quiet here.

[titanmac]

pretty much on the other board too. quiet as i have ever seen it during the season.....what's up with that?

[NC Titan]

pretty much on the other board too. quiet as i have ever seen it during the season.....what's up with that?

Everyone is too excited about the Lions. I mean the Pistons. I mean the Red Wings. I mean the Tigers......

[titanmac]

hah! happy thanksgiving old friend....

[Tacitus651]

I guess this is to be expected? The obvious two reasons are (1) 1-5 record and (2) postseason ban.

Other reasons that might lead to a quiet board and/or low attendance this year:

Our TV schedule this year doesn’t make watching games easy. We’ve had two games on the ACCN which a lot of people don’t get (Comcast customers) and a couple games on FLOhoops which virtually no one has. The Ohio game wasn’t televised at all.

Some people still aren’t 100% convinced that Davis is committed to the Program (reaching out about the LSU job this offseason was a bad look).

Relatively weak 2019 recruiting class.

No signs things will get better soon. ESPN predictor has us winning maybe two more noncon games (EMU and SIUE) before heading into conference play.

MSU and UM are playing good ball. A lot of our fan base probably has some connection to at least one of those schools, and it’s nice to see the team you root for win games.

[R.B.J1]

I guess this is to be expected? The obvious two reasons are (1) 1-5 record and (2) postseason ban.

Other reasons that might lead to a quiet board and/or low attendance this year:

Our TV schedule this year doesn’t make watching games easy. We’ve had two games on the ACCN which a lot of people don’t get (Comcast customers) and a couple games on FLOhoops which virtually no one has. The Ohio game wasn’t televised at all.

Some people still aren’t 100% convinced that Davis is committed to the Program (reaching out about the LSU job this offseason was a bad look).

Relatively weak 2019 recruiting class.

No signs things will get better soon. ESPN predictor has us winning maybe two more noncon games (EMU and SIUE) before heading into conference play.

MSU and UM are playing good ball. A lot of our fan base probably has some connection to at least one of those schools, and it’s nice to see the team you root for win games.

+1, also the titan athletic department isn't exactly fan friendly. Detroit was one of the last schools in the country to release their roster, zero information on the identity of the Egyptian twin towers, getting blown out and ran off the floor in four of our five losses is a recipe for fan apathy and a perfect way to run off the remaining 2000 titan fans. I've been a titan fan for 42 of my 47 years on this earth and this is probably the least intersted I've ever been. They need to figure out a way to "keep hope alive".

[TerryTylerFan]

I guess this is to be expected? The obvious two reasons are (1) 1-5 record and (2) postseason ban.

Other reasons that might lead to a quiet board and/or low attendance this year:

Our TV schedule this year doesn’t make watching games easy. We’ve had two games on the ACCN which a lot of people don’t get (Comcast customers) and a couple games on FLOhoops which virtually no one has. The Ohio game wasn’t televised at all.

Some people still aren’t 100% convinced that Davis is committed to the Program (reaching out about the LSU job this offseason was a bad look).

Relatively weak 2019 recruiting class.

No signs things will get better soon. ESPN predictor has us winning maybe two more noncon games (EMU and SIUE) before heading into conference play.

MSU and UM are playing good ball. A lot of our fan base probably has some connection to at least one of those schools, and it’s nice to see the team you root for win games.

Some good points there. With few chances to watch and the poor record it’s easy to imagine the worst, a bit tougher to be optimistic. Looking forward to Saturday - hopefully Antoine will be back to full health, the roster’s growing pains will end and we get started on a nice run of good, fun to watch games. Go Titans!

[ptctitan]

Nothing has happened that cannot be cured by some more wins and 4 games at home.

[Tacitus651]

Nothing has happened that cannot be cured by some more wins and 4 games at home.

Find someone who believes in you as much as ptc believes in the Titans.

[ptctitan]

Having met this team, I believe that every player on this team will never quit on each other or on us. Eventually, that will translate into more wins. I'm not going all negative merely because we are winless on the road versus a schedule that is challenging due to the teams we played and the travel timelines for some of the games. We beat UC-Irvine decisively on a neutral court when we were adequately rested. Currently, UC-Irvine is rated ahead of every team in the HL in the Dec 3rd KenPom ratings.

We still need to improve a lot; but that's why Davis plays the non-conference schedule the way he does. After tonight, 4 of our 6 remaining non-con games are at home. If we play well, there is no reason why we cannot win all 4 of these home games. This team could have thrown in the towel at Ohio on Saturday when they were down 25 points late in the first half. But they cut the lead to 1 point and just could not convert when the chance to tie occurred. Eventually, that effort and character gets rewarded. Hopefully this year.

