against the Washington Huskies made the Vikings 0-3 against the Pac-10, but on the positive side, exposed them to the style of game they’ll have to play if they get to the NCAA tournament in March. It also provoked some questions from fans about the coaching decisions of Ken Bone. There will always be more questions when the team is losing, but concerns that Scott Morrison isn’t seeing enough time definitely appear valid. Along with Jeremiah Dominguez, he is the guy that makes the offense work. Even when he’s not scoring, he forces the defense to focus on him, opening up the perimeter for the rest of the team. From now on the Viks play a schedule full of games they can win, many of which they will be favored in. The January 13 game at Idaho State will be available on ESPN Full Court.

Match-Ups
Center
EWU: Brandon Moore PSU: Scott Morrison
After a lackluster performance at U-Dub, Morrison will look to rebound. Moore will present a challenge on the boards for Scott because he is a strong player inside. Though Kellen Williams leads the team in rebounds, the Eagles will depend on Moore to pick up some big ones inside if they want to win. Neither player is an explosive scorer, but I’ll give the edge to Morrison who leads in all statistical categories and should be able to use his height to get some put back opportunities. The other option the Eagles have used at center is Matt Brunell, but he is a smaller guy who has produced less, so Moore should get the start.
Advantage: Vikings

Power Forward
EWU: Kellen Williams PSU: Tyrell Mara
Mara had a tough night on Tuesday trying to cover Jon Brockman. Unlike that match-up, Mara won’t be at a major physical disadvantage in this one. As a smaller team, the Eagles may be forced to try to use the fast break against the Vikings. If they do, it is at their own peril. Both Mara and Tiefenthaler excel in that system, and outside of Morrison and JR Moore, it benefits every player’s game. Williams is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Eagles, and will not be taken lightly by the Vikings. I expect that they’ll try to really apply pressure with Mara, and when he tires, using Tief. If the Vikings really focus their effort here, they may not win the power forward point battle, but it will be hard for the Eagles to win. Besides Williams and DeLeon, they don’t really have another scoring option, which means bad nights for them almost always equates to a loss.
Advantage: Eagles

Small Forward
EWU: Marcus Hinton PSU: Deonte Huff
Hinton isn’t much of a scoring threat, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a huge impact on the game. Huff has been the Vikings’ most consistent player offensively, even when he’s not shooting well from the outside. If Hinton is able to slow him down while staying out of foul trouble, it could go a long way in keeping the Eagles in this game late. If he can’t it’s tough to see how they could win. The Vikings have too many advantages on the rest of the floor. As for Huff, he’s really moved into a leadership role by example. He gives great effort every night while performing at a high level, and a great example is the massive improvement in free throw percentage, even though he has played more minutes. I expect him to beat Hinton in every category, but I think Hinton will be able to slow him down enough to keep it close near the end.
Advantage: Vikings

Shooting Guard
EWU: Trey Gross/Milan Stenojevic PSU: Dupree Lucas/Andre Murray
The starter for each team is the more consistent performer. The backups are explosive scorers who can shoot the lights out from the outside. Lucas did a great job along with Dominguez on Justin Dentmon, and has really become a more consistent, if scoring less than before. Murray has developed into a potent weapon for the Vikings as the season has gone on, which has helped the team win some tough games like the one against Utah Valley State. Gross is a pretty good player for the Eagles, but nothing special. Stenovic, the junior newcomer is a different story. Though his effect depends entirely on his shooting, he can really torch an opponent. Even though he is new to the team, the seem ready to delegate a large number of shots to him in tough contests. In games against Wazzu, U-Dub Santa Clara, and Portland, he averaged 9 shots per game and over 11 points. Neither option had any success defensively against Nik Raivio, so the Viks will hope that they can outscore the duo.
Advantage: Push

Point
EWU: Gary Gibson/Adris DeLeon PSU: Jeremiah Dominguez/Mickey Polis
After a tough stretch early in the season, definitely warrants mention as a semi-starter. Though he isn’t the most effective running the offense, and he isn’t as quick as Dominguez, his ability to shoot the 3 ball make him an important piece of the Vikings’ arsenal. After the game off JD came back with a strong effort against the Huskies. If the Viks’ two point guards duplicate their performance from that game, there is no team with a better combination in the Big Sky. The Eagles boast a strong pair themselves. Sophomore Gary Gibson isn’t the prototypical pass first point guard, but he plays a very effective game. He has the ability to score in bunches at times, as the big total against Idaho speaks to. The real star of the team may be Bronx native and future candidate for All Big Sky Adris DeLeon. He is the team’s best passer and third best rebounder. If need be, he can carry the team on his shoulders offensively (22 points @Washington, 24 @ Kansas.) If the Viks are able to shut down Williams, and Stenojevic has an off-shooting night, look for DeLeon to pick it up.
Advantage: Push

Bench
Even though they had a tough night on Tuesday, there is still reason to believe in the Viking bench. There is a lot of talent as players have exhibited all year, but a major lack of consistency outside of Murray recently, and Thomas on the boards. This may point out that the lack of confidence that coaches have had in players has had an effect. I look for this trend to continue in this one. Maybe Hammond, Tiefenthaler, or Coston will come back with a strong game. It’s hard to tell who it is going to be at any given time. The Eagles have a bench led by the strong play of DeLeon and Stenojevic. If they have good games, it could help keep an otherwise mediocre offensive team in the game. The advantage goes to the depth of the Vikings, no matter how inconsistent.
Advantage: Vikings

The first conference game, especially on the road, should be a thrill for the new guys. Nobody else has played yet, so the winner gets the top spot in Big Sky rankings for the coming week. If the Eagles are able to come out with a strong shooting game and get some production out of their two bench stars they could win this game at home. Unfortunately, I don’t think they can put together a full team effort yet, and even a semi-solid performance from the Viks should get it done. Hopefully, Coach Bone will give Morrison some more minutes to utilize his advantage.

