My 2 Cents

[Consigliere]

The bad news: It is clear that there are some issues in Coral Gables now but there is still plenty of time to sort them out. Reggie Johnson has been MIA and seems out of sync with the rest of the ball club. Rion Brown has continued his terrible shooting trend of missing wide open shots. Also, as a team we seem to have an opponent where we want them but are unable to put them away. Sometimes this team just goes on zombie mode and will have a bad run, we need to get away from this funk we go into.

The good news: Can this be fixed? Yes. The bottom line is, we must win Saturday. If we win Saturday is everything fixed, heck no. This game is extremely important for ACC seeding and going out strong. We were unable to get the train going against GTech and start some rhythm for this team. The season is not over even though some of our fans believe that there is nothing left.

The hurricanes are not a 2 Face Team but we are a 3 Face Team.

Face 1: Rapeville. We have the ability to go out and murder a team, as 10 of our wins are from 15 points or more.

Face 2: Badly wounded, but scrape by with a win. Great teams find ways to win, even if they are ugly. Over a course of a season these happen.

Face 3: Nothing left, lose a close one.

The majority of the games this year we show Face 1 and Face 2, yet lately we have been showing Face 3. In the tourney all you need to do is just win the game. There are no style points, if you win that is key. If you win and there is no injuries, you couldn't ask for anything more.

I know many of you threw in the towel and are done. That is fine, please leave. We never saw you when were nothing and unranked. This post is directed at the fans, the fans that started to show-up as we starting winning, the fans that don't understand basketball, the fans that don't give a **** about the team, the fans that post 95% negative posts towards the teams and have extreme mood swings.

Fuccccccccccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk off. Your fake fandom is not needed for our team and the program. But if you can step away from the ledge and realize the ACC Tourney hasn't started neither has the NCAA Tourney. There is still 2 weeks to our potential first game in the NCAA Tourney, we have time, we can still get our issues fixed.

Have faith in the Coach, have faith in Shane and Kadji and don't forget about Scott. This team deserves your support.

 

[nadiamufdi]

Hopefully somebody didnt take Reggie to rapeville and thats why he is playing like a 5th grade schoolgirl.

I agree with everything you posted

 

[Notsince1985]

I agree to an extent. Of course nothing is over, but there is no evidence that this team will make a substantial run. If they can play like they did from December to early February, then game on, but if they play like they have the last 4-5 weeks, forget about it. I'm not saying you did this, but I'm sick of people saying, "this is what the team needed" Clearly these crappy performances and losses are not acting as wake up calls, so this team is going to have to figure out whether they want to be a team people remember for 50 years, or just another "good" team like we have every 5-10 years.

 

[4Canes]

While I can appreciate your super-fandom the reality is the team has hit it's ceiling or so it seems. As '85 wrote, these aren't wake-up calls, they're reality settling in.
Good basketball schools have stepped up their game and Miami has not been able to respond. Can they pull out of the funk...we'll see.

 

[Consigliere]

I agree to an extent. Of course nothing is over, but there is no evidence that this team will make a substantial run. If they can play like they did from December to early February, then game on, but if they play like they have the last 4-5 weeks, forget about it. I'm not saying you did this, but I'm sick of people saying, "this is what the team needed" Clearly these crappy performances and losses are not acting as wake up calls, so this team is going to have to figure out whether they want to be a team people remember for 50 years, or just another "good" team like we have every 5-10 years.

Also there is evidence that we will make a substantial run because we did it this year ALREADY. We won 14 straight games and 13 in a row in the conference (7 of these games were on the road). This is a team that won 10 games away from our home court. That is important in the NCAA tourney because there are NO HOME GAMES.

In a year where no one and I mean no one can stay in the #1 Spot, in a year where in February alone a top 5 seed lost 14-15 TIMES, it seems that this isn't a normal year.

Who is playing well? Gonzaga, who did they beat?

This isn't a normal year. We just need to get in sync and ready to play. 2 weeks till our possible first game in the tourney, we have time. We still can get it fixed.

I am not EVER going to say "this is what the team needed." But I will say there is still time to fix this team, the issues are fixable too IMO and we have the right coach to do it.

 

[Consigliere]

Good basketball schools have stepped up their game and Miami has not been able to respond. Can they pull out of the funk...we'll see.

Who stepped up?

Indiana, who lost twice.

Georgetown, who lost again.

This is not a normal year. Teams are losing in record numbers in the top 5/10 and there is still 2 weeks left to our possible first game.

My point is that we have time to fix it and we have WATCHED this team excel and there is no reason why we can't do it again.

 

[Consigliere]

Hopefully somebody didnt take Reggie to rapeville and thats why he is playing like a 5th grade schoolgirl.

I agree with everything you posted

I am basically saying that there is time to right the ship, 2 weeks till our possible first game in the NCAA tourney. We can still get 15 wins this year and we have a WHOLE ACC tourney to practice and get ready for the REAL Tourney.

