Inside Job: RMU Attacking The Basket in Winning Streak
By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
Feb. 21, 2012
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - Watching the Robert Morris University Colonials play in their past four games has been like watching paint fry.
In those four games, the Colonial "bigs'' have sizzled in the paint. Been torrid in the lane. Been hot between the blocks. Been ...
Well, you probably get it.
The bigs have come up large.
In the past four games, the Colonials have outscored their opposition in the paint, 150-71. In the most recent two games, that disparity has been even greater - 80-19.
It's no coincidence that Robert Morris won all four of those games. Tack on a victory at Mount St. Mary's, Feb. 4, and you have a five-game winning streak that's carried the Colonials to a 21-8 overall record, a 12-4 mark in the Northeast Conference and a first-round home game in the NEC Tournament March 1 at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
"It's huge,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said having at least one home game. "The more games you can play at home, the better your chances are. If you look at the statistics in the NEC Tournament over the last number of years, you see more times than not the home teams prevail and continue to move on. It's definitely a positive to be able to open the tournament at home.''
"It's big,'' junior Russell Johnson said. "The biggest thing in the playoffs is homecourt advantage. The emotions, the crowd, knowing you have a bunch of people behind you and there for you. The crowd picks us up. It feels good. It's big.''
There's that word again - "big'' - so let's work with it.
In this four-game run, the Colonial bigs - Lijah Thompson, Mike McFadden, Lawrence Bridges and Keith Armstrong - have combined for 109 of those 150 points in the paint.
That's far better paint production than the Colonials received from them in the previous 25 games.
Why?
"Some of the guys we're throwing it to down there are now completing plays down there,'' Toole said. "Early in every game, we try and throw the ball into the post and try to get the bigs started. In 85 percent of our games, there's a play that's called at the beginning of the game to get it to the post or get some kind of penetration through a ball screen, and there have been times where those guys haven't responded and finished like they're supposed to.
"You want to (go inside) all the time, but sometimes if you're not getting results out of it then you have to try and do something else. If those guys are continuing to score like they are, then we have to keep going back to them. So maybe they're listening to the message and being rewarded by Mike and Lawrence and Lijah and Keith. The guys around the rim are finishing.''
In this four-game stretch, the "big'' quartet has shot 67.2 percent from the field and averaged 29.8 points per game. Before these four games, that foursome shot a collective 50 percent from the field and averaged 21.6 points per game.
They were especially effective in the Colonials' 68-60 win against visiting Central Connecticut State last Saturday night.
Led by Thompson and his 15 points, the four combined to score 35 points and shoot 15-for-21 from the field.
"Their inside players were far superior to our inside players,'' CCSU coach Howie Dickenman said. "They finished around the basket.''
The inside production Saturday night was a far cry from the inside contribution in the Colonials' 68-53 loss at Central Connecticut State Jan. 7.
"We didn't throw it in there enough (at CCSU),'' Toole said. "That was the problem. We did it early on and we had some success, and then we went away from it. We stayed with it (Saturday night). We did a better job of staying with getting the ball to the basket. You're looking at 15-for-21 from your front court guys. Anytime you can do that, it means they're shooting pretty high percentage shots.
"Their bigs really helped up on our guards. We've talked before about decision-making -- Velton (Jones') decision-making, Ant (Myers') decision-making. (Saturday night) I thought they did a good job of making the right decisions more times than not - 'Get in there, all of a sudden help comes, we'll just drop it off.' And our bigs did a good job of being ready to just take the ball up and score. Like, 'Let's stop fooling around with it. Let's just attack the rim and hope for something good to happen.'
"We talked about it going into this game because of the success we had at the beginning of the game at Central Connecticut and then (the fact) we went away from it. At halftime I asked Velton what he wanted to run at the start of the second half, and he said, 'Let's keep going inside.'''
The Colonials' inside efficiency was a huge factor in their shooting 54.3 percent from the field Saturday night. At CCSU in the first game this season, the Colonials shot just 30.3 percent, including 27 percent in the second half.
The Blue Devils' accuracy Saturday night also was in stark contrast to their performance almost two months ago when they shot 47.8 percent from the field. Saturday night, they shot only 34 percent. And if one subtracts the 10-for-22 night freshman Kyle Vinales had in his remarkable 32-point performance, the Blue Devils' shooting percentage Saturday night was a dismal 25.8 percent from the field.
"I think we played our tails off (in the first game),'' Dickenman said. "We did some trapping, didn't miss shots. It was probably the best game we played this year. That's a quality team, and to beat them the way we did it kind of surprised me a bit because I know how good they are. That was a night we put it together.''
"We defended very poorly (at CCSU),'' Toole said. "They were much more the aggressor in Connecticut. They did a really good job of setting the tone for the game and they brought all the energy at the game in Connecticut. I wouldn't say we brought all the energy (Saturday night), but we matched their energy for sure. I thought we followed our defensive formula much better in terms of jumping to the ball, being in the gaps, moving on the flight of the ball - things you have to do against a team like Central. You have to try and shrink their opportunities to penetrate. I thought every time they put it on the floor for the most part, we had guys who really rallied to the help, and that's what you have to do. In Connecticut, they were driving and getting layups, and that just can't happen if you're going to try and win a basketball game.''