Prediction: PSU 68-61
 
Morrison has hardly played at all, and when he's played he hasn't been all that effective. Anybody know what's going on? Is his back bugging him? J.R. is not ready as a backup, Tief doesn't seem to do low post all that well, Julius is actually a three, and if Scott is not producing even average numbers down there the Vikings may be in more trouble than we know. Theories? /users/31/07/37/smiles/psu-flam.gif
 
He continues to say he's 100%. However, he's had stamina issues all season. That said, he needs to play 25+ minutes per game, and he's not doing that because of the coaching staff. The Vikings need point production from him when their shooters aren't on, and he's not getting a chance. He was fine tonight, yet rode the bench the majority of the second half. I could understand this if one of the other options was a scorer, but they're not.

I think they're definitely in trouble if he doesn't get more minutes than he got tonight. You can't win if you don't have some kind of inside threat.
 
Bone has no idea how to coach a post player, or how to run an offense with one. He likes to, and keeps thnking he can, play "small ball." This has been going on for 2 years now.
They win when Scott plays and is utilized properly, and lose when he sits on the bench. I figure with Bone, it's more about his and Geving's egos and power trips than the players - although I can't understand why Ken Bone would want to keep losing basketball games - doesn't make any sense to me??
 
If Bone did want to go small, what would be our best small ball lineup? I have a tough time seeing how that would be an improvement over any lineup with Scott in it.
 
Exactly. But the more the players and team captains try to explain this to Bone, the more he proceeds to perceive this as someone questioning his authority, and goes the opposite way, trying to prove to the players that he's in charge, and knows more than they do. IMHO, he keeps looking stupid trying to justify an ignorant position, and win a battle of wills he shouldn't have started, and can't seem to get himself out of.
 
Meanwhile, Bone is quickly pissing away another season where we should win the Big Sky, and ruining what should have been a great swan song season for Scott, a rare 4 year letterman for PSU, who was expecting to lead his team as a senior to hosting the playoffs, and on to the Dance (and complete the unfinished business of his first year), and along the way establish himself in the top categories of many of the PSU all time career statistics. Imagine the message Bone is sending to Scott, and thus the other players, on how he (and thus the program & the school) rewards loyalty and service to PSU and the team.

I agree that Bone is a nice man, and a good recruiter, but (IMHO) this qualifies him as a good assistant coach. He is not a team leader, not a motivator, and not a "game time" coach - which are what separate a head coach from an assistant. He constantly gets outcoached in games, and his inability to lead and make good game time and in-game decisions and adjustments continues to hurt the team and our chances. He has been promoted beyond his abilities (the Peter Principle??).

I agree that ultimately it's the players who have to do it on the floor (incl. making free throws !), but do not underestimate the affect a good coach can have on the game, incl. practice, preparation, and most importantly leadership, motivation, team chemistry, and will to win - these young athletes are still very malleable and ready to be led and coached to a higher level.
 
So would the assumption be that EWU is better than we all thought or that PSU just had a really bad game?

I do know that EWU's Earlywine was a good coach at Weber as an assistant (2000-2006) and the players said he told Cravens the head coach what to do. But I do know PSU is way more talented this year than EWU.
 
I'm a newbie to this forum but a longtime Viking watcher and supporter (how did i just now discover this!?!).
GustaV - its time to stop defending scott, what are you, his dad?? Seriously, I want him to succeed too, but he can't just assume he's gonna play 25 miniutss a night. He needs to earn the time by performing and of late he has looked uninterested and awful.
If he plays well and Geving and Bone bench him, then by all means, let's cut bait, but until then this is on scott.
 
Welcome to the forum, Ken Bone's Love Child. Glad to have you on board, and glad you finally found the forum !!
I agree with you, Bone can bench Scott all he likes. He's the man with all the power and authority. And you're absolutely right, playing time has to be earned, and is not a privilege. Bone's done a great job beating the heart and spirit out of Scott and many of the others, and he's got them all so confused they have no idea whether to run, jump or lay down......now that's good coaching !!!
So we end up with J.R. and Julius ?? Even on an off night, Scott contributes more to the team (at both ends) than they do, and the team wins. Bone seems intent on losing, and in my opinion, I don't see how he's proving anything.
This isn't about Scott, though, as that is just one example of how out of touch Bone is with his team, and what an ineffective game coach he is.
Perhaps Bone needs to find a different way to try and motivate his team (perhaps communicate with them, support them and work with them ?? (crazy idea, I know)), as what he is doing clearly is not working. I don't think being aloof and disinterested in the players and the team is working well for Bone (again, just my opinion).

Oh, and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night !!
 
I smell revenge for the early road loss to EWU.

Tuesday can't come fast enough. The Stott should be packed and in a frenzy.
 
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