Sac @ NAU

[SDHornet]

NAU didn’t have a game Thursday so they will be fresh for this game against the Hornets. NAU lost their last game by 1 point to WSU and are currently 1-3 in BSC play. However all of NAU’s BSC losses have come to the better BSC teams.

There is still hope for the Hornets to make it to the BSC Tournament but they have to turn it around now. With NAU, EWU, and ISU each with only 1 BSC win, the Hornets can pull back into contention with a surprising upset at NAU. NAU’s leading scorers are guards Jones (19.7 ppg) and Rogers (12.4 ppg). Guard Platt (9.9 ppg) and forward Johannsen (9.8 ppg) round out the leading scorers for NAU. Johannsen is their big body at 6’-7” 230 lbs while their other forward Smith is 6’-8” 215 lbs. They have a couple of others with size but they have not been averaging much playing time thus far. NAU is tied for 2nd in the BSC averaging 74.9 ppg and 3rd in the BSC allowing an average of 66.9 ppg. They lead the BSC in FG% with 49.2% and 3PT% with 44.7%. They are second in the BSC in both offensive and defensive rebounding and lead the BSC in assists.

NAU is good so the chances of a win for the Hornets are poor. Add to that the fact that the Hornets are the only game for NAU this week and this one could get ugly quick. Hopefully the Hornets can pick up their game and pull an upset on the road.

 

[williestarbuck]

IMO, we're losing games for a number of reasons: poor execution, poor defense--individual and team (examples are many but one that stands out is how easy Rush got the ball on MSUs last key possession because of Jackson's weak attempt at denying him the ball when everyone in the gym knew the play was called for Rush coming out of the TO), turnovers. But no reason stands out more than the fact we are just not hustling. What I mean by that is you can hustle in effort and then you can hustle to gain a statistical advantage. If a team doesn't know why it's hustling, then they're just running around.

This is how I view hustle and it's based on my own statistical measure: Offensive Rebounds, Steals and Charges Taken vs. Turnovers. The hustle stats account for the times you can gain possession of the ball against the times you have possession and lose it without getting a shot opportunity. The goal, again IMO, should be +5 or better. The box scores does not track Charges Taken so I allow for a factor of 1 (2 if they were a better defensive team).

(Why Offensive Rebounds and not total rebounds? Simply because it allows us 2nd chance opportunities)

Interesting numbers: The win we had vs. Poly we weren't +5 but -7 in this statistic. And we won 71 to 67. How did we win? Excellent shooting. 3-PT 11-18, FT 10-13, FG 25-42.

Vs. William Jessup, we won by 11 and we were +4 in the hustle stat. It saved us this time in a poor shooting effort: 3-PT 6-24, FT 15-26, FG 22-50.

My point is we have to set performance measures so we know WHY we are hustling. Otherwise, we're just running around.

We have a ways to go before we become a conference tournament team but the talent I believe is there. The maturity and maybe even the leadership is missing.

 

[DrMike]

looks like the game is on TV tonight? FCSP from what i saw in the paper. of course, with two NFL playoff games, i don't think their audience share is gonna be very big.

 

[SJHornet]

I have to mute this game. That announcer is annoying.

 

[SDHornet]

I have to mute this game. That announcer is annoying.

Yeah. I'm trying to watch this and the very entertaining Packers-Falcons game.

36-27 NAU lead at the half. Every time I look up NAU's big man is wide open in the paint for an easy layup. This has happened about 5 times now. It's pretty embarrassing that Katz has not made any adjustment to defend this. I'll miss the second half but I think NAU is going to run the Hornets off the court. The Hornets have had no rhythm at all on offense, just a bunch of players running around heaving up shots from time to time.

 

[The Green Hornet]

We played awful tonight. Jackson really hurt us in the first ten minutes and did nothing to help us after that. I kept waiting for Katz to put Nelson in, but then I noticed that he wasn't even on the bench as far as I could tell. He never played anyway. He did play at Weber State tho on Thursday.

I'm beginning to wonder if we will even win one conference game. We are not improving. We take way too many difficult shots instead of trying to find an open man. A lot of unforced turnovers; just sloppy almost lazy play. Now the "D" has gone south too. I hope they haven't given up, but it is pretty disheartening.

 

[DrMike]

i watched bits and pieces over the internet, with the Packer game on. I think SD hit it on the head at halftime. i'm not too familar with the Hornets, so, maybe its me..but..i couldn't figure out what they were trying to do on offense. it seems like 80% of the possessions early in the 2nd half were 'four-out' -> one guy isolated one-on-one, the other clearing out. that never seemed to work. at times they had possessions with good ball movement but they capped it with a LONG 3-point shot.

on defense, there seemed to be very little effort. they extended the pressure on the perimeter way out...but...that just opened up passing lanes when the others were slow to respond.

didn't see a whole lot of effort out there.

 

[williestarbuck]

Is anyone familiar with Katz' contract? I would think next year would be a defining year as far as his future with the program is concerned, IDK. Granted we've had some close loses but we've only had 1 real win all season (Poly) not counting (Bethany and William Jessup). I'm sure he has more recruiting resources than Jenkins had and he's even paid more but really, where is the improvement? I don't just routinely advocate anyone being fired and hope that Katz can turn this around, but I believe things have gotten worse since Jenkins left. I mean we know the AD gave Jenkins no support in the last couple of years and just allowed him to ride out his contract, but I thought Katz was supposed to come in right the ship...

I look at Bakersfield and they are 8 and 9 with quality wins vs. Pepperdine, San Jose State, San Francisco and Northridge. They also beat Idaho State, Portland State, and UC Riverside and just lost an OT game to Idaho. Basically the same talent that we have.

