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Grimes leads Houston to 76-56 victory over South Carolina

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Grimes leads Houston to 76-56 victory over South Carolina



Gamecocks struggle offensively, shooting just 32.1 percent from the floor


COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Quentin Grimes scored 24 points as Houston opened fast and kept pushing for a third straight victory 76-56 over South Carolina on Sunday. The Cougars (5-2) started with a 7-0 burst and rarely let up to win the first meeting between the schools in 29 seasons. (VIEW ARTICLE)

 
I am concerned that so far we haven't demonstrated the ability to be competitive with the four SEC-caliber opponents we have lost to.

This will not translate into enough wins to get us to a winning SEC record, but I also think it can be fixed during the rest of December.  It will have to be.

I think we can beat the Taters next game.  At least that's something at this point.

 
I was very disappointed with the way we played against a very good Houston team.   Houston could out quick and out jump our guys, and seemed to have much better skills than us.    I don't think Clemson or UVA will be any better than Houston was, but those games are on the road, which is harder.   

Frank and his staff get paid a lot of money to solve problems on the team.   Right now, I think our biggest problem is our PG play is bad.   I think Frank should consider moving Bolden to SG, and playing Lawson at the point.   Bolden shoots pretty well, but isn't quick or aggressive enough to be a good PG.    We also need to get the ball to Frink more in the low post.  

 
kingofnerf said:
I am concerned that so far we haven't demonstrated the ability to be competitive with the four SEC-caliber opponents we have lost to.

This will not translate into enough wins to get us to a winning SEC record, but I also think it can be fixed during the rest of December.  It will have to be.

I think we can beat the Taters next game.  At least that's something at this point.
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I think our best game to date was Northern Iowa, and we couldn't beat them.    We're going have to improve a lot by the Clemson game if we are to have a chance at that one.

 
Gary said:
I was very disappointed with the way we played against a very good Houston team.   Houston could out quick and out jump our guys, and seemed to have much better skills than us.    I don't think Clemson or UVA will be any better than Houston was, but those games are on the road, which is harder.   

Frank and his staff get paid a lot of money to solve problems on the team.   Right now, I think our biggest problem is our PG play is bad.   I think Frank should consider moving Bolden to SG, and playing Lawson at the point.   Bolden shoots pretty well, but isn't quick or aggressive enough to be a good PG.    We also need to get the ball to Frink more in the low post.  
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Gary, with all due respect to your thoughts, I do NOT want to see Lawson at PG.  He's a big part of the problem the team is having right now.  He's not sharing the ball well (he's focused on himself, and himself alone, leaving others with HUGE opportunities that are missed because of not passing the ball), and he's not getting back on D.  REALLY disappointed with Lawson at the moment, as he's got the NBA-caliber talent.  Showing that he's looking toward that goal, and not looking at TEAM right now, in my estimation.

 
Gary said:
I was very disappointed with the way we played against a very good Houston team.   Houston could out quick and out jump our guys, and seemed to have much better skills than us.    I don't think Clemson or UVA will be any better than Houston was, but those games are on the road, which is harder.   

Frank and his staff get paid a lot of money to solve problems on the team.   Right now, I think our biggest problem is our PG play is bad.   I think Frank should consider moving Bolden to SG, and playing Lawson at the point.   Bolden shoots pretty well, but isn't quick or aggressive enough to be a good PG.    We also need to get the ball to Frink more in the low post.  
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Let me add one more thing... I think we need to see more time at the PG position for Moss.  He has shown the ability to play at that position in the past, though he has been a bit timid in his decision making.  Generally speaking, he's got a good eye for the court.  His weakness is that he's not as good at ball protection, which means he's going to be more inclined to turn the ball over than some of the other options.  But I like what I see from Moss overall.

 
doublea1971 said:
Let me add one more thing... I think we need to see more time at the PG position for Moss.  He has shown the ability to play at that position in the past, though he has been a bit timid in his decision making.  Generally speaking, he's got a good eye for the court.  His weakness is that he's not as good at ball protection, which means he's going to be more inclined to turn the ball over than some of the other options.  But I like what I see from Moss overall.
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You could be right about both Lawson and Moss.   We need a PG who is aggressive, handles the ball well and is a good passer.   Bolden is not the guy, imo because he is not aggressive and not quick.    Bolden should play off the ball because he is a pretty good shooter, and is not a PG.   If you rule out Lawson, that leaves Moss (shaky dribbler), Couisnard (good passer, not sure about his dribbling), or Hannibal.    Three freshmen.   One of the weaknesses of this team is a lack of good upperclassmen guards.  We'll see what Frank does.

