WSUProf said:
Looking at our team this year, Senglin needs to be the man. Many folks jumped on him yesterday for his play at the end of the game. I thought the charging call was questionable. But someone needs to step up in the closing minutes. Senglin is that guy. He can get to the basket and he can knock down 3s. Don't forget Barry used to take some wild drives to the basket in the final minutes last year -- sometimes he got fouled, sometimes he turned it over.
What lost the game last night was the inability to get a defensive rebound in the last couple of minutes. On one series EWU must have had 4 chances, ending with a Harvey 3 that cut the lead to 1 and really got the crowd into it. If Weber pulls down a rebound there and possibly converts at the other end, we are up 6, not 1.
As for the starting 5, I don't think it matters much which option the coaches go with. What matters is who is playing the last 8-10 minutes of the game. And if Richardson keeps performing the way he did yesterday, then he will have to be on the floor with Senglin, Gittens, Hill and Bolomboy.
I disagree that Senglin needs to be the man in the sense that he needs to be the go-to guy at the end of games. Last night's game was a great example of this-- look at his last 6-8 possessions. Weber has predicable let downs at the ends of halves and last night was no exception. I believe it is often due to a change from pushing the offense, benefiting from their TEAM athleticism, to a more deliberate, time consuming half-court offense, in which an individual player will usually try to force something and/or turn it over. Give this team time to think, and they'll make poor decisions. Basically, a change from playing to win to playing not to lose.
Senglin does need to be the man as far as being a vocal leader who can make good decisions while being a facilitator. He must let the game come to him to be the kind of talent we saw last year. This year's roster MUST excel as a team, not as individuals. This is where the coaching staff needs to "develop bigs." Teach Senglin, Bolomboy, Hajek, and Hill how to play the inside-out game that Rahe has said so many times that's the kind of game they play. Neither side of the current equation knows how to play that game or maybe they are just not capable. Coston can fit into this kind of system just fine in the high post if he knows what he's doing and there is a team effort-- he, too, will struggle to be Berry type of impact player but has a capable skill set.
Weber should have never gotten in the position where they needed a Senglin game winner or a Berry-type carrying of the team. The game was lost the 2-4 minutes before each half and from being worked on the glass, in the paint, and some poor defensive decisions with Harvey and poor offensive decisions to not go with the hot hand (Richardson). Although I'm down on Golden and Coston too, Weber's inability to get Senglin, Gittens, Hill, Bolomboy, and Hajek working a inside-out game together is equally frustrating.
