{Game Thread} Bears at Redbirds 1-25-12 6:05 Start

He had another game where he scored and played pretty well. I know that's only 2 games this year. But there have been plenty of games where he didn't get much of a chance to play at all. I don't think anyone is saying he's all MVC caliber. Just that he might possibly deserve more PT.

I thought Cope had a good game, and noticed his defense improved, We need him.

maybe you should change your name to Mr. Sunshine! and go back to wherever you came from.

That's OK Nyght. I like to listen to the other side, a different perspective. Keep it up. A strong dose of reality from the dark side to keep things in perspective.

This team is clueless in crunch time and that to me is a reflection of preparation and discipline. They fold like a cheap suit more often than not, taking poor shots, turning the ball over, fouling the crap out of the other team.... There is no toughness out there, no poise...

Say what you will about building a program, but in my opinion Lusk has done a very poor job with this group of players. We have A LOT more talent than a .500 ball club.

Reality is tough, but it is what it is. I figure that some people take it out on me to feel better. That's fair. I'm a big boy. But I'd much prefer that you show me where I'm wrong.

I don't often agree with you, but I agree with 4 of these and partially agree with the other two.

yep.

I'd just really like to know why you are a Bears fan if the program is a miserable as you say it is?? That just makes absolutely no sense. You even threw last years team under the bus. That team accomplished a lot. No they ultimately didn't get it done in the conference tournament. But overall I (and I'll bet most Bears fans) were very proud of that team.

No you aren't always wrong. But the way you seem to almost revel in being right (sometimes) with your negativity is kind of sick.

A down year (if this year does turn out that way) doesn't condemn a program. I still believe MSU is trending up after the BH years.

At least 3 different times I screamed when Bazooka took a shot.... because of the situation he took it in. That was panicky, stupid ball on his part. Some players should not have the good ol' green light anytime, anywhere. There were several other unsmart shots that we took during the course of the game. Thot Kirk had that one offensive put back down when it came out, that was a downer. Kirk is tough and will be fun to watch the rest of his Bear career. How anyone cannot admit that free throw shooting absolutely killed us is beyond me. Missing FT's, esp as many as we did, makes it harder to win. Ain't no science to it.

ISU's big guy pushed/slugged Patterson as they approached the top of the 3 pt line coming down court just before CP went down, and the guy got away with some stuff that I thot was pretty obvious and easy to call right before and after that.

Thot Lusk waited too long to call a TO when Redburds came out lit up to start 2nd half. Needed one a possession or two before when he did, and holding Weems out to begin the OT baffled me. What game were we playing, exactly, when we did that????

Gotta come out hard against UNI on Saturday. Still 5-5 in conference, but need to turn the attitude to winning, not just trying to hold on.

I'd much rather be right than wrong. And if you think I'm happy with losing, you don't know me. I'd suggest you keep this in mind before you post next time.

I'm sure most Bears fans (me included) are proud of that team. But let's be honest--the team which we're so proud of lost in the second round of the NIT. At some schools, that gets the coach fired. I'll never forget winning the conference, or those wins against UNI and WSU and CU. But it ended in a place with no one watching. I think we can do better.

You sure don't sound like you are proud of last years team.

And for all your comments about "being right" - You certainly aren't always right. Not even close. No I don't know you but based on your comments I don't care to.

Nyght's comments are always a little too vague to be bragging about being right and not wrong.

That really is sickening. Everyone is disappointed in how things are going. But is it really as bad as Trout is saying? I just don't believe it. Are we really going to be horrible/worse next year with: Kirk, Downing, Gulley, Wilson, etc,etc? It's possible we could suck. But it's also possible that Kirk continues to develop (highly probable), that Wilson is a stud, Gavin contributes right away, and that Gulley and Downing completely adjust to the D1 level in their last year.

At this point I think Lusk needs to be very aware of the fact that he is setting up a culture of losing, unless he gets this turned around. This team lacks an "I can do" attitude and seems to play more from a "I hope we don't lose" mentality, and I think it stems in part from Coach Lusk. We are not the aggressor at the end of games. We tend to panic and not make smart plays, and we play it way too safe, very much like good old Barry.

Lusk has a lot of the components in place for this team to succeed. Good awful god lord, what does a coach at this point in his very young career have to lose? Nothing. He has a fantastic opportunity to give himself the latitude to change how he does some things, in this case, mainly at the end of games.

Why are we losing these end-games? Primarily because, imo, we are playing not to lose rather than going for a win. Playing not to lose helps develop a loser's mentalitiy. Ain't the way to go. So, in that final minute or two, I advise that we do not rachet down the clock and only begin to really look for a good shot once the shot clock gets to 10 seconds. No. We run our frakkin' offense just like we've run it, and we don't look for KW as our only option in the closing minute of a game. Use him as a decoy for Pete's sake! If KW's open, great. But remember, he can be a great decoy, and as long as we keep running our offense like we usually do, we will be OK.

More than any of all this, the Bears need an attitude of “Win.” “WE ARE GOING TO WIN THIS GAME,” attitude can help this team win these tight ones.

38 the problem with the players you listed that will play a lot next year, you listed no handler that can run the team, a pg is needed with that bunch.

Dorrian? Who knows how good he might be at this level but he could be the handler.

you are right he could be, but was not a great one in high school. More a combo like AD, who is not a great handler, but much better at SG.