It's over...

The star-crossed, ill-fated MBB season has come to an end.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing season.  Not that I am disappointed in any person or coach or particularly have any fault to find...just that with the guys we had this year, I thought we had a shot at being pretty good and thanks to all the injuries we will never know.  That's disappointing, is all.

Usually after year two in a new coaching system, you look for progress.  Are we getting better?  That's not how it works anymore.  We mostly reboot every year.

A couple of things.

First, the late part of the season, where BG strung some wins together, is a tribute to our coaches and our players.  I liked that our players were resilient, even in games where things were not going well.  The Akron game in the tournament might be an exception, but by and large BG didn't quit.  As an example, we found out that Javonte Campbell has been playing with TWO broken hands since the Ball State game.  I don't think we lacked heart.

Second, I admire our Coaches for being flexible.  I feel like for our last two long-term coaches, the answer always was that we needed to do what we do better.  Simon tried to find ways for these guys to compete--including a zone defense that allowed us to cover up some defensive weaknesses and to play without fouling.

More on the season later.  We have yet to see the high-flying, 3FG shooting offense we were promised at the beginning. In general, for two years we have struggled to score.

Looking forward....who knows, right?  The portal opens in 10 days or so.  Even guys we think are out of eligibility may gain an additional year due to the JUCO ruling. They could also not use the year or use it elsewhere.  

BG also has 3 high-quality HS signees.  Beyond that, look to JUCO and portal players.

The game yesterday was just ugly.  As Coach said, there are some weaknesses to the way we play, and Akron exploited them without mercy.  They were determined to shoot over our zone and they certainly did that.  They made their first 3FGS and just over 4 minutes in, they were up 15-6.  The game was never closer again. 

There were a couple of opportunities when BG got a stop and had the lead at 9 and had a chance to maybe dig into the lead, but BG either gave up a basket or missed a layup.  Eventually the lead stretched and the game was over.

BG scored .88 points per possession.  Their only worse game was against St. Thomas.

We shot poorly (51% and 24%), but the real problem was turnovers.  BG turned the ball over on 28.9% of their possessions--their next worst was 21%. That's a really tough number to turn into a win.

Akron scored 1.26 points per possession, 4th fourth-worst this year for BG. Akron made 16 3FGs, far and away the most allowed by the Falcons.

So, yes, a disappointing end to a season that was disappointing.  There were things to like--resilience, coaching (from above), along with Marcus Johnson and seeing Jamai Felt turn into a player.  

Now to the off-season part of the game...roster construction.  We'll see who takes the floor in November and whether we can change the MAC's narrative---that the four teams playing tonight and Ohio are the relevant programs when championships are discussed.