[NU Sports] Lame

[Weinbaum, Willie]

Headed home to NY from URI now...bummed.  A disappointing end to a season that exceeded realistic expectations for the team after Coble went down. 

Mirkovic's sharper passing was sorely missed against an aggressive defensive team.  The job Mirkovic did early against Purdue in the last game with three assists as the Cats did a good job of inside/outside passing to open things up was badly needed the rest of the game against Purdue and tonight...and a glimpse, it's hoped, at how things can be at their best next season.  Rowley, by the way, did have some valuable contributions tonight, but he's not the guy to play major minutes, despite significant improvement. 

URI played a very good defensive game, especially on Shurna, and only Thompson really shined with grit and imagination and shotmaking.  It was a very rocky last game for Nash, who made many poor decisions.  But he is still a guy who showed great improvement during his career and provided us with many memorable moments.

As has been lamented here, the Cats' youth and lack of depth caught up with them in a late-season slide.  And there is too much dependence on Thompson, to the point that we just fell apart in the last minute of the first half tonight when he was out with two fouls (one would hope that Marcotullio will build on this year's experiences and be able to handle things if Thompson is out).  URI's sharpshooting guard off the bench destroyed NU late in the first half - - the Cats kept going for his initial fakes - - and, although he didn't do damage in the second half, the 14 in the first were killers.

Looking forward to next season and the return of Kevin Coble.  Jeff Ryan, too, will help bolster the depth.  Should be a more potent and poised group.

Congrats, Cats, on the first 20-win season and first back-to-back postseason tourneys...and here's to building on that!

>From Blackberry - please excuse typos

W. Weinbaum
Producer
212-916-9864 (24-hour voicemail)
willie.weinbaum at espn.com

----- Original Message -----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com <nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com>
To: thehaze at earthlink.net <thehaze at earthlink.net>; nwu-sports at tssi.com <nwu-sports at tssi.com>
Sent: Wed Mar 17 21:25:37 2010Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Lame

Everyone on the List who has knocked Luka now should realize his value to team and Princeton Offense.
------Original Message------
From: thehaze at earthlink.net
Sender: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
ReplyTo: thehaze at earthlink.net
Subject: [NU Sports] Lame
Sent: Mar 17, 2010 9:14 PM

Shurna couldn't hit, even missed a dunk. Juice played well, but there's not much else good to say. Rowley was a joke. Just now, on the postgame show, Carmody said that he told Drew Crawford not to pass the ball to Rowley because RI would simply foul Rowley, who would then miss the free throws; thus, Carmody said, passing to Rowley was tantamount to a turnover. Much improved season, but another 1-and-out NIT appearance. We have yet to learn how to win on the road.

Jim B.

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