"When we went to their home, they somewhat embarrassed us,'' Myers said. "We took it personal. We had to come out with passion and get up in them (for) 94 feet and hold them under 40 percent field goal percentage.''
"I was really pleased with the guys,'' Toole said. "I thought defensively they did a really good job.''
The Colonials were well aware that Vinales and seniors Ken Horton and Robby Ptacek supply by far the bulk of the CCSU offense.
"We know mainly only three guys shoot the ball for that team,'' Johnson said, "and if the other people shoot the ball they must be wide open. So it's basically like extra help, help off them a little bit.''
The Colonial defense stifled the Blue Devils in the first half. CCSU made only one of its first 11 field goal attempts and was 6-of-25 from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Blue Devils had just 16 points in the half until Ptacek drained a trey just before the horn for intermission.
Even so, it was the lowest point total by CCSU in a half this season.
"The first half defense by Robert Morris was outstanding,'' Dickenman said. "They had a man and a half guarding the ball. We couldn't get a line to the basket. Because of that, our big guys suffered because they couldn't get any dump-offs.''
Horton, CCSU's 6'6'' senior who is the program's all-time leading scorer and who was the NEC Player of the Year last season, suffered throughout the evening. Bothered by a tailbone injury sustained a week earlier, Horton managed just two points - a season-low total that was 16 points below his average.
That continued a recent slump for Horton, who in his past four games has scored a total of 29 points and who in his past 15 games is nine for 52 from beyond the arc.
"He hasn't shot the ball that well from three,'' Dickenman acknowledged. "He's shooting a flat shot right now. I think he's his worst enemy. I think he's pressing. It seems like the rim is smaller and the ball is bigger for him. I think it's in his head. We've talked to him, and he agrees. He didn't have the zip that we need from him. We haven't seen Kenny in a while, and I don't have any answers for (that). As a staff, we talk about it all the time. He's not the Kenny that was the Player of the Year last year. That's not to criticize him. It's not his fault. He's struggling, and we feel bad for him.''
By contrast, Vinales was sensational. He brushed aside a three-point first half and poured in 29 points in the second half, including 16 in the final three and-a-half minutes when the Blue Devils threatened to erase what was an 18-point Colonial lead with 3:54 left.
"You saw in the last four or five minutes what Kyle Vinales is capable of doing,'' Dickenman said. "He's one of the best competitors that I've been around in all my years of coaching.''
Was Toole impressed with Vinales?
"Hard not to be,'' Toole said. "You watch film on him and he keeps you up at night. You see him go for 39 on Niagara (Nov. 14) and foul out with like eight minutes to go in the game. He's a handful.''
The Colonials for the second straight game played without freshman standout Lucky Jones, out with a knee injury. Toole said that if Saturday night's game had been an NEC Tournament semifinal or championship game, Jones probably would have played.
That indicates Jones will return for Thursday night's game at Sacred Heart.
"I guess I'd be shocked if he doesn't play Thursday,'' Toole said.
HALF A THOUSAND: Saturday night's victory was the 500th for Robert Morris in its 36-year Division I history.
How did Toole feel about being the coach in the milestone game?
"I think it's pretty neat,'' he said, "but at the same time I think there are a lot of people who helped get it to this point. I'm just kind of fortunate enough to be carrying the torch at this point in time. Without Mike Rice or Mark Schmidt or Jarrett Durham or Matt Furjanic or all the guys who coached here previously, No. 1, the program wouldn't be where it is and then, No 2, you wouldn't even have the opportunity to be the coach for the 500th win.''
Durham is the all-time victory leader at RMU with 157 wins. Toole, in his second season as head coach, has 39.
NEC NUGGETS: Sacred Heart, which needs one more win or one more Mount St. Mary's loss, to get the eighth and final spot in the NEC Tournament, lost Saturday night at St. Francis (N.Y.), 58-56. The Pioneers, who received 21 points and 12 rebounds from Shane Gibson, led 30-22 at halftime. Travis Nichols' basket with one second left after he snared an offensive rebound, decided the contest ... LIU Brooklyn won its 24th consecutive home game by turning back Quinnipiac 99-89. Julian Boyd had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Blackbirds, who received other sizable contributions from C.J. Garner (25 points), Michael Culpo (17 points) and Jason Brickman (10 points and 16 assists). Ike Azotam scored 22 points for the Bobcats, while freshman Ousmane Drame had a 16-10 double-double ... Wagner, which had only five wins two seasons ago, improved to 23-4 with a 90-70 cruise past visiting Fairleigh Dickinson. "It's been intoxicating for everyone,'' Seahawk coach Dan Hurley told the Staten Island Advance. "The coaches, the kids -- everyone has been excited by it.'' Jonathan Williams led five Seahawks in double figures with 20 points. It mattered little Wagner was 14 of 27 from the free throw line ... Monmouth overcame a nine-point deficit with 10 minutes remaining and won at Mount St. Mary's 68-66. Dion Nesmith led the Hawks with 20 points - 17 in the second half. Nesmith was six of seven from international waters ... Saint Francis (Pa.) put five players in double figures and made nine of 17 from deep in its 76-61 win against visiting Bryant.