 

[Notsince1985]

I agree to an extent. Of course nothing is over, but there is no evidence that this team will make a substantial run. If they can play like they did from December to early February, then game on, but if they play like they have the last 4-5 weeks, forget about it. I'm not saying you did this, but I'm sick of people saying, "this is what the team needed" Clearly these crappy performances and losses are not acting as wake up calls, so this team is going to have to figure out whether they want to be a team people remember for 50 years, or just another "good" team like we have every 5-10 years.

Also there is evidence that we will make a substantial run because we did it this year ALREADY. We won 14 straight games and 13 in a row in the conference (7 of these games were on the road). This is a team that won 10 games away from our home court. That is important in the NCAA tourney because there are NO HOME GAMES.

In a year where no one and I mean no one can stay in the #1 Spot, in a year where in February alone a top 5 seed lost 14-15 TIMES, it seems that this isn't a normal year.

Who is playing well? Gonzaga, who did they beat?

This isn't a normal year. We just need to get in sync and ready to play. 2 weeks till our possible first game in the tourney, we have time. We still can get it fixed.

I am not EVER going to say "this is what the team needed." But I will say there is still time to fix this team, the issues are fixable too IMO and we have the right coach to do it.

Agreed, but I'm a pessimist at heart

 

[Consigliere]

I agree to an extent. Of course nothing is over, but there is no evidence that this team will make a substantial run. If they can play like they did from December to early February, then game on, but if they play like they have the last 4-5 weeks, forget about it. I'm not saying you did this, but I'm sick of people saying, "this is what the team needed" Clearly these crappy performances and losses are not acting as wake up calls, so this team is going to have to figure out whether they want to be a team people remember for 50 years, or just another "good" team like we have every 5-10 years.

Also there is evidence that we will make a substantial run because we did it this year ALREADY. We won 14 straight games and 13 in a row in the conference (7 of these games were on the road). This is a team that won 10 games away from our home court. That is important in the NCAA tourney because there are NO HOME GAMES.

In a year where no one and I mean no one can stay in the #1 Spot, in a year where in February alone a top 5 seed lost 14-15 TIMES, it seems that this isn't a normal year.

Who is playing well? Gonzaga, who did they beat?

This isn't a normal year. We just need to get in sync and ready to play. 2 weeks till our possible first game in the tourney, we have time. We still can get it fixed.

I am not EVER going to say "this is what the team needed." But I will say there is still time to fix this team, the issues are fixable too IMO and we have the right coach to do it.

Agreed, but I'm a pessimist at heart

These are just opinions and you seem like a good honest dude just giving his 2 cents. This is a weird year for us (for me) because whenever we are trying to get to the NCAA tourney, we are barely getting in or not guaranteed a spot. This year is different, this year we are guaranteed a spot (basically) and we were ranked #2 at one point. We're still #3 SOS and #3 RPI. As a fan, maybe some are overreacting because we're not use to being here.

We have been playing sub-par as of late but we're still 7-3 in our last 10 (2 loses on the road), but that doesn't mean the season is over (like other posters claim). We still are HEALTHY and we still have shown we can win on the road. Larkin, Scott and Kadji are playing really well, TMJ can shoot and if we can get 10 PTs and 12RPG out of RJ and JG we can win against anyone.

We are a dangerous team, the questions is whether we can remember how to be dangerous. Can Coach get us our edge back.

 

[RaiseCane]

Hopefully somebody didnt take Reggie to rapeville and thats why he is playing like a 5th grade schoolgirl.

I agree with everything you posted

I am basically saying that there is time to right the ship, 2 weeks till our possible first game in the NCAA tourney. We can still get 15 wins this year and we have a WHOLE ACC tourney to practice and get ready for the REAL Tourney.

I certainly don't think that all is lost, or that we don't have time to fix the problems. My biggest concerns are that we may have hit a wall physically (as DCF has mentioned, as a result of our lack of depth, guys like Larkin and Scott rarely come out of the game), teams might have figured us out (the last 3 teams we've faced have all shot over 50%, which wasn't happening early in the season, and other than against Duke, who is bad against the pick and roll, other teams have significantly limited our effectiveness) and as a result of the first two, as well as the poor play recently of Brown and Reggie, the formula for us winning is relying on Kadji, Shane and Scott to carry us.

Unless Brown snaps out of his season long shooting funk, or unless Reggie can become a significant contributor (to the tune of even his season averages of around 8 and 8), we're going to be hard pressed to beat other good teams in the tournament. When we pulled out the close wins against FSU, Clemson and Virginia, we thought it was a good team finding a way to win. But, with the way we've continued to play, it may be that the good team has just run out of gas. I understood losing at Wake (as bad as they are), because I didn't think we'd go undefeated. I was disappointed that we couldn't pull it out at Duke, but was proud of the way we fought. But there really is no justification for losing to a bad GT team at home, with all that we had on the line, and doing so after blowing leads throughout the game. I'm certainly not giving up, and I think we can right the ship, but color me very concerned.