[Resurget Cineribus]

Having met this team, I believe that every player on this team will never quit on each other or on us. Eventually, that will translate into more wins. I'm not going all negative merely because we are winless on the road versus a schedule that is challenging due to the teams we played and the travel timelines for some of the games. We beat UC-Irvine decisively on a neutral court when we were adequately rested. Currently, UC-Irvine is rated ahead of every team in the HL in the Dec 3rd KenPom ratings.

We still need to improve a lot; but that's why Davis plays the non-conference schedule the way he does. After tonight, 4 of our 6 remaining non-con games are at home. If we play well, there is no reason why we cannot win all 4 of these home games. This team could have thrown in the towel at Ohio on Saturday when they were down 25 points late in the first half. But they cut the lead to 1 point and just could not convert when the chance to tie occurred. Eventually, that effort and character gets rewarded. Hopefully this year.

+++1 PTC I for one will never give up on the Titans!

[uofdfan1983]

Tac et al,
This is only Year 2 and Year 1 was a complete last-minute roster and Year 2 roster is saddled by the Tournament Ban. I will always believe that every first-rate player from Metro Detroit should go to U-D, but even I will admit that right now we have to get rid of the Ban and show some improvement before we start owning the local recruiting turf. Can that happen? Of course. Will it happen? I believe so.

What bothers me most right now is our defense. I hate Zone and we give up too many points. The rebounding problem in a game like we are in right now vs. Kent State is amplified by our lack of an inside game. We don't have enough height. How good are the Egyptian twins? I have no idea. But it'll be fun to find out, and we need some size. I don't except much from them right away but hopefully they have more game and more heart than the German Giant did.

Ultimately, PTC is like every good fan should be. I am and always will be a Titan. I will ALWAYS believe that we should be the dominant team in a crappy league. I also believed we should be the dominant team back when it had Butler, Valpo, etc. If you went to U-D, you have to believe. If you think we don't have the coach, then ask for a new one. But I think we have the right coach this time. I thought so last time, but I was wrong. I know this: you cannot really win big with someone like McCallum in charge. You have to have someone who develops the TITAN WAY. You need an identity (more than just outgunning the opponent). I think that will happen. I've been wrong before, but I don't know why people crap on any of our fans. Go PTC. Go Titans!

[udballer]

I think the game currently in progress is the best indicator of why the board has been quiet. The underwhelming recruiting has laid the groundwork for the early struggles. There is nowhere to go but up.. if you're in need of a silver lining.

I'll be at Calihan regularly again this year, but I'm not sure I'll be too happy with the product based on what this season looks like thus far. Goes to show you just how valuable McFolley's scoring was to last year's team. I'm not sure we have a second scorer on the current roster. I'm wondering what we'd look like if coach hadn't had a college-age son?

[ptctitan]

You might want to review the box score of last year's game vs Kent State before you long for those good ole days of Josh's shooting. Just sayin'.

[udballer]

I think it's safe to say you missed the point. It should be fairly evident to everyone that Josh provided the team with a quality secondary scoring option. I've yet to see that present itself on the current incarnation of the Titans.

Josh shot 43% overall and nearly 40% from 3 last season. Being the nonstop, everything's rosey, Titans supporter that you are... I'm actually surprised you'd try to belittle his contribution. Please identify a member of this squad who will post double-figure scoring totals in 20 games this season.

[ptctitan]

Let me clarify my earlier terse comment about Josh. On offense only Calipari + Isiani = Josh's production with the same level of inconsistency. On defense, Josh had many, many more steals.

IMO, the problem this year, so far, has been the inability to replace Derrien King as a productive third option in the offense. Josh and DK could get their own shots. Brad and Willy are catch and shoot guys. Maxwell was supposed to step in and replace Josh, but his injured wrist has kept him out. Plus Miller has yet to develop a productive inside game. He can rebound; but, so far, he has been unable to convert on many inside shots. DK took pressure off both AD and Josh in many games. When Maxwell returns to the line-up (rogobob says he gets his cast off today or tomorrow), we'll see if that changes the dynamic on the floor and makes us better.

Results-wise, we are about where we were 1 year ago when we came home from Ohio having been beaten up badly by Dayton and Toledo. Except, last year, we had played two early games at home in the Legends Classic and had won them both. Plus we beat EMU in Ypsi. We lost every other road non-con game last year by similar margins. Thus, we come home with no road wins and 1 neutral court win.