 
Moss is aggressive and has shown he can find the open man. It almost seems like he's trying to play too fast at times, which is causing bad decisions and turnovers. I think the old adage of the game slowing down as you get more experience is at play here.

 
markymark550 said:
Moss is aggressive and has shown he can find the open man. It almost seems like he's trying to play too fast at times, which is causing bad decisions and turnovers. I think the old adage of the game slowing down as you get more experience is at play here.
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I think what you're seeing from Moss is mostly injury rust - he hasn't been competing at full speed in almost a year.  Practicing with players you are familiar with (i.e., teammates) is NOT the same as playing against competition who you don't regularly face.  Moss will be fine, and I THINK could be a pretty good PG for the Gamecocks, if Frank Martin will give him the reigns for a bit.  Bolden will need to spell Moss from time to time, but Jair has not yet shown the good decision making and aggressive attitude that this particular team needs.  

I said it MONTHS ago... we need time to gel as a team since we only have 3 players returning who actually have court time together.  The rest will come, but this year will feel like a re-run of last season for a while.  It was something I tried to warn the fans in this forum about, but everyone wanted to look at the rosy picture (a bunch of talented players), instead of the reality of how the game of basketball works.  You are ABSOLUTELY right about the game slowing down as you get more experienced.  That is what we are sorely lacking in right now.  But the competition we are about to face will build that in to our squad - and fast.

 
markymark550 said:
Moss is aggressive and has shown he can find the open man. It almost seems like he's trying to play too fast at times, which is causing bad decisions and turnovers. I think the old adage of the game slowing down as you get more experience is at play here.
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Good point.    Experience will help.

 
  We are playing a lot of young guys this year, they are trying to find there way. What bothers me most is poor shooting from the field and the free throw line. It doesnt matter what a team runs scheme wise unless you can put the ball in the bucket. Maybe that will change soon but with the schedule we have before conference play I am worried it will be too late. 

 
$Billz said:
  We are playing a lot of young guys this year, they are trying to find there way. What bothers me most is poor shooting from the field and the free throw line. It doesnt matter what a team runs scheme wise unless you can put the ball in the bucket. Maybe that will change soon but with the schedule we have before conference play I am worried it will be too late. 
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We only have one senior who plays and one junior.    To me, that is the biggest weakness of the team.   Frank's teams need upperclassmen who have been in his system.  The strength of this team is the sophomore class.  They have all played a season for Frank, so they know what is expected of them and they have been through a college season before.    If nobody leaves, they will be a much more experienced team next year.  But that doesn't help this year's team.     

 
Gary said:
We only have one senior who plays and one junior.    To me, that is the biggest weakness of the team.   Frank's teams need upperclassmen who have been in his system.  The strength of this team is the sophomore class.  They have all played a season for Frank, so they know what is expected of them and they have been through a college season before.    If nobody leaves, they will be a much more experienced team next year.  But that doesn't help this year's team.     
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There's a great deal of talent between those classified as Sophomores (Lawson, Frink and Bryant - plus Nathan Nelson, of course) and those classified as RS Freshmen (Moss, Cousinard, Minaya).  Though I would also argue that currently, one of our Sophomores is holding the team back.  I expect to see a MUCH different look from the team come Sunday vs. Clemson.  I would be terribly surprised if Coach Martin hasn't mostly had them shooting all week long, and not doing as much of the defensive drills.

 
Gary said:
We only have one senior who plays and one junior.    To me, that is the biggest weakness of the team.   Frank's teams need upperclassmen who have been in his system.  The strength of this team is the sophomore class.  They have all played a season for Frank, so they know what is expected of them and they have been through a college season before.    If nobody leaves, they will be a much more experienced team next year.  But that doesn't help this year's team.     
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  My feelings before the season was we would be able to out athlete some teams. Houston was a team I thought we may have seen that kick in but the did out athleted us. You look at the Houston team and they had some dudes. I believe that is how CFM wants us to look in the near future. I dont think the near future will be this year unless we start putting the ball in the bucket. 

  We need a point who can penetrate and dish, that is what we are missing right now. hat and NO transition baskets. We have guys we can put in to dish out the cheap fouls or play a little rough to get the turnover game going but we just cant put it in the basket at this time. 

 
$Billz said:
  My feelings before the season was we would be able to out athlete some teams. Houston was a team I thought we may have seen that kick in but the did out athleted us. You look at the Houston team and they had some dudes. I believe that is how CFM wants us to look in the near future. I dont think the near future will be this year unless we start putting the ball in the bucket. 

  We need a point who can penetrate and dish, that is what we are missing right now. hat and NO transition baskets. We have guys we can put in to dish out the cheap fouls or play a little rough to get the turnover game going but we just cant put it in the basket at this time. 
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Not many teams will out athlete Houston.   They were very impressive.  Clearly more athletic than us.    And more skilled as well.  I would not be surprised to see them go far in the NCAAT.   I'm with you on the PG.   Frank said today in his presser that we have some guys that are not as competitive as he thought they were.   I can only guess who he is referring to since he didn't name anyone.   I think that is another area where Houston is better than us.   All of their guys seemed to compete relentlessly.     

 
  I have a feeling we will see AJ playing timid all year due to his impending millions he is supposively going to get in the NBA draft. 

 
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