 

[Consigliere]

Hopefully somebody didnt take Reggie to rapeville and thats why he is playing like a 5th grade schoolgirl.

I agree with everything you posted

I am basically saying that there is time to right the ship, 2 weeks till our possible first game in the NCAA tourney. We can still get 15 wins this year and we have a WHOLE ACC tourney to practice and get ready for the REAL Tourney.

I certainly don't think that all is lost, or that we don't have time to fix the problems. My biggest concerns are that we may have hit a wall physically (as DCF has mentioned, as a result of our lack of depth, guys like Larkin and Scott rarely come out of the game), teams might have figured us out (the last 3 teams we've faced have all shot over 50%, which wasn't happening early in the season, and other than against Duke, who is bad against the pick and roll, other teams have significantly limited our effectiveness) and as a result of the first two, as well as the poor play recently of Brown and Reggie, the formula for us winning is relying on Kadji, Shane and Scott to carry us.

Unless Brown snaps out of his season long shooting funk, or unless Reggie can become a significant contributor (to the tune of even his season averages of around 8 and 8), we're going to be hard pressed to beat other good teams in the tournament. When we pulled out the close wins against FSU, Clemson and Virginia, we thought it was a good team finding a way to win. But, with the way we've continued to play, it may be that the good team has just run out of gas. I understood losing at Wake (as bad as they are), because I didn't think we'd go undefeated. I was disappointed that we couldn't pull it out at Duke, but was proud of the way we fought. But there really is no justification for losing to a bad GT team at home, with all that we had on the line, and doing so after blowing leads throughout the game. I'm certainly not giving up, and I think we can right the ship, but color me very concerned.

That is fair.

 

[DJ8Heisman]

My thoughts:

This team seems to think they don't need to show up vs inferior teams, as shown against FSU/Clemson/Wake/GT. Maybe it's because they are getting worn out and just don't feel like going 100%. Honestly, this season is FAR from over in my opinion, the Duke game has led me to believe this, they looked great in that game. I feel like this team shows up when they want to, and I trust Coach L in March to get this team ready to play 100% in every tourney game.

Of course we do need Reggie to wake up and do something, Rion needs to start shooting better, but I believe Erik Swoope deserves some more minutes, he brings energy and athleticism whenever he gets on the floor, he could help our depth issue some.

I'll never throw in the towel based on a regular season loss, does it concern me? **** ******* yea, it was a pathetic loss, but **** happens. This team still has the talent to make a deep run, I believe it's just an issue of if they actually want to show up.

 

[4Canes]

Hopefully somebody didnt take Reggie to rapeville and thats why he is playing like a 5th grade schoolgirl.

I agree with everything you posted

I am basically saying that there is time to right the ship, 2 weeks till our possible first game in the NCAA tourney. We can still get 15 wins this year and we have a WHOLE ACC tourney to practice and get ready for the REAL Tourney.

I certainly don't think that all is lost, or that we don't have time to fix the problems. My biggest concerns are that we may have hit a wall physically (as DCF has mentioned, as a result of our lack of depth, guys like Larkin and Scott rarely come out of the game), teams might have figured us out (the last 3 teams we've faced have all shot over 50%, which wasn't happening early in the season, and other than against Duke, who is bad against the pick and roll, other teams have significantly limited our effectiveness) and as a result of the first two, as well as the poor play recently of Brown and Reggie, the formula for us winning is relying on Kadji, Shane and Scott to carry us.

Unless Brown snaps out of his season long shooting funk, or unless Reggie can become a significant contributor (to the tune of even his season averages of around 8 and 8), we're going to be hard pressed to beat other good teams in the tournament. When we pulled out the close wins against FSU, Clemson and Virginia, we thought it was a good team finding a way to win. But, with the way we've continued to play, it may be that the good team has just run out of gas. I understood losing at Wake (as bad as they are), because I didn't think we'd go undefeated. I was disappointed that we couldn't pull it out at Duke, but was proud of the way we fought. But there really is no justification for losing to a bad GT team at home, with all that we had on the line, and doing so after blowing leads throughout the game. I'm certainly not giving up, and I think we can right the ship, but color me very concerned.

That about sums it up for me as well.

 

[strauzer]

I ain't worried the real season starts in two weeks

 

[DCF in LA]

Some good back and forth in this thread. Ultimately, we're just going to have to wait to find out which team shows up at the Big Dance.


Say a prayer for Reggie's mysterious ailment and someone sacrifice a chicken for Rion to start making open jumpers.

 

[CaneInTheHouse]

Some good back and forth in this thread. Ultimately, we're just going to have to wait to find out which team shows up at the Big Dance.


Say a prayer for Reggie's mysterious ailment and someone sacrifice a chicken for Rion to start making open jumpers.

I know someone who owns chickens, so I am on it....