So, we need to rebound strongly at home. If we win 2 games at home, we will end up with the same number of non-con wins as last year. If we win 3 or 4 at home, then we will have a better non-con record than last year. If the team responds to their recent poor play with renewed energy and execution, then we could end up with 2-4 wins at home. Our lapses at Ohio and Kent were bad and humiliating; but, we have the personnel that can turn it around. Will our players choose to make the effort and play with the discipline needed to do so? The next 5 games will answer this question.

[udballer]

I still think you are understating Josh's contribution. You've just noted two players to fill his role from last year, yet between the two of them they are averaging less points... on worse shooting... while playing nearly 10 more minutes per game. You'd have to add numbers from a third player in order to get to what Josh was providing on last years team. If we need three players combined to replace the production of our 2nd scoring option... that should tell you that we have no secondary scoring option.

Though I'd agree that we also don't seem to have a Derrien King on the squad as of yet, I'm less worried about that role. He shot 33% and averaged 8.5 points on 8.5 shots. I'd think we could manage to replace that with the players you've already noted. I think of DK as more of a role player to fill a one year hole in the roster... and he was successful at that. Looking at the game logs, he scored 4 pts or less in more than 1/3 of our games last year. I'd not consider that a dependable scoring option.

Bottom line, I think the main difference (so far) from last year is that we dropped from two scorers down to one. The hope at this point would be our player who has been wearing a cast thus far shows up and automatically gives the team what Josh had provided. That may be easy to do in theory, but still remains to be seen. There have been a lot of players that have underwhelmed over the years and it's easy to say that the guy who can't play is the man that would have gotten the job done.

[Big Chuck]

I still think you are understating Josh's contribution. You've just noted two players to fill his role from last year, yet between the two of them they are averaging less points... on worse shooting... while playing nearly 10 more minutes per game. You'd have to add numbers from a third player in order to get to what Josh was providing on last years team. If we need three players combined to replace the production of our 2nd scoring option... that should tell you that we have no secondary scoring option.

Though I'd agree that we also don't seem to have a Derrien King on the squad as of yet, I'm less worried about that role. He shot 33% and averaged 8.5 points on 8.5 shots. I'd think we could manage to replace that with the players you've already noted. I think of DK as more of a role player to fill a one year hole in the roster... and he was successful at that. Looking at the game logs, he scored 4 pts or less in more than 1/3 of our games last year. I'd not consider that a dependable scoring option.

Bottom line, I think the main difference (so far) from last year is that we dropped from two scorers down to one. The hope at this point would be our player who has been wearing a cast thus far shows up and automatically gives the team what Josh had provided. That may be easy to do in theory, but still remains to be seen. There have been a lot of players that have underwhelmed over the years and it's easy to say that the guy who can't play is the man that would have gotten the job done.

From the remarks at the luncheon yesterday, we need a ball handler to take the pressure of AD. Josh and DK may be missed for that aspect of their game as much as the shooting. Someone has to step up in that area. The ball handling load is too much for AD alone. We can't ask him to do everything. The ability to constantly hound him has resulted in a huge number of turnovers. No surprise based on our team makeup at the moment.

[TitanVoiceofReason]

Another tidbit from the luncheon is the coaching staff would like a couple of the other players to take their shots instead of passing the ball when they have their shot. Their role is to shoot the ball not pass up their shot. On defense two players are missing their defensive assignments.

[ptctitan]

I was just addressing the non-AD scoring issue raised in the original comment. I agree that Josh helped a lot with ball handling last year. So did DK. Clearly, this year Maxwell was supposed to be the player who could help AD with scoring and bringing the ball up the court. They've been auditioning Rose in that role, but he needs to continue to make improvement. He does have a lot of potential, but appears to be reacquainting himself with the speed of the D-1 game. Very good FT shooter so far. As to TVOR's post, you can figure out those two players by looking at who sat out the second half at Ohio. LeGrande needs to shoot more.

[udballer]

From the remarks at the luncheon yesterday, we need a ball handler to take the pressure of AD. Josh and DK may be missed for that aspect of their game as much as the shooting. Someone has to step up in that area. The ball handling load is too much for AD alone. We can't ask him to do everything. The ability to constantly hound him has resulted in a huge number of turnovers. No surprise based on our team makeup at the moment.

Good point, Chuck. We are absolutely lacking in that area as well. AD is too good with the ball in his hands to be turning in games with 9 & 10 turnovers. That is indicative of him being the only person to fill that role and the opposition to be able to key on him without fear of doing so.