New Poll from "Halfcourt cris". Who will figure it out first?!?

[altoncwell]

Here is the current opinion coming out of the mouth of Chris Vernon regarding the state of the Tigers offense.

"They can beat anybody in a fullcourt game, but they can lose to anyone in a halfcourt game."

This is his opinion (and apparently the same one held by Gary Parrish and Geoff Calkins) and it's honestly probably not going to change for a long while, no matter what the Tigers do.

And why is that?

Because if they could not see it against UTK's exceptionally good halfcourt defense (I did not say offense!) then they are not likely to see it anytime soon, or if they do then they will just dismiss it as a result of playing inferior opponents (just like Vernon did after the Tigers beat Loyola and just like Calkins did after he watched them dismantle UTK - whom he promptly dismissed as a weak opponent despite the fact they beat #23 Wichita State two weeks earlier, and took #20 Georgetown to the wire for a final score of 36 to 37 - which sounds pretty AMAZING, right?!?).

Now, let me go ahead and say that I like all three of them, and think they are all very brilliant at what they do, BUT in this case they just don't seem to be able to see all of the evidence that has been on display for several games now (UT Martin, Ohio, Louisville, Oral Roberts, Loyola, and Tennessee) where it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt that when you force the Tigers to run their halfcourt offense (which just means the defense is ALREADY SET and they have to figure out a way to score anyways. It has NOTHING to do with the score of the game!) they will most typically be very methodical and controlled and will most likely get off a good shot because that is what they do now!!!! Which, BTW, does not mean their opponent stinks! A great halfcourt offense will make the opponent look bad! That's just what happens when it's highly effective (like the Tigers were against UTK!), and will result in a lot of points scored. Why you ask? Because the shots taken will typically be open and easy and therefore HIGH PERCENTAGE!!

It's not rickysign!!!!!

SAY...... could that be why the Tigers are 23rd in the country now in field goal percentage, and rapidly ascending the assists per game metric???

ya think?

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...memphis-tigers

Am I frustrated? Well, sure, because you figure that our sports writers really know what they writing about (or talking about), and therefore should be able to know great team basketball when they see it.

And you know, maybe that's just not realistic or even fair. Parrish, Vernon, and Calkins are extremely talented in the communication department - NO DOUBT! BUT, I am realizing that does not necessarily mean they are going to be able to analyze what is occurring on the basketball court with any more depth than any other average fan.

SOOOOOO, instead of calling the shows anymore and being further mocked (e.g. "halfcourt cris"), I figured I would just bring it here on the home court and have some fun with it, while we wait for them to finally be able to discern that the Tigers are now an excellent fullcourt AND halfcourt basketball team.!



halfcourt cris

[altoncwell]

Thanks for the votes.

Calkins with the early lead (sorry for the typo in the poll, btw, I was in a hurry! I think I was so focused on getting "Geoff" right. lol ), but the sample size is still small and anything could happen!

Everyone please don't forget to vote!

Thanks!

halfcourt cris

[tigerfor50yrs]

I think they all have predetermined that we can't run a good half-court offense. when we make our deep run in the NCAA Tourny they might admit it. That is how I vote, either that or they are clueless.

[altoncwell]

I think they all have predetermined that we can't run a good half-court offense. when we make our deep run in the NCAA Tourny they might admit it. That is how I vote, either that or they are clueless.

lol - the longer this goes the longer they risk looking clueless if and when the national media grabs hold of it.

I can wait.



"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof
against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting
ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation."

- Herbert Spencer

[altoncwell]

Alright, it's a Tiger gameday, so let's take a quick look at our poll numbers. Here they are as of 1-9-2013 @ 08:05 am.


Poll Question: Who will be the first to discern that the Tigers are now an excellent halfcourt team?

Gary Parrish: 7 votes 41.18%

Geoff Calkins: 7 votes 41.18%

Chris Vernon: 1 vote 5.88%

I agree with them! The Tigers halfcourt stinks!!: 2 votes 11.76%



Wow. Parrish and Calkins deadlocked at 7 votes each! I can see that!

The real surprise is the total lack of belief that Vernon can have a break through. It's soooo lopsided at this point that I have to wonder where that one vote came from. Surely the memphisroar website would not let Chris vote for himself!

If you would like to vote in this poll, please click here ~> http://memphisroar.com/forum/showthr...it-out-first-!

I also think this would be a good time to take a look the Tiger's opponent, and see if they really do suck as bad as Vernon is going to say they do.

East Carolina
(9-4, 0-0 C-USA)

Stats

POINTS PER GAME: 79.2 21st OVERALL
REBOUNDS PER GAME: 39.0 48th OVERALL
ASSISTS PER GAME: 18.0 8th OVERALL
FIELD GOAL PCT: .458 80th OVERALL


Dec 15 @ #21 UNC L 93-87

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...rolina-pirates

Well, it's kinda hard for me to get behind the notion that East Carolina completely and utterly sucks (as "the narrative" will be), when their points per game are very good, and their assists per game are awesome.