It has to point to coaching. I'm not bashing Katz but come on. We have 1 win and that was at home and we had to shoot some ridiculous percentage to get it. Not counting William Jessup we haven't won a game in a month and a half. Where's the Katz fan club? What do you all think now. Can he do it? Have you given up on him?

I'm no college coach, just a fan. I know winning at this level is not an easy job, but with 3 of your top 4 scorers returning from last year and 2 highly anticipated red shirts coming in, shoud it really be this hard?

 

[SDHornet]

I saw somewhere that Katz was given a 5 year extension coming into this season. No idea if the 5 years starts this season or when his original contract expires. Either way it is looking to be a terrible move by Wanless. Katz has done nothing on the court to show he is or was deserving of an extension. I would like to know how much his buyout clause is. If there is no significant improvement on the court next season, it will be time to cut him loose and go in another direction.

I’m with ws on this one. I expected the Hornets to be more than just competitive with 3 returning starters, 2 players coming off of a redshirt, and a second full offseason of recruiting. Add this on top of a OOC schedule filled with other programs coming into this season in a similar situation as ours and it doesn’t look good for Katz. I’m still hoping Katz can turn it around but there is little evidence to show that Katz is capable of this. I hope I’m wrong.

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

Folks the reality is this: in this town, if we are not going to play at Arco, then we need a real Div. I facility. Period. Don't give me Northridge or Portland State, two entirely different situations. What works for them doesn't work for us. The winning will not start until Wanless gets serious about a real facility.

 

[superhornet]

FYI: This may have already been discussed, but as of 01 MAR, ARCO Arena will no longer exist (as a name). ARCO's contract with the City has run out. The building will henceforth be known as Power Balance Pavilion, after the controversial wristbands worn by athletes and others worldwide. Kings rookie DeMarcus Cousins and prospective Princess Kate Middleton both wear them. :lol:

 

[SJHornet]

Folks the reality is this: in this town, if we are not going to play at Arco, then we need a real Div. I facility. Period. Don't give me Northridge or Portland State, two entirely different situations. What works for them doesn't work for us. The winning will not start until Wanless gets serious about a real facility.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/SJAnfield/courtfinal2.jpg?t=1295239386
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/SJAnfield/courtdiagram2.jpg?t=1295239443

Knock out the west and east walls and you could fit more seats. Renovate the locker rooms adding flat screens and xboxes and the gym will attract better recruits and more respect. Its just an embarrassment right now.

 

[williestarbuck]

Folks the reality is this: in this town, if we are not going to play at Arco, then we need a real Div. I facility. Period. Don't give me Northridge or Portland State, two entirely different situations. What works for them doesn't work for us. The winning will not start until Wanless gets serious about a real facility.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/SJAnfield/courtfinal2.jpg?t=1295239386
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/SJAnfield/courtdiagram2.jpg?t=1295239443

Knock out the west and east walls and you could fit more seats. Renovate the locker rooms adding flat screens and xboxes and the gym will attract better recruits and more respect. Its just an embarrassment right now.

I agree the gym is a dump. But our schedule is pretty soft if you take away Oklahoma and Washington State. Bakersfield is 8 and 9 with a stronger strength of schedule and equal talent at best. We have 1 D1 win this year. We beat Cal Poly, and they have gone on to split with Loyola Marymount, and beat Hawaii, Peperdine, Pacific, Davis and Fullerton. Cal Poly, like Bakersfield, their talent level is similar to ours.

We do need a new or renovated gym but obviously we can't wait til that happens to expect wins. So given the Bakersfield and Cal Poly comparison, the question is what is preventing us from winning right now? Is it lack of talent or lack of coaching?

 

[SDHornet]

Folks the reality is this: in this town, if we are not going to play at Arco, then we need a real Div. I facility. Period. Don't give me Northridge or Portland State, two entirely different situations. What works for them doesn't work for us. The winning will not start until Wanless gets serious about a real facility.

I refuse to accept the “we have awful facilities so it’s OK if we lose” excuse. Katz’ predecessor was able to provide an exciting product, get to post season play, win in post season play, and get asses in the seats at the Nest. I agree that we need new facilites, but that is no excuse for only producing a handful of wins a season.

 

[SDHornet]

Folks the reality is this: in this town, if we are not going to play at Arco, then we need a real Div. I facility. Period. Don't give me Northridge or Portland State, two entirely different situations. What works for them doesn't work for us. The winning will not start until Wanless gets serious about a real facility.

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/SJAnfield/courtfinal2.jpg?t=1295239386
http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad1/SJAnfield/courtdiagram2.jpg?t=1295239443

Knock out the west and east walls and you could fit more seats. Renovate the locker rooms adding flat screens and xboxes and the gym will attract better recruits and more respect. Its just an embarrassment right now.

I imagine any structural modifications to the Nest would result in a full blown retro-fit required to the WWII era structure. The west side of the Nest is blocked in by that auxiliary building so any expansion on that side would have limited room to work with. No idea on the conditions of the locker room but I wouldn't doubt that work on that front is needed.

 

[Kadeezy]

Expansion will never happen, though those renderings look pretty cool. On the Lockeroom front, they're a joke. A couple years ago they "re-modeled" them, but that was pretty much paint and carpet. The room itself is just as small comparatively as our gym is.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

The gym was built in the early 50's, there is probably asbestos galore. Which would double the price of the refurb making it more cost effect to build a new LEED certified building.

It might not have a direct coorelation to W/L, but it sure does affect attitude from the program to the community. I believe we would be able to recruit better student athletes if we had a better facility.

Obviously, JC ball is not the same as DI ball. I like Coach Katz, but am starting to question his ability in this situation.