Are Bonnies improved, or have they hit Little Rock bottom?
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? St. Bonaventure hasn?t suited up for a real basketball game in 10 days, but that doesn?t mean the things that caused the team to be 0-6 have vanished like the green grass of the Northeast.
8ut that?s a lot of time to attempt to exorcise the demons... and many a demon reared its head frequently in those first half dozen contests.
They?ll again be lurking in the background tonight at Alltel Arena as the Bonnies visit Arkansas-Little Rock (8 o?clock, WHDL/WPIG).
?It was time for us to get better,? junior Ahmad Smith said of the break for final exams. ?We had a week off since the West Virginia game and we?ve really been talking about ourselves not so much about Arkansas-Little Rock. We?re just focusing on getting better.?
Bona head coach Anthony Solomon admitted his squad has plenty to improve upon. The same things have doomed the Bonnies in every outing: giving up big runs, poor offensive production, horrendous free throw shooting.
The list goes on and on.
Thus, most of the hiatus consisted of self reflection and focus rather than looking ahead to UALR (4-4).
?There?s a lot of things that we have to get better at executing ourselves before you can get to playing your opponent,? Solomon said. ?We?ve played six games and basketball is basketball after a number of games ? the basics of passing and catching, finishing on lay-up opportunities, improving on our free throw percentages individually, which helps the team overall. There?s a lot of little things and some of it is concentration.?
Yet, Solomon?s chief concern is lack of consistency. At times the Bonnies look like a team to be reckoned with (outscoring unbeaten West Virginia in the second half of a 70-55 setback), but other times are downright awful (not scoring a single point in the final five minutes of a loss to less talented Cornell).
Bona has customarily been closer to the ?downright awful? side.
?We just have did to get our confidence up and learn from our mistakes, because we have way too many mistakes,? said swingman Patrick Lottin. ?We just find a way to lose every time. We?ve got to find a way to start winning games.?
Finding the way to victory will start with the offensive end.
The Bonnies are averaging just 57 points a game, haven?t scored more than 67 in a contest and have been held under 60 four times.
?We don?t have, at this time, that explosive offensive player,? Solomon said, ?or as many as we need at different times. That has certainly contributed to droughts that we?ve had in each game.?
Bona is shooting just over 36 percent from the field, and that?s even with a steady improvement from game to game.
Besides not having a player who can put up 20 points on most nights, the Bonnies also lack an outstanding post presence. In all, front line players Brian Gibbs, Yankuba Camara and Saulius Dumbliauskas are averaging just eight points per outing.
?With a consistent inside threat you get better, easier looks in and around the bucket,? said Solomon. ?If nothing else you put more pressure on the defense.?
Other reasons Bona has struggled to score include shooting 58 percent from the foulline and committing nearly 30 more turnovers than the opposition.
?We can?t go into the game saying we?re not going to make any turnovers,? Lottin said. ?But that?s the goal so we have to be ready mentally.?
The Bonnies first ever game in the state of Arkansas comes against a team that starts five seniors and plays an up-tempo style.
The Sun Belt Conference Trojans put a lot points on the board but also give up a lot.
?They want to get up and down the floor and run and jump and shoot it quick and press us,? Solomon said. ?So we?re going to have to handle the basketball.?
He added: ?There?s going to be some opportunities there for us to attack them. When we do attack, we need to attack aggressively and come out of it with two points or three or at least a free throw opportunity.?
UALR is 3-0 at home, including a convincing win over mid-major power Southern Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference. Three of the four setbacks have come to schools currently ranked in both national polls (Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State).
The contest completes a home-and-home series between the teams. Bona won 89-75 last season at the Reilly Center.
?I think we?re getting pretty close,? Lottin said of earning a win. ?We?re getting there.?
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? St. Bonaventure hasn?t suited up for a real basketball game in 10 days, but that doesn?t mean the things that caused the team to be 0-6 have vanished like the green grass of the Northeast.
8ut that?s a lot of time to attempt to exorcise the demons... and many a demon reared its head frequently in those first half dozen contests.
They?ll again be lurking in the background tonight at Alltel Arena as the Bonnies visit Arkansas-Little Rock (8 o?clock, WHDL/WPIG).
?It was time for us to get better,? junior Ahmad Smith said of the break for final exams. ?We had a week off since the West Virginia game and we?ve really been talking about ourselves not so much about Arkansas-Little Rock. We?re just focusing on getting better.?
Bona head coach Anthony Solomon admitted his squad has plenty to improve upon. The same things have doomed the Bonnies in every outing: giving up big runs, poor offensive production, horrendous free throw shooting.
The list goes on and on.
Thus, most of the hiatus consisted of self reflection and focus rather than looking ahead to UALR (4-4).
?There?s a lot of things that we have to get better at executing ourselves before you can get to playing your opponent,? Solomon said. ?We?ve played six games and basketball is basketball after a number of games ? the basics of passing and catching, finishing on lay-up opportunities, improving on our free throw percentages individually, which helps the team overall. There?s a lot of little things and some of it is concentration.?
Yet, Solomon?s chief concern is lack of consistency. At times the Bonnies look like a team to be reckoned with (outscoring unbeaten West Virginia in the second half of a 70-55 setback), but other times are downright awful (not scoring a single point in the final five minutes of a loss to less talented Cornell).
Bona has customarily been closer to the ?downright awful? side.
?We just have did to get our confidence up and learn from our mistakes, because we have way too many mistakes,? said swingman Patrick Lottin. ?We just find a way to lose every time. We?ve got to find a way to start winning games.?
Finding the way to victory will start with the offensive end.
The Bonnies are averaging just 57 points a game, haven?t scored more than 67 in a contest and have been held under 60 four times.
?We don?t have, at this time, that explosive offensive player,? Solomon said, ?or as many as we need at different times. That has certainly contributed to droughts that we?ve had in each game.?
Bona is shooting just over 36 percent from the field, and that?s even with a steady improvement from game to game.
Besides not having a player who can put up 20 points on most nights, the Bonnies also lack an outstanding post presence. In all, front line players Brian Gibbs, Yankuba Camara and Saulius Dumbliauskas are averaging just eight points per outing.
?With a consistent inside threat you get better, easier looks in and around the bucket,? said Solomon. ?If nothing else you put more pressure on the defense.?
Other reasons Bona has struggled to score include shooting 58 percent from the foulline and committing nearly 30 more turnovers than the opposition.
?We can?t go into the game saying we?re not going to make any turnovers,? Lottin said. ?But that?s the goal so we have to be ready mentally.?
The Bonnies first ever game in the state of Arkansas comes against a team that starts five seniors and plays an up-tempo style.
The Sun Belt Conference Trojans put a lot points on the board but also give up a lot.
?They want to get up and down the floor and run and jump and shoot it quick and press us,? Solomon said. ?So we?re going to have to handle the basketball.?
He added: ?There?s going to be some opportunities there for us to attack them. When we do attack, we need to attack aggressively and come out of it with two points or three or at least a free throw opportunity.?
UALR is 3-0 at home, including a convincing win over mid-major power Southern Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference. Three of the four setbacks have come to schools currently ranked in both national polls (Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State).
The contest completes a home-and-home series between the teams. Bona won 89-75 last season at the Reilly Center.
?I think we?re getting pretty close,? Lottin said of earning a win. ?We?re getting there.?