Also, they gave #21 UNC all they wanted and almost got the upset!

Just some things to keep in mind when the fallback analysis in the local media is going to be that the opponent was a joke and thus if the Tigers win it's not to their credit, and if they Tigers lose then Josh should be burned at the stake for letting such a sorry team beat the Tigers.

Sounds like a no-win situation to me.

Am I right?

halfcourt cris

[AFTiger]

The 2 choices of "excellent" and "stinks" are not sufficient.

I would say the Tigers are pretty good and have certainly gotten better.

The continued development of the Tiger's post players is key. If our bigs get more comfortable playing with their backs to the basket, they will become an "excellent" halfcourt team and very dangerous.

[altoncwell]

The 2 choices of "excellent" and "stinks" are not sufficient.

I would say the Tigers are pretty good and have certainly gotten better.

The continued development of the Tiger's post players is key. If our bigs get more comfortable playing with their backs to the basket, they will become an "excellent" halfcourt team and very dangerous.

It's no doubt over-the-top to have no middle ground, but it's to make the point about the analysis at hand. I have talked to Vernon several times, and he will not budge. The Tigers are great in the fastbreak, but stink in the halfcourt. I tried to point out that they were very "good" and getting better when I was talking about the Oral Roberts and Loyola game, and I just got mocked about the conference they play in (sound familiar?).

Now, I will say this, BEFORE the UTK game I would have just said that the Tigers were "very good" and getting better in the halfcourt. Now I'm not so sure, and they really may be "excellent" in light of how they completely and totally shredded what Vernon even said last thursday (play the tape Roser!) was a very good UTK team. For goodness sake they held #20 Georgetown to 37 points for the whole game! Doesn't that sound like a very impressive halfcourt defense? If the answer is "yes" then what does that make the Tigers halfcourt offense?

And let me say this. The "contempt prior" state of mind that has closed the minds of Vernon and company constantly leads them to believe that what really happened in the UTK game (or any Tiger game for that matter) was either: A. The game turned into a Fastbreak fest and the Tigers won, or B. That the team they were playing reality STINKS and that's why the Tigers won.

And that's how it is! There is no grey area!

AND OHHH NOOO, it can't possssssibly be because the Tigers really are a very good and very disciplined halfcourt team now who is in fact getting better and better. It just can't be!

And why?

That's simple.

Because that would fly in the face of their core belief regarding the Tiger head coach.



halfcourt cris

[AFTiger]

It will take some time for cynical people and from now on out, the problem is going to be the quality of teams we play--folks will focus on the relative weakness of the conference schedule regardless of any obvious improvement and solid play.

But, the good news is if the Tigers stick to the fundamentals and work really hard to pound the ball inside to their bigs and let them develop, then I think they will become a very dangerous team. Having both inside and outside options in the halfcourt is a good thing.

If they can do that and play consistent hard-nosed D, better defending the darn 3-point line, I think we'll be very happy at the end of the season.

[altoncwell]

It will take some time for cynical people and from now on out, the problem is going to be the quality of teams we play--folks will focus on the relative weakness of the conference schedule regardless of any obvious improvement and solid play.

But, the good news is if the Tigers stick to the fundamentals and work really hard to pound the ball inside to their bigs and let them develop, then I think they will become a very dangerous team. Having both inside and outside options in the halfcourt is a good thing.

If they can do that and play consistent hard-nosed D, better defending the darn 3-point line, I think we'll be very happy at the end of the season.

Oh yes. The 3 pointer is the obvious Achilles heel of the Tigers now. If it were not for 3's it would not have even been close (same thing for the UTK game).

Regarding the game, it got so sloppy after the big lead that I am sure that it's not going to change the minds of Vernon and company.

Oh, good news is that the RPI went down by 14 points to 54.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls?poll=5


BTW - you even notice that Vernon is "Johnny Positive" when he talks about the Grizzles and their opponents, but is always a "Negative Nellie" when it comes to the Tigers and their opponents. Just an observation.

[AFTiger]

Vernon is a waste of an ejaculation.

[altoncwell]

Vernon is a waste of an ejaculation.

lol - I really didn't realize he was so disliked by most Tiger fans. I think it's because he seems hyperfocused on the Grizzles - which is weird to me since this is such a Tiger town. How much more popular would his show be if most of the Tiger fans actually liked him as well?

Funniest thing is I have always listened to Vernon's show as work has allowed, but he has overdosed me soooo bad on the Griz that I am just tired of listening to it. Doesn't he realize there is two straight hours of Grizzles on every single day right after his show?

All I can say is his unbalanced approach is certainly not helping die hard Tigers fans learn to love the Grizzles. Could be just the opposite.